New Years Resolutions

Dear Friends,
now it's the time when most people think about "new year's resolutions", which as you know, nobody keeps (and by nobody I mean the majority of people). The reason that most people don't make it is that they set unrealistic goals for themselves. For example, someone who never works out and is really busy, and loves chocolate covered doughnuts decides to become a fitness buff and work out 6 days a week. LIKELY? NOT! This person should probably commit to working out two to three times per week, and would probably benefit from a group work out environment in order to be accountable and also make it fun.

So here are some tips to make your new years resolutions stick:

1. Set realistic goals, and when at all possible make your goals fun! (if you are not having fun, why do it?)
2. Draw a diagram of how to achieve your goals, step by setp.
3. Don't skip steps (self sabotage)
4. Make yourself accountable.
5. Reward yourself for the completion of each goal.

Let me share one of my personal goals: I used to practice yoga two to three times per week for years. I loved it and enjoyed the benefits of yoga. I somehow branched away from yoga when my favorite teacher retired and started to practice other forms of exercise such as running, rock climbing and tennis. Now I would like to start yoga again. I know that 2-3 times per week will be very unrealistic of me at the moment, so my goal is to begin practicing yoga once per week in 2009. Thats once a week, four times a month, fifty two times a year. Doesn't sound hard right?

Well, wish me luck as I wish you luck and good health for 2009.

Dr. Eric

Back pain, chest pain and your ribs

Subluxation: a joint that is either out of it's normal alignment, restricted in motion or both, which may lead to pain and reduced overall joint and body health.

A subluxated rib is often responsible for a multitude of symptoms such as back pain, chest pain, and pain when taking a breath.
Often patients may feel like they are having a heart attack if the subluxated rib is on the upper left side. The pain is usually described as a sharp shooting pain that increases when taking a deep breath, and may radiate (travel) to the side or front of the thorax.
The reason for this is that the ribs attach to the vertebra in the back and wrap around your thorax attaching either directly to the sternum or indirectly to the sternum via the cartilage. On the inside of each rib there is a nerve called the intercostal nerve that travels along with the rib. A subluxated rib usually causes this nerve to get "pinched" and become inflamed and painful.

Muscle spasms can occur due to pain in the area around the subluxated rib.

How do we treat it? Usually a chiropractic adjustment is the treatment of choice. The chiropractic adjustment gets the rib back in proper alignment, usually significantly reducing the pain.

If you are suffering form back pain, maybe you have a subluxated rib. Call today for consultation and treatment 310-993-8482.

For more info on chiropractic care, visit my my website.

Best!

Dr. Eric

L.A. Marathon Date Pushed

Ok, so the new date for the L.A. Marathon is May 25th. This is good news for many of you who had some injury setbacks and were unable to meet the February race date. So, for those of you who were injury free, take it easy and maybe take advantage of the extra time to improve your pace by adding some speed workouts and/or hills.

For those of you who were injured, start slow. You have plenty of time to build up your strength and endurance.

The L.A.Roadrunners will be coming up with an updated training plan soon.

Good luck and see you at the finish line!

Dr. Eric

Running Injuries Lecture

If you are interested, this Saturday (10/18) I will be giving a lecture to the L.A. Roadrunners on common running injuries, and stretching. The lecture will start around 9:45AM and will last approximately 30 minutes.

The lecture will be located at an Elementary School just south of the corner of Main Street and Abbot Kinney in Venice. (you can't miss it). I will be at the Gym. Feel free to stop by and bring a friend if you like.

Dr. Eric
Click here to view my website

Vitamin D - Got some?

Today in the Health Section of the LA Times there as a brief note by a reader on vitamin D and it's impact on arthritis pain.
One reader reported tremendous benefits from increasing her Vitamin D.
Vitamin D is a very complex vitamin with multiple benefits. Since it has a huge impact on bone health, it's not surprising that an increase in it's intake helped with arthritis pain.
In order to learn more about vitamin d go to http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp

Are you in need of more vitamin D?

Book Review

Ok, this is not necessarily a chiropractic related blog, but it did come about from the recommendation of on one of my patients.

I just finished the book Three Cups of Tea. I highly recommend anyone to read this book. I'm not even going to try to attempt to describe the book, but I can tell you that you can only learn and be inspired by work of Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute.

This is not fiction, which is why it makes it all more powerful. I hope you enjoy the read,

Dr. Eric

Want to Cleanse and loose weight?

I often get asked if I know of any cleanses, and what I think about them. In todays society our diet is full of things we probably shouldn't be eating. We've gotten away from wholesome organic home cooked meals, to ready-made, preservative and chemical filled foods, and fruits and vegetables grown in nutrient depleted soils.

A cleanse is a way to give your body a break from all the junk we eat, and let it "reset" (for lack of a better word).

One of my favorite cleanses is from a company called Standard Process. They have this great 21-day cleanse, which instead of starving you (like other cleanses do) allows you to eat as much of you want of fresh fruits and vegetables, plus you take 2-3 tasty shakes per day. In addition to that, you take organ support whole food supplements in order to NOT deprive your body of essential nutrients while you cleanse. This cleanse was designed as an organ detox cleanse. The byproduct of the cleanse is usually 8-20 pounds worth of weight loss in 3 weeks!.

If you are interested in purifying your body, loosing weight, or both, call my office at 310-993-8482 and set up an appointment to discuss how this cleanse can help you too!

For more information on my practice and myself visit www.drEricNepo.com

Best!

Dr. Eric

150 times per Second! Wow

I'm very excited to start making custom orthotics (arch supports) with my new Metascan by Footmaxx! This software scans your step 150 times per second to create a true custom arch support for you!

Custom Arch Supports can help with:
-foot and ankle pain
-plantar fascitis and shin splints
-back pain and more.

If you have any questions on arch supports, the Metascan or any other sport injuries, call me or make an appointment www.drEricNepo.com

Dr. Eric

Track your steps! Gadget Review

Dear Friends,
so, I just got a new iPhone and just downloaded this cool FREE application called Trailguru. This cool gadget lets you track your mileage, time, altitude change, speed, time moving, time stopped, and more. Once you record a run, trek, walk, you can then send it to the website and create an account to track your workouts, miles done, etc.

There are some downsides to the application. For example, to use it, it has to be in the "foreground" of the iPhone, so in essence it does not allow you to use the rest of the phone while tracking. But if you are in the hills, or working out, you shouldn't be talking on the phone anyways, right?!!!!

I hope you enjoyed the review. For more info on Trailguru, visit their website or look them up on your iPhone.

For more information on my practice, visit www.drEricNepo.com

Dr. Eric

Chiropractic and Knee Pain

Even though surgical intervention may be the right answer for many suffering from knee pain, conservative chiropractic and physiotherapy may be just as effective, or better in some cases. Today, in the health section of the L.A.Times there was a great article on the efficacy of arthoscopyc surgery and knee pain.
The jest of the article states that in many cases, conservative care fares much better than surgical intervention.
I have seen many patients with knee pain in my office, and for the most part, I've been able to help them get back to their respective activities. For a full copy of the article go to see full article.

Common treatments for knee pain include:
- Myofascial release
- Mobilization of the joint
- Kinesiotape
- Therapeutic Ultrasound
- Custom arch supports (orthotics)

For more information on how chiropractic can help you visit my website
or email me at dreric@drericnepo.com

Open House

Tonight, Friday September 19th we are having an open house at the office from 7-9pm. Come meet the docs and have a drink. We look forward to seeing you.

We are located at 900 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 450, Santa Monica, 90401

For more info on my practice and a map to the office visit my website

Dr. Eric
Santa Monica Chiropractor

Stress-Fractures in Runners

L.A. Marathon training season is in full force now, and so are the injuries that happen as a result of training. Commonly I see sprained ankles, knee pain, hip pain and low back pain.

Last week, a 35 year old female came into my office complaining of left knee pain. She started training for the marathon a few weeks ago. Her orthopeadic examination was unremarkable, and my initial diagnosis was of tendonitis/bursitis of the knee. Her persistent pain, and lack of response to two sessions of myofascial release, chiropractic care and passive modalities led me to order radiographs of this patient's knee and tibia. Sure enough, the patient had a stress fracture of the tibia.

Knowing when to see a doctor is important. If you are training and you experience abnormal pains, always seek professional care. Stress fractures are usually seen when people drastically increase the level of training or change training surfaces.

Remember, pain is just the way your body tells you there is something wrong.

For more information on sport injuries, chiropractic and general health visit my website at www.drEricNepo.com

Rock-Climbing Injuries

One of the things I enjoy the most is exercising, but not necessarily lifting weights. I find rock-climbing a great way to have fun, and stay strong in a functional manner. Being around rock-climbers I've treated a lot of climbers, and here is list of the most common injuries I've treated:
1. Shoulder pain - rotator cuff tears, acromio-clavicular sprains.
2. Neck pain - muscular sprain/strains, pinched nerves.
3. Hand and wrist pain - tendonitis in fingers.
4. Elbow pain - tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfers elbow (medial epicondylitis)
5. Low back pain - sprain/strains, sciatica

Most of these injuries can be treated by conservative chiropractic care, utilizing treatment protocols including chiropractic manipulation, myofascial release, neuro-muscular re-education, therapeutic ultrasound and electrical muscle stimulation.

It you have any questions on rock-climbing injuries, or sport injuries don't hesitate to call me. I may be able to help.

If you are interested in learning to rock-climb in Los Angeles or are looking for a great indoor rock-climbing facility, check out on of my favorite gyms, ROCKREATION in West L.A.

L.A. Marathon 2009

Are you ready to train for the L.A. Marathon? If so, now is the time to start training. How about training with a group? There are many groups out there that you may pick from, such as the L.A. Roadrunners and L.A. Leggers among others. In 2006 I trained with the L.A. Roadrunners and completed my first marathon! i loved the experience and training. Whether you are experienced or not, they can help you achieve your goals and coach you into success!

You may check them out at: L.A.Roadrunners.

If you have any questions regarding training, running, sport injuries, custom orthotics (shoe inserts/ arch-supports) or anything else, feel free to call me or email me!

Best, Dr. Eric

Walking and your Health

As many of you know, in addition to being a Chiropractor, I also studied exercise physiology and biomechanics and hold a degree in Kinesiology.  The basics of exercise physiology helps us understand the effects of exercise on the body.  Walking, yes walking is considered exercise, with a wide array of positive changes to your body from increasing bone density (lower extremities) and improving cardiovascular health among others.  

Last week, in the Health section of the L.A. Times on Monday September 8th there was a great article on the benefits of walking which in addition to helping your body, has been found to also help your mind.  According to the article, increased brain activity was noted in people who walk vs. people who didn't, and cognitive scores were also noted to increase.  To read the full article go to: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-walking8-2008sep08,0,1211968.story.

The basics of this article say to me: the firing the the mechano-receptors in the muscles cause a subsequent firing of neurons in the brain.  This is very similar to what happens when you deliver a chiropractic adjustment which creates a firing of the mechano-receptors in the joint capsules of the facet joints, creating more than just increased mobility in the joints, but also causing a "brain reaction" altering the neurologic  state of the patient.  To learn more of the effect of chiropractic and whether it can help you too, call me or visit my website.

I hope you enjoy the article, I did.