Going through a time of STRESS?

By. Terry Weyman

Stress is part of life, its just the way it is. HOWEVER, when the flood waters get a little high, sometimes we need a little help. Stress comes in many forms. And its effects are so strong that even the stress of others can have an impact on your well-being. The American Psychological Association reports that "only 37 percent of Americans feel they are actually doing an excellent of very good job of managing their stress". Not only can Stress be emotional, it can also be caused by over training!

What are you doing to help your stress? We all have read about stress relieving techniques, from mediation, positive self talk, breathing and changing your environment. However, what are you doing during the stressful times to just get by until the light at the end of the tunnel appears? Here are some quick tips to help.

Supplements to take: 

Supplements are just that. They SUPPLEMENT the diet when more is needed. If you are building a house and its time to put on the roof, do you want a few tiles to show up at a time or do you want truck loads to show up when they are needed? The average American diet is CRAP. We are not getting the nutrients necessary for daily survival most of the time, let alone in times of stress. So, when the body needs more, give it more. The basics are:

1. Vitamin C
2. B-Complex
3. Omega #
4. Valerian (if sleep is a problem)
5. Passion Flower

Get your supplements from your Doctor of Chiropractic. They carry only top quality, Professional strength Supplements that come from Companies that watch for cross contamination and purity/potency. Most top companies even have a "Stress formula" that has most of the above ingredients in one pill.

Exercises:

Talk to your Doctor of Chiropractic, Your MD, your PT or your personal trainer for basic stretches that can be done at your desk and place of work. Change blood flow and get things moving better.

Therapeutic devises:

There are battery powered devices on the market such as the Marc Pro (www.marcpro.com) that are FDA proven for tissue recovery! Recover tissue mean increased blood flow. Increased blood flow, means good nutrients in, waist products out. (use the promo code: GOTCSI to save some money-even more stress reduction)

Chiropractic Care

Muscle attaches to bone. When the muscles get tight, they pull on the joints they are attached to, plain and simple. By getting adjusted, the fixated joints are moved and loosened. By decreasing the joint fixation in a proper, non rotational manner, the tension on the muscle is relieved, increasing blood flow and decreasing internal stress.

All these simple tips can be done on the busiest of schedules. Take time to take care of yourself. God only gave you one body and our time on this Earth is limited so live life to the Max.

Dr.Terry Weyman is the Clinic Director at CSI. for more info go to www.gotcsi.com

It takes work to heal- Complex tear of Ankle

Dr. Terry Weyman

Ever wonder how the professional athlete comes back from "major and career ending injuries faster than the regular person"? Its because the hard work that make them the top 1 percent of all the athletes does not stop when they leave the field. They are willing to do what it takes to get where they want to go. You would never hear a Pro say "I don't have time to rehab, or, if my insurance doesn't cover it, I can't do it, or, my favorite, I can't do all of that, I have to work for a living". Professional athletes realise something, their body is their most valuable asset and without it working in perfect order, they can't go to work. They can't make money or live the life they want to live. Well, this journey I have taken to heal faster, but functional, has shown me many things. One, it takes a lot of work and time. Second, the money spent is far less than the money that I would lose in the long run with a bum ankle. Third, Anyone who values their body can do it!

As many of you know the standard for this kind of injury is bed rest with a cast for 2 weeks, then non wt bearing crutches for the next 4 weeks, then build into wt bearing and begin rehab to get the range of motion back. This is the standard that most Doctors (MDs and DCs) as well as Athletic Trainers and PTs go by. HOWEVER, when talking to colleagues of mine who work with NFL, MLB and Pro Cycling teams the rules change. Why, because their clients HAVE to get back to work and they can't have residual weaknesses. Why wait for scar tissue to build up then go to a PT to break it down in an attempt to get movement? Instead, under close watch, rehab the joint under light load and allow the scar to build in a functional manner.

MY days:

As you know I am back to work 3 days a week. M-W-F. These work days are long so I am using tue and thurs to recover and rehab. HOWEVER, to get through a full day requires extra work. I start my day on my Marc Pro for 45 min (http://www.marcpro.com/ Promo code: gotcsi) Then I eat breakfast and take my subacute supplements. I lather Traumeel on my leg (LA MDs are injecting Traumeel into joints now), put on my compression socks and walking boot, grab my crutches and head to the office. At the office I am not using the crutches to go from room to room but when I leave for lunch I use them. During my lunch hour, I hop in the Hyperbaric Chamber with the Erchonia Cold Laser and do the protocols for bone and ligament repair. More Traumeel, then sock back on and boot. Eat/supplements and its back to the office for my afternoon patient load. At the end of sometimes a 12 hour day, I get adjusted by one of my CSI Doctors, Dr. Amir Mahmud, to pull out the kinks from my altered gait and to restore neurological flow. Afterwhich I seek out my Acupuncturist, Dr. Shari Philips, who is kind enough to stay late. After an hour of Acupuncture its home for some Ice, rest and light Marc Pro. Finish up my paperwork from the day, take my Joint reconstruction supplements and then Kinesio tape my ankle for bed.

On Tue and Thurs the fun really happens. After breakfast, I go to the local pool and begin my exercise routine. Each day I add a little.

1. I swim 8 laps, adding one lap per day. 25 meter pool
2. Walk the width of the pool (competition regulation size) 10 times. Each day I
move 6" down towards the shallow end. I started with the water at shoulder level
Now its chest high. Each day adds a little more body weight to foot. I want
NO pain! I walk slow, concentrating on perfect gait.
3. Balance 30 seconds eyes open, 30 eyes closed on "bad leg". Same as #2, move
each day alittle more towards shallow end. NO PAIN
4. Walk backwards 5 times, same rules as 2.

Repeat 3 times.

I dry off and head to the hyperbaric for an hour of Hyperbaric (HBOT) therapy with the laser. Then Today I added something new. I paid a visit to the Neurotropia Brain Training Center. They work alot with the REDBULL athletes. What their machine does best is work with athletes who have anxiety and how to increase hand eye coordination, but it also helps "remap" the brain after injuries. What does this mean? When ever you have an injury there is a mental component that goes with this injury. Hence, the fear of return to play, guarded gait, lack of fight and overall fear of reinjury. I wanted to start work on this component now and not wait till its deep seated. The initial test showed I had some effects already, so I am glad I began when I did. (Gotta work on getting this technology over to CSI!)This process took another hour.

After lunch, I went home, rested and iced. Then Before Dinner, I was at it again, using a vibratory percusser to loosen the lower leg muscles to create blood flow to the foot. I went back on the Marc Pro for 45 min, then Kinesio tape for the remainder of the night.

That is my week. ARE YOU WILLING TO DO ALL OF THIS? Don't forget I have 2 young boys, sole income provider for my family and I am still working. Its because of ALL of this that I must do what I am doing. I don't have time and can't afford to be down, Plus, I AM WORTH IT. The money I am spending I will get back by being back to work full time in a short amount of time.

Make sure you are willing to do what you don't want to do, so you TOO can achieve what you want to achieve!

This is my schedule for the next two weeks. I will continue to work 3 days a week. My plan is to go back to full time (5-6 days a week) at week 5! OH did I mention because of the healing that I have witness, CSI has just purchased a HYPERBARIC CHAMBER!.

Want to learn more about this amazing tool and its uses, research HBOT therapy, mild hyperbaric Chambers. I have used it on numerous high level athletes with amazing results, now, it will be available to everyone at CSI.

Dr.Terry Weyman is the clinic Director at CSI, for more information go to http://www.gotcsi.com/

Chiropractic for Maximum Output!

By: Dr.Terry Weyman

Chiropractic is the fastest growing healing profession in the world today. Since Chiropractic is the branch of the healing arts that deals with structure and function, many athletes (both professional and amateur) have found great relief through Chiropractic health care. However, it is still overlooked as a tool for maintaining health and achieving maximum output for your athletic event.

In order to understand how Chiropractic can enhance your athletic potential, as well as your overall health, it is important to understand more about how Chiropractic works, and clear up a myths that you may have heard.

The spinal column is made up of 24 movable bones called vertebra that function together during movement. The most important function of the vertebra is to protect the spinal cord. The spinal cord is the body’s “switch board”. Just as the trunk and branches of a tree transfer nutrients to the leaves, the spinal cord transfers nerve impulses, through the neurological network, to all parts of the body. If we look at our lives from the time that we are born until the time we die, the body is in constant motion, even when we are at rest. The cells of our body are constantly dying and being replaced by new, health cells. Two and a half million of them will die and be replaced every minute of your life. This is a normal process. Health can be defined as the ability of the body to replace the cells and tissue structures normally and on a consistent basis. This will work properly as long as there is no interference between the brain (central computer) and the tissue cells. Research out of Colorado State University states “the amount of pressure on a nerve at a compressive force of a quarter on the back of your hand, 2 mm of mercury, can result in a loss of up to 60% nerve function”. The Doctor of Chiropractic calls this interference a Vertebral Subluxation or intersegmental dysfunction.

What is a Vertebral Subluxation/Intersegmental Dysfunction? A “subluxation” is a vertebra (back bone) that is not biomechanically aligned with the vertebra above and below which can result in abnormal pressure on the exiting nerve root. This pressure on the nerve root can cause an interference of the brains impulses to the tissue cells. This interference can result in abnormal cell production down the line leading to Pain/symptoms. This interference can also lead to the initiation of a Dies-ease process. As the study showed, this small amount of pressure can “dim” the affects of the nervous system. This “dimmed” nerve can cause a lack of maximum output, which can alter the performance of the muscles or organs, which the nerve supplies. A specific Chiropractic adjustment of the involved vertebra is the most effective way in correcting a Vertebral Subluxation and restoring nerve flow back to the cells.

Most people let pain guide their health care regiment. What they don’t know is the subluxation may or may not involve pain. Pain is you body’s alarm system and only enters the picture when at least 50 percent of damage has taken place if it enters the picture at all- (some organs do not have pain sensory fibers at all) As a society, we’ve been indoctrinated into thinking that pain is bad, when in reality its our body’s alarm system to prevent us from further injuring ourselves. Careless use of drugs in the form of pills, anti-inflammatories and other medications can mask the pain allowing the athlete to continue the activity that caused the damage in the first place. If your car’s oil light came on would you cut the wire so the light went out and the say, “Good now my car isn’t low on oil anymore.” If you had this attitude, eventually your car would seize and fall apart. The same thing happens to your body if you keep ignoring or masking the pain. This is why a lot of athletes develop chronic injuries.

In athletics, and life for that matter, there is a tremendous amount of stress placed on the musculoskeletal structure. Since out body is a Biomechanical Kinetic Chain (hip bone connected to the thigh bone), when one area is injured it can affect the entire structure. Any imbalance, can cause pain, weakness, lack of function and overall a decrease in your maximum output. If the imbalance isn’t corrected and you cover up the symptoms your body is sending you, over time, this will lead to degeneration and an early retirement form your sport. Many athletes both professional and amateur use Sports Chiropractors as a form of body mechanics maintenance.

By correcting the biomechanical misalignments and allowing the body’s nervous system to function at its maximum, you too can achieve results that are often unbelievable. People are constantly underestimating the body’s healing capacity.

Dr. Terry Weyman has been caring for top level athletes for over 20 years. He is the owner of Chiropractic Sports Institute. For more info check him out at www.gotcsi.com

Getting ready for the slopes the right way!!!

By: Dr. Amir Mahmud

With the upcoming snow season around the corner many of us are getting ready to hit the slopes. We are buying the newest boards, bindings and snow gear to help us perform better. But the one thing we usually don’t think about is that a healthy body can significantly contribute to enhanced performance. Here are a few tips on how to get ready for the slopes and what to do in order to prevent injuries.

• Warm up/stretch prior to hitting the slopes:

o Like any other sporting event it is a good idea to warm up and stretch to
Getting ready for the slopes the right way!!!

o Warming up and stretching increases your flexibility, which can help prevent sprains/strains and as a result improve your performance.

• Get on a strength program:

o In order to avoid low back injuries associated with twisting and jumping it is essential to have a strong core for stability.

o Strengthening the knee is also crucial for winter sports. Your knee acts as a hinge in between your hips and ankle. With the ankles strapped into your boots a lot of the pressure is going to be put on the knees. As a result knee injuries are very common in snowboarding and skiing.. In order to prevent knee injuries you want to strengthen your quads, calf’s and hamstrings. Simple exercises such as calf raises, wall squats, lunges and hamstring curls work great for knee stability.

• Wear a helmet:

o This is going to be very crucial when it comes to injury prevention. No matter if you are playing a contact sport like football or a non contact sport such as snowboarding or skiing wearing a helmet can prevent catastrophic brain injuries and save lives.

• Get adjusted:

o You might ask why do I need to be adjusted? Adjustments help normalize the body’s biomechanics, restore abnormal function, and increase muscle strength. As a result you will have increased range of motion, which will enhance your ride.

Hope these tips have helped you. If you have any specific questions in regards to strength programs or specific injuries feel free to drop us a line and we will get back to you. Have fun out there and be safe.

Dr. Amir Mahmud is a Sports Chiropractor at CSI (Chiropractic Sports Institute) in Westlake Village. Dr. Amir has vast experience working with athletes both professional and Amateur. He is the current Team Doctor for the Newbury Park HS Lacrosse team and travels with the Mobile CSI Sports Medicine team caring for athletes across southern California. He can be reached at (805) 371-0737. www.gotcsi.com

Improve your golf game, with a sense of balance!

By: Dr. Terry Weyman

In the spirit of the World Cup Challenge at Sherwood Country club, a few weeks back, I decided to write about the great game of Golf. Still, I waited a few weeks for the Tiger jokes to drop off, since it was too easy and focus back on the game and how to improve your strokes for 2010. Maybe you thought with the title of this article I was going to be talking about making sure your home life was in good shape before you hit the course, but NO, I am going to talk about how to get more yards when you strike the ball without spending another grand on the newest club.

Since Golf is pure biomechanics and all about generating power from the body that transcends from the club to the ball, balance is the key! When your body is in perfect balance, your ball will go straighter and go longer. So, let's find out how we can tap into the little secret that the pros have used for YEARS!

What is balance? Let's first take a look at what happens when your balance system is not working properly. If you’re an athlete, simple things like movement, standing up, generating torque and bending down are severely effected. Balance effects all athletic endeavors and some experts have named balance training as the key to overall athletic improvement, strength, and performance.

How the Balance system works.

Human beings keep their balance when nerve signals from three different systems are accurately sent to and processed by the brain. The three different systems are the eyes (vision), pressure sensors in the legs, feet and torso (proprioception), and inner ear balance organs (vestibular system).

1. VISION- Vision provides necessary information to the brain about our relationship to the environment. As we move and see how objects in our world are changing, our brains calculate our body’s relationship to those objects.

2. Proprioception- Humans seem to rely primarily on signals from the pressure sensors in the legs, feet and torso (proprioceptors) to maintain good balance. Birds and fish rely primarily on their inner ears (vestibular) system for balance. Since humans stand on only two legs, we must continually use muscles to remain stable. This is the system that we can train, improve, and fine tune. Getting foot inserts (our KLM over the counter or more specific custom orthotics), training on balance trainers such as the INDO BOARD.


3. Vestibular- The inner ear balance organs (vesibular systems) send signals to the brain about head and body movements relative to gravity. The brain selects the most accurate signals from the three balance systems and sends messages back to the muscles of the limbs, torso and neck to keep us stable and to keep our view of the world upright. The more signals the brain receives and sends, the better the balance. Sometimes the signals the brain receives or sends are disturbed, so balance becomes difficult.

How to achieve total balance.

As described above, to achieve total balance requires the teamwork of several systems. There are several other factors that contribute to total balance such as how we breathe, our mental state, muscle tone and control, body position and how we stand.

1. Breathing- Calm breathing from your gut (diaphragm) is the breathing method of choice. The other way we breath is call “neck breathing” and that is when we use our shoulders to inhale the air. This puts our center of gravity higher also does not allow the body to completely relax. By breathing from our “gut”. We keep our center of gravity lower thus allowing us to stay more relaxed fluid and balanced.

2. Mental state- Clear your mind before beginning any form of balance training. When our mind is aggravated, stressed out or busy our body is tense. A tense body is not fluid. For example, take a bag of water and a ridged pole. Try to balance each on end. The bag of water moves with the surface in a smooth and fluid motion while the pole falls with the slightest movement.


3. Muscle tone- remember the saying “your foot bone is connected to the leg bone….”. Well this is true in that your skeletal structure is all connected from your feet to your head and the muscles tie all of these bones together and allow motion to take place. Since our center of gravity is centered on the pelvis we must be concerned with the muscles and joints that support the pelvis. Our feet are our foundation. Our Quadriceps (the front part of our legs) support the lower front of our pelvis, the hamstrings (back of leg) support the lower back half. Our stomach is opposite of our lower back which takes care of the upper portion of our pelvis. Muscle tone and flexibility is important for all of these structures to have equal tension and pull on the pelvis. If one of these areas are weak the whole system will be effected. As I have talked about many times, muscles attach to the BONE and Joints! If there is any tightness in the muscle the nerves will hold and restrict the joints. WHY DO YOU THINK the top 20 PRO Golfers have Sports Chiropractor on staff (I have been one). Why because the top Golfers get worked on before AND after every big round of golf to keep the body in perfect joint/muscle harmony. ALSO, with every injury use a balance trainer such as the INDO BOARD to rehabilitate your injury faster and to keep the proprioception in working order.

4. Body position- lower your center of gravity is the key to perfect and long lasting balance. By keeping your feet even with your shoulders, dropping your “butt” by bending your knees and keeping your back straight, keeping your arms out but thumbs down (pointing towards your center) we can achieve balance position. Keeping our knees bent and back straight is a key. The key to this is keeping your head up and looking straight ahead. Remember this, “you look down, you will go down”.

It is true that some people seem to have an innate sense of balance and others have to “work at it”. If you are considered a type “A” person then you will fall into the category of “need extra work”. Balance training is an excellent way of turning your mental intensity into focus movements for overall wellbeing.

Balance training beyond the greens.

Balance training is mandatory for any athletic event but also very important for any movement associated with life. Balance training has been shown to reduce the incidence of injuries to the ankle, knee, hips, back and upper body. The role of balance training in maintaining functional joints stability is also an excellent form of rehabilitation for injuries to the above structures. When you injure a structure, ligaments or joint capsule the proprioceptive signal is weakened. This weakened signal inhibits the normal motor response and diminishes the neuromuscular stabilization of the joint. This condition contributes to a pattern of repetitive injury. Try the following tips to help your balance achieve PRO STATUS!

• Wear inserts or custom orthotics (go to your CSI Doctor)
• Get adjusted regularly (go to CSI-get tuned up)
• Use balance trainers such as the INDO BOARD daily (eyes open and eyes closed)
• Stand on one foot while brushing your teeth (left foot first min of brushing and right foot second min)
• Try cross training with yoga

Use Balance training to break the cycle. If you want to hit father and save money on new and expensive clubs, then follow these quick steps and the only thing falling will be your handicap!

Dr. Terry Weyman
CEO Chiropractic Sports Institute
www.gotcsi.com

How to detox your lungs during and after the fires

Unfortunately it is that time again, FIRE SEASON!! This season is one of the worst I have seen in over a decade. With several different fires that are burning in our area, the air quality is very POOR. Schools are closing, sports practices are being cancelled and people are getting sick. Many of our patients have been suffering from nasal congestion, asthma, lung issues and headaches along with burning itchy eyes and feeling overall lethargic. We here at Chiropractic Sports Institute are dedicated to help all those who are suffering from the fires.

At CSI we can help in several ways. The first and most effective is the EBR Cellular Cleanse Therapy. This therapy helps eliminate cellular waste along with increasing the body’s natural energy and balancing the Ph of the body. This influx of available energy and increased O2 to the cell, created by the EBR Cellular Cleanse, helps to restore the cell back to its natural frequency and homeostasis. This return to homeostasis is what the cells need to heal after injury and restore proper function and health.

Another necessary tool to fight fire with fire is proper supplementation to help restore proper biochemistry. Add vitamins and minerals during this time of extra smoke and stress to enhance both the immune system and boost the respiratory function. For the next month you should add to your morning supplementation, Vitamin C, Strong Antioxidents (we use Anabolic Labs Selanace), Strong B Complex for stress (we use Tri-Adrenopen also by Anabolic labs or metagenics) and zinc lozenges.

During this time of stress and smoke we put together a smoke detox special. We want everyone to have the opportunity to benefit from the EBR Cellular Cleanse so we are offering a special of 6 treatments for $150. Each treatment is normally $50 each. These 6 treatments will allow the body to heal itself and decrease the effects caused by the smoke. If you are interested please call our Westlake office at 805-371-0737 or our Moorpark office at 805-531-1188 and schedule soon to start getting healthier TODAY. You can also get the above vitamins at any of our offices or on our website.

Take care,

Dr.Terry