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Shoulder Pain - Dr. Masoud Shamaeizadeh Unless there is trauma or injury to the shoulder, in my experience, 80% of shoulder pain begins in the neck. Usually, swimmers and other athletes develop shoulder problems due to trauma or repetitive motion; but the average person who develops a shoulder problem, has developed it before they realize they have it. In order to understand the process that causes the pain, we need to understand the anatomy of the shoulder. Unlike other joints in our body, shoulder stability comes from muscle integrity. The shoulder is held together mostly by muscle and little ligaments and tendons. Because of this design, the shoulder has greater range of motion than any other joint in the body. The stability of the shoulder depends on muscle balance. For example, the muscle that pulls the shoulder forward and the muscle that pulls the shoulder back must work in perfect synchronicity. People who lift weights and work to increase the size of their chest muscles will eventually end up with rotated shoulders towards the front because the shoulder muscles are out of balance. But athletes and trainers know better and make sure to work out both sides of the shoulder to create balance. If you are weight training, we recommend that you do it with a trainer who knows what he/she is doing. A trainer knows to work out a group of muscles rather than only individual muscles. This is especially true for the upper body as it all affects the shoulder joints. Sometimes we create imbalance by irritating the nerve that goes from the neck to the shoulder. Almost all the muscles in the shoulder are controlled by nerves that come from the neck, otherwise known as the cervical vertebrae. When the neck vertebrae are misaligned and press on the nerves, it causes muscle spams on one muscle group; over time that spasm turns into muscle atrophy. When there is a spasm in the front or back of the shoulder it slightly moves the shoulder out of place. This phenomenon happens long before a person feels discomfort in the shoulder; sometimes years can go by before a person feels shoulder pain. This happens when a person has neglected their neck pain. I see this happening primarily in people who spend long hours sitting in front of a computer. When people come to my office with shoulder pain, I treat their neck vertebrae simultaneously with their shoulder joint, unless it is a case of trauma directly to the shoulder as in a car accident or sports injury. So next time you feel shoulder pain, visit your chiropractor and ask him or to check your neck as well as your shoulder joint. Please watch the video below and click the Like button. rel=”author”>Masoud Shamaeizadeh
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Anterior head carriage is the term chiropractors use to describe when a person head is not aligned with the shoulders but rather the head is positioned forward. This is one of the common problems I see in my patients, however most of my patients are not aware of their anterior head carriage until somebody points it out to them or they go to chiropractic office and the chiropractor performs a postural analysis. Because anterior head carriage starts gradually and without pain, most people don't recognize the problem until they have a huge hump on their back. How to Fix this Problem? The best way to fix anterior head carriage is daily exercise at home. See the videos below. Also, your chiropractor can adjust the upper back. This is very effective and it can slowly reverse anterior head carriage. If the problem has been there for a very long time, reversing it is more difficult but still possible with persistence and consistent adjustments for a longer period of time.
Dream it, and you can be it. Obstacles are only visible when you lose sight of your goal. Sayings like these make goal achievement sound like a cinch. The truth is that setting and accomplishing goals isn’t as simple as it sounds. Because resolutions are often health-related, here in Porter Ranch California Soft Touch Chiropractic wants to help patients follow through with them. Soft Touch Chiropractic has gathered techniques from recent research to help you establish objectives that will stay around way past Jan. Read on for tips on creating and sticking with New Year’s resolutions. Select and Frame Goals With Care If you’re like most people, coming up with goals — from health and finances to family — is no problem. To determine which goals are most important, give each goal a priority. Focus only on one or two goals that top the list. Frame goals around conditions over which you have as much control as possible. Goals based on personal achievement and acquiring skills or knowledge are more attainable than goals with outcomes beyond your control. While it is vital to challenge yourself, choose only realistic goals. The saying that “procrastination is perfectionism in disguise” is true. You are more likely to tackle missions that you know you can actually complete. For example, if your goal is fitness oriented, consider setting a goal of exercising each day rather than finishing in the top 10 of a race. With “outcome” goals, such as winning a race or being promoted at work, many factors are outside of your command.Ineffective management, bad weather, injury and others’ poor judgment can sabotage your success. Begin With Baby Steps Have prior failures made you leery about whether you’ll follow through with your goal? Do you lack inspiration to start or feel that you just don’t have enough time? Relax, you’re not alone! Feeling overwhelmed by resolutions is not uncommon, but there’s a simple solution.:Soft Touch Chiropractic suggests you start by breaking down a goal into small, measurable mini-steps. For example, the goal “clean up the house exterior so the house will sell” is much too vague and broad to inspire.Small, incremental steps to meet the primary goal are much more manageable. Each small step should be something that you can visualize, such as “pick an exterior paint color” or “trim hedges of front bushes.” Research shows that considering goals in terms of small, manageable increments is the best way to attain them.In a study performed in Ontario, Canada, researchers asked 96 participants o perform a complex task.Individuals who tackled the assignment by identifying and executing specific steps were much more committed than those with general goals to do their best. The researchers explained that identifying strategies to accomplish the small steps increased the participants’self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual’s personal estimate of his or her own ability to reach a specific goal.The researchers found that self- efficacy further increased performance and determination (J Organizational Behav 2001;22:291-307). Write down the exact steps in detail along with a date for completion. Jotting down all the small steps avoids confusion and gives the mini-steps more force by crystallizing the proc- ess.Your written list of small steps is your action plan. Research shows that framing goals around a plan with clear objectives is much more productive than thinking of goals as desires.One study, which included 188 participants, found that distinguishing between “desires” and “intentions” dramatically increased decision-making and action. When individuals framed goals around clear intentions, rather than desires, they were much more likely to perform and take action. Seeing goals as intentions also decreased the timeframe for achievement (Eur J Soc Psychol 2004;34:69). Write Down the Game Plan Write down the exact steps in detail along with a date for completion. Jotting down all the small steps avoids confusion and gives the mini-steps more force by crystallizing the proc- ess.Your written list of small steps is your action plan. Research shows that framing goals around a plan with clear objectives is much more productive than thinking of goals as desires.One study, which included 188 participants, found that distinguishing between “desires” and “intentions” dramatically increased decision- making and action. When individuals framed goals around clear intentions, rather than desires, they were much more likely to perform and take action. Seeing goals as intentions also decreased the timeframe for achievement (Eur J Soc Psychol 2004;34:69). For example, if your goal is fitness oriented, consider setting a goal of exercising each day rather than finishing in the top 10 of a race. With “outcome” goals, such as winning a race or being promoted at work, many factors are outside of your command.Ineffective management, bad weather, injury and others’ poor judgment can sabotage your success. For example, if your goal is fitness oriented, consider setting a goal of exercising each day rather than finishing in the top 10 of a race. With “outcome” goals, such as winning a race or being promoted at work, many factors are outside of your command.Ineffective management, bad weather, injury and others’ poor judgment can sabotage your success. Keep Up Momentum Review your to-do list of mini-steps on a daily basis. Incorporate this review into your morning routine. Don’t skip it, even if you’re off schedule. If you do veer off schedule, regroup and adjust your schedule. And, don’t be afraid to modify the small steps into micro-mini ones if you still feel overwhelmed.Keeping up momentum is important to self-confidence. Check off what you’ve done, and reward yourself for finishing the step by doing something healthy that you enjoy. Predict a Sunny Forecast You may remember Eeyore from the children’s book Winnie the Pooh. Eeyore’s mood was as blue as his coat, and his spirit drooped as low as his head and tail. He’s an extreme image of how negative thoughts can zap energy and focus.A positive mindset is a key to goal success. Research shows that people with optimistic expectations are more likely to follow through with goals than those with negative predictions. Positive statements, expressed either out loud or inwardly, propel creativity and energy to reach goals. Successful positive thinkers refuse to let small defeats bring them down. For instance, instead of saying “I skipped a workout this week,” say “I made all but one workout this week, and next week I’ll make all of them. Find a Coach Consider finding someone to work with you toward your goals. Have him or her hold you accountable for specific weekly or monthly action steps. For instance, at work, this would be a supervisor or mentor. There are also many coaching options for personal goals. Many successful individuals have goal buddies or join "mastermind" groups, where they serve as each other’s coach(es) on specific goals. Also consider hiring a professional life coach or other professional best suited to help you achieve your goals, such as a personal trainer, financial planner or interior designer. rel=”author”>Masoud Shamaeizadeh
 One of the reasons people come to my office is for neck pain. This happens especially because they have slept with contracted muscles for an entire night. What will usually happen is a patient will "fight with the pillow" during the night by pressing against the pillow. When a person presses against the pillow with head and neck, it stresses a neck muscle called the sternocleidomastoid. This muscle is responsible for rotating our head left and right. The condition caused by stress to the sternocleidomastoid is called torticollis. The symptoms of torticollis are: neck pain, stiffness and inability to move the neck. The treatment of torticollis is fairly simple. First we remove all the lactic acid build-up from the muscle with electric steam and heat. Second, we do a soft massage and squeeze the rest the of lactic acid out. Third, we give a chiropractic adjustment for alignment of the vertebrae. It is recommended that a patient follows up with multiple chiropractic adjustments because when the neck has been under spasm for a long period of time, the vertebra most likely will go out of alignment again. I also recommend that my patients use natural products such as arnica cream or arnica pills and other herbs such as valerian root to help the patient relieve the muscle spasm. If you have neck pain call you chiropractor and ask about torticollis. Dr. Masoud Shamaeizadeh, DC of Soft Touch Chiropractic has been treating patients since 2001. Click the Like button
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