Tag Archive for: Chronic Inflammation

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Shockwave Therapy For Acute and Chronic Pain

Shockwave Therapy is a non-surgical treatment of soft tissue, bone, and joint pain.  Shockwave Therapy provides a safe, non-invasive, non-surgical alternative for those suffering with acute and chronic pain such as: knee pain, heel pain, foot pain, ankle pain, hamstring pain, back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain, wrist pain and hand pain.  It is also used to address sports injuries, scar tissue, stress fractures, enhance bone healing, and anyone suffering from joint and tendon disorders.

There are no side effects or long term effects with shockwave therapy and no extended recovery period. Shockwave therapy improves the metabolism in the pain region, increases blood circulation, promotes and accelerates the recovery of injured tissue, and stimulates the body’s repair mechanisms. Damaged tissue gradually regenerates and eventually heals.

Shockwave Therapy:

~ Decreases muscle tension and spasms
~ Reduces pain in the affected area
~ Decreases risk of Oedema (build up of fluid in the body which causes the affected tissue becoming swollen)
~ Increases production of collagen
~ Improves metabolism and circulation
~ Increases oxygenation to the damaged tissue
~ Dissolves calcified fibroblasts (type of cell that is responsible for making collagen)

Shockwave Therapy is exceptionally good at pain management by stimulating a metabolic reaction in the affected tissue, causing stress fibers to change in their permeability. Shockwave Therapy breaks down calcific deposits which induces an analgesic reaction, which blocks pain messages.

During a Shockwave treatment, a high-intensity sound wave interacts with the tissues of the body, effectively re-injuring the area on a cellular level and breaking up scarring that has occurred in the tendons and ligaments.  The controlled re-injuring of tissue allows the body to regenerate blood vessels and bone cells.  The resulting re-vascularization leads to faster healing, reversal of chronic inflammation, stimulation of collagen and a return to pre-injury activity levels.

To find out more about Shockwave Therapy, and to find out if this treatment is right for you, please contact our health care practitioners at 250-382-0018.

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Graston Technique – Soft Tissue Treatment

Graston2The Graston Technique is an instrument-assisted, soft tissue mobilization therapy.  The Graston Technique safely removes scar tissues and scar tissue adhesions that have occurred as a result of chronic inflammation, injuries, repetitive motion or from old injuries of the past.

Graston Technique enables practitioners to effectively detect and treat scar tissue and restrictions that affect normal function.  The technique uses specially-designed stainless steel instruments, along with appropriate therapeutic exercise, to specifically detect and effectively treat areas exhibiting soft tissue fibrosis or chronic inflammation.

Graston instruments are used to enhance the practitioner’s ability to detect adhesion,  and scar tissue in the affected area. The stainless steel instruments are moved over the area of concern and “catch” on fibrotic tissue, which immediately identifies the areas of restriction. Once the tissue has been identified, the instruments are used to break up the scar tissue so it can be absorbed by the body. Each instruments combines concave and convex shapes to  allow the instruments to mold to various contours of the body.  This allows the practitioner to isolate adhesions and restrictions, and treat them very precisely.

The instruments are beneficial in breaking up fascial restrictions, scar tissue adhesions, and detecting areas of chronic inflammation and fibrosis.

Graston treatments can help with conditions such as :

Cervical sprain/strain
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Tennis & Golfers elbow
Rotator Cuff Tendinosis
Achilles Tendinosis
Scar Tissue
Lumbar sprain/strain
Plantar Fasciitis
Knee Pain/ Runners Knee
Fibromyalgia

The goal of this therapy is to reduce the patient’s pain and increase function by breaking down the scar tissue and fascia restrictions that are usually associated with some form of trauma to the soft tissue (e.g., a strained muscle or a pulled ligament, tendon, or fascia).  This therapy also reduces restrictions by stretching connective tissue by rearranging the structure of the soft tissue being treated (e.g., muscle, fascia, tendons, ligaments).

Normal tissue can be dense, with regular elongated fibers running in the same direction, such as tendons and ligaments; or dense, irregular and loose with fibers running in multiple directions.  In either instance, when tissue is damaged it will heal in a haphazard pattern–or scarring–that results in a restricted range of motion and in many instances causes pain, which prevents the patient from functioning as they did before the injury.

The Graston Technique separates and breaks down collagen cross-links, and splays and stretches connective tissue and muscle fibers, increases skin temperature, increases the rate and amount of blood flow to and from the area, increases cellular activity in the region, and facilitates reflex changes in the chronic muscle holding patterns.

The Graston Technique can be used in conjunction with both Ultrasound, and Laser Therapy to help speed up the recovery time.

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Tennis Elbow

Tennis ElbowTennis elbow is an overuse and muscle strain injury caused by the repeated contraction of the forearm muscles that you use to straighten and raise your hand and wrist and affects 1% to 3% of the overall population.  Repeated motion and stress to the tissue can cause inflammation or even a series of tiny tears in the tendons that attach the forearm muscles to the bony “knob” at the outside of your elbow, and the results can be painful.

Many common activities other than playing tennis, can cause this painful condition, including gardening, working around the house, or any activity that involves repetitive twisting of the wrist.  Pain and weakness caused by tennis elbow can make it difficult to do simple everyday activities such as shake hands, use a doorknob, or hold a coffee cup.

If you think you have tennis elbow, it’s always best to consult a healthcare provider to get an expert opinion.  Luckily, up to 90% of cases can be remedied by nonsurgical treatments, and symptoms usually diminish within four to six weeks after receiving appropriate treatment.

For immediate relief, often just resting and applying ice may help relieve symptoms, and anti-inflammatory medications can help reduce pain.  Braces or wrist splints may also help to relieve the symptoms of tennis elbow along with specific range of motion exercises.

The type of treatment prescribed for tennis elbow will depend on several factors, including age, overall health, medical history, and severity of pain. The goals of treatment are to reduce pain or inflammation, promote healing, and decrease stress and abuse on the injured elbow.

Physiotherapy & Chiropractic treatments can help treat tennis elbow; using a combination of Ultrasound, Class IV Laser, Shockwave Therapy and Graston Instruments to reduce inflammation. Specific exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles of your forearm will help to strengthen those muscle and keep the chance of tennis elbow from re-occurring.

Your practitioner will also discuss changes you need to make to your work environment, sport technique or sports equipment that you are currently using.

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Victoria Public Health Knows That Loneliness Has A Genetic Link To Illness

Victoria public health knows that loneliness has a genetic link to illness and that lonely people are more likely to get sick and die young because it affects their immune systems, according to new research.

Scientist at the University of California looked at the DNA of isolated people and found that chronically lonely people have distinct patterns of genetic activity, almost all of it involving the immune system.

Much like the age old question which came first the chicken or the egg, the study does not show which came first – the loneliness or the physical traits. Study author Steve Cole, a molecular biologist at the University of California said: “This study shows that the biological impact of social isolation reaches down into some of our most basic internal processes – the activity of our genes.”

Victoria Public Health Knows That Loneliness Has A Genetic Link To Illness

Photo Credit: discovermagazine.com

American scientists used a “gene chip” to look at the DNA of isolated people and found that those who described themselves as chronically lonely had weaker immune systems.

Their findings were remarkable – All 22,000 human genes were studied and compared, and 209 stood out in the loneliest people.

“These 200 genes weren’t sort of a random mishmash of genes. They were part of a highly suspicious conspiracy of genes. A big fraction of them seemed to be involved in the basic immune response to tissue damage,” Cole said. (The report has been published in the journal of Genome Biology).

The findings suggest that the loneliest people had unhealthy levels of chronic inflammation, which has been associated with heart and artery disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other ills. Victoria Public Health knows that loneliness has a genetic link to illness, so the first step is to start talking about how you feel and take steps to let people into your lives.

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