Author: Sarah East, Chiropractic Assistant

Hello everyone. My name is Sarah and I am a Chiropractic Assistant (CA) in our Christiansburg's office. Dr. Matthis had asked me if I would like to write about some of the challenges I face as a CA and how to overcome these challenges.

Something I am very passionate about is archery. I have only been shooting for a short time, about 3-4 years, but in this time I have found that I'm actually pretty good with a bow. Archery, being a CA and working in a chiropractic office may sound like they would have nothing in common but they are actually quite alike. There are many different aspects of a bow and each part is needed in order to shoot successfully. I always want to make the best shot I can and in order for me to do that each part of my bow needs to be working correctly. The same is true of our office, each of us have different tasks that we perform day to day in order to give our patient the highest quality care and the greatest over all experience possible.

This past weekend I went to an archery tournament. I was having some trouble getting my arrow to hit the target in the right spot. This was getting very frustrating. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. I thought that maybe something was messed up with my bow. I had to check each part of my bow. I checked the sights, the string, the rest, all these different parts of my bow. After I made sure everything was ok with my bow, I still couldn't figure out what was wrong. I had ask another archer for help. I had him watch me shoot. I wanted him to help me rule out the possibility that I was doing something to make my arrow fly wrong. After he watched me, he said that he thought I was doing everything just right. But that still didn't solve my problem. We had to step out of the tournament action for a minute and start making some changes. We had to get out the range finder, this tells you how many yards the target is away from you. After checking the distance and shooting again, it turns out that my sights were not set correctly. After we reset my sight I was back to making great shots.

Just like with archery, being a CA can have its challenges too. Sometimes it isn't always clear what the problems are or how to fix them. One thing I have to do, as I did in the archery tournament, is check the basics. I do my own self-evaluation first. If that doesn't work then I have to ask for help and see if maybe someone else can tell me what I need to change or do differently in order to make things work better. Sometimes it’s hard to ask for help but that is how we all grow and become better at what we do. Whether my goal is to hit a target with an arrow or to hit our collections goals, I need to be at my best and to be at my best I need feedback from others.

So if you ever have questions about what you are doing, just ask someone. Bounce ideas off of each other, you'll learn something new!

Author: Lee Matthis, DC

I recently had a lady join our practice who was pregnant.  She became a patient because her baby was in the breech position (head up in the womb) and she heard I could help.  This patient  was aware that my daughter had also been breech during my wife’s pregnancy and that a chiropractic technique had greatly aided in her “turning” prior to labor.

We were taught in chiropractic school that a breech position in late gestation is often due to an intra-uterine constraint.  These are often caused by improper tension on the uterine ligaments due to a misaligned pelvis.  A technique is also taught in our pediatrics curriculum known as Webster’s Technique, named after its inventor, Dr. Larry Webster (http://icpa4kids.com/about/webster_technique.htm).  This technique addresses the improper pelvic alignment as well as the ligamentous constraint.  The correction of both problems allows for freer fetal movement, often resulting in the baby moving itself into the proper head-down position for labor and delivery.

After the history and evaluation, we began working with our “mother-to-be” using the analysis and adjustments as needed.  She reported, after several visits, a great increase in the baby’s movement after she received an adjustment.  She also reported sleeping better and a strange disappearance of her headaches! And after roughly six visits, she came in smiling and said, “Dr. Matthis, this baby is head down!!”

There was a great joy in my office that day.  A patient was impacted in a way that would allow her to continue in her pregnancy with one fewer stress.  Mother and baby will now be able to experience birth, a natural process, with one less intervention.  While, my wife and I eventually had to seek other professional interventions to aid in our daughter’s turning (Thank you, Dr. Roberts!!), I was able to help this patient avoid an unnecessary visit to the delivery ward prior to her labor.

Author: Logan Brooke, DC

The first Chiropractic adjustment was given in 1895 by D.D. Palmer. Chiropractic care has been achieving tremendous results with patient care.  Unfortunately until recent years Chiropractors have only been able to theorize why so many patients improved with their care.

Initially, Chiropractors stated that when a bone of the spine or vertebrae misaligned it put abnormal amounts of pressure on the nerve that it was designed to protect.  Essentially a hard bone was pinching a soft nerve.  That pressure prevented the nerve from working properly and thus caused symptoms or dis-ease in the body.  (Yes, I did mean dis-ease meaning the body is not at ease.)  The theory was later proved to be accurate when it was discovered that it only took the weight of a dime to alter the function of that nerve.  Thus, when a Chiropractor would deliver an adjustment, they would reduce the pressure on the nerve and the body would begin to heal.

Next, Chiropractors theorized that spinal joints could move out of position and scar tissue would develop around the joints thereby attracting fluid (swelling) and again would pressure the nerve.  This pressure would generally account for pain and immobility and is one of the main reasons why people visit a chiropractor today.  When a Chiropractic adjustment was delivered it would reduce the swelling, improve the mobility of the joint and decrease the pressure on the nerve.  Again, the body would begin to heal. 

Today, new research demonstrates how the loss of the central nervous system's ability to adapt to changes in your environment and recover has become the critical issue in achieving wellness and staying healthy.  The role of Chiropractic in improving the function of the central nervous system is the key to the benefits of care.  A series of EEG’s, which are specialized test that measure brain waves, demonstrated how a Chiropractic adjustment can alter the nature of the brain wave and allow the nervous system to essentially “restart.”  These new findings explain why Chiropractic care is so effective in helping patients that present with a range of symptoms from headaches/migraines to ear aches and indigestion. 

Author: Lee Matthis, DC

With the amounts of snow that have fallen this winter, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who has not had to shovel at least a little bit.  Most of the folks who have donned the snow boots and grabbed the shovel haven’t done so in quite some time and are most likely prove to injury. 

My office has had a theme of snow-shoveling-related injuries that may have been avoided.  Here are some tips to make sure you don’t join the masses and by keeping your spine safe.    

1- Wait until the snow quits falling-  This seems like a very common-sensical statement, but if there is snow in the driveway, you are not required to leave the house, and more is on the way, then leave it.  Let the neighbors think you are untidy because you’ll have enough energy left and be pain-free enough to help them clear their drive later.

2- Hydrate well-  In winter months our bodies require just as much water to function well as they do in the heat of the summer, but our thirst often isn’t as high.  Make sure your muscles are hydrated well to avoid possible injury.

3- Stretch-  Warm up prior to getting outside by doing some light stretching exercises.  This may seem silly, but certainly not as silly as lying in the yard in pain because you failed to take this simple step.

4- Take breaks-  All that snow fell over several days, so what makes us think we should clear it all in an hour?  Work in 20-30 time periods with “water breaks” in between.  Section the area to be cleared into smaller plots and clear one at a time.

These are a few suggestions that will help to avoid injury during the Winter Wonderland.  For more information on safe shoveling tips, visit this local article: http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/235601%20

Author: Lee Matthis, DC

I am often told during a consultation that a symptom or complaint “just appeared” or “I did like I always have” and it “just started.”  These statements point out how suddenly symptoms may appear, but after a thorough history, examination, and explanation of my findings the patient realizes, as I did, during my fact finding session, these problems have been around for a while and have “reared their head.”

You see, the body has a wonderful way of compensating for minor bumps and bruises that allows it to continue functioning as optimally as possible.  Over time these bumps and bruises add up and the body begins to adapt less and less and the injuries are expressed, seemingly out of the blue, as symptoms/ pain.   This process can take days, month, years, and even decades to lead to pain that leads a person in my door.

The healing time for persistent problems is often proportionate to the amount of time the injury has been present and increases if the problems have been ignored after their initial occurrence.  For these reasons, we suggest treatment specifically designed for individual patients and their needs with the attempt to get rid of not only the painful symptoms that brought them to our office, but to get rid of the cause of those symptoms as well!