Living With Fibromyalgia: Lawrenceville Chiropractor Gives Key Tips!!

Fibromyalgia - How To "Live With" FM

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition that produces widespread pain that can literally change the life of a FM patient, but as they say, “..life must go on!” Therefore, this Health Update is dedicated to discussing ways to empower you with tips to make FM as least activity restricting as possible. Ways to gain self-control of FM include the following:

1. Exercise: There are two forms of exercise you should include in your self-management program. One is light aerobic exercises such as walking and/or water exercises with the objective to increase your heart rate. The other is strength training with a low weight / high repetition approach emphasizing the part of the exercise where you slowly release the weight back to the start position (the eccentric part of the exercise). Here is a list of tips from the National Fibromyalgia Association that should help: a. Start slow – don’t overdo it the first few times you exercise as post-exercise soreness is normal but, it’s exaggerated in the FM patient. b. Listen closely to your body’s feedback! Increase the activity according to your tolerance – NOT TOO QUICKLY! c. Start with only a few minutes of gentle exercise and work your way up. d. Walking is a GREAT form of exercise. It can be done inside (in the winter, for example), outside, and/or in water (to reduce weight bearing loads). e. Track your progress by keeping a log of what and how much you’re doing. This can be accomplished by wearing a pedometer (that measures steps), a heart monitor (that measures pulse rate), and keep track of the distance and time, when possible. Make notes how you felt during and after the exercise. f. Stretch before and after exercising. g. Keep your chiropractor informed and work as a “team” to advance your program.

2. Sleep: A poor sleep pattern is the “norm” for FM patients. The pain associated with FM usually interferes with sleeps, which leads to more pain followed by more sleep disturbance – it’s a vicious cycle that needs to be broken. The National Sleep Foundation and others recommend the following steps to help us sleep: a. Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed at a similar time each night, even on weekends. b. Room temperature – keep it cool, not too warm! c. Caffeine – avoid this especially towards evenings (coffee, tea, soda, and/or chocolate). d. Alcohol – avoid before bedtime as it can keep you awake. e. Exercise – in the afternoon, NOT before bedtime. f. Nap as needed but ONLY briefly – like 20 min. max.! g. Be comfortable – wear soft PJ’s and consider a white noise machine. h. Bedtime routine – consider reading, listening to soft music – whatever works for you! Once you find a routine that works, stick with it!

3. Diet: Talk to your chiropractor about food allergy, gluten sensitivity, diabetes, thyroid function, medication/vitamin use and any other unique issues that pertain to you.

4. Emotional control: Engage your family, good friends, your healthcare providers, and consider FM support groups. Meditation, deep breathing and visualization exercises as well as cognitive therapy can also be very effective. If you, a friend or family member requires care for FM, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our services!

Yours in health,

Dr. James Roman

www.drjamesroman.com

Your Lawrenceville Chiropractor Talks About Chronic Neck Pain!

"My Neck Is Killing Me!"

When patients present with neck pain, they always ask, “where is the pain coming from?” Of course, this can only be answered after a careful history and thorough evaluation is completed, which is what we do in this office. Let’s take a closer look at what this involves.

The History: This includes a careful description of how the injury occurred, if there was an injury. For example, in a slip and fall injury, it makes a difference if the patient fell forwards, sideways, or backwards; if they landed on their knees, hips, buttocks, back or if they hit their head on the ground. Also, if there was a dazed feeling or loss of consciousness in the process. If there was a head strike, were there any signs of concussion: fatigue, mental “fog,” headache, difficulty communicating or forming words or sentences. When there is no specific injury, we will ask if there were perhaps one or more, “mini-“ or “micro-“ injuries that may have occurred sometime within 2-3 days prior to the onset of the neck pain. The cumulative effect of several small “micro-injuries” can result in a rather significant onset of symptoms several days later. The next batch of information gathered includes factors that increase and decrease the pain, the type of pain quality (sharp, dull, throb, burn, itch, etc.), pain location – “…put your finger on where it hurts and “does it radiate into the arms or legs, severity (pain level 0-10), and timing such as, “it’s worse for the 1st 30 min. in the morning and then loosens up.” Information regarding past history, family history, medical history (surgeries, medications), social history, habits (caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, etc.), and a systems review (heart, lungs, stomach, nervous system, etc.).

The Physical Exam: This includes vital signs (blood pressure, etc), observation – the way the head is positioned (forwards, to the side, rotated, etc.); palpation – touch/feel for muscle spasm, trigger points, spinal vertebra position and motion; range of motion, orthopedic and neurological tests. The exam procedure may also include x-ray, depending on each case.

The Diagnosis: This is determined after taking all your information and “…putting the puzzle pieces together” to determine what is causing your pain.

The Treatment: Chiropractic spinal manipulation (often referred to as “adjustments”) is performed by applying energy or force to the misaligned or fixed vertebra structures by one of many methods depending on the patient’s size, pain level, tolerance, and so on. Other “manual” treatment approaches include soft tissue therapy such as trigger point therapy, active release, massage, vibration, and others. The use of physical therapy modalities such as ice, heat, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, light – laser therapy, and/or others, again, depending on your specific situation and needs can also be very helpful. Similarly, exercises to teach you how to hold your proper posture, to improve flexibility or range of motion, and to strengthen the muscles that are weak really help to make the adjustments “hold” and the beneficial effects last longer. A work station/job assessment may also be needed if that appears to be irritating your condition.

We realize you have a choice in where you choose your healthcare services. If you, a friend or family member requires care for low back pain, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our services and look forward in serving you and your family presently and, in the future.

For a FREE CONSULTATION, Call 770-817-0833 Today!

Yours in health,

Dr. James Roman

http://www.drjamesroman.com/

Congratulations March's Patient Of The Month; Emily Kersey!!

We want to congratulate Emily Kersey on all the hard work she's done on her spine and health. She's worked hard on correcting and strengthening her spine and continues to see improvement in her health. Great work Emily!!

Yours in health,

Dr. Roman & Staff at AHSC
www.drjamesroman.com
www.drteresajackson.com