On A Plane To France

It begins… or it continues. All hinges on perspective.

As of this week, I have been in practice as a chiropractor in Los Gatos for a decade. It has been a privilege to have the opportunity to help so many people “get healthy and feel better.” I have witnessed the miraculous healing powers of the body, been humbled by cases I could not solve, and awoken many a night with insight into how I might help a patient… impatient for the patients next visit so I could continue my life’s work.

Coming in for landing in Paris, France.

This morning I left my house at 4:30AM on a trip to Paris to study with one of the world’s leading experts on posture, Noelle Perez-Christiaens. She has devoted her life to helping western society not crumble into somatic chaos. I say western society, because in many parts of the developing world people utilize their body daily for physical labor. And in these cultures excellent posture is common, effortless, and the human body resilient.

In our modernized world we have every convenience. We utilize our brain much more than our physical body. Many of us sleep in comfortable beds, sit for our meals, drive to and from work, labor at our desks, and collapse on the couch in the evening. And almost everyone has chronically tight muscles, discomfort with prolonged sitting and standing postures, and bouts of neck, low back, and/or hip pain.

I believe that it is a human being’s birth right to live in a body that feels amazing. When I look at my boys running around, squatting effortlessly, bounding with energy, I see physical ease. No restricted movement. Muscles supple and relaxed. A physical body transporting their ever-learning brain and their soul.

Some would say that is a luxury of youth. Then I see a picture of a sixty-year-old woman carrying water in a bucket on her head from the river to her home. Her spine is straight, she has a look of resilience in her step, and her face has peace and joy as she easily converses with her friends during her daily trek.

 Life in a balanced body at the beach and "stop taking pics dad"

What would life be like in a body that was perfectly balanced? What would it feel like to sit for three hours, unaware of any sensations from our body, able to fully immerse in our mental and spiritual faculties? I had a few hours of this experience a month ago enjoying the production of Wicked. I’ll blog about my experience, but it was mental and emotional euphoria because I was able to completely focus on the musical. Unlike anything I had previously experienced, because my body was utterly silent. No sense of discomfort or tension or strain. Silence.

I think that might be what my boys are experiencing throughout their days and nights. Maybe it is the reason children learn so rapidly. The reason they are full of bliss and wonder. The reason they “sleep like a baby.” Maybe a large part of it has to do with silence from their 650 skeletal muscles. As we age does the constant, nagging static signal from our imbalanced physical body compete with our vibrant experience of the world around us and our true mental capacity?

I’m in search of that still point of physical being. And I want to learn how to help those around me on their journey towards body awareness and balanced posture. My journey has me traveling to the other side of the world currently. I’m excited to share what I learn.

I want to finish this post with gratitude. I have so much to be thankful for in my first ten years of practice:

• Thank you to God for giving me a passion and purpose to help others. I value every day on earth, even the challenging ones. I love being in service to my patients. And I humbly appreciate the wonder which is the human body.
• To my wife, Aryn: you inspire me, push me, comfort me, and I have so much fun with you. I am the man I am because of you. And I become a better man, day-by-day, because of your influence. Thank you for being such a wonderful mother to our children and for encouraging me to take this journey to France to continue my education.
• To the Positive Motion team: Laura and Dr. Nordin - I feel so comforted with you both at the helm of the ship while I’m traveling abroad. Together we help so many people each week and have so much fun doing it. Who could ask for more from our professional lives?
• Jean Couch and Jenn Sherer from the Balance Center / Spinefullness in Palo Alto, CA. A patient seven years ago told me that Jean had ended his chronic back pain with a seventy-five minute “sitting class.” That got my attention and I signed up for the class that day. Thank you for being my teachers.
• To my patients: I love being your chiropractor. I have a dear mentor who once told me that “God will send you patients that you will fail on so that you will learn.” I show up every day at practice with the intention of fixing everything that ails each patient. I don’t always succeed, but when I can’t figure something out, that patient doesn’t ever leave my mind. When reading a journal article, sitting at a medical conference, or consulting with a colleague I am thinking of that patient and if “now” is the moment I am going to learn the secret to help them. Hopefully, my travels in Paris will include some of those moments.

In positive motion,

Brant Pedersen, DC, CCSP

How Does Kinesio Taping Work?

At Positive Motion Chiropractic in Los Gatos, we are always trying to learn and then incorporate the latest, most advanced treatments into the care of our patients. We want you to be pain-free and functioning fully so you can enjoy your life. To that end, Dr. Brant Pedersen (DC) has studied and been trained in Kinesio Taping methods.


You may have seen a local athlete with some strange tape over a joint or muscle. More likely, you might have seen some of the athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with body parts covered by colorful Kinesio Tape (aka K-tape). Actually 50,000 rolls of K-tape were used at the Beijing Olympics on the athletes. The tape has many profound effects on the body. I am often asked to explain all of these in the office to a patient, but many times some pictures and a description can be more explanatory.


The History


Kinesio Tape was developed in 1973 by a chiropractor, Dr. Kenzo Kase, in Japan. He was searching for a sports taping method to assist in the healing of traumatized tissues. He found that standard taping techniques, such as athletic taping and strapping, provided muscle and joint support, however, they reduced range of motion, did not support the fascia and, in many cases, inhibited the actual healing process of traumatized tissues.


Kinesio Tape is a breathable, waterproof tape with a medical-grade, heat sensitive acrylic adhesive. It is easily tolerated and can last for 3-5 days without re-application, even in the water. It allows range of motion and does not restrict like conventional athletic tape. It has elasticity of up to 30-40% from its resting length.


Effects on The Body

Supporting a lower rib injury?

Kinesio Tape works on a few different principles and I will try and simplify each of them here:


1. Kinesio Taping of an area RELIEVES PAIN. It accomplishes this by utilizing a principle in neurology called "pain gating." Simply put, when you stimulate the skin over an area it will block some of the pain signals from the deeper tissues in that area. An example of this you are familiar with is if you hit your finger with a hammer you would rub or shake your hand and finger vigorously to decrease the pain. Conversely, you would never hit your finger with a hammer and then just stay completely still -- that would cause many more pain fibers to fire to your brain. As you move your joints and muscles, the Kinesio Tape pulls on the skin which fires sensory nerves which block some of the pain signals coming from structures below the skin. The Kinesio Tape doesn't usually take away all the pain, but it can have a dramatic and immediate effect on decreasing pain in joints and muscles.

Like the layers beneath your skin.

2. Kinesio Taping REMOVES INFLAMMATION from inflamed tissues. To understand how this works think of the skin at your forearm. If we looked at your tissues of your forearm under a microscope we would see the skin layer (actually layers), then fascia, then muscle fibers, more fascia, etc... There are many layers to your body. If you think of these layers of your body like you would a lasagna with all the layers of noodles and the "red sauce" in-between the layers. If you were to pull up on the top layer of noodles it would let the "red sauce" flow more freely. The same thing happens with the "red sauce" in your tissues; when you move the tape helps to gently traction on the layers under your skin and creates better fluid exchange, thus reducing inflammation and speeding the healing process.

K-tape on the low back and neck.

3. HELPS MOVEMENT AND BIOMECHANICS. Based on where we start taping, how we position your body prior to taping, and the stretch we put on the tape, we can influence how your body moves. When we are injured we often have poor movement patterns. Using KinesioTape we can help your biomechanics and movement and help you to heal more rapidly and with less pain.


If you have any questions regarding Kinesio Tape let us know. We love educating our patients and helping your body feel fantastic!


Best Regards,


Dr. Brant Pedersen (DC, CCSP)
Positive Motion Chiropractic
15466 Los Gatos Blvd Suite #215
Los Gatos, CA 95066

Chiropractic and the Winter Olympics 2010

Chiropractic care as part of the Olympic Games started back in 1976 when Dr. Leroy Perry, D.C., provided care for athletes representing Antigua during the 1976 Games in Montreal, Canada. In 1980, during the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY, Dr. George Goodheart, D.C., became the first official chiropractor appointed to Team USA. Dr. Goodheart also was the founder of the International College of Applied Kinesiology (AK).

All of the subsequent Olympic Games have seen Team USA with Doctors of Chiropractic, or D.C.s, as part of the medical team. However, for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, chiropractic care was included inside the Olympic Village Polyclinic, a multi-disciplinary facility that offers comprehensive health care and medical services. While doctors of chiropractic (D.C.s) have historically been included on the Olympic medical staff, the 2010 Winter Olympics marked the first time that D.C.’s from the host country will be treating athletes and officials from around the world directly inside the Polyclinic.

“This is an historic event not only for the chiropractic profession, but also the athletes who will now have access to the care that will help them prepare their bodies for competition,” states Michael Reed, D.C., MS, DACBSP, and Team USA Medical Director (USOC). “These athletes train hard and endure significant physical demands. Sports-focused D.C.s, along with other members of the sports medicine team, are specially skilled to assist them in reaching peak performance.”

Throughout the years, chiropractic has become a mainstay in the care of world-class athletes, leading to a growing number of D.C.s included in the Olympic Games. Countless athletes attribute the care they receive from their chiropractors — working along-side other health care professionals – as a key to properly preparing their bodies to perform optimally.

Dr. Brant Pedersen, D.C. has had the honor treating a number of Olympic athletes in his Los Gatos clinic over the years. Most recently he worked with one of the members of Team USA rowing who participated in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

Dr. Pedersen (DC) Attends Rehabilitation Seminar in Las Vegas

Dr. Brant Pedersen (DC) traveled to Las Vegas, NV on January 23-24, 2010 to study a new treatment and rehabilitation method called "Functional And Kinetic Treatment with Rehabilitation, Provocation, and Motion," or FAKTR-PM for short. The course gives training using instrument assisted soft tissue (such as Graston Technique) and manual therapies, combined with Kinesiotaping and other rehabilitation methods.

Dr. Pedersen is always searching for ways to help his patients recover more fully and with less visits. "I am always striving to learn new techniques and spend time around the masters in conservative medicine so that I can better serve my patients," says Dr. Pedersen, "FAKTR-PM adds more tools to my toolbox, giving me more conservative, non-invasive ways to help my patients recovery health and pain-free status quicker."

FAKTR-PM techniques are used by various medical professionals, including chiropractors, physical therapist, occupational therapists, naturopaths, and some medical doctors. FAKTR-PM technique has been used for quite a few years now on high level athletes including those in professional and Olympic sports. "You may remember seeing Kinesiotape being used on athletes in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. While that was the first time many of my patients saw the tape being used on professional athletes, we have been using Kinesiotape in our office on various patients for the last five years" says Dr. Pedersen.

"I find that techniques like FAKTR-PM allow me to use low-cost, highly-efficient tools that can bring about rapid healing for a wide variety of conditions. My goal is to get all my patients out of pain, back to full function, and do this in the least amount of time possible." says Dr. Pedersen "If I can get you great results in the least amount of time, I know you will refer your friends and family. That is how I have built my Los Gatos practice."

Some conditions that can be helped using FAKTR-PM methods include:

• Tendonitis
• Plantar fasciitis
• Rotator cuff problems
• Neck pain
• Low back stiffness
• Knee problems
• Tennis elbow
• Wrist / hand pain
• Elbow pain
• Ankle sprains and weakness
• Hip problems
• Mid-back pain and tightness
• Sciatica
• Muscle tightness and spasm
• TMJ muscle imbalance

To find out if Dr. Pedersen using FAKTR-PM or other techniques he utilizes in his South Bay clinic can help you, contact Positive Motion Chiropractic at 408-358-5086.

Treating TMJ Pain Using Natural Means

One of the most frustrating moments for me in my practice is when a long-time patient starts talking about a health problem they have been struggling with for months or years and I have never heard them talk about it. It is frustrating for me because I regularly have great success in treating conditions that many patients would never consider telling me about. One such example is TMJ or jaw pain. It is a joint and it is controlled by muscles, both primary elements of my job as a chiropractor. But somehow patients don't put 2 and 2 together. So I thought I would briefly discuss common problems patients have with their TMJ and how I help them correct their pain and dysfunction.

The TMJ

The Temporomandibular Joint, or TMJ, is the jaw joint. It is found in front of the opening to your ears and it moves every time you speak, make a facial expression, and when you are eating. Some people hold their stress in their jaw by clenching their teeth. Others unconsciously "grind their teeth" while they are sleeping.

Your jaw bone, or mandible, is moved up-and-down, side-to-side, and forward-and-backwards by four primary muscles: internal and external pterygoids, massetters, and temporalis muscles. These muscles can be inflammed and can have trigger points which can cause all sorts of pain.

TMJ Symptoms 

• Pain at the TMJ joint
• Popping, clicking, or grating of the jaw joint when opening or closing the mouth
  
• Limited movement or locking of the jaw
  
• Migraines and/or chronic headaches
• Pain in the neck and shoulders
• Jaw muscles stiffness
• A change in the way the upper and lower teeth fit together
• Ringing in the ears
• Ear pain
• Dizziness and vision problems

TMJ Treatment

In my office we frequently treat patients with TMJ syndrome. Most find great TMJ relief. We start with assessing the motion of the TMJ, the tone of the associated muscles, and take a detailed history of when the symptoms began. The symptoms may have started after a trauma to the head, neck, or jaw. They may have slowly come on insidiously. It could be that the patient has held tension and stress in their jaw for years with clenching and grinding of their teeth.

We work to address the aspects causing the patient's TMJ problem. This many times will involve working on the muscles associated with the TMJ using massage or Graston Technique. Sometimes we will do gentle adjustments to the TMJ using an Activator Instrument. Additionally, if the patient is grinding their teeth at night we will recommend referral to a good dentist or orthodontist who can fit the patient for a "night guard" to prevent excessive pressure at the TMJ and wearing down of the patient's teeth. Lastly, there are some exercises and stretches that we will give the patient to complete at home to reduce muscle tension and help the neck and jaw find a more natural, comfortable position.

Our natural approach to healing TMJ syndrome has helped many patients, often in just a few visits. If you suspect you have TMJ symptoms please contact our office. We would love to help you find rapid relief from your pain and discomfort.

Positively,

Dr. Brant Pedersen (DC)

Positive Motion Chiropractic
(408) 358-5086
15466 Los Gatos Blvd, Ste 215
Los Gatos, CA 95032
www.PositiveMotionChiro.com
Get healthy. Feel better.

Inflammation: Cause or Effect?

As I drove to work today, I was listening to the news and one of the topics was side-effects of anti-inflammatory medications. That news story made me want to express the holistic approach to healing versus the western medicine approach to treating conditions. Inflammation is a great way to explain this concept so central to dynamic health.

Inflammation in our bodies is characterized by a few cardinal signs: swelling, redness, heat, and pain. Inflammation may be easily visible to the naked eye, as in a severely sprained ankle. In contrast, inflammation can be deep in our tissues. An example of this that I commonly see in my office is patients complaining of digestive problems that upon examining and palpating their abdomen, I find have severe tenderness to even light pressure. This tenderness to light pressure is a sign that they have intestinal inflammation. It isn't visible from the surface, but nonetheless their digestive tissues are inflamed.

 One other distinction when talking about inflammation is inflammation that is overt versus inflammation that is on a microscopic level. People can have "systemic" body-wide inflammation that causes plaquing of their arteries or hastens the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Inflammation doesn't have to be visible, it can be microscopic. The more we learn about inflammation the more we realize its implication in a wide variety of conditions.

So when a patient presents to a doctor's office today complaining of inflammation, what is the doctor's response? I would hope that it would be to determine the CAUSE of the inflammation. That is what I do every day in my office.

A simpler, quicker, and one-size-fits-all approach is to give each patient an anti-inflammatory medication. This addresses the EFFECT, which is inflammation, without expending any effort to diagnose the cause of the patient's inflammation. This approach drives me crazy! Sadly, this is the standard of care for most doctors.

So you may ask, "What can be a CAUSE of inflammation in my body?" Here is a brief list of common causes of inflammation:

• Improper joint biomechanics: For example, if you ride a bike frequently to get exercise and your knee starts to hurt, the geometry of your bicycle could be causing abnormal wear and tear on your knee.
• Tight muscles causing abnormal wear on joints: If your muscles aren't balanced and working properly they cause joints to degenerate at an accelerated rate.
• An inflammatory diet: The Standard American Diet (SAD), consisting of lots of grains, refined carbohydrates, tons of dairy, processed foods, and red meat is inflammatory. On the other hand, fresh fruits and vegetables, cold water fish, and unprocessed whole foods are anti-inflammatory.
• Subclinical immune challenges: This could be anything from a semi-dormant virus, such as hepatitis, to an infection smoldering away in a tooth underneath a crown. "Subclinical" means the infection isn't keeping you in bed or giving you overt symptoms. Nonetheless, it is putting strain on your body and causing inflammation.
• A lack of anti-inflammatory pre-cursor nutrients: Your body makes its own anti-inflammatory molecules that are great at quenching the inflammatory fire. But you need the basic nutrients like EPA (an Omega 3 oil) and the vitamin and mineral cofactors to be able to produce them.
• Poor adrenal gland health: Your adrenal glands, your "stress glands," produce cortisone and cortisol which have anti-inflammatory properties. If your adrenals are "stressed out" then your body won't be able to produce adequate amounts of either of these hormones.
• Metabolic syndrome or Insulin Resistance: These conditions, which are becoming more and more prevalent in our society, are very inflammatory.

Can you see why it is important to look for the cause of inflammation? I went to college for 8+ years to learn how the human body works. I also learned how to diagnosis causes of inflammation and solve them, in most causes, by natural means. I have devoted my life to solving patient's health complaints, and I LOVE doing it.

I hope you will give me the opportunity to find the CAUSE of your health complaint. In today's health care environment, more and more patients are fed up with covering over the symptoms with medications. They want a doctor that will go to bat for them and put in the work necessary to solve the mystery of their pain. I'm excited to be that doctor for you.

Positively,

Dr. Brant Pedersen (DC)

Positive Motion Chiropractic
(408) 358-5086
15466 Los Gatos Blvd, Ste 215
Los Gatos, CA 95032
www.PositiveMotionChiro.com
Get healthy. Feel better.

Los Gatos Chiropractor Adds Graston Technique To His Practice

A complaint often raised against chiropractors is "I feel great after my visits, but you have to continue going 3x/week forever." That is certainly not our approach at Positive Motion Chiropractic. In fact, as a doctor of chiropractic I know that there are more people in our community with pain and dysfunction in their bodies than I could help in 100 lifetimes. As such, my goal with every patient is to get their health complaints addressed, at their source, in as few visits as possible. To that end, I am always searching for the most effective techniques to help my patients.

A few years ago my search lead me to a new technique/treatment called Graston Technique®. I have traveled outside the State to take Basic and Advanced training in Graston Technique®. This remarkable technique allows me to detect and treat areas of “scar tissue” or adhesions in muscles, tendons and ligaments that can reduce our range of motion and cause pain. In the healing process, our body attempts to repair those areas by creating “scar tissue,” much like the scar that forms on the skin when you have scraped or banged your knee.

Dysfunction
In time, we can have a build up of this fibrous scar tissue, particularly in the muscles, tendons and ligaments that get a lot of use. This can lead to pain and dysfunction because this replacement tissue lacks the strength and flexibility of healthy tissue (in some areas it may even mat down and entrap a nerve).

Graston Tools
The Graston Technique® allows us to better detect and treat these areas because it uses a stainless steel instrument that glides along a patient’s muscle, tendons or ligaments, with the right amount of pressure to detect just where the scar tissue or restrictions are located.

When these knots or bands of scar tissue are encountered, both the clinician and the patient sense a restriction, almost like a speed bump or a granular feeling. The instrument can then be used to “break up” this restriction or adhesion. Stretching exercises are used to promote re-alignment of the fibers into the normal pattern of healthy tissue.

Benefits
The benefit of the Graston Technique® is not only in detection of restrictions or adhesions, but also in the amount of improvement that takes place in a short amount of time. Remember the song and words “…the knee bone is connected to the thigh bone…”? Well, so they are and so are all of the body parts connected in what is referred to as the kinetic chain. The instruments allow the clinician to follow that kinetic chain, effectively uncovering the cause of the problem, then treating the cause and the area of pain or restriction.

The unaided hand is hard pressed to detect and break up as much scar tissue, or follow the kinetic chain, as effectively or efficiently as stainless steel instruments can. Patients usually receive two treatments per week for 4 to 5 weeks. Most patients have a positive response within 2 to 3 treatments. Some patients note some mild soreness after the treatments and they are able continue to perform their regular functions at home or work during the treatment period. GT decreases overall time of treatment, fosters faster rehabilitation/recovery, reduces need for anti-inflammatory medication and resolves chronic conditions thought to be permanent. If you have not experienced the Graston Technique®, yet you have lingering discomfort or stiffness, please ask us whether you may be helped by this effective treatment.

Graston Technique® has been effective in the treatment of:
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Neck/shoulder pain
• de Quervain’s syndrome
• Tennis elbow
• Fibromyalgia
• IT band syndrome
• Joint sprain
• Lower back pain
• Muscle strain
• Golfer's elbow
• Post-surgical adhesions
• TMJ disorder
• Tension headaches
• Plantar fasciitis
• Painful scars
• Tendonitis
• Post-fracture pain

For more information about Graston Technique®, including an online Slide Show with videos, please visit www.GrastonTechnique.com. To find out if Graston Technique® can help you, please contact our office for a free 15-minute consultation with Dr. Pedersen (DC).

Positive Motion Chiropractic
(408) 358-5086
15466 Los Gatos Blvd, Ste 215
Los Gatos, CA 95032
www.PositiveMotionChiro.com
Get healthy. Feel better.