resourcesABOUT MT AUTHOR GUIDELINES CLASSIFIEDS EDITORIAL CALENDAR MEDIA GUIDE MASSAGE MART SCHOOLS & EDUCATION FEEDBACK
Connections Worth Making
"If most doctors are like me, [they are] isolated physically and professionally. I do not make the time to connect with other doctors and also a lot of doctors do not want to be connected for a lot of reasons. Dynamic Chiropractic keeps me grounded and connected.
Leg Length and Pelvic Fixations
A common component of low back pain is sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Signs of SIJ dysfunction can include fixation with reduced range of motion, and localized pain or joint laxity and inflammation.
Online Efforts That Convert Traffic Into Patients
Most chiropractors are using "dinner with the doc," "refer a friend," customer appreciation days, grand openings, health fairs, chamber of commerce meetings, and other networking events to get new patients.
Joint Supplements for Athletes (Part 1)
Maintaining joint health should be a daily focus for athletes. Joint health is a complex issue for everyone, but for athletes it poses a greater concern.
Old TCM Sayings: Treat the Front to Treat the Back
Chinese medicine college was, and always will be, a memorable time. It was a time of massive personal and professional growth.
Neuroscience: Where Western Medicine and Chinese Medicine Can Come Together
The recent advances in neuroscience are truly incredible. With this expansion of scientific knowledge, I would like to see even more research into the neuroscientific basic of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.
The Top Seven Website Mistakes Clinics Make
The majority of acupuncture clinics finally have a website for their business. Having a website is crucial for being found online through Google, Facebook and review sites like Yelp.
What's Triggering That Point?
An orthopedic friend recently saw a patient of mine. He felt an injection of a trigger point (TP) at the upper trapezius and surrounding areas was necessary, since that was the patient's area of chief complaint and there was a tender, radiating nodule.
Reflections: The Art of Teaching Asian Medicine
Over the past three decades, my global workshops have been translated into German, Swiss German, French, Romansch, Spanish, Lithuanian and Xhosa. Time to offer you new teachers a few tips!
Finding Balance in the Clinic
This past December, I celebrated 11 years in practice. I seriously don't know where the time went. I feel beyond blessed and grateful to be practicing our profound and beautiful medicine and to be helping guide my patients restore a state of optimal health.
Adjusting the Occiput on the Atlas
You may never see a particular set of patients in your office – the ones who are either afraid of neck adjustments or have had a bad experience. A vast majority of those who had a bad experience did not have a life-threatening vascular event.
Put the Social Back Into Social Media
Social media is more than a passing fad, it is definitely here to stay. Social media apps and channels of distribution may evolve, but the concept of social media is now big business and a part of all our lives.
Case Histories from Bali: Treating Balinese Chidren with TCB and Shonishin
When I moved to the island of Bali in 2005, I offered my services in Bumi Sehat, which means Healthy Mother Earth, a free birthing center for poor and disadvantaged local women located in Ubud.
We Get Letters & E-Mail
We Have Come a Long Way – But There's a Long Way to Go; Grounded and Connected.
It's Time to Create a Strong Acupuncture Footprint
Footprints in the sand. Footprints in the snow. Where do these footprints go? Some are big, some are small, but footprints are made by all.
It might have been a miserable start to the day in the heart of downtown San Diego. A heavy rain had soaked the large homeless population congregating near the intersection of Third Avenue and Ash Street as they waited for a free breakfast to be served at the First Lutheran Church on the corner.
Acupuncture and Homeopathy: Bioenergetic Brothers
Acupuncture and homeopathy share an important healing principle: bioenergetics. "Bio" means "life," so bioenergetics is literally "life energy."
A New Era of Injury Awareness Means a New Focus on Prevention
Despite a dramatic Super Bowl last month, the National Football League has taken quite a few hits lately concerning player injuries, particularly concussions.
Are You Really a Healthy Eater?
I always giggle a little bit (to myself) when someone comes into my office and informs me that they are a healthy eater. What exactly does that mean? Does that mean they eat sugar in moderation? And what's that, exactly?
The Conscious Evolution of Healing, Part 2
The idea of transmission is very important in the Chinese medical classics. According to author Claude Larre, the ancient Chinese were highly interested in the connection between things. Nothing was looked at as an isolated entity.
The Easy Way to Learn How to Document ICD-10
The 2015 Work Plan for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) includes a focus on chiropractic services. This means chiropractors can expect to see more audits and reviews in the coming year because private payers pay attention to the OIG's focus as well.
December, 2005, Vol. 05, Issue 12
Shin Splints or Compartment Syndrome?
By Whitney Lowe, LMT
One of the most common overuse injuries affecting the lower extremity is the condition known as shin splints. While the term shin splints routinely is used, especially among the athletic population, it does not represent a specific clinical pathology.Instead, it describes chronic shin pain resulting from overuse. It occurs in two regions of the leg. When it occurs in the proximal anterior lateral region of the leg, it's called anterior shin splints. It's also seen regularly in the distal medial region of the leg, where it's called posterior shin splints or medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS). This discussion focuses on anterior shin splints, which routinely is confused with another overuse condition of the lower leg called anterior compartment syndrome.
Anterior shin splints are attributed to overuse of the dorsiflexor muscles, such as the tibialis anterior, extensor digitorum longus and extensor hallucis longus. Overuse results from excessive eccentric loading on the dorsiflexors. An example is walking or running downhill. With anterior shin splints, the client reports a history of repetitive activity performed on a regular basis or a sudden increase in activity levels. Pain is felt in the anterior lateral region of the leg near the proximal tibialis anterior attachment. The client with shin splints routinely reports pain at the beginning of an activity that gradually subsides with use, only to return after activity has ceased. The pain is like delayed onset muscle soreness by coming on hours later, even at rest.1
Anterior compartment syndrome sometimes occurs as an acute injury from a direct blow to the lower leg. However, it's more commonly a chronic condition resulting from overuse, such as running on a hard surface or suddenly changing the intensity of training. The condition often is referred to as exertional compartment syndrome (ECS) if it results from changes in training intensity.
Muscles of the extremities performing similar functions are enclosed within fascial compartments separating them from other muscles. Repetitive overuse of these muscles causes these tissues to swell, increasing compartmental pressure. Subsequently, the deep peroneal nerve and tibial artery or vein are squeezed within the compartment. Ceasing the offending activity allows symptoms to subside immediately. Anterior compartment syndrome and shin splints frequently are confused because symptoms are felt in the same region of the lower leg.2
Clients with exertional compartment syndrome will describe a repetitive activity performed on a regular basis. The client also might report a sudden increase in activity levels preceding the onset of symptoms. For example, chronic compartment syndromes often develop in military recruits when they begin basic training and their activity levels are drastically increased.3 Symptoms might include aching lower leg pain, paresthesia, coldness in the feet, color changes in the distal lower extremity, or motor impairment to the dorsiflexor muscles, in more extreme cases. The more pressure within the compartment, the worse the symptoms will be.
With a compartment syndrome, symptoms increase as the client engages in the aggravating activity. Once the activity is ceased, symptoms generally subside within about 30 minutes as compartmental pressure returns to normal. The reduction of symptoms when activity is ceased is one way to distinguish compartment syndrome from shin splints. Although there might be some initial soreness, shin splint pain characteristically increases after the activity with delayed onset soreness.
Compartment syndromes usually produce pain with palpation only if the compartmental pressure is elevated, such as right after the activity, while shin splints likely are to be tender to palpation long after activity has ceased. Shin splints produce pain with stretching and manual resistance (resisted dorsiflexion). Compartment syndrome is not as likely to be painful with either manual resistance or stretching because neither of these maneuvers increases the intracompartmental pressure. If paresthesia is present, compartment syndrome should be suspected because this is a symptom of nerve involvement and there is no nerve pathology in shin splints.
Both conditions affect the same region of the body and result from similar patterns of overuse. However, it's crucial to make a distinction between the conditions because treatment strategies for each differ. The only way to accurately identify the crucial differences between these similar conditions is with a comprehensive and thorough examination process.
Click here for more information about Whitney Lowe, LMT.
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