Keep On Running

The most important thing I’ve learned in my chiropractic practice when taking care of running athletes is that when injured, a serious runner doesn’t want to stop even after their body forces them to put their running on the shelf. My professional advice to all running athletes is to set the time aside to take care of the body, legs, and feet with an injury prevention program and smart training techniques before injury occurs.

Avoid chronic overuse problems that develop over time from poor running mechanics, worn-out or improper footwear, inconsistent preventative measures such as stretching, warming up, corrective exercise, massage, and chiropractic. Incorporating all of these into your injury prevention program can be helpful to make you a healthy and capable runner.

Here are the 3 most common overuse injuries that I see in my office.

1. Plantar Fasciitis or Heel Spurs

    Causes:

• Excessive training
• Poor shoe selection
• Excessive shoe mileage
• Heel strike or overstriding
• Flat feet with no arch supports

     Treatment and Prevention:

• Correcting Running Posture
• Correction of any abnormal pelvic tilt with Chiropractic
• Fixing muscle imbalances through corrective exercise
• Diligent and consistent stretching, foam rolling, Chiropractic Care, and Massage Therapy
• Myofascial Release Technique or Active Release Technique
• Mid-foot strike running gait pattern
• Tall relaxed posture while running
• Arch supports or Orthotics

2. Leg Pain or IT Band Syndrome

     Causes:

• Poor running posture, heel strike, and excessive bending at the waist
• Inward drawn knees (Genu Valgum) or knocked knee running
• Fallen foot arches
• Foot pronation
• Unaddressed pelvic issues

      Treatment and Prevention:

• Correction of any joint misalignment occurring in the lower back, pelvis, knees, ankles or feet with Chiropractic
• Massage, Myofascial Release Technique, and Active Release Technique
• Stretching and foam rolling
• Corrective exercise
• Arch supports or Orthotics

3. Runner’s Knee or Patellar Tendinitis

      Causes: 

• Poor running mechanics such as over-striding and heel strike
• Poor shoe selection
• Flat feet with no arch support
• Weak quads and hip flexors
• Tight hamstrings and calves

      Treatment and Prevention:

• Rest
• Ice to reduce inflammation
• Cryotherapy
• Address mechanical issues and running gait problems with corrective exercise and stretching
• Address muscle weakness and stretch the tight muscles

The very best tip I can tell the runner’s out there is to get properly assessed by a healthcare professional and set the time aside to maintain your body before injury occurs because running is a very demanding sport or form of exercise. If your car needs it’s oil changed and tires rotated every 3000 to 5000 miles, what will your body require to keep going? Take care of your body because you only get one.

 

Keep on Running,

Dr. Joseph J. Thomas

Chiropractic, Massage, Corrective Exercise, and Nutritional Support

 

 

 

 

 

Good Posture = Good Health

 

The month of May is “Posture Awareness Month”.  At Joshua Spine and Health Center our staff is challenging our patients to improve their posture and encourage their families and friends to improve their posture too. Do you have good posture? When you look at a person with slouched shoulders, head tilted towards the ground, and a rounded back, do you think they appear healthy? I don’t. When I see a person with poor posture I see a lack of muscular strength, weak structure, low energy – a defeated person with poor health. When you see a person with good posture what do you think of them? When I see a person with good upright posture I picture them as confident, youthful, full of energy, and healthy.

As you can imagine, not many people start off coming into our office with good posture. As a chiropractor it’s one of my first duties to improve this problem as it has many detrimental effects on a person’s overall health.  Poor posture can result in more than just back and neck pain. As a Certified Chiropractic Sports Practitioner I know the importance of balance and symmetry for the body to function at it’s fullest potential.  Poor posture can be even more serious than you think as it progresses.  It can lead to severe problems such as headaches, breathing problems due to the compression of the lungs, mood problems, depression, blood pressure problems, degenerative joint or disc disease, and it can even cause problems with the body’s hormone production.

How can you tell if you have poor posture? Remember that your body is symmetrical from side to side. If a line is drawn down your center, everything on the right should match everything on the left.  Signs of structural and postural problems will be seen in uneven shoulders, uneven pelvic bones, inward pointing or uneven knees, or feet that show inward or outward pressure instead of an even stance.  When assessing posture from the side view of a person, you should be able to drop a line straight down from your ear that should pass through your shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle. If any one of these structures is offline than you have structural issues that should be assessed by a healthcare professional. For example, forward head posture can add up to thirty pounds of abnormal weight to the spine. It can then lead to neck and upper back pain, headaches, arm and hand tingling and weakness, and sometimes carpal tunnel syndrome-like symptoms.

During Posture Awareness Month we are asking our Joshua Spine and Health Center friends to check the posture of their family members at home by using our postural grading chart. Be aware that poor posture leads to poor function and then poor health. If you should find a problem in a family member or yourself you should be scheduled for a complete postural and spinal evaluation. Here are some helpful tips to promote good posture:

• Keep your shoulders in line with your ears and chest up at all times including sitting in front of your computer, couch, or in your car driving
• Make sure your workspace is set up properly to prevent any forward head tilt down or excessive reaching
• Do NOT sit on a wallet, sit on your leg, or cross your legs at the knees (crossing your legs at the ankles is permitted)
• Do NOT spend hours looking down at your cell phone texting or reading your kindle (Hold your device up higher and maintain a chin that is level)
• See your Chiropractor for preventive or wellness care adjustments to maintain proper spinal and pelvic alignment

If good posture feels bad and bad posture feels good, then you definitely have a problem and should seek out a qualified health care professional’s help.

Thank you,

Joseph J. Thomas, DC, CCSP

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New Frontiers: Texas, Sports Chiropractic, and Family

Dr. Joe, Jess, Bella (boxer). & Howie (dachshund)

My name is Dr. Joseph Thomas and I am the chiropractor and owner of Joshua Spine and Health Center, PC.  My wife and I moved to Texas at the end of 2013 to start a new adventure by purchasing a chiropractic office in the town of Joshua.  For the past 11 years I worked in group practice in central Pennsylvania and felt it was long overdue to spread my wings and expand my horizons in my own practice. While in Pennsylvania I completed my Sports Chiropractic training and became a Certified Chiropractic Sports Practitioner or CCSP for short. In order to fully utilize my expanded education I decided it was time to have a clinic of my own in a place with a great enthusiasm for sports and family life. After a long search of exploring different regions of the country, we decided that Texas was the right place for us.

Owning and operating a chiropractic clinic focused on family wellness and sports in the state of Texas was a perfect fit for us. We could raise our future family, grow a practice, and help people in need in an place that was focused on community togetherness through youth sports, family values, and a foundation of sound beliefs.

We are happy to be in Johnson County and look forward to sharing more about health, chiropractic, and ourselves with our healthy-living bloggers and family of patients.

Thank you for reading,

Dr. Joseph Thomas

Board Certified Sports Chiropractic Practitioner by the ACBSP

Chiropractic, Massage, Corrective Exercise, and Nutritional Support

Hello, Natural Health Blogging World!

Hello, to everyone out there who is eager to learn about leading a healthier lifestyle.  Our new blog here at wordpress.com will focus on giving you up-to-date information about Chiropractic, nutrition, healthy living habits, and a broad scope of NATURAL health-related topics. Stop by to learn more about a healthier you every month for a new blog about Chiropractic and better healthier living. Thank you for reading and please come again.

Contact us or like us on facebook at Joshua Spine and Health Center or visit our website at joshuaspinehealth.com and joshuahealthcenter.com

Our Chiropractic office is located in Joshua, Texas, only 20 minutes south of Fort Worth.  Our clinic serves the surrounding communities of Burleson, Crowley, and Cleburne as well as the people of Joshua.

Contact us for your Chiropractic needs at (817) 641-1313.