Heel pain is a very common foot problem that needs a focus approach to resolve.

Heel Pain Game Changer

Don’t let heel pain stop you

If you are ever in a room with more than ten people, at least one of you is suffering from heel pain (aka plantar fasciitis). It is the most common cause of foot pain in middle-aged adults and pushes 2 million people to the doctors office each year for treatment.

And while heel pain is common in the running community, it is also prevalent in other areas of life. Health Care and Social Assistance workers are at great risk because of spending so much time on their feet. Yet, workers in Finance and Insurance are also at work even though they spend a lot of time sitting.

So, whether you stand, sit, or run, you can get heel pain. Meaning, it can come for all of us!

There are solutions

HPC has successfully managed hundreds of patients with plantar fasciitis. And yes, these patients come in all different shapes, sizes, and exercise preferences. They key is in the evaluation and progressive treatment.

You see, plantar fasciitis generally comes from one of three scenarios:

  • Too much tension/not enough flexibility
  • Too much instability/not enough control or balance
  • A combination of both

If it seems complicated, it’s because it can be. That is why so many people struggle with repetitive bouts of heel pain. It also accounts for why so many people struggle to find lasting results from simple measures (injections or meds).

The best solution (one that we have developed and utilized for our patients) involves three steps:

  • Step 1 – Control Inflammation
  • Step 2 – Restore Range of Motion and Stability
  • Step 3 – Build Strength

When we achieve these steps in sequence not only does the pain subside, but the patient has great understanding of how to sustain the results. That is a hallmark of all treatment at HPC for any and all diagnoses that we treat.

Make heel pain a thing of the past

It’s time to put plantar fasciitis behind you. If you or someone you know if suffering from plantar fasciitis, send them our way so we can help them reduce inflammation and pain, restore range of motion and stability, and build strength for lasting results.

Using Tech to Accelerate the Process

Progressing Shoulder Pain – Part 3

Shoulders are the most mobile and dynamic joint in the human body. We use them for a myriad of activities and they are amazing structures.

Summer months bring on new adventures and situations you weren’t expecting. Something as simple as starting a generator when the power goes out can cause aches and pains in the shoulder if it isn’t ready.

That’s why July is shoulder month here at Health & Performance Center.

Load it up!

Once shoulder pain and inflammation are controlled, it's time to add some weight to build strength and stability.

I know you’re all waiting to hear what happened next with Justin’s shoulder. Here you go.

Last week we talked about a “push-up plus” exercise to work the shoulder blade by activating the Serratus Anterior muscle (aka the boxer’s muscle). Since Justin is a very competent gym-goer and had a super busy schedule Dr. Ian felt comfortable giving him scaling options to make it more effective as the healing process progressed.

He was even able to jump on TeleCare RX to send Dr. Ian videos and comments regarding how his exercise was progressing and where to go next in between appointments.

This helped catapult Justin’s progress with limited ability to get in with his crazy schedule. He stayed focused and objective while trusting the process and he didn’t try to rush back too soon.

So what was his next exercise?

He got a single arm bent over dumbbell row. This helped to establish some stability with the muscles that PULL the shoulder blade back to compliment the push up plus which helped with PUSHING the shoulder blade forward.

The goal is to create a strong and mobile shoulder and these exercises help set that foundation so Justin can get back to cranking out big numbers on the bench press.

If you have wondered about getting into our office but are worried about time to do so let this be an eye opener that we have tools to aid you in your journey even without you being here twice a week. 

Movement & Mobility Seminar

Dr. Ian and Will Sharing Knowledge at CFMH

On July 1st Will and Ian did a free Movement & Mobility Seminar at CrossFit Maryland Heights.

The owner, Chris, let them know exactly what kind of issues he sees mostly in his gym. This allowed us to build out a specific presentation to best serve his athletes.

This particular seminar focused on hips, shoulders and wrists. These are 3 very common ones in any CrossFit gym so it wasn’t out of the ordinary.

Using a focus on these 3 areas allowed us to deliver a valuable message to them individually. We also used a lot of the time to go over the concepts and exercises we taught in order to make sure everyone was heading in the right direction.  

These are a lot of fun for us and everyone came out with a great attitude to learn something to help manage their body during their favorite workouts!

If you are interested in hosting a FREE Movement & Mobility seminar at your gym or even a Lunch & Learn at your office contact us for more info!

Newsletter Exclusive

July Promotion

Shoulder range of motion is critical for sports like golf but also every day living.

For the month of July anyone who you refer to us will get their first consultation for FREE (a $109 value). So, if you or anyone you know sounds like Justin give us a call and schedule an appointment with Dr. Ian or Dr. Will to see how we can help you!

Shoulder pain Progression

HPCheck-Up Show – Episode 6

What Was Justin’s Next Step?

Shoulders are the most mobile and dynamic joint in the human body. We use them for a myriad of activities and they are amazing structures.
Summer months bring on new adventures and situations you weren’t expecting. Something as simple as starting a generator when the power goes out can cause aches and pains in the shoulder if it isn’t ready.
That’s why July is shoulder month here at Health & Performance Center.

Modifying For Your Individual Needs

Back for visit 2! Excited to have you here to learn about Justin’s shoulder progress.
On the second visit Dr. Ian continued asking some questions to see how the first visit felt afterwards. They both agreed that his shoulder was still pretty inflamed from the injury so the best route was to take it slow.
Dr. Ian felt that a “Push-Up Plus” exercise was the best for it at this point. However a traditional version would likely be too intense.
What happens when an exercise that would work best is too painful for the patient? We scale it to a more tolerable level.
In this case instead of having him do it from the floor they used a simple modification and moved to the wall to take a large portion of Justin’s body weight off the shoulder. This focused more on getting the right muscles to work in the right order and moving through the range of motion.

The other awesome part about this exercise is that Dr. Ian was able to give Justin instructions on how to modify as his pain started to reduce in order to get more out of the exercise.
To start, Justin had his feet close to the wall in order to minimize load on the shoulder. Once that starts to feel pretty good Dr. Ian instructed him to incrementally step his feet back away from the wall. This loads up the shoulder a little bit more each time he moves them back. This allows him to increase the difficulty as his shoulder pain calms down a bit in order to progress himself along the rehab track faster.
This is a typical situation we see a lot here at HPC so if you or someone like you wants to get on top of nagging injury or just wants to move better we have something to meet your needs exactly.

Corey’s Insights On His HPC Journey

Videographer by Trade, Squat Monster in the Gym

Corey, from our June focus on knee pain, was gracious enough to sit down with Dr. Ian and talk about his journey at HPC.
Corey owns Piper Media Group which is a company that specializes in video marketing strategies for corporations and small businesses. They specialize in getting the message across that you want portrayed as to what your business is. Give him a call if you’re looking to take your business to the next level!
Corey has been a phenomenal addition to our patient base here at HPC and we look forward to continuing to provide him with high quality care.

Newsletter Exclusive –

July Promotion!

For the month of July anyone who you refer to us will get their first consultation for FREE (a $109 value). So, if you or anyone you know sounds like Justin give us a call and schedule an appointment with Dr. Ian or Dr. Will to see how we can help you!

New Month, New Focus – Shoulders!

HPCheck-up Show – Episode 5

Shoulders are the most mobile and dynamic joint in the human body. They can do amazing things like throwing a 100mph fastball, hitting a tennis ball into a 1ft square and moving a gymnast around a set of rings. But, there is some risk that comes with so much variability.

Shoulders are at the highest risk of injury due to the structure of the joint and movement patterns we put ourselves into unknowingly. With the warm days of summer coming up we are more active and shoulder injuries can pop up seemingly out of nowhere.

How Justin Jumped Ahead Of His Shoulder Pain

The shoulder is complex and easy to injure.  Restoring mechanics and stability is key to recovery from shoulder pain

Just like many of you, our friend Justin came to us with some shoulder pain after an injury. So what did we do? You’re right! Kristina took him through our video motion assessment and Dr. Ian incorporated that information into how he was going to proceed with his examination.

After a few test and a conversation with Justin Dr. Ian felt confident that they were dealing with a labral tear. How did he know? At HPC we highly value the input a patient can give us and use it in our assessment. Through that conversation and the exam it told us all we needed to know.

Some of you might ask – what about an MRI? That’s a great question. With the advancements in medicine we have tests and patterns to recognize that tell us all we need to know with a high degree of certainty what is going on.

An MRI in this instance wouldn’t tell us anything more than we already know from talking to Justin and doing a focused exam. With that knowledge in hand Dr. Ian treated him with traditional chiropractic and then gave him some homework.

Justin was taught how to do a posterior and lateral shoulder mash to relieve the tension in the musculature and was also instructed to avoid some of the movements that made it worse. This is typical of a first visit at HPC and how we get you on the path to crushing your goals.

Fourth of July Hours

We’re Still Here For You

Fourth of July is coming up next week and we wanted you to be aware of our hours that week! We will be closed Monday July 3 and Tuesday July 4. We will begin seeing patients at 9Am on Wednesday July 5th. Dr. Jared will be in his normal hours the rest of the week, Dr. Ian will be in Wednesday and Friday and Will is only available Wednesday the 5th.

Newsletter Exclusive

July Promotion!

For the month of July anyone who you refer to us will get their first consultation for FREE (a $109 value). So, if you or anyone you know sounds like Justin give us a call and schedule an appointment with Dr. Ian or Dr. Will to see how we can help you!

HPCheck-up Show – Episode 4

Taking Time to Get To Know You

Did you know? Core stability is a vital component of strength and mobility. It gives our arms and legs a stable platform to work off of and also protects our spine. As the days get warmer and longer you become more active and aches and pains can rear their ugly head. This is why June is knee pain month here at HPC!

Getting The Whole Picture

Last week we checked in with you about Corey’s third visit and how Dr. Ian was progressing him through specific exercises. At Health & Performance Center we take each new patient through 3 important visits before providing guidance. This gives our doctors a chance to better understand the issue at hand, get to know the patient as a person, and allow you to get familiar with us as providers.

This is an important step in your patient journey at HPC as we make it a point to earn your trust. The third visit is what we call the Guidance Visit. This is when your doctor will discuss the best plan for you going forward. It is designed to give you a strong understanding of your not only the strategy, but also what you can expect as you progress towards resolving the problem.

Taking the right amount of time over the first 3 visits streamlines your path to recovery, stability, and a higher quality of life.

Fourth of July Hours

Fourth of July is coming up next week and we wanted you to be aware of our hours that week! We will be closed Monday July 3 and Tuesday July 4. We will begin seeing patients at 9Am on Wednesday July 5th. Dr. Jared will be in his normal hours the rest of the week, Dr. Ian will be in Wednesday and Friday and Will is only available Wednesday the 5th.

Newsletter Exclusive
June Promotion!

For the month of June anyone who you refer to us will get their first consultation for FREE (a $109 value). So, if you or anyone you know sounds like Corey give us a call and schedule an appointment with Dr. Ian or Dr. Will to see how we can help you!