A Note From Dr. Nic

A couple weeks I was in the most beautiful spot I've ever been on earth. Now, I realize I haven't been everywhere on earth, but I do know that Ouray, Colorado was absolutely beautiful.

I was in Ouray (pronounced “YOU-ray”) to help a friend, Matt, attempt the Ouray 100 miler. It is a 102-mile trail run that covers over 42,000 feet of elevation gain, climbing the peaks, passes, and mountains around the town of Ouray. Ouray is knows as the “Switzerland of America” because it is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains that seem to go straight vertical in every direction. Matt’s event started at 8:00 on Friday morning, and he did finish…47 hours and 59 minutes later.

I was with him for about 20 of the last 24 hours of that event, and it was memorable for multiple reasons.

1-I have never seen such distinct and rugged mountains, coupled with incredible wildflowers.

4-The time with a great friend like Matt was incredibly rewarding, and also the camaraderie among the other runners and pacers was just—well, I honestly get emotional when thinking about it.

3-It was hard! When I was with Matt during the parts of the course on Saturday, we were at or above 12,000 feet for the majority of it, and the temperature was in the mid-90’s. While it’s a “dry heat” and it’s not the humidity we are used to…that arid air seems to dry you out and dehydrate you much quicker. I seemed to always have a dry mouth. Couple that with the fact we were often without aid (as in, drinkable water) for 4-5 hours at a time, and I found myself rationing the water I was carrying. Not my best planning.

3-With the long day came some serious fatigue. Obviously! The course is sadistically designed to leave two of the most difficult climbs to be the last two climbs. And we would be starting these two at about 10:00 PM. The first climb went to the Old Ouray Mine…which is probably amazing in the daylight but was downright haunted at night. But still…truly amazing. I hope to go back again in daylight hours, and on fresh legs.

Finally, it was time for the last 10 miles of the course. Which is actually more like 13. You can make a trip up to Bridge of Heaven, and then come back down. In the climb up, you gain 4800 feet of elevation. It is non-stop climbing. By this time, I had been up for close to 24 hours and Matt was approaching 43 hours and 90 miles! To say we were both a little bit shaky on our feet would be an understatement. For me that also included all kinds of hallucinations. I’ve never really experienced the before, but every root on the ground was actually a snake, and all kinds of shadows were bears or mountain lions or who knows what else! I kept asking myself, “Does Colorado have poisonous snakes?” I still am not sure. As we were climbing in the dark using only headlamps and body lights, every shadow was a person moving…or maybe just a ghost. I was on high alert, and it was like nothing I’ve experienced before. I was also incredibly weary and unsure of my foot placement, and considering some of the cliffs that the trail was on, it took extra concentration to make sure my footstep was a good one. Seeing it was so dark now you couldn’t really see how far down any cliff went, and it might’ve only been 10 feet, but it also could’ve been 200.

As we continued to climb to Bridge of Heaven, I was doing math in my head about how slowly we were moving and how long it was going to take to get to the top. At several moments, I thought I can’t do this. I’m going to get to the top and then not be able to make my way back down. I don’t think I have ever been that tired in my life… So then think about how Matt was feeling! We would take turns being the leader in our 2-human caravan, and I would do my best to set a steady pace and not fall over while leading him and then I would find a spot to sit down. Matt would sit down next to me. His eyes were closed almost immediately for a bit of a nap.  Then I’d tap him and tell him…”back to the grind.” When Matt was leading me, I was constantly fighting the thoughts of needing to turn around. I would tell my brain to shut up. I knew my body would last longer and could do more than my brain could…I just needed to take that next step. With each step, we were closer to the goal. As small of a step as it was, it was still closer to the top of Bridge of Heaven. I would also watch Matt when he was leading, and notice he was unsteady on his feet. And I knew I could not leave them up there. I also knew that at the top that we would see the sunrise, and it would be the most beautiful view of the entire event from what we had heard.

As we continued, still in darkness, we would see other runners’ headlamps bouncing down the mountain towards us. They had already summited and were on their way back to town. I was focused on making sure we didn’t get off the trail, but I was also distracted by the incredible stars in the sky. You combine those incredible stars which were moving and twinkling more than anything I’ve ever seen before, and these runners coming down the mountains from several miles higher up than us, and I found myself trying to decipher between stars and runners’ headlamps!

I often had doubts seeing how far up those runners were and how far we still had to go. We are averaging at this point about a 45 minute per mile pace as we climb. But we continue to climb, one step at a time. As I said earlier, I knew all along that Matt was going to finish, so it was just a matter of whether I decided to join him in this last segment and be there to see it. Matt is incredibly tough, has accomplished some amazing feats, and I knew he would finish, even if he later shared with me he had serious doubts the entire time. To me, it was just a matter of whether I’d be there to see the top of this mountain and then go back to the finish with him. I just had to keep moving and stay with him. Despite being more tired than I’ve ever been and was asking more of my body physically than I’ve ever asked of it before, it would have been so much worse to quit on him.

Finally, there was a bit of light coming up and we could see our destination—the Bridge of Heaven mountaintop. It was amazing what the little bit of dawn and daylight did for us. Those last final switchbacks were some of the toughest. I think Matt could really feel that the end was in sight, and he was pushing for that mountain top, and in fact he gapped me along the way as I tried to keep up!

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FEELING OFF

Have you ever felt "off"? 

When I say "off", I mean that certain joints or muscles feel tight, or not aligned quite right. Last week, I started to feel a bit "off". For me, I noticed that my right pant leg seemed to be getting hung up on my shoe more than usual. 

While it sounds odd, this is actually how I know that my pelvis isn't aligned quite right. When my pelvis is off, it causes one leg to act 'shorter' than the other, and then I notice it in how my pant legs fall against my shoe. Addmittedly, this probably sounds a bit weird, but it's how I know it's time for an adjustment.

At my office, I hear from patients quite often that they came back in not because of any pain, but because something felt a bit 'off' or tighter than normal. I love to hear this. This shows me that the patient is much more aware of his or her body and muscles and joints than the majority of the population, and also that the person is choosing to be PROACTIVE in his or her health and wellness. 

Don't wait, or ignore those first little symptoms. Don't forget the "5 Most Dangerous Words"--

1. Maybe

2. It

3. Will

4. Go

5. Away

Remember: You and You alone can choose to be healthy. True health can't be found in a pill. On a daily basis, be aware of your body and take care of those symptoms early!

Temporomandibular Joint

Ever heard of a “TMJ” issue? Ever had jaw pain? I’m fortunate that I haven’t, but I’ve seen it over and over again at the office, including quite frequently recently, and thought I’d share a bit about the jaw.

TMJ stands for Temporomandibular Joint. TMJ disorders are a set of conditions that involve pain along with limited range of motion in the jaw. The jaw is a sliding hinge joint that is connected to the skull through 68 muscle pairs located in front of the ears. These muscle pairs are important for speaking, chewing, swallowing, and yawning, and are among the most frequently used in your body. 

What causes TMJ disorders?

TMJ disorders can be caused by a variety of factors, often in combination. This means that it can sometimes be difficult or impossible to isolate the exact cause of a patient's problem. There is a disk in the jaw known as the articular disk, which separates the skull from the condyle head of the mandible. Misalignment of this disk (often from stress-related clenching and grinding of the teeth) is a frequent cause of TMJ disorders. TMJ disorders can also be caused by missing or crowded teeth, or even sleeping on your side with your hand under your face, or trauma including whiplash. Experts estimate that anywhere from 10 million to 35 million Americans suffer some form of TMJ disorder at any given time.

Symptoms of TMJ disorders include pain and stiffness upon opening or closing the mouth, or a cracking, grinding or popping sound when using the joint. The condition creates significant wear on the joint and can have serious consequences for normal daily use of your jaw.

What can be done?

Chiropractors are experts in diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal problems, including TMJ disorders. Their specialized training and experience in using manual therapies to realign joints make them particularly well-suited to treating TMJ disorders. In order to understand your case, it’s important to look at all aspects of your lifestyle and a complete medical history. X-rays are also occasionally useful in helping to locate the condyle head of the mandible and checking the positioning of the articular disk. Often there is a correlation to the upper cervical spine also. Palpating the area also helps to establish the severity of the condition.

Chiropractic treatment for TMJ disorders focuses on relieving tension in the many muscles of the jaw and possibly the neck and upper back as well. With treatment, I aim to ‘even out’ the muscles on each side of the jaw. If stress is one of the causes of your TMJ disorder, certain exercises and relaxation techniques can be very useful to relieving the symptoms. 

What should a patient expect from treatment?

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Meet the Beckley Siblings

At our office, we get to see a lot of families, but we don't often see 5 adult siblings, who all come in for regular checkups! It is always fun to see each one of them (in here insert their names...Kurt, Karen, Kris, and ... what is the last one's name?? ) and I cannot think of more kind people. I'm thankful for the opportunity to see all the Beckley "kids!"