Placebo

Great video on the use of placebo...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfRVCaA5o18&feature=player_embedded

Contemporary Acupuncture Effects Part 1

As I mentioned in a previous post, contemporary medical acupuncture is about stimulating nerves with the use of fine needles to have a goal directed effect on the nervous system. The age old tradition of acupuncture has taken on new meaning in recent years in light of new research on its mechanisms of action. When I talk to people about acupuncture it's usually a response of "I had acupuncture and it worked great!" or "it didn't do anything for me." When people answer in terms of acupuncture working or not working it usually is a reflection of the mechanism of pain relief that is part of the needling response. However the mechanisms of pain relief (or other benefits for that matter) may be influenced by several mechanisms and the effects of the needle take place at several "layers" of the body. To expand on the mechanisms, the needle effects take place at the local, segmental, and supraspinal (extrasegmental and central) levels. I'll review these mechanisms in upcoming posts.

Relative strength training for the upper body

A while back I discussed the difference between absolute and relative strength. I also posted a simple relative strength workout for the lower body. Here's one for the upper body

A1. Push press: 5-1-5-1-5-1; rest 120s then do A2.
A2. Chin-up: 5-1-5-1-5-1; rest 120s then go back to A1.

So you do 5 reps of push press, then 120s, do chin-up for 5 reps, then rest 120s do 1 rep of push pres, rest 120s, etc. Complete until 6 sets of each exercise is complete. I would avoid going for broke on the 1 rep sets. Keep a little in the tank but push hard.

Sensory Processing Disorder

I was just chatting with a colleague of mine about a child with OCD (obessive complusive disorder) and she mentioned that the child seems to over-respond to what should be non-noxious stimuli. In addition to musculoskeletal work I also work in the field of mental health. A particular area of interest for me for the past few years has been what is known as Sensory Processing Disorder or SPD. Dr. Lucy Miller in Denver, CO has devoted her life to increasing awareness of SPD. She is currently trying to get recognition in the next edition of the DSM. If you have a thirst for more information on SPD check out Dr. Miller's website @ http://www.spdfoundation.net/ . Of course you may also send questions my way.

In a future post I will explore my thoughts on the topic further.

Mechanism of Pain

Although most people are interested in the source of pain, equally important is the mechanism of pain. As I mentioned in another post, pain is an output based on one or more different levels of processing. The mechanism will help determine what you can do to help yourself, the prognosis and the most effective form of treatment. For instance, you may have low back pain related to long periods of sitting. It's also worse in the morning and feels better after a period of moving. A possible mechanism is ischemia, which means that frequent periods of movement is indicated for treatment. This will increase perfusion to the tissues thereby minimizing the nocioceptive signal.

Of course this does not mean that functional changes have not occurred (i.e. trophic changes, inhibition, etc) but it does help you understand why you may be experiencing the pain at that given time.

Functional Goals

The underlying similarity in any diagnosis is that it has an impact on everyday activities. This similarity also makes each individual's situation unique to him or her. Whether you're dealing with a musculoskeletal problem or a mental illness think about how your particular problem affects your day to day activities. Then focus on how you would like it to change. Create objective measures. Otherwise you're prone to the subjectivity of the day to day up and downs. The objective measures create a means to see change, which brings meaning to what you do!