Sun, 20 May 2012 22:51:09 -0800WeeblyThu, 10 Jun 2010 09:43:08 -0800http://123back.info/1/post/2010/06/sciatica-a-few-helpful-tips.htmlI found the information below on Sciatica written by the Mayo Staff. I must say, this has got to be the laziest, most uninformative description of sciatica I've ever seen!
Having been a sufferer of this condition in the past, I've learned what it is all about and how to take active measures to keep the symptoms to a minimum.  With proper education, improvements in public health & lifestyle choices and making bi-annual hygienic chiropractic visits, this condition can be prevented for the majority of our poulation. Lets start with the Mayo information:DefinitionBy Mayo Clinic staffSciatic nerveSciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve and its branches — from your back down your buttock and leg. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It runs from your spinal cord to your buttock and hip area and down the back of each leg.

Sciatica is a symptom, not a disorder. The radiating pain of sciatica signals another problem involving the nerve, such as a herniated disk. Depending on the cause, the pain of acute sciatica — which may be quite uncomfortable — usually goes away on its own within a couple of months.

In the meantime, self-care measures may help you ease sciatica. Sometimes, your doctor will suggest other treatment.

By definition, the Mayo staff does not infor from which part of the back, the sciatic nerve derives.  I mean, hell, some people point between their shoulder balades and tell me their back is hurting.  

So First, understand the sciatic nerve consists of several branches of the lower nerves deriving from the 4th through the upper sacral nerves that form into the greater sciatic nerve.  The nerve itself passes through an opening between the tail bone and the ischium (lower pelvis) sometime reffered to as "the sitting bones" in yoga class.  This greater nerve heads down the back side of the leg then splits into the peroneal branch and the tibial branch.  Each of these branches continue down the outer leg and foot or the anterior (front) of the leg and foot, respectively.



Second, Mayo suggest a disc problem right away as a source of the problem.  Uh??? Hardly! Most sciatica in my experience is from poor decision-making regarding health.  

Sciatica is preventable in most cases!

7 out of 10 people walk around with disc bulges, never knowing that they are "clinically at risk" of further herniation.  

Disc herniation is a severe symptom that can lead to specific neuropathic results that may or may not be associated with sciatica.  A herniation may lead to peripheral pain, numbness, tingling, or other sensations related to spinal cord interpretation of nerve signals.  

Motor (muscle loss) or weakness may result.  

So lets not rush to put sciatica and clinical symptoms of sciatica lumped into the same basket right away.



Next, lets look at the information that sciatica goes away in a few months.  This is a very lazy way to suggest that inactivity will lead to a successful outcome to this symptom.

Again, years of clinical experience in a chiropractic setting will lead any chiropractic physician to know that sciatica is generally a "sleeping giant".  This symptom represents an underlying clinical condition that may be related to anatomical somatic segmental dysfunction or soft-tissue change.

In fact, I would suggest that the decisions people make to be sedentary and/or poor in flexibility, lead to soft-tissue distortion and associated vertebral subluxation of the lower spine and sacrum.  It is this imbalance of posture, symmetrical weight distribution and flexibility of this region that contributes to sciatica. 

A doctor of chiropractic is trained to evaluate your sciatic complaints and provide solutions to manage this condition.  Unless the underlying anatomical elements of this condition are addressed as well as diet, and lifestyle choices, then it is likely to return.  A chiropractor is trained to manage the whole person, not just zip out of the exam room leaving you with a prescription and wondering when the next time will be for you to get... another presciption.


Here are some tips for your sciatica that don't involve drugs:

1. Lose weight

2. Chiropractic care

3. Yoga

4. Smart lifting Strategies

5. Change diet

6. Change occupation

7. Hot/cold packs

8. Get MRI

9. Learn body-mind strategies

10. Clinical Massage Therapy

Here's the worst thing you can do:

Wait for it to go away and pretend it won't show up again

Thanks for reading.

Yours in Health,



Steve Schultz, DC, RYT

]]>Sun, 16 May 2010 19:26:27 -0800http://123back.info/1/post/2010/05/one-door-closes-another-opens.htmlThis blog is a more of a positive inspiration.  The title of the blog was read from a fortune cookie I once had.  I opened it in my car on the way home.  In health, each day is similar.  With the start of each day there is a chance to try to be a better person, whether it is mental, physical, or spiritual.  These are all related to health.  Even in the last days, we can step forward into the light of saying I choose to be better than yesterday.  Perhaps it is only that realization that is the true understanding of Health.  Perhaps it is only the visualization or meditative release of old ideas that only support the destruction of well-being.  Sometime it is stepping away from that source internal or external that feed the old, that becomes the movement into the light and toward the stillness of balance.  


Yours in Health,


SM Schultz, DC, RYT ]]>Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:28:48 -0800http://123back.info/1/post/2010/04/wellness-by-design-can-hit-a-home-run.htmlIn an article of USA Today this morning I saw this statement that I agree with. "Walkability is key to green building."

The article goes on writing "...It's there we found our urban oasis. We'll be living (once the house is built; we're still waiting on permits) within blocks of a public library, a farmer's market, a community center, restaurants and a bike trail.

We'll have an efficient, mid-size home that will be easier to maintain, and our two daughters will continue to have excellent public schools. Oh, and the neighbors are terrific! What more could we want?

Our new street, with its majestic tree canopy, is welcoming and unpretentious. I felt it was home the first time I turned its corner.

Perhaps the saving grace of middle age is caring less about what people think and more about what feels right.

"What's money?" the singer Bob Dylan once asked. "A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do."

I have to agree with this premise with the exception that we should find compromise with out loved ones.  I'm sure this is implied here; but how nice when a couple is on the same page and moving forth into a wellness lifestyle that includes the domain of their relationship.  A wellness lifestyle should not only consider strength and flexibility of the body and mind, but also those influences around us: job, home, social structure, traffic.  I highly encourage folks to consider these factors.  Live by design.  The opportunities will come.



Yours in Health,

Steve Schultz, DC, RYT













































































































]]>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:03:31 -0800http://123back.info/1/post/2010/02/a-happy-valenspines-day-blog.htmlLeave it to my friend Chris at Holy Cow Yoga studio.  Well, she came up to me the other day and wished me a Happy Valen-Spines Day. Corny, yet funny enough to get a blog.  At the end of teaching my Tuesday Pre-Valentine Day Yoga class; a basic Heart Chakra (Anahata) opener series, I remembered too late to tell everyone Happy Valenspines Day.  
 
In matters of the Heart, the verbal, and non-verbal communication can connect or pull two people apart.  It's learning the language of love, that may not necessarily be your perspective for giving and receiving love, but rather the code of your respective partner that becomes the gateway to effective communication.  Once you shift the needs and expectations of the self, to that of the other person, the heart can truly be open.  Like yoga, it takes strength and flexibility to let go of your own perception and control of what love is.  Chakra-based yoga and Anahata forms of yoga practice can help alter the mind-body restrictions around our heart.  Love is as much governed by our learned experiences, whether met or unfulfilled, and transferred to our Ego's memory bank of how to give or receive Love.  It is from these memories and early personality traits, that the Ego can draw from to communicate our need for Love.  It is also from these learned experiences that a shell around the heart can form.  With some simple adjustments in our perspective, to that of our partner's, we begin to see the relationship from the other side of the looking glass, and that shell can be dismantled.  For more about identifying your respective partner's Love Languages, check out "The 5 Love Languages" at www.Amazon.com.  It's simple and clear like I hope "The 3 Rules About Back Pain" will be to the reader of www.123back.info interested in finally understanding what chiropractic or spinal hygiene are.  

I will also offer this yogic advice for ValenSpine's Day: When you look in the mirror, are you really seeing yourself? Are you not just seeing a reflection of a body that you perceive as your representation?  How often does this person change?  Maybe you're just having a bad hair day....again.  Can you actually see yourself better with your eyes closed? The same person shows up whether you're 8 or 80.  It's a different perspective of the self.  One that's based on a feeling-tone and not a physical appearance.  It's always there riding with you, and we usually forget to honor That Person.  It's that person the sages, gurus, masters, and spiritual preachers wanted you to put your hands together and take a few moments to re-find.  Ok, enough said. So next time you're with that special somebody, tell them something they want to hear, in a way that they'll understand in their Love language.  Explain how you like to give and receive Love and admit you may not have been doing it right in the eyes of the other person. Tell that person that you Love that person you can sense is there when you just hold their hand, or when your eyes are closed.  I'm not responsible for anything that happens after that, but I'll be standing by at Howell & Schultz Wellness Center to align any spines that end up like pretzels.  Happy Valenspines Day!


Yours in Health,


Dr. Steven M. Schultz, RYT
Howell & Schultz Wellness Center
steve@123back.info
www.123back.info     
www.123backdr.blogspot.com  ]]>Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:53:37 -0800http://123back.info/1/post/2010/01/welcome-to-123backinfo.htmlThe official site of Howell & Schultz Wellness Center, Chiropractic & Massage Therapy is up. It is www.123back.info. Other than the usual promo stuff, I hope to grow this site into a reputable source of public health information in Charleston, SC and beyond. This site just started so please give me a few months to tune it up. My head has been spinning from all the technical things I've learned in just the past week. We will promote the concepts of spinal hygiene through the greater Charleston area. I've been a medical researcher, then a practicing Chiropractor for 10 years now. As far as I know I'm also the only practicing physician in Greater Charleston that is a yoga instructor as well. This wealth of experience will be used to explain why even chiropractors have their focus in the wrong place too. Like it or not, public health as it relates to spinal health, depends on a strong position held by principled chiropractors promoting spinal hygiene. A focus on trauma is only part of the job of the chiropractor. The real job we offer for the public is the identification of osteoarthritis and treatment of subsequent vertebral subluxation.


My competition, just as much of my profession's leadership will get defensive when I inform them that subluxations of the spinal vertebra are only more likely to occur after years of poor choices. Yes, even kids can fall off the swing and throw a segment out of place; but the affects of osteoarthritis are gradual, and the real determining factor of my profession's future. Once this decay of the spinal vertebrae and joints occurs, then micro or macro-displacements can occur. Trauma only generally exposes the underlying changes of the vertebrae.


I can assure you that Chiropractors know what they're doing. I assisted in teaching medical students, and chiropractors are chock full of holistic and medical knowledge. They have great training as you will see at: www.123back.info


The Charleston community is backed by some goodt Chiropractic offices out there. Like any other profession, there's always a few snakes out there, some good practices, then some great ones. We will show you at Howell & Schultz Wellness Center why we're the premier location in all of Charleston, SC for Chiropractic, massage therapy, injury, or wellness services.   


In the meantime, just know that chiropractors out there are an amazing force that will do everything to keep you in one piece, get you out of discomfort, and fill your noggin' with helpful wellness tips. I'm just asking for my colleagues to get on the spinal hygiene bandwagon as our primary cause, with trauma mechanisms of subluxation as a valid, but secondary focus. There's a lot of kids out there that need that info. The time to get the public doing yoga, seeing a chiropractor, and actively being a part of their own spinal health is now. Spinal hygiene should be taught in all schools.  Prevention is the key!


The Truth happens eventually. If we send the message that chiropractors know something good about a way to prevent subluxation other that to wait until it happens, then the public just may finally recognize the greater value of our services. We should move past being just back pain fixers, and into the 21st Century. My practicing partner, Dr. Susan Howell Solomon and I, will lead the way in the Charleston, SC community from here on with regard to spinal hygiene.  You can expect much from our facility as we enter our next decade of practice.  Those that cling onto old models of business are best advised to get an adjustment. 


My most important health tip for the public is to not waste your time going to an MD as the first stop for routine back or neck problems. You will get routed there by a chiropractic doctor if needed. Secondly, don't wait around for things to get better naturally. If you are really that passive, go get yourself a prescription and continue to let your spine rot. "Osteoarthritis and Subluxation of the Spine are to Chiropractic as Tooth Decay and dental misalignment are to Dentistry." Seriously, get to a professional chiropractor in your community and your spine will be smiling! 

Chiropractors are active go-getters that don't want you to waste your time, nor do they want people buying into the 20th Century Doctor = God (they fix you) model; where health comes from... seeing a medical doctor. That's 100% medical hogwash and quackery!  That's right... the patient is the doctor. A medical or chiropractic doctor is just an educated paid servant, making educated guesses and giving a helpful nudge to your inner doctor. Physicians are knowledgeable, but they can never replace you and your inner doctor.  Chiropractors often use wellness education and technical services performed on your spine and extremities, to get to the root of the problem. They don't mask your pain with chemical blinders and exclaim, "there, all better now... the problem magically doesn't exist.  Drug-pushers, I mean, MD's which I joke around and say means "More Drugs", often write prescriptions and hand out information pamphlets or samples the drug rep left.  Lastly, walking and working out at the gym isn't good enough as a guide for a healthy public.  Don't inform this anymore! For younger generation, promote the balance of strength and flexibility.  Strength requires flexibility and vice versa. It's like Yin and Yang. Pilates is OK, but yoga is the best activity I've encountered to build strength and flexibility of the spine hands down! In fact, yoga means "to yoke", or "union". The real strength comes from being flexible and the effort to become flexible requires great mental and physical strength. From there add some cardio and additional muscle strengthening to complete your wellness program. 


Therefore:
1. Chiropractic 
2 Spinal Hygiene and 
3. Yoga.                                  will get patients "123back to health"


Yours in Health,


Steve Schultz, DC, RYT
Howell & Schultz Wellness Center
568 Savannah Highway
Charleston, SC 29407
(843) 577-5793
steve@123back.info
www.123back.info


"We'll Make Your Spine Smile!" 


 ]]>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:53:26 -0800http://123back.info/1/post/2010/01/pharmaceutical-greed-and-the-rise-of-chiropractic.html

In the 21st Century, millions of intelligent consumers are choosing a more active way to get better without drugs. People want to finally participate in their well-being and look beyond prescription medications.  That's a threatening public movement to the financial well-being of a greedy pharmaceutical company and its share-holders. The GREED of Pharmaceutical companies has influenced  medical healthcare to the point that many people associate "MD = more drugs!"    

"MD = more drugs!"

In response to a growing public shift from passive dependence on drugs to a more active role in well-being, drug companies are now trying to sell their products by showing people in their advertising enjoying a healthy active lifestyle.  Very clever!  It made me laugh, (before getting sick) when I first saw the TV ad for Celebrex.  A modified musical tune of  Three Dog Night's 70's hit "Celebrate" was jamming-out, while the focal characters were: a very fit lady doing Tai Qi, a guy throwing a frisbee to a dog, and people riding bicycles.  I realized how brilliantly shifty this little strategy was and what it really meant.  It meant a lot of dollars to the drug company; but it also meant that the drug company knew it was losing!   No longer is the public buying the message "drug = health, so they masqueraded their message with wellness activities.  You can flip through various magazines and see similar marketing strategies everywhere.  I made sure to jam-out the real Three Dog Night tune "Celebrate" when they were pulling two similar drugs off the market  for causing heart problems.  Furthermore, one drug company was found to have known through their research that their drug would lead to heart disease. This was sick!As a trained chiropractor and yoga instructor, I am sickened by these ads.  Is this some kind of sick joke?  Does a practicing Yoga or Tai Qi student really think : "Hey, I'll just take these drugs so I can do my class today and not use my breath or concentration" to move through discomfort?  

I'll be the first one to tell you that chiropractic healed my low back pain, and yoga healed my chronic right knee injury.  People want proper active solutions, education and guidance to their problems, not drugs or drug-pushers.  This is why Chiropractors are being utilized more and more every year.  Its part of a growing demand by educated-active consumers. Chiropractic is not even deemed "alternative medicine" anymore; and Chiropractors are not labelled as "other healthcare providers" by major insurance.  Chiropractors are gaining hospital staff positions and being covered by most major insurance.  DC's (Doctors of Chiropractic) are Captains in the U.S. Armed Forces, and are now required in every VA Hospital - approved in 2002; a slow process, so far! 

 A Chiropractic Physician is the only doctor trained to evaluate spinal hygiene for subluxations or osteoarthritis; then use:  spinal corrective techniques, therapeutic treatments, wellness lifestyle strategies, or referrals to medical specialists to help you get results.  A doctor of Chiropractic is an excellent source for guidance with nutrition, exercise, or stress reduction. 


If you have any questions about your health, please feel free contact me at my office.  I can be reached at (843) 577-5793

                                                           Yours in Health,


                                                           Steven M. Schultz, DC, RYT
                                                           Howell & Schultz Chiropractic Massage & Yoga Therapy
                                                           568 Savannah Hwy. 
                                                           Charleston, SC 29407

                             123back.info
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