 Look At This InfographicBy Dr Khong Lamvichit on March 12, 2020 easy 1 min read The World Health Organization Director, General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was still hesitant on asserting the COVID- 19 a pandemic; however he warned nations to prepare for the disease to spread. He also added if this virus has the pandemic potential? He answered with a resounding yes as he addressed reporters in the month of February.
 I Have A Kink DocBy Dr Khong Lamvichit on February 19, 2020 5mins OverviewNeck pain is extremely common. Neck ligaments and muscles are frequently strained and sprained from poor posture; this occurs during a simply leaning over your desk or turning your head looking into the blind spot of your vehicle. Common conditions related to neck pain could also be Osteoarthritis. Not frequently neck pain is anymore serious then musculoskeletal pain. Definitely seek medical or chiropractic care if your neck pain occurs with numbness or loss of strength in your arms, hands, or if you have shooting pain in your shoulder and down your arm. SymptomSigns and symptoms include:
When to see your chiropractic doctor When your neck pain does not improve in 1 or 2 weeks. Check in to see your chiropractic doctor for soft tissue and joint restriction relief. Seek immediate care if your neck pain was due to a motor vehicle accident, diving accident, or fall onto your head. Contact your chiropractic doctor if your neck pain:
CausesDepending on what source you follow, your head weighs approximately 10-11 pounds. The neck is extremely flexible and supports the weight of your head, thus being vulnerable to injuries and chronic conditions due to muscular pain and joint restrictions. Neck pain cause are:
PreventionNeck pain could frequently be resolved through proper posture exercises. Easy daily activities such as keeping your head over your spine will pay huge dividends into your late years. Here are some new practices you could do to help your neck:
At the end of the day, neck pain ranges from mild to serious. The conditions listed are commonly related to neck pain, but not always primary causes. Continue to attempt preventive measures before going to see your medical or chiropractic physician.
 Photo by JESHOOTS.COM Go Ahead, Take 5By Jason Lewis on November 26, 2019 3 mins Exercise Opportunities Are Everywhere, You Just Have To LookWe all know that we need to exercise, but we’re also busy adults with jobs, kids, and other obligations. We all share the same 24 hours in the day. When time is limited it’s often difficult to fit physical fitness into your daily schedule; however, you might be surprised to realize there are opportunities to work your body hiding around every corner. Whether you are at home, at work, or on-the-go, you can sneak some exercise into your daily routine.  Use Your KiddosIf you have kids, you know that children have a seemingly boundless store of energy hiding in their little bodies. While you can’t hope to match their endurance, you can use them for inspiration and as workout partners. Go outside and play for half an hour. This will give you an ample amount of aerobic activity on top of fresh air. As an added benefit, you’ll strengthen your relationship with your kids.  Make Cleaning A GameAccording to the physician contributors on the ShareCare forum, your least favorite chores might be your fitness salvation. Cleaning the floors, for example, burns nearly 200 calories in half an hour. Sweeping for 10 minutes – 37 calories. A 125- to 150-pound person can scrub away up to 255 calories an hour simply by cleaning the house.  Track Those StepsDo you know how much you actually move during the day? You may move around less than you think. Most healthcare professionals recommend getting the equivalent of 10,000 steps each day. If you aren’t currently tracking your movements, there are plenty of tools that can help you do just that. You can download a fitness app to your phone, which in turn allows you to stay abreast of progress, plan goals, and schedule your routine. If your device is older, it may struggle to keep up with newer apps. There are plenty of newer releases available and often special offers through many carriers; sort through your options to find what features appeal to you and what works with your budget.  Go Ahead, Take 5You don’t really need an hour to eat lunch, especially if you pack healthy meals to bring with you. Instead, spend the first part of your lunch break on your nutrition needs and the rest on your fitness needs. Find a friend to walk with you or better yet, start an office fitness challenge. SnackNation recommends making it fun by setting shared goals and integrating elements of gameplay, such as providing badges for meeting fitness goals.  Keep Your Shoes In HandyOne of the most important things you can do for yourself if you’re pressed for time is to keep a bag handy with workout shoes, clothing, and a towel. Make sure you have everything you need, including orthotics, a carrier to hold your phone and keys, and extra bottles of water for when an opportunity to exercise comes to call. You never know when this will happen. If you’re driving with the family, for example, pull off at a scenic overlook. Many have hiking trails that can help you break the monotony of a road trip while fitting in some precious exercise time. Even if you can only devote 10 minutes here and there to your fitness routine, remember that every little bit helps. Even a few moments walking through the parking lot will provide more benefits to your body than paying for a valet. The point is that there are opportunities, you just have to look for them, and be ready to pounce when they present themselves.
 Photo by Indian Yogi (Yogi Madhav) How Do You Squat Bro?By Dr Khong Lamvichit on October 23, 2019 4 mins Over and over again I am in my athletes' ears about fixing their squat mechanics. They will go to sleep hearing sounding voices affirming "butt-back", "peel-the-carpet", "hip-turnouts", or "core-brace". All of which are equally important with proper squat mechanics to prevent lower back pain.
 Push Pull then RepeatBy Dr Khong Lamvichit on August 14, 2019 2 mins Goal #1 - Build Muscle Building muscle is priority. When working on increasing muscle size you create a doorway for everything else. This allows your body to generate power with lifting, control and stability for balance, and explosiveness for speed. An overlooked attribute is body temperature regulation for those sweltering hot summer or frigid winter nights. Goal #2 - Overall Fitness Improving your overall fitness. This attribute could be the top-of-the-top when it comes to exercise goals. When it comes to being able to perform at any given moment, you want to be sure you're at peak form with your exercises. Goal #3 - Stamina Improving overall stamina. Run, dance, or climb stairs much? You would know what stamina or endurance feels like if you're a runner training for the Chicago marathon every year in October. You want to include exercises that assists your endurance for running. Many times athletes will have a one-sided training regimen which could lead to repetitive stress injuries. Train outside the box! Goal #4 - Overall Well-Being Improving your overall well-being. Our last and final goal is to make you feel happy! Those who train for intense competitions for powerlifting, crossfit, and martial arts will tell you how brutal their sport is, but what drives them is the passion to become faster, stronger, and smarter than who they were the day before. They will tell you how they struggle with training, however at the same time they'll tell you of the "high" you will receive when you're done with training. This comes from an influx of hormones that gives you this rush of euphoria after your exercising. What an interesting time we live in! We have more resources than ever to help each individual exercise and guide them through their workout journey. At the same time, we have people who have paralysis-by-analysis. If you are feeling paralyzed in the beginning of your journey this article will be your go-to for your path to a healthy lifestyle.
 To Exercise or Not To ExerciseBy Christian Worstell on July 30, 2019 3 mins When the lingering effects of an injury make it difficult for you to tackle tasks or activities you once enjoyed, you might want to consider physical therapy. This article unpacks the purpose and benefits of the practice to help you decide if it might be a good course of action for you. What is Physical Therapy? Physical therapy, or PT, is designed to support patients across various phases of recovery. It can be used to reduce pain and boost your mobility. PT can also help you regain control of muscles or body systems after surgery or a stroke. The goal of a physical therapy doctor is to identify the main causes of your issue. Then, using your input and medical record, your physical therapist can develop a care plan to guide you back to better health and mobility. While some forms of physical therapy fall outside of the realm of insurance coverage, many physical therapy treatments are covered under insurance if they are deemed medically necessary. When Should I Seek Out Physical Therapy? Physical therapy might not be best for everyone, and it will not take the place of a primary care physician’s expertise. There are, however, some common scenarios in which you might find physical therapy right for you:
It can be helpful to check in with your physical therapist simply to assess your overall condition. You can also ask your physical therapist for recommendations on lifestyle changes that might help ward off additional aches and pains in the future. Tap Into the Benefits of Physical Therapy Physical therapy can alleviate your ailments while also saving you the cost and health impact of pain medication prescriptions and surgeries. It can also help you better understand how your body works. It might not be the best option for everyone, but for many, it presents a marvelous means to take back their mobility one session at a time. Find a physical therapy provider near you here or make an appointment with Midwest Sport and Spine for your physical therapy HERE
Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash
Hands On Fire
By Dr Khong Lamvichit July 13, 2019 3 mins
What Kind Of Condition Is This?
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that causes pain, numbness, and tingling mainly through the arms and hands. The median nerve is the major nerve that gets squeezed or compressed as it traverses through the wrist.
Most patients with the condition will worsen over time, but lucky you're reading this article because you'll be able to address the symptoms early on. Symptoms will could be relieved with avoiding specific activities; however I encourage symptomatic patients to perform the later on exercises to re-introduce proper movement into your ligaments and tendons. Constant pressure on the median nerve potentially could lead to nerve damage or worsening symptoms. To prevent permanent damage or surgery to take off the pressure to the median nerve you could either fast forward to the exercises or continue reading to enlighten your noggin. How Long Does Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Last?
The Cleveland Clinic suggest numbness takes longer to relieve, maybe up to 3 months. Surgery also will not help if you do not have carpal tunnel syndrome. As an added bonus, pain in the palm around the incisions could also last up to a few months post surgery.
How Serious Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Some people and health care providers make CTS sound morbid; however the truth of the matter is this condition is usually not serious. If you were able to see a chiropractic doctor, physical therapist, or other soft tissue practitioners you would be able to address the symptoms immediately without having to go into surgery. To all the hand orthopedic specialist, sorry but not sorry to take away your business.
How Do I Treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome At Home?
Now aren't you glad you read this article. Here are four easy ways to treat your carpal syndrome at home:
1. Wrist twirls:
These are additional wrist equipment and appliances to help find relief from your typing, construction, or hand gripping related job you're apart of.
1. Rocktape for carpal's tunnel spacing
2. Gel thumb spica for carpal's tunnel spacing
3. Wrist/Thumb splint for carpal's tunnel spacing
4. Hot/Cold therapy & Air compression brace for carpal's tunnel spacing
 HEAL MY "IT" PAIN PLEASEBy Dr Khong Lamvichit on June 18, 2019 3 mins Define iliotibial band syndromeAthletes that exercise frequently performing repetitive knee bending activities, such as running, cycling, squatting, and/or overweight with decondition hips could potentially experience over tightening of the Iliotibial (IT) Band syndrome. This pain occurs commonly in runners; however very sedentary lifestyle seekers have experienced this outside knee pain. Lucky for the reader, there's no need for surgery, but therapies such as myofascial release, dynamic stretching, and proper strengthening exercises will do. What are the symptoms of an IT band injury?Athletes experiencing IT band symptoms: 1. Aching, burning, and/or tenderness along the outside of their knee 2. Feel clicking, popping, and/or snapping along the outside of their knee 3. Pain referral shooting up and/or down the outside of their leg 4. Warmth and redness on the outside of their knee How do I heal my IT band pain?1. Reduce the pain and inflammation that normally occurs. Depending on the severity of the pain, we always want to focus on keeping your pain down before we perform tissue mobilization on your ITB. Common ways to reduce inflammation and pain is the "no brainer" rest, ice, and topical anti-inflammatories. Commonly NSAIDs would be recommended if you're looking to speedily reduce the pain. At the end of day these are all effective in the beginning phase. 2. Massage and stretching frequently. Experts in these areas are massage therapists or myofascial specialist such as active release treatments from practitioners from Chiropractic doctors or physical therapist. Staying away from foam rollers would be a wise decision simply because there is no tissue release taking place. Constant smashing of any thick fibrous bands such as tendons or iliotibial bands would irritate the tissue. 3. Strengthen your behind. We at Midwest Sport and Spine would make attempts to strengthen the primary and secondary hip stabilizers immediately after reducing the pain and inflammation. Primary hip stabilizers consist of gluteus maximus. Secondary hip stabilizers consist of tensor fascia latte, gluteus medius and minimus. What causes my IT band pain symptoms?IT (Iliotibial band) pain typically stems from repetitive motion causing the taut band to snap over the lateral femoral condyle. This is normally termed "overuse" injury with athletes participating in running, cycling, or other sports with repeated knee flexion and hip joints. Does ITB syndrome go away?ITB pain could start off as a mild pain; however left untreated could potentially worsen. Most people would rest which could take as long as 6 weeks; however we have found when left untreated the fascial band will remain tense and thickened. This means the athlete potentially can re-aggravate the IT band once they resume their respective sport. We highly encourage the athlete to perform simple stretches and exercises in this article to reduce the tension developed in their knee. You will thank us later. Stretches and Exercises
 Words Will Not Break Your Bones, But Falls Might By Dr Khong Lamvichit on April 17, 2019 5 mins Friend, you are apart of an aged population. The last time I checked, you're getting older and we all do. The day I see someone pull a "Benjamin Button" I'll begin questioning the science of our evolution. Many of us are aware our muscles begin to degrade though our 30s; however determining whether bone tissue or muscle tissue begin to lose mass first is destined for another article. Since I have an image of a very colorful bone, labeled with a rad name, let's get going on bone tissue. To save you from boredom of the anatomy of bone tissue I'll take you on an imagery ride of your youthful days as compared to your aging days. When you were young you played, you laughed, and you fell down. You then washed, rinsed, and repeated this cycle over and over time with no hesitancy of what may occur; you enjoyed life at this time. Here comes your 30's and you played, you laughed, and you fell down. You then look at life questioning your weekend warrior spirit of what follows next. Buzzwords ensue like CR-RACK, KA-POW, or honey I did it again! This is us. When you were young, bone is repeatedly broken down then repaired faster. This is a constant state of renewal for bone growth. When you reach your late 20s this cycle reverses. How fast you lose bone mass depends on what you were able to attain during your youthful "KA-POW" days. How much bone you have stored away will help prevent future bone related injuries like osteoporosis or osteopenia.  Risk Factors The likelihood of you developing osteoporosis depends on your age, race, lifestyle choices, and medical conditions and treatments." Other risk factors out of our control would be your sex, age, race, family history, and body size frame. Hormone levels could play a role such as lowered sex hormones could weaken the body, too much thyroid could cause bone loss, and other associated overactive parathyroid or adrenal glands. Dietary factors that accumulate low calcium intake with eating disorders or gastrointestinal surgeries like gastric bands. Steroids and other medical prescriptions would sometimes interfere with bone rebuilding as well; as an added bonus, if your lifestyle choices were sedentary included with a complimentary sandwich of excessive alcohol and tobacco than I have some news for you. Complications Fractures are the path to possibilities if pursuing this path to destruction. Here are a few examples: 1. Back pain (obvious) 2. Lost height (too short) 3. Hunchback (too short and no dating) Prevention Good news for you there are ways to keep your bones healthy for the remainder of your life. Let's start with: Protein: These are the building blocks of bone formation. A great source of protein is from animal meat. Vegetarians and vegans are able to get enough protein from combination sources such as soy, nuts, legumes, and dairy and eggs. Body weight: Maintaining significant muscle mass for body weight will decrease bone loss. The Mayo Clinic recommends weight-bearing exercise and activities that promote balance and good posture which are beneficial for your bones, but walking, running, jumping, dancing and weightlifting are also beneficial (3). Calcium: The RDA for calcium is 1,000 mg of calcium per day. Good sources of calcium include:
Vitamin D: A 2013 Research Study from Lebanon (4) compared teenage girls and boys who took vitamin D supplements with others who took a placebo. The main result was:
 The end of the day, the best way to prevent osteoporosis is to build your strong bones and slow down bone loss. Weight-bearing exercises benefits your bones at any age group, but you'll have the most benefits if you exercises regularly from when you're young and throughout the rest of your life. As we age, let's create an savory plate of movements to balance and strengthen our lifestyles. Let's face it, the older we get the sweeter we become. References:
By Hazel Bridges March 26, 2019 4 mins
As a senior, the prospect of doing yoga might seem like an impossible dream. After all, there’s no possible way you can bend and twist your body into a pretzel, right? However, yoga comes in many different forms, each with its own poses, and many are extremely gentle, focusing on slow movements, gentle stretching, and deep breathing. If your interest is piqued, the following benefits of yoga will have you on the yoga mat in no time. Create a Dedicated Yoga Space When you are first getting into yoga, it is best to take classes with an instructor who can show you how to modify moves for your safety using chairs and props. However, once you are feeling comfortable, you might want to set up your own yoga space (1). In order to do this, you’ll need to clear out a room or designated corner/space. You might find that you need to move some of your furniture or items into storage, at least until you figure out what to do with them. You can book a 10’x10’ self-storage unit in Chicago for under $60 a month. This could be a good time to de-clutter your home too to cut down on stress and falls. Once your space is cleared, use calm cool tones and add mood lighting (Walmart has mood lamps for as low as $11.97) or drapes (Target has a wide selection of drapes and curtains, many of which are under $20). Yoga for Depression Relief With age comes great loss — loss of a spouse, friends, mobility, independence — and it can add up rather quickly. This is when feelings of depression can creep in, leaving you feeling anxious, lonely, and helpless. While yoga isn’t a replacement for mental health treatment, it is an amazing supplement (2). Yoga naturally increases your serotonin levels, the neurotransmitter used to treat depression, and is responsible for happy and calm feelings. In addition, yoga increases your heart rate variability, resulting in a much higher relaxation response. Yoga for Dementia Prevention Dementia is common among seniors, and there is yet to be a cure, but yoga has been shown to lower your likelihood of developing it by improving memory recall and memory encoding. According to research cited by the Pacific Standard, “Yoga is believed to exert its effect via lowering stress, lowering inflammation, enhancing neuroplasticity processes, increasing antioxidant levels, and increasing telomerase activity (3).” Put simply, yoga helps the brain form new neural connections to keep the brain functioning properly. Yoga for Dental Health Age can bring on a lot of changes in your dental health, including periodontal disease, tooth decay, and jaw pain, and there is evidence that it is an indirect result of depression (4). Unfortunately, stress exacerbates these issues. Regular brushing, flossing, and check-ups are your first line of defense, but yoga can be your second in your quest for good dental health (5). Stress causes inflammation in various areas of your body, including your gums, increasing your risk for gum disease. All this built-up tension can lead to teeth grinding and subsequent nerve damage, gum recession, decay, and tooth loss. Thankfully, yoga’s focus on mindfulness, fluid movements, and deep breathing make it a stress-buster. In addition, certain yoga poses increase salivation, helping to rinse your mouth and keep bacteria from growing. Yoga for Balance and Mobility Both balance and mobility take a hit as the years tick by. Some accept it as a natural part of the aging, but yoga can help you gain some of it back and improve your quality of life. According to a study of 300 men and women age 60 and older, those who attended a yoga class once or twice a week over the course of several months saw a small improvement in balance and a medium improvement in mobility (6). While the research was inconclusive as to the impact on falls, it is safe to say that better balance may reduce the likelihood of falls and injuries. Yoga is a tool all seniors should use. The senior-specific benefits are plentiful, and getting started is simple. Grab a yoga mat, find a quiet space, take a deep breath, and enjoy. References: 1.https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/5-ways-diy-yoga-sanctuary 2.https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/yoga-therapy#how-it-works 3.https://psmag.com/news/yoga-may-help-stave-off-dementia 4.https://areadentist.org/depression-and-dental-health-exploring-the-connection-and-how-to-get-back-on-a-healthy-track/ 5.https://www.peacefuldumpling.com/yoga-dental-health 6.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-yoga-balance-mobility-idUSKCN0US2MY20160114
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