Topic: PKHealth, and a shameless plug

[Ken PKChiro]

hey all, this is a shameless plug.

I am seeing outpatients now, which means i can see you guys.  I am located in San Jose, so this really only pertains to anyone in the area or visiting, but i figure I'd post here too. Many of you have seen me demo stuff, but of course I've been limited in what i can do outside of clinic. Here's a little intro nonetheless:

I am a traceur of about 4 years as well as a chiropractic intern. Through my education I have specialized in Parkour type of injuries and long term issues. If you've ever wondered what Parkour will do to your body, you should come on in to the clinic and I can show you and then fix you.


So, what do i do. I make sure things are moving right. IF things are not moving right, parts of your brain are not stimulated, and they degrade. If they degrade, your muscles, joints, movements, coordination etc degrade. Seeing a chiropractor should be as common as seeing a dentist to prevent these problems that lead to big problems.

In addition to that, PK leads to injuries like any discipline.  Long term degenerative changes can and will happen to many of you, but anyone who loves to do something has to deal with the consequences.  That's why I'm out to prolong your performance and get you all back to full ability as fast as possible by making it easier for your body to heal itself.


About me: I hate to be arrogant, but, I'm good. haha, I'm the first student to speak and publish a paper with the international college of applied kinesiology. I've won several scholarships, and in school i tutor about 20+ students, which is about 1/10th of the student body in technique. I am a TA in labs and ran 5 of the technique clubs during my time at school, something that's never been done before. In other words, you'll be getting good care, i swear . (I already said this was a shameless plug)

Now, how much is it? Cheapo. 8 dollars a visit for students. 21 dollars for anyone else. that's it. And if you need x-rays, its like 20 dollars, a cost that would be hundreds anywhere else. So good stuff.

Call me if you want to schedule an appointment. 303-478-7129 or e-mail me for questions/post here Cheetaur@gmail.com

Ken

[chipset]

Where is it? Do you check knees too?

[Ken PKChiro]

The clinic is in San Jose CA, 90 E tasman dr 95134.  and of course i look at knees .  In the future i hope to really get into the pk world healthwise so i'd better do knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, shoulders, etc.  pretty much any part of the body.

[chipset]

If I'll be going to Cali I'll contact you

[Ryan Ford]

He is the real deal! I can definitely vouch for everything he said, he is very good and knows what he is talking about. He has worked on my ankles, feet, and shoulder and even though it was brief, it still helped a lot. I can only imagine what he is capable with with the necessary time and tools at his disposal to do everything he needs. So if anyone needed a testimonial, well, there you go.

[Olinek]

Maybe you are good or great or what not. But saying that "Seeing a chiropractor should be as common as seeing a dentist" makes me cringe. I know of too many injuries and serious f#ck ups caused by chiropractors to take this piece of advice seriously.

Even though you may be an excellent chiropractor in the making, unfortunately others are seriously ignorant, unknowledgable and have just too much of a mistake rate to be considered productive...

Note: i'm not saying this as an attack against you in any way, only that quote based on experience, which was fortunately not personal.

[Ken PKChiro]

dude, i couldn't agree with you more honestly.  But then again, I don't trust doctors in general.  The repercussions of a bad chiropractor are tiny compared to a bad MD.  For instance, The insurance (all knowing about safety and health... or rather, where money is dangerous) charges under 5 thousand dollars for malpractice for a chiropractor.  This number is nearly 30,000 or up to 50000 a year for a MD.  In other words... Chiros are safe. We have the lowest insurance costs of ANY profession.  If that doesn't tell you something, nothing will.  So yeah, bad chiros exist, and i have seen TONS of them, ones i would never let touch me with a ten foot pole, but that's the same with a bad MD, anasthesiologist, dietitian, psychologist, pediatrician, dentist, etc etc.  Bad docs exist, though what you are saying is true, its the same statement for ALL health professionals. 

[Ken PKChiro]

oh and one more thing, I have seen too many people helped by chiropractor who know what there are doing to not take my statements seriously   there has to be a reason why we are the fastest growing health profession, the 3rd largest in the united states (only behind the dentists and MDs), and why there is such a high demand for chiros that most all the chiros that i know that are good have up to 6 month waiting lists to get in (demon can testify.  He tried to get in to my chiro back home and couldn't get in).  On top of that, these chiros ofter charge cash only.  In other words, people don't care that insurance wont pay for it, they'll pay for treatment out of pocket.  Therefore no matter what... it helps people, even with relatively few injuries and bad experiences. 

I'll stop, not to rant

[Steven Low]

Well, since you're probably not coming out to MD anytime soon here's my problem:

My back is imbalanced to the extent of a pretty fair amount of muscle hypertrophy. In this context, my left spinal erector is much stronger and more hypertrophied than my right. In addition to this problem my right glute is a fair bit stronger than the left. It *seems* that the right glute is a bit different from the left perhaps in either connection or hypertrophy because of a larger depression to the pelvis as compared to the left (when looking at each from the side view). My pelvis seems to be tilted slightly so that the right side is higher than the left. As far as I can tell, hamstrings are nearly the same amount of strength.

Anyway, I got one of my PT friends to help put my back into alignment as one of my vertabrae in the lumbar region was sitting crooked (which probably contributed to the problem), but I need a bit of advice on what types of exercises I can do for this.

Thanks.

[Ken PKChiro]

Steve,

I wonder at this hypertrophy.  Your spinal extensors would only be hypertrophied due to certain reasons... one, a neurological reason (which is extremely doubtful), and second, overtraining on one other side.  Your description definately helps in that it sounds like a imbalance is your pelvis.  This can happen because of an anatomical leg length inequality, or trauma, or simply side dominance.

I also wonder if you have developed some about of scoliosis, which rather than spinal extensor hypertrophy, would actually be rib humping to one side.  One thing you can do is see if that hypertrophy seems to disappear when you bend forward (ask a friend to observe), as well as the tilt.  If it does not disappear, i would definately suggest a structural scoliosis, if it does disappear, then i would suspect a functional cause of the hypertonicity.

That being said, i would guess that most of your problems come from the pelvis, and like you said, as i cannot see you, this is very difficult to simply say exercise thus... but anyhow, sidebending exercises with weights are a great exercise to stabilize the whole spine.  If you are sidebending to the right, most likely you will want to weight your right side as you bend left.  I would also guess based on your discription, that you have a easier time turning your torso to the left and a harder time turning your upper torso to the right.  Therefore, see if you can work out your transverse abdominals towards the harder to turn side, or the right if my guess is correct. 

Next, (difficult, may depend on you), look at when you stand naturally, at which leg turns outward more naturally.  That side most likely is going to be your right in your case (but not necessarily).  That side is going to be the side wher you are going to work out your internal rotators of the tibia (specifically the popliteus).  This can be done with stabilization exercises (one legged squats on that side) or simply by with a theraband, turning your foot inward (medial rotation of the tibia).  On the opposite side(the right), you'll want to work out your hip flexors, the psoas in particular.  This can be done with external rotation of the thigh, and hip flexion at the same time (to isolate the muscle).

Besides that, kinetic chain wise, check to see which piriformis is weaker (just palpate at the glutes for the low lying glut, probably again righth in your case) and you can also exercise that.  But again, that is all i can suggest without seeing you.  If we ever get a chance to meet up, give me a shot at it, and I probably could clear it out in 2-3 treatments... if not 1... but as you are living way out there... , those exercises are the best i can suggest.  Let me know how it goes, and try it!

hope it helps

ken

[Muse_of_Fire]

Okay... not having the training you do, Cheetaur, I am stumped by some of your advice to Steve. I'm merely hoping to expand my knowledge here.

I was reading your advice to Steve and when you talk about which side he turns out more naturally... why are you having him work on rotators of the tibia? I know turnout can happen at the ankle, but given that the knee does not have any rotational capability, most turnout happens at the hip socket. So considering this and the fact that you are potentially attributing part of his problem to the pelvis, why not work the rotators at the hip joint/glutes?

Again, just seeking guidance from a professional to fill gaps in my knowledge.

[Ken PKChiro]

muse, i love questions and would never be offended by them .  what i am trying to do is stabilize the tibia as yes, it doesn't rotate much, but I'm training the popliteus directly.  In the whole kinetic chain, I am taking all the muscles that are internally rotating the leg, thigh, etc and trying to strengthen them (this would also train the tibialis muscles as a group).  If he has a externally rotated leg, thigh, etc, then that will alter his gait so that he ends up walking somewhat sideways, and may contribute to the torquing up his torso.  We take what... 6-7000 steps per day on average?  If you walk sideways the whole time, how could that affect your spinal musculature.  By stabilizing the knee, and training all the muscles i can to turn that foot in, that will turn his gait more forward, and "unwind" his back. 

In addition, a externally rotated tibia is often in chiropractic correlated with a short leg.  , I am hoping its functional rather than structural, so by having him internally rotate the leg, it may relax the musculature that is tightening up and brining that leg shorter.

Now, as for your question of the hip, My goal was to strengthen the weak side with exercises.  I am of the camp that it is often the weak side that needs work than the tight side, though both camps have some truth to them.  Therefore, I tried to strengthen his external rotators of the hip on his opposite side, internal on his involved side (via squats to hit all the stabilizers at once).  His lateral bending on the opposite side, etc.  so absolutely, your right, but I'm trying to hit the whole anatomy train at once.  I also understand that the piriformis is on his right, and strengthening that would further externally rotate his femur, but, its connection is to the anterior sacrum which may contribute further to this whole torsional affect.

good enough?  let me know if you have any more questions .  A lot of this is common patterns, but without seeing him in person, i can't be absolutely sure, so i'm recommending a "hit em all" approach with minimal intervention.  If he came in, i would do a lot of muscle facilitation, adjusting, etc. but as i can't... i gotta stick to muscles

[Steven Low]

Here's what's going on from another analysis from what I can tell. I started DLing when I started having a bit of back pain and it made it go away (before I started training Parkour or strength and conditioning for gymnastics seriously). So that's probably where the extra 'side' hypertrophy is coming from. It DOES go away when I bend forward (well from looking at my back and feeling it with my hands) so that's why I suspect it isn't a case of scoliosis. However, when I do look at the line from my 'butt crack' (for lack of a better term) and draw a line straight up from it goes straight over my right spinal erector. So I probably have something weird.. maybe scoliosis.. in the lower lumbar spine or sacrum area. I am going to check out the pelvis tilt once I get home with some tools. I'll get back to you on this in another post with maybe some photos if you don't mind.

Turning my torso an in-training-PT said I have an easier time turning to the right because the muscles in my lower right spinal erector side were tight (and thus not being able to be stimulated well for hypertrophy). I have an easier time sidebending to the left probably because of a vertabrae misalignment which said in-training-PT corrected for me a few weeks back.

As for leg rotation: yes my right leg turns out a fair amount easier than my left. So with my right I should do internal rotation exercises while with my left I should work hip flexors and external rotation, correct? I'm pretty sure structurally my legs are about even.

Also, thanks for the help. I've been quite frustrated with this because while there is no pain I won't want to keep training important exercises like DL, squat, oly lifts and such to exacerbate the problem. The faster I can get this fixed the better. BTW, if there is another Colorado jam next year if you can come that would be great.. I'll probably be there. That's probably as far out to the West I'll be going for a while.

[Muhammad]

Cheetaur, what is your professional name?

*Telephone rings* "Yes, I would like to schedule an appointment with "Cheetaur". Yes, I said Cheetaur ma'am. He works there. No, don't hang up! Really, he works there. Just ask please.."

LOL

[Muhammad]

BTW Doctor Cheetaur, what do you recommend for lower back pain? I would come to your office for a consultation, but I live in Ohio and my truck is running low on gas.. I'm 34 years old, I don't do any jumps from height, and my right foot turns slightly outward when I walk (and has since birth).  The discomfort appears to be coming mostly from the left of my spine, in the lower lumbar region. Precision jumps aggravate it, and bending over at the waist and then returning to an upright position hurts a little. My knowledge of technical terminology is limited, so have mercy on me and try to use layman's terms.

[Ken PKChiro]

Steve,

yes, i would still work out those same muscles.  With scoliosis, there are two types.  Functional, and structural.  Functional is when it disappears when you bend forward (the spinal curves are due to muscles), and structural is when it does not disappear (you've had boney changes).  Long term functional problems will lead to structural problems due to wolff's law. 

I think we have to differentiate between the QL and spinal erectors in our discussions.  Side bending is done by the Quadratus lumborum, and is a very large muscular tissue mass besides the lumbar spine.  The spinal errectors extend your back (back bending) with slight rotation.  If your left spinal errectors are hypertrophied, you should be able to rotate to the left easier, not the right. (actively, passive may be different).  So based on your description, i'm a little confused.  Either way, a picture definately would be welcome.  A lateral shot, AP, and PA shots would all be nice.  If you can someone else to take a picture, a prone top down shot of the bottom of your heels when you are laying down relaxed on your face would also help... haha, online chiropractic right here.

But yes, if your right leg is turned out, most likely that is the right leg that is functionally short, which may be causing some of that tension in the back.  I'll give you more comments after the pics if you'd like .

[Ken PKChiro]

haha, muhammad, I'm not a chiro yet, so no doctor (for 1 more year).  I have one year of internship first so ken works.

for low back pain, there is plenty that can cause that, so it would be difficult to pinpoint again without that consultation.  Generally, the things i can recommend are as follows.

If it is stiff as you bend forward and back, and hurts a little (besides chiropractic help), and based on your age where the discs are starting to stiffen up and become less mobile, the best things you can do are stabilize your ligaments and your core.  Basic core exercises like the dead bug, etc will help.  ie. Lay on your back and try to press your low back into the floor (legs bent) and contract your gluts, abs, and pelvic floor muscles (like you are bearing down at stool), will help stabilize the spine there.  Also, WATER is huge, especially as the discs in your spine are mainly water.  You NEED at least 8 hrs of sleep a night for those discs to completely replenish, and also traction (hang upside down for about 5 minutes) 3 times a day will help.  Then, cut the coffee/caffeine out of your diet, and as much sugar as possible out (def no candy, sweets, decrease carbs, etc) will also help to stabilize your spine.  If there are 2 things i can get my patients to do, that would be drink water, and exercise regularly, that right there will do more than all i could do for them in the long run.  But if your problem is acute... well , see if those things help, if they don't, we can narrow stuff down and i'll give you more.

[Muhammad]

Thanks Ken. I will get to work right away, and report any success

[Steven Low]

Okay, here's the dealio:

Measured my pelvic tilt this afternoon -- the right side is approximately 1 cm higher than the left which would explain the left tilt near the sacral area of the spine trying to compensate to make my spine remain upright. Keep that in mind I guess when you look at the other stuff.

Alright so I really didn't want to ask anyone to take some pics so I made a couple of vids (6.6.1 or later DIVX should be good enough). They're in a rar zip file so you'll have to unzip it and you have I think about a week to get them otherwise I'll have to reupload. If there's any other shots you want me to get I'll try to get them.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dkj8e0

[Muhammad]

When I do sit-ups, on the way back down I can hear and feel a *pop* in by lower back. I hope I don't have a slipped disk.