Why is pain a gift?

Pain is the bodies warning system that something is wrong.  If we didn’t have pain, we would slowly destroy our bodies and not even know it.

Unfortunately, we are trained to cover up pain.  Americans consume billions of dollars of pain medicine every year.  Pain medicine allows us to function when we shouldn’t.  It seems like the answer to shoulder, knee, back, elbow, neck, and foot pain is ibuprofen or some other type of pain medicine.  This may help in the short term but it sets you up for disaster down the road.  Many times pain medicine will allow you to irritated the bad tissue until it tears.  This may be why we see such a large number of rotator cuff tears and disc herniations.

Rest, ice, or pain medicine is not the answer to reducing your pain.  Muscle adhesion is the most common source of pain and stiffness and the most underdiagnosed. To determine the cause of your pain, click the button below to schedule an appointment.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice.
Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

One of the most crucial pieces left out of a beginner’s triathlon training program is recovery. If you don’t allow your body to recover, then overtraining can occur.  Training for a triathlon can put a lot of stress on your body because you have to train for 3 sports at once.  Learning to balance swimming, biking, and running in the right ratios takes time.  Common warning signs of overtraining include:

• Sudden drop in performance
• Changes in your sleep pattern
• Loss of enthusiasm for training
• Change in appetite
• Increased incidence of illness
• Feeling tired even after easy workouts
• Moody and unpleasant to be around

Beginner athletes always assume more is better.  This may work for a year or so but eventually you will stop seeing improvements and realize that you have to train smarter, not harder.  The best way to do that is to get a triathlon coach.  Find someone in your area that has a good reputation and listen to everything they say.  If hiring a trainer is not in your budget, then read the Triathlete’s Training Bible.  This book will give you the basics to design your own training program. Everyone responds differently to training and listening to your body is very important.  Your training program will change over the years as you learn what works and what doesn’t work. Most programs will have at least one complete rest day a week and then every 4th week will be an easy week.  It is also important to take a break from training completely at the end of the triathlon season. Learning to train smarter will allow you to perform pain free for many years.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

Have you ever heard the saying, no pain, no gain?  This saying can be a good thing or a really bad thing.  For example, if a triathlete starts swimming after a long break, it is probably going to be a painful experience for the first few workouts.  It’s hard to get oxygen, your arms are sore, and you are trying your hardest not to let your legs become a 60 pound anchor.  At first you have to push through the pain, and eventually it becomes easier and your body adapts. Pain in this case is a part of becoming better, stronger, and faster.  If that same triathlete has shoulder pain on their right side during swimming, then that’s a different story.  Joint pain is bad pain and indicates that the joint is not working correctly. Adhesion in the rotator cuff muscles will result in shoulder pain and if not corrected will lead to degeneration, tearing, and damage. Bad pain is your body’s way of saying STOP.  If you try to work though the pain and take anti-inflammatory medicine, it will only get worse because you will continue to beat the joint up until something tears.  If you are unsure if your pain is good or bad, contact us today (716-629-3100).

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

The goal of spinal decompression is to take the load off of the discs in your low back or neck. This can help take away neck pain, low back pain, and numbness/tingling in your hands and feet.  At Phipps Soft Tissue and Spine, we treat the adhesion to naturally decompress the spine.  Muscles that crosses a joint will stabilize and compress it.  In the neck and low back there are many muscles that cross these joints.  If you have adhesion in these muscles, they will increased load and pressure on your discs because the joints are not moving correctly.  Breaking down adhesion with special techniques will naturally decompress the spine and provide a healing environment and pain relief.

Dr. Phipps is an expert and diagnosing and treating muscle adhesion and has the skills and knowledge to accurately assess, diagnose and treat your pain.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

The short answer is maybe, but eventually it will catch up with you.  I have many patients that come in and say they can usually work through the pain but this time it will not go away.  This response indicates to me that they never actually worked through the pain.  Their body compensated by loading up another area.  Eventually there will be no other areas to compensate to and pain will result.  Most of my patients are between the ages of 30-55.  This is the common age range when the body runs out of areas to compensate to.  One of the most common under diagnosed sources of pain is muscle adhesion.  If you have a nagging injury that will not go away or you have been “working through” the pain, call our office today.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

Foam rolling is a great way to warm up before exercise, but it will never remove adhesion.

I am a big fan of foam rolling as a warm up.  It will warm up your muscles and prepare them for exercise.  However, you should never use foam rolling as a method of relieving pain or improving range of motion. The most common cause of pain and stiffness in the body is muscle adhesion and this is not treated or reduced with foam rolling.  Ignoring adhesion will lead to pain, degeneration, and joint damage. When you have musculoskeletal pain (joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons), then you need to be evaluated by a soft tissue specialist.

Dr. Phipps is a soft tissue specialist and an expert and diagnosing and treating muscle adhesion. Relying on foam rolling to get through your training sessions is dangerous and will eventually catch up to you. Dr Phipps will restore your function so you can be active your entire life.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

If you have already been involved in a car accident, it’s important to be evaluated as soon as possible. Once more serious injuries like fracture, dislocation, or disc herniations are ruled out, it’s important to have your neck and back evaluated by a chiropractor. Early treatment can reduce your chances of experiencing pain later down the road.

Click below to sign up for a consultation with Dr. Phipps.

Now that you understand 5 quick tips to reduce injury during a car accident, what do you do if you look in your rearview mirror and you see another vehicle clearly not planning on stopping? Should you brace for impact, tensing all of your muscles, or should you try to be as relaxed as possible?

Research shows that people who are aware of an impending collision and have time to brace for impact have better long-term outcomes and less injury. So you should always brace for impact. You have a lot of muscles in your neck that can protect the ligaments, discs, and nerves in your neck. If you relax your muscles the ligaments, discs, and nerves will have to take a much larger percentage of the force and can become damaged. It’s much easier for muscles to heal than nerves, discs, or ligaments.

To prepare for a rear-end collision:

1. Brace your head against the headrest. This reduces the distance between your head and the front of your headrest. The closer your head is to the headrest, the better.
2. Always look forward, and NEVER lean forward. If you have your head turned at impact, then this increases your chance of injury.
3. Push your foot on the brake pedal and push your back squarely against the seat back.
4. Tense up like someone is going to punch you in the back with a 4,000-pound car.

If you’ve been in a car accident and need to have your back and neck checked out, schedule a free consultation with Dr. Phipps today.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor

This article will provide you with simple tips to reduce your chances of being injured during a car accident (especially rear end collisions).

1.  Always have your headrest properly adjusted. Ideally the top of your headrest should be level with the top of your head.

If your headrest is too low, your head will extend above and over the restraint, which then acts as fulcrum and increases your injury risk. When you are struck from behind, a 1-3 inch vertical rise in your head will occur. This can further bring your head up and over the headrest aggravating your neck.  Make sure the adjustable headrest is locked into position. When the head snaps back, it could make contact with the top of the headrest and may drive it down like a hammer drives a nail.  Unfortunately, headrests are designed for the 50% male (5’10”) population. Taller individuals should still adjust the headrest into the highest position.

2.  Keep the back of your head as close to the headrest as possible.

“Backset” is the distance from the back of your head to the front of the headrest. A starting backset greater than 2 inches decreases the ability of the head restraint to protect against neck injury. Studies have found that neck symptoms increased when the backset distance was more that 4 inches.

3. Don’t sit too close to the steering wheel.

Sitting too close to the steering wheel can result in the airbag hitting you at full deployment speed (around 200 mph).  In an ideal situation you want to contact the airbag after if fully deploys. You should sit at least 10 inches from the steering wheel (measured from the center of the steering wheel to your sternum/breast bone).

4. Buckle up even if you are in the backseat.

I think by now everyone knows to buckle up. Most cars have airbags and without being buckled up the airbags become a deadly weapon.  I think its pretty common to be lazy when you are in the back seat, especially when you don’t have to worry about being struck by a 200 mph airbag. If you don’t want to buckle up for yourself, you should at least do it for the front seat passengers. When the rear seat passengers are unrestrained, the fatality risk to front seat occupants is increased by up to 75%.

5. Don’t allow passengers to put their feet on the dashboard.  If they are in this position during an accident, it could result in serious injury.  Generally you always want to keep your arms and legs away from where the airbag deploys.

The above recommendations are some of things you can do to reduce your chances of being injured in automobile accidents.  The next article, “To brace or not to brace for impact”, will cover what to do if you look in your review mirror and see that someone is clearly going to ram into the back of your vehicle.

*Please note that every patient is different. The content and tips displayed on this page are for educational purposes only, and do not substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a medical or healthcare provider, such as Dr. Phipps, for specific diagnosis and treatment advice. Williamsville, NY 14221 Chiropractor