“Why do I always hear I should be squatting more?” “I don’t lift weights.” “I’ve never squatted a day in my life, why would I start now?” “What’s the big deal?!” Contrary to what most people think, you squat all day every day. No, not the squat you’re picturing with a barbell and weights crushing
One question we often get asked is, “Do you only treat athletes?” Before we get too deep this, let’s go into a bit of background about our clinic. When we were choosing our name, we wanted to put the word “Active” in it. Why? Basically, two reasons. First, we knew our treatments would include exercise,
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It’s the office worker’s ‘tennis elbow’. The problem with both of these diagnoses is they are poor over-generalizations and affect more than one isolated population. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) affects more than just the office worker. It is prevalent in pregnant women, trade workers, dentists, and more. Conventional Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
If you’re reading this, then you are probably sitting. More than likely, you’re hunched over your desk, or your phone, or maybe even just on your couch. When we are in these positions, usually we aren’t sitting with the best posture. One aspect of bad posture is the “rounding” of the thoracic spine. The thoracic
In this installment of Test & Treat, we’re looking at the hamstring muscles and the sciatic nerve. We’re lumping these two together for two reasons. First, the tests are pretty similar. Secondly, and more importantly, many people believe they have tight hamstrings when the issue is often a tight sciatic nerve. Quick disclaimer: These tests
It’s the age-old question, “should I use ice or heat for an injury?” Just about every new patient that walks into our office asks if they should ice their injury. Usually followed up by, “I can never remember when to use which one.” And to be honest it has taken me a long time to
What do you think is the most important joint in the body? Low back? Pelvis? Shoulder or hip? While all of those are great answers and have merit, I will assume very few will mention the ankle joint. However, an argument can easily be made that this joint is the most important, especially when it
The Stretching 101 Class Again with the stretching? Haven’t we already written articles about the usefulness of stretching? Why yes, yes we have. Today we will get more into the weeds of which muscles to stretch, why to stretch or strengthen a muscle, and the expected timeline to resolve a problem. When someone asks flat
Worried about tight hip flexors? This muscle group can often be an issue with low back pain, hip pain, knee pain or even shoulder pain. However, not every person who has one of these issues has tight hip flexors. That leads to a lot of unnecessary stretching, where that time could be better used for
Working from home these days? Working remotely was already a growing option for many Americans, and now the latest coronavirus pandemic has turned that option into a necessity for far more. However, working from the comfort of your own home isn’t always comfortable. The Importance of Posture We talk about office ergonomics with many of
Wow. How much has our world changed in a matter of a week or two? Two weeks ago I was ready to watch my beloved Wildcats make a brief appearance in the Big XII tournament before saying thanks for the invite and driving back to Manhattan. Now, we’re all confined to our houses and sports
Foam rollers. Massage roller sticks. Lacrosse balls. Voodoo floss. These are all recovery/mobility/pain-relief tools used by everybody from desk workers, to a typical gym-goer desk worker to even elite professional athletes. If you’re reading this article you’re probably using one (or all) of these tools. But why did you start using the tool(s)? Most likely,
Follow me on the story of a patient and her search for the best sleeping position. Cheryl is a stay-at-home mom. Most days she’s busy driving the kids to and from school, sports, and after school activities. Recently Cheryl and her husband had sold their house. She had been busy packing up the house and
If you’re reading this, you probably have low back pain. Or maybe a family member or a friend has low back pain. So you want to find the BEST exercise(s) for low back pain. All over the internet, there are hundreds of videos and articles and blogs on the best exercises for low back pain.
Treatment Philosophy As we mentioned earlier finding a good chiropractor is like finding a good mechanic. Once, you’ve found a good chiropractor, or mechanic for that matter, hold onto them. It can be tricky to find another good one. Since we’ve covered how to find a good chiro, let’s talk about our thought process and
Let’s say you’re a patient of ours or another clinic. You presented with low back pain and limited activities on your very first visit and now you’re about done with your treatment plan. Now your pain is basically gone and you no longer have any limitations. You are living your normal life and working out
Wow, that was an amazing Super Bowl! I’m still watching highlight clips and reliving the night over and over. Honestly, we couldn’t have asked for a more exciting game. It certainly was not Mahomes’ best game, but he and the Chiefs demonstrated such resilience. It’s exciting and promising for the city to see such a
If you’re a current or past patient of ours, you have obviously already found us and we sincerely hope you consider us a “good” chiropractic office in the Kansas City area. However, what if you have a friend in another city or are moving to another city? We often get asked how somebody in those
So last week we mentioned what we are looking for when we decide to do an adjustment: a joint that doesn’t move as much as it should. Now we will discuss why this matters. When a joint isn’t moving properly a whole cascade of events happen. Depending on what happens in that series of events
We are often asked, “what makes the popping sound during an adjustment?” That is a great question. So let’s start off by explaining what we are looking and trying to accomplish with an adjustment. When the joints are assessed/palpated, we are looking for joints that don’t move as well as they should. This lack of
Part I of our sleep article detailed the importance of sleep and how it relates to our mental skills, our physical & athletic performance and to pain. In this part, we’re breaking down how to make sure you set yourself up for success in getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep. Let’s get rolling… 1. No
The DOs and DON’Ts THOMAS COTTER, DC, DACRB TMJ is another great mystifier. Nearly 1/3 of us will experience TMJ symptoms. The problem then is figuring out what to do about it and who to go to to get it fixed. Some go to their dentist, MD, chiropractor, massage therapist, etc. All of those are
Back pain is incredibly common. Upwards of 80% of people will experience back pain in their lifetime. It can be likened to the common cold. You can almost count on getting it from time to time. The difference is what you do during that episode of back pain can change how severe and how often
How was your sleep last night? And what about the night before that? How about three nights ago? Did you feel relaxed and refreshed each morning after getting the recommended 7-9 hours? Or are you among the growing group of people who don’t get 7+ hours each night? A 2013 Gallup poll showed that a
Thomas Cotter, DC, DACRB We all either have had or know someone who has plantar fasciitis (PF). It plagues the old and the young, and the fit and the sedentary alike. The plantar fascia is a ligament that supports the foot when load is placed on it. PF develops when that ligament gets strained. Think of
What is the best posture? Does it even exist? All of us remember a time as a kid when somebody told us to “sit up straight.” Maybe it was your mom tired of you watching TV. Or maybe it was a teacher making sure you were paying attention in class. Or maybe it was just
We are continuing our deep dive into sciatica and sciatic-like pain. We are going to look at a couple of deep muscles in your rear called the piriformis and gluteus medius. A diagnosis called “Piriformis Syndrome,” has become quite pervasive in today’s society. Piriformis Syndrome is a condition in which the sciatic nerve bisects the piriformis muscle; each
There are numerous things that cause sciatica or sciatic like pain. Last week we looked at disc herniations or disc bulges putting pressure on the nerve roots and causing sciatica. The focus of this article will be on adhesions along the sciatic nerve that cause sciatica and how nerve flossing can help. I’ve always pictured
“Is pain with exercise OK?” “It hurts when I run, should I stop running?” “My knee hurt when I vacuumed the house, how long do I need to wait to vacuum again?” Questions like these are probably the most common type of questions I get from people in pain. Patients and clinicians both know the
Low Back Pain Extensions Tom Cotter, DC, DACRB Active HealthKC Sciatica: sci·at·i·ca /sīˈadəkə/ noun pain affecting the back, hip, and outer side of the leg, caused by compression of a spinal nerve root in the lower back, often owing to degeneration of an intervertebral disc. We’ve all been at a party or a family function
Here we are. Last week of the shoulder series. We started with the shoulder joint itself not moving enough. We then moved on to the shoulder blade being too mobile. We’ll end on the shoulder blade not moving enough or a cause of shoulder impingement. We see this more often in individuals that have very
What’s the number one cause of knee pain? Take a guess. Is the main cause of knee pain due to old age? ACL/PCL injury? Medial meniscus tear? Lateral meniscus tear? Collateral ligament strain? Patellar tendon tendinopathy? Iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome? Lower-crossed syndrome? Patella tracking issue? Hamstring trigger points? If any of those were your guess,
Fixing Shoulder Pain with Stabilization Dr. Tom Cotter, DC, DACRB Active HealthKC Ford F-150 Supercharged, Dodge 1500 with a Hemi. Turns out it doesn’t matter what’s pulling the boat. In contrast, it matters how the boat is connected. One is connected with a normal steel hitch and the other, a bunch of bungee cords. The
Rotator Cuff Tears and Shoulder Pain Surgery Right? Dr. Tom Cotter, DC, DACRB Active Health KC So often we hear of a friend or family member that has been struggling with ongoing shoulder pain. Most try to ignore it for a while. Eventually they go to their doctor. The doctor takes either an X-ray or
This is part II of Is “real” surgery any better than a “sham” surgery? To read part I, click HERE. In that blog post, we talked about how researchers are looking at sham surgeries and we looked at a few examples using back pain surgeries. Here in part II, we’re looking at a few recent
Low Back Pain and How to Fix it – Part 4 Low Back Pain and The Glutes! Tom Cotter, DC, DACRB Active HealthKC Last week, we talked about stretching your tight hip flexors. What I didn’t tell you (because I ran out of room) was that’s only half the equation. If I only have you
Tom Cotter, DC, DACRB Active HealthKC I don’t know if you’ve heard, but sitting all day isn’t so good for you. One of the reasons it becomes problematic is it places the hip flexors in a shortened state. All in all, that’s not a bad thing on a temporary basis. Where it becomes detrimental is when
Fake Surgery vs Real Surgery? Any Difference? Part-I Surgery for spine or joint pain is very common. According to the CDC, there were 63 million visits to orthopedic surgery centers in 2010. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons estimates that there were 1.5 million spinal surgeries performed in 2011. When people are told they need
Did you catch it? In the sub-title? Core control NOT core strength. You have heard endlessly about core strength, but research shows it’s actually core control that is more important than core strength. Think about it. If it were core strength, shouldn’t my ten year old nephew have more back pain than I do? Surely
Low Back Pain and How to Fix it – Part 1 Low Back Pain and Doing the Opposite Dr. Tom Cotter, DC Active HealthKC We’re on to low back pain this month folks! Let’s sit back and figure out how we can take care of that annoying low back pain. The rest of the month
Headaches and How to Fix Them – Part 4 Posture and Your Headaches Helping Prairie Village eliminate their headaches Finally, here we are. The final part to our four part headache series. A culmination of it all. This week we are looking at posture and how it affect your headaches. Poor posture leads to everything
Headaches and How to Fix Them – Part 3 TMJ and Your Headaches Dr. Tom Cotter, DC Active HealthKC For the third iteration of this series, we will focus on TMJ related headaches. TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint or in simpler terms… your jaw. Similar to people not realizing they are breathing improperly, many people
3 Reasons Why Getting An MRI For Your Neck or Back Pain Might Be A Bad Idea Neck and back pain are both very common. According to the World Health Organization, about 80% of people will experience low back pain at some point in their lives, while approximately 50% of people will experience neck pain.
Headaches! They’re such a pain in the…well, the head! This week we will take a look at how/why your upper traps/upper shoulder muscles (see figure 1) cause headaches and what can be done. As discussed in week one, anterior head carriage or holding your head in front of your shoulders, can strain the suboccipitals.
Headaches and How to Fix Them – Part 1 Suboccipitals Dr. Tom Cotter, DC Active HealthKC Headaches! They’re such a pain in the…well, the head! This month we are going to be talking about various causes of headaches and simple exercises to help alleviate your headaches. Each week we will zero in on a different
Seven Myths Regarding Tendon Pain Plantar fasciitis? Achilles tendinitis? Jumper’s knee? Rotator cuff problem? Golfer’s elbow? Tennis elbow? Any of these sound familiar to you? If so, you might want to read this article. How are all of these conditions similar? They are all different types of tendinopathies, which basically translates to “something is messed
Brace yourself! Or don’t, because it may be a waste of time. Either way, we’re about to talk about the importance (or lack thereof) of core strength, core stability, core training and core “whatever else.” And it’s going to be controversial. Before we dive in, let me tell you a bit about myself and my
Low Back Pain Prairie Village Chiropractic Care How prevalent is low back pain today? Research has show that 70-80% of the population will suffer from low back pain. That means that in the Kansas City metro area alone, over 1,750,000 people will suffer from low back pain. Often, low back pain will go away on its
One of our pet peeves is when we, as chiropractors, get lumped in with all other chiropractors. While we share the same profession as our colleagues, that’s where a lot of the similarity ends. The purpose of this blog is to emphasize a few of these differences. Two Types of Chiropractors A good way to
Proper Breathing Can Help Kansas City Have Less Stress Can You Really Breathe Wrong? Right now you’re probably saying, “Really? An article about breathing? What’s next, an article about watching paint dry?” While a little harsh, those are pretty fair questions. After all, if you’re reading this article, you’re obviously able to breathe, so what
We use various different treatment techniques and methods in our office, but one of the most important is the McKenzie Method of Diagnosis and Therapy, or MDT for short. Named after renowned physical therapist Robert McKenzie, this technique is an absolutely invaluable tool for muscle, joint and spinal pain. Rather than babbling on about what
My Diagnosis Doesn’t Matter?! That statement might sound a little extreme, so let me clarify it a bit. First, our clinic deals with pain and injuries. So this post is about diagnoses for musculoskeletal conditions. Hopefully, it’s obvious that if you’re dealing with pain caused by something like cancer, your diagnosis is VERY important and
Common Gym Exercises to Avoid It pains us to see some people routinely performing exercises that are destroying their bodies. The worst part of it is that many people believe they are actually helping themselves! The purpose of this article is to look at five gym exercises that you shouldn’t be performing, tell you why,
Stop Sitting! Get Up and Move! Low back pain is a common occurrence in today’s world. About 80% of the population will have low back pain in their lives. At this very instance, 20-30% of us currently have back pain. A big reason for low back pain in today’s world is due to desk jobs
Pregnancy and Unresolved Back Pain: Part 2 – Post-Partum Pain Last week we focused on back pain during pregnancy. This week I want to focus on back pain after pregnancy. As mentioned before, 68% of women who experienced moderate to severe low back pain during pregnancy continue to have back pain after birth, according to
Pregnancy and Unresolved Back Pain Don’t Let Back Pain Interfere with Your Pregnancy Part 1 Our first child coming in 8 weeks and my wife is now coming in for regular visits to keep pregnancy-related back pain at bay. Pregnancy, as you can imagine, has been on my mind a lot. Pregnancy can be a
What is Dry Needling? Many of you have heard we have integrated Dry Needling (DN) into our practice in the last 1-2 years. You might have heard it from us or another patient talking about the benefits of our “evil needles.” What you might not have heard is exactly what DN is and what it does. DN is
To Stretch, Or Not To Stretch? Some people do it every day, some people do it just once a week, and some haven’t done it for years. While this could be true of many activities, today we are talking about stretching. Most of us probably learned how to stretch way back in our elementary Physical
The Rise of Youth Sports Injuries Over the past 10-15 years, there has been a large increase in the occurrence of injuries to young athletes. Shoulder and elbow injuries are up 500% in baseball and softball players. While anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries have increased 400%. There are numerous other examples for all sports. It’s obvious
Everyone has a different viewpoint on chiropractors. Some absolutely love them while some think they’re all “quacks.” While these varying viewpoints are frustrating to us as practicing chiropractors, we can understand the confusion. Generally, it is due to the general public not really knowing what we do. So to help clear things up, this article