During my tenure at Soft Touch Chiropractic in Porter Ranch, CA, I noticed the speed with which my patients recover from pain depends on whether or not they follow my post-care recommendations at home. Those who follow my recommendations recover faster and their results last longer. One of the top recommendations I make is to stay away from anything that causes inflammation.

Animal Fat
Meat, especially processed or salted meat, causes a great deal of inflammation. Remember these products can hide in dishes like pasta, pizza and stews. Products like deli meat, salami, pepperoni, sausage, prosciutto and canned meat can keep a person in prolonged pain.  Undigested meat can remain trapped inside the villi of the small intestine anywhere from 72 hours to 1 year.  When it ferments, it causes severe acidity and inflammation. Our bodies react by producing antibodies which cause allergies and greater inflammation.

If you need to find an alternative, you can eat a plant-based product such as Impossible Meat.

Dairy Products
Cheese, yogurt, milk and milk products have the same effect as meat. Dairy contains casein protein which is also a source of inflammation. Instead, you can find cheese products made out of almond, coconut, cashew or rice. Coconut yogurt is just as tasty as cow milk yogurt. It is surprising how similar the taste of these alternative products is to dairy.

Sugar, Corn Syrup and Sugar-Filled Products
We’re all too familiar with cookies, candy, muffins, pastries and the like. However, sugar can hide in other products like ketchup, canned food, sports beverages and of course soda.

Sugar can overwhelm the nerve cells. Imagine standing next to a loudspeaker. Even if you like to listen to music, when it is too loud, it’s no longer enjoyable and you might lose your hearing. Glucose molecules play the same role in the nerve cells. The cells like the sugar but too much of it is like the loud music and over time the nerve cells get irritated and die. Thankfully we have billions of them, however, when you have severe musculoskeletal pain your nerves are under great attack and irritation already and you don’t want to stimulate your nervous system with sugar.

Also stay away from sugar substitutes such as xylitol or aspartame. Instead, I recommend you use stevia or coconut sugar.

Alcohol
This category includes: wine, beer, hard liquor and spirits, as well as over the counter medications which contain alcohol. Even the slightest hint of alcohol can bring back the inflammation which you are trying to get rid of.

If you are currently experiencing back pain, and have not seen a chiropractor, it would be in your best interest to stop eating these inflammatory foods and make an appointment to see your local chiropractor.

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Doctor Yourself by Dr. Saul will teach you how to use vitamin therapy to cure many conditions that an average family might experience.  There is advice for both children and adults.

Niacin: The Real Story is based on double blind research done in the 1950s by Dr. Hoffer himself.  It tells about the many benefits of niacin also known as B3. The book lists recommendations for the use of B3 mega doses to treat conditions such as anxiety, arthritis, ADHD, schizophrenia and many others. Niacin: The Real Story gives advice for both adults and children. 

Over-the-Counter Natural Cures is written by Shane Ellison, who previously worked for the pharmaceutical industry. He saw, first hand, the harm that pharma drugs can cause.  He uses his knowledge of chemistry to prove with research that for many drugs, there are natural counterparts which don't cause harmful side effects.  This is Dr. Masoud's favorite read as of 2021.

Thomas Levy, who wrote Curing the Incurable, is both a doctor and a lawyer.  He focuses on the many benefits of vitamin C. He describes how to use it to treat many types of infections or toxicity. Especially during the time of COVID-19, many medical doctors and alternative care practitioners are using his recommendations.

You Are the Placebo, written by Dr. Joe Dispenza teaches about the body's power of self-healing through meditation.  Although meditation is often linked to spiritual practices, Dispenza uses science-based research to show that the power of the mind and body connection is effective and real.

One of the services I offer in my practice - Soft Touch Chiropractic in Porter Ranch, CA is customized nutritional counseling to go along with a patient’s chiropractic care.  Here are three of the most common areas that need nutritional support and their specific advice. Please watch the video below for more details.

Nutrition for Joint Support
Vitamin C helps synthesize collagen fiber which is an important compound for the joints.  There are two types of Vitamin C, sodium ascorbate and liposomal Vitamin C. Both can be consumed in high dosages without side effects.

Glucosamine sulfate helps with cartilage formation and repair. If you are allergic to sulfate, you cannot take this, but if you are able to, this is great for combining with Vitamin C for joint repair.

MSM is a natural compound made of rain water and plant chloroform. It is a natural painkiller and anti-inflammatory supplement.  Manufacturers will sometimes combine it with glucosamine, but a separate product is more effective. This works for any joint in your body that has cartilage.

You must keep in mind that these supplements work fundamentally better than a synthetic drug, but they work over time with longer lasting results and no side effects. They pose no threat to your liver and kidneys like synthetic drugs tend to do.

Our current health culture calls for immediate gratification, but for equipping your body better to heal itself, these supplements are better than drugs.

Muscle Health and Relaxation
My first recommendation for muscle relaxation is Epsom salt baths.  Epsom salt contains magnesium sulfate which helps relax the muscles and relieve cramps.
If you don’t have a bathtub, you can still benefit by soaking your feet in the salts. If soaking is not your thing, magnesium chloride spray or magnesium glycinate pills are good alternatives to Epsom salt.

Arnica flower gel is a muscle relaxant. It’s also good for tendons and ligaments. I recommend it to reduce bruising. The gel is safe enough to use 3-4 times a day.

Valerian root is also a muscle relaxant and analgesic. It can be taken as a sleeping aid. I don’t suggest the gel, but rather the capsule to be taken at night, not in the morning.

Much of our muscle stress is aggravated during sleep, usually due to our natural hormonal system during our sleeping hours, which is why valerian root and passion flower are helpful especially if you have an existing musculoskeletal issue.

Nerve Analgesic and Repair

Passion flower is a natural analgesic. It also helps with sleep. The pills are fine to take but the liquid drops are better.

Vitamin B Complex helps to maintain a healthy nervous system. A complex is various B vitamins combined into one pill. Vitamin Bs are water soluble, which is why I recommend that a patient take 1 capsule in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. 

The following activities and conditions rob the body of Vitamin B: recreational drug consumption, drinking alcohol, smoking, vaping, erratic dieting, working graveyard shifts, frequent traveling, chronic illnesses and stress. If any of these apply to you, I highly recommend you take a B complex as your body is being drained of this important nutrient.

If you are in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, CA and would like to schedule a free consultation, call 818-831-0100.

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The most frequently asked question asked by my patients here at Soft Touch Chiropractic in Porter Ranch, CA is, “How often do I need to come back for adjustments?”  I jokingly point to my belly and ask, “If I want to lose weight, how often should I exercise?” They always laugh and give me their estimation of what they think I should do. But the fundamental question is, “What is the goal? Or what am I trying to achieve? So I ask them the same question.

Chiropractic empowers a person’s body to get the results they want. So in essence, you are in control of the consistency and frequency with which you get adjusted by your chiropractor.

So the short answer to the question is: It’s your decision.

The long answer is: It depends.
In my practice, I give my patients three options to choose from and depending on how they answer, I will make recommendations for future care.

Most of you who come to see me are in pain and your only goal is pain relief. This goal requires intensive care, sometimes daily visits.  The next step is to get you through the improvement and recovery phase which includes home exercises and adjustments. Once you feel better you can choose to end chiropractic care, but without follow up, it’s possible that you’ll relapse after that and end up in my office again to manage the pain. We call this the Clinical Care Strategy because you come only when you have symptoms. If this is your case you might have marked the first choice on the form that says, “I have a specific concern and I require help only with this.”

The next choice on the form is, “I want to ensure that my health concerns do not become an ongoing problem and that it will not impact my future.”  If you marked this option then you have chosen Preventive Care, which is less intensive and less costly. Preventive care is designed to prevent relapse.

The last option says, “I want to be healthier five years from today.”  This means you want to invest in your future health.  If you checked this box you have chosen Wellness Care. With this strategy, you’ll be treated more often than with Preventative Care because it’s not symptom oriented. With Wellness Care you can achieve goals like: retrain your muscles, improve your body’s biomechanics, keep your spine aligned and stable which is the most important part of chiropractic care, improve your range of motion, prevent exercise injuries,  and basically be at your best. It’s important that you invest in your future health especially if you have others who depend on you. 

Regardless of what type of care you choose, we are here to help you and support you in your decision.

If you are outside of the Los Angeles area of California, contact your local chiropractor and ask about their wellness strategies. If you are local to Los Angeles, contact us at 818-831-0100 to make an appointment for a free exam and first consultation.

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​If you have landed on this page, you may or may not have a tilted pelvis. You may be a patient of mine at Soft Touch Chiropractic in Porter Ranch, CA, in which case, you've had a consultation with me and you have been diagnosed with anterior pelvic tilt.

Your back pain stems from an imbalance in the foundation of your spine. Think of yourself as a building. If the foundation of a building is unstable, the walls may crack or break down. You can paint or patch cracked walls, but as long as the foundation is imbalanced, the walls will continue to break down. It is the same for your spine.

Your spine's foundation is made up of the ilium and sacral bones along with the sacroiliac joint that binds them. The walls of your "building" are your spine's vertebrae. During the exam we identified that your pelvis was tilted by palpating the ilium bones and found that they were not level.  Your vertebrae are misaligned according to your pelvic tilt. The ligaments in your foundation are unstable, which means one side may be tighter than the other. This phenomenon causes your muscles to take over the job of your ligaments. While the muscles are doing the job of the ligaments, they spasm due to overwork, causing you pain. Your muscles, from your neck to your hamstrings and calf muscles, may be spasmed due to your pelvic tilt.

Both your vertebrae and your sacroiliac joints need regular chiropractic adjustments in order to correct this condition. Adjustments along with home exercises will not only fix your pelvic tilt, but they will also alleviate your muscle tone and return proper function to your ligaments.

Please watch the video below which explains pelvic tilt in a visual format.

If you are a patient, please faithfully follow all instructions given to you during your visit.  If you are in pain and have not yet seen a chiropractor, I highly recommend making an appointment for an exam with your local doctor of chiropractic.