Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find some frequently asked questions. However, while these questions get asked often, and share similar responses, there is an important note: no two bodies are the same and so the reason you may be experiencing something in your body could be for a completely different reason than the next person. Please keep this in mind when you read, and realize that when you become a client of LiveWELL Health LLC, your health is important to us and your care is specialized to you and your body’s needs, not prescriptive across the board.
FAQ’s
- Do you think it is my shoes?
- What can you do for feet?
- Do you think you can help my friend…list of symptoms?
- What do you think about me taking yoga?
- Do you think it is my back?
- How long will it take to feel better?
- Do I have to do these stretches everyday?
- Will this interfere with my golf game?
- Should I use ice or heat on this (injury)?
- Do I have to live with this pain for the rest of my life?
- Isn’t there a pill for flax? Does it come in capsules?
- Why do I have to drink so much water?
- They told me not to drink water with meals, what should I do?
- When should I use biofreeze verses ibuprofen?
Subject: Posture
Question: Do you think it is my shoes?
Response: Often this question is asked when a person’s posture is being affected, i.e., they might have pain in their feet or in their back which affects the way they hold and carry themselves throughout the day. A way for you to try and discern whether it may be your shoes is to observe yourself and posture in a floor length mirror. Are you holding weight on one foot or the other? Is your posture different barefoot than in your shoes? With some people their posture is different when barefoot or wearing shoes, and with others it is not.
Other questions to ask yourself: Does it hurt with every pair of shoes you own? Is there visible wear on your athletic or daily shoes–On one side or the other? Front or back? Also, are there blisters or calluses on any part of your foot? If there are you may want to consider whether there are old injuries that can explain the calluses or blisters like a sprained ankle, or if it is from the shoes. Sometimes socks hold moisture against the feet leading to blisters. Socks that wick away moisture will often take care of this. Sometimes it can be because you are tight in another area of your body, like your legs, ankles, or hips, all of which can affect your posture. A resource for further information is: www.ndeita.com
Subject: Feet, Plantar fascitis
Question: What can you do for feet?
Response: When people experience Plantar fascitis, what often helps them is rest, ice, and an anti-inflammatory diet. The anti-inflammatory diet includes fish, flax, fruits, and vegetables, and lots of water.
Sometimes what is also needed is for you to stretch tight hamstrings, and decrease high impact activities for a time. A way to tell if this may be the case for you is to ask yourself: Am I able to walk on my feet well? Can I walk while evenly distributing my weight? Often times massage, myofascial release, coupled with learning to stretch and do strengthening exercises will also assist in your healing.
If you are struggling with Bunions—check to see if the peroneus muscle on the outside of the calf is tight. One can work to release it through stretches and exercises.
Subject: Referrals….
Question: Often we get asked at LiveWELL, Do you think you can help my friend who has the following list of symptoms?
Response: LiveWELL tends to work with people who have pain or stress especially issues with bone or muscle pain. We are delighted to talk with people about their concern and they can make their own judgment. Or they can come in for a consultation.
LiveWELL is out of network for all health insurance.
Subject: Yoga
Question: What do you think about me taking yoga?
Response: LiveWELL is glad you are interested in an exercise class. Yoga is often good for stretching, but you have to go slowly when you begin any new exercise program. Some questions to consider, have you had success with it before? If issues of pain come up we can talk through them. As far as yoga goes, we are glad to help you through any aches, pains or questions as they come up, and glad to talk with your yoga teacher.
Subject: Posture & Pain
Question: Do you think it is my back?
Response: Some things to consider if you think it may be your back are the following: What are you feeling? What are some of your symptoms that lead you to believe it may be your back? Do you have a pain that shoots down a leg or an arm? What positions do you experience it in, is it when you are sitting, standing, or lying? Have you noticed muscle weakness near the pain? Do you have pain when you are lying still? Do you have muscle cramping?
Some other things that could be affecting back pain can stem from your nutrition. How is your water intake? How much caffeine are you drinking? If you are not drinking enough water you can have a disc that collapses from dehydration not from injury. But to truly figure out if it might be your back you should either come in for a consultation or consult your doctor.
Subject: Length of Treatment
Question: How long will it take to feel better?
Response: The honest answer is we do not know, but after our first session you will likely know if Myofascial Release or another therapy is going to help you.
However, there are things you can do to speed your healing.
Nutritionally:
- increase your fruit and vegetable intake
- if you are not already eating fish or flax add that to your diet
- Drink water, water, water, water, water, water…
- There may be specific case related suggestions…
Physically:
- Exercise improves circulation and blood flow is how the body gets its healing components to an injured area.
- Exercise also lifts the spirits
- Stretch what is tight and strengthen what is weak.
- Deep breathing helps tight muscles let go and gets oxygen to the areas that are healing.
Emotionally:
- You are in charge, not the pain or the fear of pain.
- You can still enjoy your life while you are getting better, so look for ways to enjoy your life while you are healing.
- Pay attention to the progress and know that you can get better—mentally believe you can get better, notice the little increments, stay in the positive frame of mind—all of this aids in your healing
Finally, a good read on healing is Hidden Messages in Water
by Dr. Masaru Emoto.
Subject: Conditioning
Question: Do I have to do these stretches everyday?
Response: Stretching is essential not extra!!! It is part of the workout, and your workout is not done until you have stretched.
There are many physical benefits to stretching:
- Stretching returns muscles to their natural ready-to-work state
- Allows blood with healing nutrients in and waste products out.
- It lengthens the connective tissues (fascia) if held long enough so that body structures may return to their normal position, in other words you get off your bike, you do not want to walk around like you are still sitting on your bike.
Most importantly, the muscles feel good after you have stretched.
Also, drink lots of Water, water, water, and eat magnesium as found in these foods: fresh green vegetables, milk, figs, fish, nuts, tofu, apples, etc. Magnesium also helps muscles recover and stay strong.
Subject: Sports Injury
Question: Will this injury interfere with my golf game?
Response: You do not have to stop all activity in order to heal from a specific injury. One must rest the injured area long enough for the body to repair the damage with new cells, but not quit moving altogether. For example, if your left ankle is injured, but your swing is such that you do not put weight on the left ankle, that’s fine– ride a cart and golf. At LiveWELL, we work to keep you going with the fewest physical restrictions possible. Part of rehab is seeing how you do with your normal activity so that we address the pain and posture issues which appear, and identify areas which still need healing.
If the injury is extensive, you may find it helpful to stop golfing for awhile. We can help you find another physical activity which allows rest for the injury and while keeping the body in maximum healing shape. If you were in excellent physical condition when the injury occurred, you may have sufficient reserves to bounce back more quickly than the “weekend athlete” or sedentary person. We do our best to help you balance the short-term inconvenience for long-term gain. A pleasant result for many LiveWELL clients is that one’s game or performance actually improves after rehab –feeling stronger and healed!
Subject: Treating acute injuries
Question: When should I use ice or heat on this (injury)?
Response: *Ice is always first. When applying either ice or heat apply for 20 minutes and then remove for 20 minutes before reapplying the treatment.
Ice:
- Acute injuries require ice not heat in the first few days do not use heat. (Injured tissues leak blood, and heat makes bleeding worse, ice helps stop it so that there is not as much bleeding into the tissues, thus less pain, and swelling).
- If there is swelling or bruising ice is a better choice.
Heat:
- May feel good on stiff joints, and on muscles that are in chronic spasm
- Radiant heat may help heal skin wounds.
- Ultrasound may help with joint flexibility and stretching.
- Once an injury is no longer acute, i.e. bleeding, swelling, or at least three days old alternate ice and heat protocols may apply. Ask, specifically about this, sometimes this is not a good idea.
http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/heat-therapy-ultrasound.html
Subject: Chronic Pain
Question: Do I have to live with this pain for the rest of my life?
Response: Probably not. Usually there are things we at LiveWELL can do to make the pain less, and often have it go away.
One of the first things you can do is to focus on now, rather than the rest of your life. This will help you when you come to get healing work done. Because if the day you come to get work done and if we can get rid of your pain for 10 minutes, then that is one day where for 10 minutes you did not have pain. And next week, if after we work on the area in pain and you have two hours without the pain then great etc. This begins to take away that “rest of your life…” feeling and increase your healing.
Subject: Flax
Question: Isn’t there a pill for flax? Does it come in capsules?
Response: Not really. Flax, in the form of ground flax seed, is easily added to salads, hot-dishes, yogurt, cereal, eggs, pancakes, orange juice, smoothies etc. Flax seed oil is a concentrated source of good fatty acids which can be purchased as a supplement. However, for overall nutrient content and healthy fiber, ground meal is superior.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/flax.html
Subject: Water Intake
Question: Why do I have to drink so much water?
Response: There are many reasons to drink a lot of water. The human body is made up of 70-80 % water– so you need to replenish it. Nutrients, blood cells, hormones and pain relief are delivered in solution to the body area of need. Waste products are carried away by tissue fluid and eventually blood. So when you are healing and you need to clean out the stagnant metabolic waste you need to clear it out and you need to be well hydrated for a healthy exchange of nutrients, blood cells, hormones, and transmission of nerve impulses. Joints are also lubricated with fluid and connective tissue is also 70-80 % water as well. Dehydrated connective tissue does not stretch or cushion as well. And a dehydrated body does not heal as well or as quickly.
Subject: Water with meals or in-between
Question: I was told not to drink water with my meals, what should I do? When should I drink it then?
Response: You should clarify why. If the concern is not to dilute digestive enzymes, then one either drinks adequate amounts between meals, or supplement digestive enzymes so that you can get adequate fluid intake.
Subject:
Biofreeze vs. ibuprofen gel
Question: When should I use biofreeze verses ibuprofen gel?
Response: Both are rubbed externally on the sore area, and
- Ibuprofen gel delivers ibuprofen directly to the place you apply it bypassing the stomach. Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication often used to relieve pain, fever and swelling.
- Biofreeze is a cooling pain relief gel, which helps minimize muscle spasms, and allows the body to keep good circulation to an area while still getting the pain relief of a cooling sensation. In other words biofreeze does not shut down the circulation like putting ice on it can. You can call LiveWELL or your medical provider with your questions regarding topical pain relief.
Question: Do you have any good reference books you use frequently?
Response: LIVEWell references many sources, but some of our staple favorites are the following: