Monta Vista Family Chiropractic

Hey there MVPs! Hope you all are having a great week and have a fun Valentine's Day weekend in store! For this week's post, we want to expand on what we discussed last week, which was how to start adding mobility into your day. Hopefully, the method you chose to try worked, but if it didn't - so what? Don't worry if the strategy you tried was unsuccessful. That just means it doesn't work for you. Try another strategy, and give it a go this upcoming weekend!... If you were able to successfully start mobilizing, now you're probably wondering how to optimally use your mobilization sessions. The first place you want to start is anywhere that's symptomatic. Sounds obvious, but sometimes you might not even notice the tension or discomfort until you take a second to think about it. When you start your mobilization session, take that opportunity to really check in with your body. Even if you are unsuccessful at releasing your tension in your session, it's a win from a neuromusculoskeletal point of view if you can build more mind-body awareness. After you've identified the area(s) that needs the most attention, there are a few broad categories you may choose from when adding in your mobility: exercise, stretching, massaging, and gentle mobilization/range of motion. Which one(s) you may choose will depend on how you feel: - Exercise is good for the body if you're in little to no pain - Stretching can help prevent muscle tension from building up if you're in moderate to no pain (but isn't great at relieving pain if it's gotten into the severe range) - Self massage has a more powerful immediate effect on muscle tension, so we recommend using it if you're in moderate to severe pain. It isn't great at preventing tension from building up though, which is why we tend to recommend stretching when in lower levels of discomfort - Gentle mobilization and rest is usually best to calm down irritation if you're in very high levels pain as stretching and massage may be too aggressive Having said that, these aren't strict categories. There are definitely some blurry edges, so feel free to do a little bit of both when you're on the borderline between two different groups. Also, on the subject of heat versus ice, we tend to recommend heat for stiffness and low level discomfort and ice for any pain levels above 5/10, as ice doesn't have the same risk of increasing inflammation that you can experience with heat. Below is a graphic to help visualize what you may choose to do in your mobilization session. Hopefully you find it helpful when choosing what to do on whichever body part you're working on. If there are any mobilization strategies you're unsure about, please make sure to check in with us at your next appointment! We'd be happy to help clarify anything you've been shown previously or teach you some new skills/techniques! Until we see you again - be happy, be healthy! And happy Valentine's Day!

Hey there, MVPs! Hope you've had an amazing week and are looking forward to your Super Bowl Sunday! How are your goals/habits that you've set for February looking? It's still not too late to get on them! For many of us, increasing our mobility is a big goal. I imagine that a lot of the people reading this are long-time patients who have been given many stretches and exercises and self massage techniques. Many of you may be wondering how and when you're supposed to do all thes...e things you've been taught. For February, I wanted to focus on how to incorporate mobility into your daily routines in a meaningful way. The first step might seem a little obvious, but sometimes it's important to start with the basics. Step 1: DO SOMETHING The hardest part of any routine is the creation of a new habit. Often we spend so much mental energy thinking about what we SHOULD do that we have a difficult time mustering up strength to do anything at all. So if you're new to habitual mobilization and you don't know what to do, just do something. ANYTHING. Cycle through a couple stretches, take your lacrosse ball/foam roller/massager out, or go for a walk. When you're trying to add mobilization to your routine, start by figuring out how to logistically incorporate sessions into your day. The longer you go between sessions, the longer the session should be. Mobilizing more frequently is preferred, but doing something is always much better than nothing, so do what you can. GOOD: 30 minutes 1-2 times per day - With exercise (massaging and active stretches before, passive stretching after) - During a meeting with video off BETTER: 5-10 minutes every 2-3 hours - Create a 3-4 short stretching breaks per day in your calendar BEST: 1-2 minutes every hour - Create a habit. You can put a sticky note on your chair (not your desk) as a obvious reminder to mobilize every time before you sit. - Use stand/posture alerts. If you have an Apple Watch/posture tracker, mobilize a little bit every time it alerts you to sit up/stand. - Set an alarm on your phone or smart watch, and then hit "Reset" to start the timer again. Give one of these strategies a shot, and then next week, we'll start discussing how to choose what kind of mobilization is the most appropriate. Until then, let us know if you have any questions, and as always - be happy, be healthy!

Hey MVPs! (Monta Vista Patients see what I did there? ) This week, we want to discuss a very commonly tight muscle that can lead to back pain: the hip flexor. Most people don't think of back pain when they think of hips, but the muscle that flexes your hip - like when you bring your leg up (kicking a ball) or bring your torso down (doing a sit up) - actually attaches from the your hip to the FRONT of your spine, inside your body. Weird, huh?... If you're having low back pain when you stand after sitting, when you try to sit up from laying down, or when you lift your legs, these can all be signs of hip flexor tension/irritation. One of the biggest reasons people experience so much hip flexor tension is that it's a postural muscle, which means - it helps hold you up! When you're upright, whether you're sitting or standing, certain muscles in your torso have to stay contracted or you'd fall over. The hip flexor is one of those muscles, and when you sit, it's not only contracted - it's shortened too. With COVID all around us, many people are spending a lot more time at home and sitting, so hip flexor tension is at an all-time high. But fear not! Periodic stretching can help relax this tension. Follow this link to see how you can incorporate some easy hip flexor stretches into your work breaks to reduce back/hip pain, tension, and irritation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KeB0tCCkrI&feature=youtu.be As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please check in with your chiro at your next appointment. Till then be happy, be healthy!

Hey everyone! It's been awhile since we posted, so we figured it's time to brush the dust off our Facebook account. January is almost over, and it certainly has been an eventful one! With our news cycle quieting we thought it might be time to check in on those New Year's resolutions. How're those going for you? If you're like most people? Not great. ...Continue reading