One minute researchers are telling us to wear motion control shoes and the next they are telling us that free motion shoes are the key to injury-free running.  What is the truth?  Which shoe is best for me?

Learn more here about what Vancouver Chiropractor, Dr. Carla Cupido has to say about this in her recent newsletter.

A very interesting paper was published in European Spine Journal this month entitled Altered Breathing Patterns in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients.

The research proved that patients with chronic low back pain often experience altered breathing patterns while performing movements involving the core muscles.  This is relevant for anyone who moves and has low back pain!  Let’s define each of the patterns that were considered impaired:

Breath holding:  Pretty self explanatory.

Paradoxical breathing:  Chest wall moves in on inspiration and out on expiration (reverse of the normal movements).

Upper costal breathing:  Upper chest moves with inspiration and expiration while the diaphragm is not properly engaged.

Mixed pattern breathing:  Any of the above patterns mixed together.

The ideal breathing pattern was deemed to be costodiaphragmatic breathing.  This pattern is defined by the ribcage displacing upwards, outwards and forward with outward abdominal movement (which is reversed on expiration).

The core muscles that surround our lumbar (low) spine take on the shape of a cylinder with the diaphragm at the top, the pelvic floor at the bottom, the abdominals at the front and the back muscles bringing up the rear.  If there is a sense of instability in the low back, it is thought that individuals alter their breathing patterns, using their diaphragm to aid in stabilization.  Therefore if you have chronic low back pain, you may be utilizing one of these abnormal breathing patterns to help stabilize your low back (which is not good).

Much research is still needed on this topic, but breathing patterns should be assessed in chronic low back pain patients as they could be perpetuating the problem.

Rousell et al., Altered Breathing Patterns in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients. European Spine Journal. Volume 16, Pages 1066-1020.

Dr. Meschino is not only a doctor of chiropractic and naturopathic medicine; he also has a master’s degree in nutrition; that is ten years of post-graduate studies!  Dr. Meschino is an evidence based doctor, this means that he only practices and teaches what has been proven in research.  The research, whether taught by naturopaths, medical doctors, or biochemistry professors states that essential fatty acids are very important for us.  Learn from Dr. Meschino’s video why essential fatty acids are ESSENTIAL.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was utilized extensively throughout the 20^th century in a number of military and industrial applications. Asbestos exposure occurs when the material becomes damaged or deteriorated and the microscopic fibers are released into the air where they can be inhaled or ingested. Exposure to asbestos is the primary cause of a rare and aggressive cancer known as mesothelioma.

The combination of disease symptoms and treatment side effects can cause mesothelioma patients a great deal of pain. Cancer patients have included chiropractic care in their course of treatment to help control pain and alleviate headaches, tension and stress.

Chiropractors seek to restore mobility and alleviate pain through a variety of different treatments including spinal adjustment, massage, stretching movements, rehabilitation exercises and numerous modalities. These doctors devote careful attention to the biomechanics, structure and function of the joints of the body, the musculoskeletal and neurological systems, and the role played by the proper function of these systems in the preservation and restoration of health. A doctor of chiropractic is one who is involved in “the treatment and prevention of disease, as well as the promotion of public health, and a wellness approach to patient healthcare.”

Two studies published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics observed the cases of two patients fighting cancer. A 57-year-old man diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer experienced significant pain relief and was able to lower the amount of medication needed following chiropractic care. An increase in his quality of life was also reported following visits to a chiropractor.

A 54-year-old man who was diagnosed with lung cancer (a cancer often related to asbestos exposure) began seeing a chiropractor a year after going through surgery because he was unable to relieve the pain with the medications he was given. He experienced pain relief immediately after beginning chiropractic care and discontinued use of all pain medications after two visits to his chiropractor. The Journal noted, “These clinical examples offer two specific instances of how chiropractic may improve the quality of a cancer patient’s life.”

Written for www.drcarlacupido.com by: Richard Moyle, American National Awareness Coordinator, Mesothelioma Center, Asbestos.com

What do these three objects have in common?  They can all be used for self myofascial release!

Foam rollers are becoming very popular among athletes.  They are used to help maintain healthy tissue between ART, Graston or other myofascial treatments.

I am constantly educating my patients on ways to keep themselves healthy outside of the clinic.  Rolling is something I often recommend.  When patients cannot afford to buy a foam roller or they don’t have enough space to store one in their home, I suggest a “budget”, space saving, and more environmentally sustainble option.  If you roll a tea towel around an empty wine bottle or rolling pin, the same results can be achieved as with a foam roller.  Yes, the foam roller provides more distance from the ground which makes rolling easier; however, these cylindrical objects can release tissues just as well.  You can modify the intensity of your self-release by the thickness of towel wrapped around the object you choose roll on.

Take home points:

1. Be gentle!!!
2. It shouldn’t hurt more than seven out of ten on a pain scale with ten being the worst pain you have felt.
3. Remember, your tissues need to recover from treatments just as they do from activity.  Therefore, begin gently and increase your time on the roller SLOWLY!
4. Give yourself at least a day inbetween rolling at the beginning.
5. This is great for ITBs, calves, forearms, etc..
6. Check in with your practitioner if you have questions about how to apply this to your body.
7. Remember that if something is tight, it is normally because something is weak, so get checked out by your practitioner to see what exercises need to be incorporated into your regime.
8. If you are rolling heavier parts of your body and are concerned about the wine bottle breaking under you, choose a rolling pin for those body parts instead.
9. HAVE FUN being healthy!

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Specialized Dizzy Cycles Team: Nieves Carrasco, Andreas Carmona (Team Director) & Pablo Araya [Steven Villabolos is missing in this picture

Over the past couple of months, I have had the pleasure of being the team chiropractor for the Specialized Dizzy Cycles Team based out of Kitsilano, Vancouver. The team is currently composed of three Costa Rican National Champions: Nieves Carrasco, Pablo Araya and Steven Villalobos. Nieves is a three time National Time Trial Champion; Pablo is a five time National King of the Mountains Champion and Steven is a three time National Mountain Biking Champion. Pretty impressive, especially since their resume includes many more impressive finishes in South America!

We don’t speak the same language, but fortunately team director, Andreas Carmona, also from Costa Rica, is a fantastic translator. Andreas brings these cyclists over from Costa Rica to race the Western Canadian circuit; this prepares them for their upcoming South American season while exposing them to the Canadian cycling culture. Andreas drives this team with unparalleled passion. I have found the combined passion, discipline and determination of this team to be incredibly inspiring.

I have enjoyed learning some Spanish, working on professional athletes who treat their bodies like temples and helping them remain finely tuned for competition. It has been a fantastic experience and it has served to further cement my affirmation that you don’t need to speak the same language as someone to understand them, respect them, help them, learn from them and become friends with them.

Thank you Nieves, Pablo and Steven for being such a joy to work with and to you Andreas, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your vision and passion!

For more pictures and information on the team’s results, check out my Facebook page as well as the Vancouver Sun, Pedal Magazine, and BC Cycling results pages.

One of my recent articles is featured in the new Squamish Climbing Magazine (on page 30).  In this article, I discuss the importance of our scapular stabilizers in both shoulder injury prevention and rehabilitation.  If you are a climber, a surfer, a tennis player, landscaper, or a parent lifting a child all day long, this article will be beneficial for you.

Lorraine Cupido Bala Triathlon

I had an interesting experience a few weeks ago when my daughter and I went for a run and we decided to incorporate push-ups and lunges among other exercises into our workout.  Carla, my daughter, prepared to lead me in jumping squats up a flight of stairs.  That was when it happened… I simply couldn’t make myself jump without holding onto the hand rail.

I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I needed or wanted to jump.  None of the athletic activities I am currently involved in require me to leave the ground with both feet at the same time and especially not up a flight of stairs.

It has become apparent to me that we have to remind our brains how to do some very basic movements at different times in our lives.  I often walk along curbs and move as I would on a balance beam.  This is such a natural thing for me to do but it had not occurred to me to jump and it was obvious that I had become very rusty at a once simple task.  However, it only took a few attempts before I was easily jumping and very gracefully I might add.

I remind myself when the opportunity presents itself to balance, jump and catch et cetera.  I give myself the chance to move in different ways whether I am in the water, on a mat, running or playing a sport.

This experience was a reminder for me that as I age it is important for me to incorporate balancing, running/walking, jumping and eye/hand coordination activities into everyday of my life, after all I want to be a stable, strong and independent senior.

Caitlin Griffin: Professional Dancer & Great Patient (http://caitlingriffin.zoomshare.com/)

There are many factors to consider when defining “great patient”; my list includes the following:

1. Dedicated to getting better
2. Committed to their exercises
3. Want to learn about their injury
4. Understand the importance of their involvement in getting better
5. FUN personality (this makes appointment times GREAT)

I have now had the pleasure of treating a number of professional dancers.  What I have learned from these experiences is obvious, but noteworthy: without healthy bodies, dancers cannot make a living.  For this reason, among many others, dancers make GREAT patients for they have no choice but to possess numbers one through four from the list above.

Dancers are more in tune with their bodies than average individuals and recognize when they require treatment and when they can manage things with self care and previously prescribed rehabilitation.  Many of the dancers I have treated are on limited budgets, but still make an incredible effort to look after their bodies properly.  The dedication they demonstrate to their health is admirable and I wish I could inject this into everyone I know!

Thank you to all of my patients; you have all been a joy to work with.  Let us all try to become “great patients” based on the definition above; I will work on this as well!  Feel free to ask me if I have been doing my exercises the next time we see eachother!