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Top 10 Things to do During Decompression

mike@myspine.us (Mike Venezia) — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 18:46:34 GMT

Top 10 Things to do During Decompression

This list is not ordered by importance. Each is pivotal to your health and recovery process.

1.Hydrate!

Drinking water does more than just quench your thirst. Among many other essential functions, it carries nutrients and oxygen to your cells and aids in lubricating and protecting joints and tissues. Proper hydration also helps stabilize your energy levels. Dehydration, no matter how mild, can have adverse affects on your health and reduce the efficiency of your body’s ability to carry out important tasks. To optimize hydration, avoid alcohol and tobacco as they can dehydrate the body and interfere with healthy circulation, ultimately having a negative effect on your spinal discs. Proper hydration has a direct impact on your disc health.

For adults, the Dietary Reference Intakes for Water from the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academies states that an adequate intake is 101 fluid ounces of water for men and 74 fluid ounces of water for women per day. This is specific to all fluid intake and does not account for water consumed through food.

It is important to note that this number will vary depending on a number of factors including your exercise level, environment, and overall health. Making water your primary beverage and drinking it when thirsty are good habits to begin with. Benchmarks used to track your hydration are rarely feeling thirsty and colorless or light yellow urine. Overall, many things can affect what your personal adequate water intake should be and your dietitian or doctor can help determine what is right for you.

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/10925/chapter/6

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-200

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2. Activity Modification

Upon sustaining an injury, a change in activity level may be advised to avoid worsening the pain or symptoms. No one likes to be sidelined from their hobbies or duties, however making an adjustment to particular activities may be essential to allow the body to recover. During your decompression treatment, it is important to prioritize healing which means avoiding highly strenuous activities as well as you can. This helps minimize setbacks during the treatment.

Activity modification can mean reducing physical activity intensity or strain. Really, we want to enhance the effectiveness of your treatment by minimizing other strenuous factors that may interrupt your progress. Our goal is to help return you to your normal and preferred activities and hobbies safely and promptly.

3. Avoid aggravating factors

This falls in a subcategory of activity modification. To allow your symptoms to get under control, it is key to avoid replicating your pain with certain activities, movements, or positions. These could include prolonged periods of sitting, standing, screen time, running, or jumping.

4. Avoid Inflammatory Foods

* See my previous blog post “A Fire Within” to read in depth about inflammation and nutrition *

Some inflammatory foods are processed meats, red meat, foods with added sugars, deep fried foods, and trans fat. These foods may promote and/or worsen any existing inflammation, ultimately slowing your recovery.

Some anti-inflammatory foods are; prebiotics (garlic, artichoke), antioxidants (blueberries), vitamin C (citrus fruits, bell peppers, vegetables), Omega-3 fatty acids (certain fish, nuts, or seeds), and probiotics/ gut-healthy foods (yogurt, sauerkraut, bananas, asparagus). Slowly making amendments to your diet is key to sustainability and developing healthy habits.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/anti-inflammatory-diet

5. Seek Healthy Nutritional Alternatives

The purpose of this section is to encourage you to think about your current diet and look to make substitutions where you can. The key to nutrition is balance. Keep a variety of nutrient-rich foods in your diet to help sustain long term health. A well-balanced diet is important as cutting out entire food groups can deprive you of essential nutrients, therefore having a negative effect on your health.

I always recommend reading nutrition labels and opting for options with natural ingredients and less or no added sugars- if it looks more like a chemistry experiment than a cook book recipe, I won’t buy it. I also like to get my sugar from natural sources including organic fruits and juices, not from concentrate. Small changes like these make a big difference.

As always, these are simple recommendations and reminders. If you have specific nutritional needs or have been working on/ following a diet from a nutritionist or health care professional then continue with that.

*Bonus tip: To reduce harmful pesticide residue making its way into your diet, reference the “Clean Fifteen” and “Dirty Dozen” lists by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) when shopping for produce.

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean-fifteen.php

6. Stay consistent with your treatment

Spinal decompression therapy is a process that requires consistency throughout the treatment. Think of it like lifting weights. If you lift once a week or with no routine, then you should not expect major strength gains. With spinal decompression, the same applies. Our treatment process follows a specific schedule intended to provide results. Consistency helps to provide relief, promotes further healing, and builds treatment tolerance. Hiccups throughout the process may lead to setbacks and slow the rate of recovery. Intention and consistency are the instruments of progression.

7. Stay consistent with your HEP

Your Home Exercise Plan is your best friend. It is something that you can keep up with long after your decompression treatment ends. Your HEP compliments the decompression treatment and is intended to help rehabilitate the affected tissues and joints with therapeutic exercises. Throughout your treatment we will build on your HEP and perform them in house so that you are confident and comfortable performing them on your own. Your HEP is specific to you.

Many people tend to stop their rehab exercises when they notice improvement, however it's important to maintain a variation of the exercises and level of exercise to minimize future complications and preserve the gains.

8. Regular self check-ins

In general, this is a great habit, and a big part of self-care and mental health. Regularly checking in on yourself and understanding how you are feeling is one of the most important things you can do whether you’re in pain or not. It's always a good practice to reflect, become familiar with your body, and ultimately be in tune with your own health. When recovering from an injury, it is helpful to be aware of multiple things: what aggravates your symptoms, what alleviates your pain, what progress or changes you’ve experienced, where the pain is, what the pain feels like, and more. This is a great way to keep yourself involved as the main character in your own recovery process. It also gives our doctor great insight into how you are feeling beyond objective assessments. This helps inform our treatment and keeps us on the same page throughout the process. Remember, no one truly knows how you feel except you!

9. Explore Ergonomics Modifications & Reduce Screen Time

As technology continues to burrow its way into our lives, our screen dependency goes up. Excessive phone use and modern day work lifestyles, both at home and in the office, place added stress on our spine and force us into suboptimal postures oftentimes leading to pain and complications. As we continue to spend multiple hours each day working on a computer or on our phones, it is important to ensure that the positions we find ourselves in throughout the day are supportive.

For people with desk based work lifestyles, we recommended that you seek to improve your ergonomics. This includes your chair, desk height, monitor/screen placement and more. Everyone will require a set up that fits their specific needs, but the following are things to consider as you plan to implement changes. In general, you want a chair that accounts for lumbar support, seat height and angle (your hips should be parallel with your knees and feet should not be hanging). You want to keep an upright and aligned posture throughout your spine. Try not to allow the head, upper back, or shoulders to peel forward. Desk height should be at a point where you can type or write without your shoulders shrugging up. In general you can think of a position where your elbows are bent 90 degrees and your shoulders are relaxed. Your monitor or screen should be positioned straight ahead of you at eye level so that you can avoid prolonged periods of cervical flexion, extension, or rotation. You also want it to be close enough so that you don't have to lean in or strain to see, but also not too close to where it is more harmful to your eyes.

Phones and other electronic devices pose a much more complex set of concerns because we are generally resting or in relaxed/lounging positions while using them. We all lay on the couch or chair on our phones, oftentimes slouched over or twisted like a churro. Many of us also sit in bed at night reading or lay down with our devices. While the consequences of these habits may not always appear immediately, there is a clear mechanism of injury and has been shown to cause long term postural changes and potential pain. While these positions may not be innately bad for your spine, chronic poor posture can lead to complications, especially if an injury is already present.

Poor ergonomics and posture throughout the day places excess strain on the spine, discs, joints, and muscles which may slow your recovery process if the symptoms are aggravated. At the end of the day, we’re all still going to do these things. No one has perfect posture all the time, and quite frankly that is an unrealistic goal to strive for. However, it's important to recognize when those deviations occur and try to limit the frequency and intensity of them.

10. Invest in Rest & Reduce Stress

Water, proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep are the most important aspects to overall health and wellness that you can control. Consistent, abundant, and quality sleep is an absolutely essential aspect to our wellbeing. Sleep is healing. It allows us to recover both physically and mentally and is critical to ensure the proper functioning of our physiological systems. However, sleep is overlooked and disregarded by most people.

Why sleep has been bogged down and placed lower on the list of health priorities for most people is a mystery to me, but for the longest time, I also did not take my sleep seriously. For years I went to bed at different times each night, used multiple alarm clocks, woke up tired, and felt my energy and mental clarity lacking throughout the day. When I was busy I always rationalized productivity over sleep and further perpetuated the cycle of poor sleep quality resulting in low energy and performance levels. This was damaging my health in a number of ways.

Whether you are recovering from an injury or not, each of the ten things listed above is critical to your overall health and wellness. However, I do think that sleep ranks among the top of the priority list, especially when healing. We need to allow our bodies to recover, and though there are a number of great recovery strategies ranging from ice or salt baths, heat, exercise, or conservative treatments, the one that we all depend on is sleep. We cannot function without it and that is because our body demands that we allow it to recover. With this being said, sleeping is not easy for everybody and oftentimes people cannot get comfortable in bed. It is also true that laying down in any position may not be an option for someone in pain.

There are tons of resources available to coach you on sleep and building better habits to improve the quality of it and I encourage you to look into them. I will make an in depth post down the road on sleep.

For now, aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night, limit screen time, fluids, and food (especially sweets) before bed.

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/how-much-sleep

A Fire Within: Inflammation and Nutrition

mike@myspine.us (Mike Venezia) — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 22:31:53 GMT

A Fire Within: Inflammation and Nutrition

Intro

Maintaining a healthy diet after sustaining an injury is critical throughout the recovery process to ensure your body receives proper nutrients. Though there are general guidelines to building a healthy diet, everyone has their own nutritional needs based on their activity levels, health goals, and well, taste.

Rather than attempting the impossible task of providing the magic diet for everyone to follow, I will outline the impact of nutrition on inflammation, how it can affect the rate of injury recovery, and a brief list of food suggestions.

The Campfire Metaphor

To understand inflammation, especially in regards to injury and nutrition, I like to illustrate the ‘campfire’ metaphor. When we sustain an injury, our body’s natural inflammatory response kicks in to begin the healing process. In other words, a small campfire starts at the site of injury and invites our immune system to gather around. Though well intentioned, the campfire often causes pain, heat, redness, or swelling. We tend to respond to these symptoms with a number of options like ice, heat, rest, or conservative care to help put the fire out. However, we tend to overlook our nutrition and the role our diet plays in healing from an injury. Keeping the campfire in mind, we can put foods into two categories: those that fuel the fire and those that help extinguish it.

High Inflammatory Foods

High inflammatory foods act as the campfire wood feeding the flames. These foods may worsen the existing inflammation and symptoms, ultimately slowing your recovery. Some inflammatory foods are processed meats, red meat, foods with added sugars, deep fried foods, and trans fat. The list is long and it would be hard to avoid or to drop all at once. Therefore, any stride no matter how big or small, taken towards improving your diet is a step well taken. It’s important to not fuel the fire.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Anti-inflammatory foods act as the water and soil used to extinguish the fire. These can include: prebiotics (garlic, artichoke), antioxidants (blueberries) & vitamin C (citrus fruits, bell peppers, vegetables), Omega-3 fatty acids (certain fish, nuts, or seeds), and probiotics/ gut-healthy foods (yogurt, sauerkraut, bananas, asparagus). To name a few more, ginger, turmeric, and carrots all have anti-inflammatory properties. Again, slowly making amendments to your diet is key to sustainability and developing healthy habits.

My Take

When it comes to nutrition my take is simple. Control what you can control. Pursue small and sustainable changes at the beginning. Do not overcomplicate your diet. Read the list of ingredients on whatever you buy. I avoid foods with ingredients that sound like I’m in a chemistry lab.

Our nutrition is critical to our health and improving your diet is the most important thing you can do to optimize your overall health and wellness.

Sources

John Hopkins Medicine: Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Corrective Exercise

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 23:05:33 GMT

Exercise Rehabilitation at mySpine

What is corrective exercise?

Corrective exercise is the process of identifying biomechanical dysfunctions and developing a plan of action to improve functional movement quality and injury resistance. It is effective in the injury recovery process and for otherwise healthy individuals looking to improve their overall biomechanics to prevent future injury. Corrective exercise specialists use postural and functional movement assessments to identify dysfunctions caused by muscular or joint impairments. In this entry I’ll touch on two common contributors of movement impairment, the corrective exercise process, and my approach to both exercise rehabilitation and patient care at mySpine.

Muscle Imbalance and Compensation

Muscle imbalances can be explained by length tension relationships. These have to do with the resting length of a muscle and the force it can produce from its resting length. When there is an alteration of muscle lengths around a joint we can consider it an imbalance. Muscle imbalances are most visibly seen when testing strength unilaterally or when performing a compound movement like a squat. These imbalances reduce movement efficiency and force production. When ignored, muscular imbalances worsen over time and can increase your susceptibility to future injury or pain. It is important to take a proactive approach and address potential imbalances, which is the idea behind injury prevention. Corrective exercise specialists spot these imbalances and work with you to improve them.

Imbalances can lead to compensatory patterns which can lead to observable movement impairments. Muscular compensation is also a common post-injury symptom that can affect your balance, biomechanics, and overall muscle function. In response to an injury, your body works to support and relieve the compromised zones by placing more responsibility on neighboring muscles and joints to pick up the slack. In other words, when a muscle is unable to move a joint through a range of motion, your body seeks to hire other, already employed, muscles. However well intentioned our bodies response may be, compensation leads to a number of complications. It taxes the body, places excess strain on other muscles and joints, and can lead to future imbalances and injury. Compensations can be easy to spot or may be very well disguised by the body, leading to more serious problems down the road. Both muscle imbalances and compensation can be frustrating and tricky to navigate, though they are common and treatable. Corrective exercise is effective in addressing and minimizing both.

The Corrective Exercise Process

The corrective exercise process aims to improve biomechanics by identifying weak or overactive muscles and joints and restoring their optimal function through inhibitory techniques, stretching, and both isolated and integrated strengthening exercises. Corrective exercise specialists assess your posture, mobility, and overall movement patterns to determine a specific exercise program aimed at enhancing your movement quality and/or reducing pain.

MyApproach

At mySpine, we are committed to helping our patients regain strength, mobility, and confidence in their bodies. As a team, our doctor provides objective findings and diagnoses and I use this to inform a plan of action. Depending on the case, I take patients through a variety of specific movement and postural screenings to assess how their pain or injury is affecting their body as a whole. By taking both a local and global approach, we are able to identify underlying causes and contributors to the injury. An in depth assessment paired with patient feedback helps to identify sources of pain, imbalances, and compensations. The team I mentioned always includes our patients, and they are the star players.

Our goal is to reduce or eliminate pain with therapeutic exercises, improve lost or limited mobility, and improve strength. Throughout this process, I prioritize the feedback and experience of our patients ensuring they are comfortable and confident performing each exercise. Beyond exercise, I believe in patient education. Teaching them about their body mechanics, posture, and lifestyle modifications, and giving them the tools to help themselves beyond their time in our clinic. Injury rehabilitation or preventative care rely heavily on you to perform the exercises on your own. At mySpine, we encourage, support, and drive our patients to engage in self-care with our specialized Home Exercise Plans in addition to their in-house programs.

As always, be proactive, and remember that Corrective Exercise is for everyone!

How to Train for a Half Marathon

mike@myspine.us (Mike Venezia) — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 00:41:28 GMT

A Comprehensive Guide From Start to Finish Line

*This guide is based on my own experience and training. It is a culmination of my own research, trials and errors, and shortcomings, all with the goal to help you run a half marathon.*

Determine your Fitness Level
Go for a run to gauge your current state of endurance. Aim for distance over speed, maintaining a “conversational” pace.
Based on the outcome and how you felt both during and after, you can begin to determine how much time you’ll need to train.
I was able to run 6 miles comfortably at an 8:30 pace and recovered well.
I gave myself 7 weeks to build up to 13.1 miles.
Pick a Race
Choose one that interests you.
Give yourself enough time to train.
Avoid injuries or setbacks caused by overtraining or cramming.
Consider the terrain.
Hills, flat, road, gravel…
Trail Hunting
Find a route that matches your race terrain.
Gravel, road, hills…
Finding a flat trail can be a great way to replicate training, improve your speed, best efforts, and endurance.
Set an Achievable Goal
Minute/mile pace, finish time…
Do a mile at your goal pace to give yourself an idea of what you’ll have to maintain for 13.1 miles.
I set a goal to finish between 1:40-1:50 minutes which is a pace of 7:40-8:23 minute/mile.
I finished in 1:48 at 8:15 pace.
Your goal should challenge you, but should remain within reach.
Pace Chart (1) : https://www.trackshack.com/uploads/files/(425) 270-3392-mFUQsHze.pdf
Preparation
Strength Training
This was the biggest mistake I made in my training. I overlooked my weaknesses and began running right away without making time to reinforce the joints that are most affected by running, leading to many aches and pains, resulting in many training setbacks. Improving muscular strength helps support your body which will undergo a lot of stress during your training. Be proactive and prepare.
I recommend setting this in motion before you begin your running training and maintain an abbreviated strength-based regimen throughout.
Breathing Exercises
Running is hard. Utilize active breath work to maximize your oxygen efficiency to improve your endurance.
Take time to practice breathing throughout the day. Intentional breath work during runs was very beneficial for me. It calmed me down, helped me catch my breath, and got my mind off of fatigue or negative thoughts.
Nostril inhale, mouth exhale. Nostril inhale and exhale. Mouth inhale and exhale. Keep it simple. Find a rhythm.
I loved using these techniques when I noticed fatigue creeping up on me. It provided my mind an escape and a second wind.
Running
Types of Runs
Fartlek (speed play): interval style training, pace variations. Alternating between high effort and slower recovery paces .
1 mile fast, 1 mile slow…
0.75 fast, 0.25 slow or 0.25 fast, 0.75 slow…
Negative Split: run the second half of your run faster than the first
Increasing speed once your body is warmed up and finishing strong is both mentally and physically rewarding.
Tempo: consistent pace, find a flow state, breath work. Great for long distance runs.
Distances
I referenced a Hal Higdon (2) Half Marathon training calendar to help develop my own routine. I’ve attached it at the bottom of this doc.
This is a well organized plan ideal for progressive distance overload. I started from week 6 to meet my time frame.
I completed my longer distance runs on Saturday’s.
Great cross training options are swimming, recovery walks, light resistance strength training, stretching and mobility.
My plan was unique to me: my schedule, how my body felt…
Frequency
I ran 3x/week over 7 weeks.
21 runs total including the race.
Recovery

This is arguably the most important aspect of your training. In order to stay consistent, replicate output, prevent injury, and improve both your endurance and speed, you must recover well. Here are a few of my recovery strategies. Reach out for more details on any of the following.

Warm Up and Cool Down Routines
Mobility Routines
Lake swims / Ice Baths / Cold Therapy
Chiropractic Adjustments + ART
Walking
Social Recovery: staying connected with family and friends
Cupping Therapy
High Carb Diet/ Balanced Nutrition
100% Tart Cherry Juice (Trader Joe's or Lakewood Organic brand)
Beet Root Juice (Trader Joes)
Important Considerations
Training for a half marathon is not easy. Throughout your training you may be faced with obstacles and setbacks including potential injury. I certainly faced my fair share of aches and pains as I put my body through a lot in a short period of time. Do not be discouraged should any setback stand in the way of you and your goals. Some days you may feel slow, easily fatigued, uninspired, unmotivated, in pain, or doubtful. Running is physically and mentally draining regardless of your level. Listen to your body and prioritize your health.
How can mySpine help you prepare and meet your goals?
A personalized strengthening program, warm up and recovery routine are paramount to your success.
Chiropractic adjustments and ART.
Personalized advice, programs, and support for steps 1-7.
Throughout this process you will put your body through a lot of stress. Running is a process of repetitive ground impact requiring high effort, energy, and joint stability.
You do not have to get through this alone. Use all of the tools available to you to meet your goals without injury.

I loved my entire experience from day one. The thrill of race day is real. This has opened doors within my personal fitness endeavors and I am excited for my next challenge. Best of luck!

- Mike Venezia

References

Half Marathon Pace Chart , www.trackshack.com/uploads/files/(425) 270-3392-mFUQsHze.pdf. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.
Higdon, Hal. “Half Marathon Training: Novice 1 .” Hal Higdon , 27 Aug. 2018, www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/half-marathon-training/novice-1-half-marathon/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2024.

5k Race Tips

mike@myspine.us (Mike Venezia) — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 17:44:01 GMT

Get the most out of race day by following these simple tips!

Every race presents unique conditions which place different demands on those participating. With that being said, there is no one-size fits all approach to race preparation, rather general tips that one can follow to build a regimen that works for them. These are my tips that can serve as a ground work to prepare for a 5k . We all have different fitness goals, therefore everyone has different training and recovery standards that they must follow in order to meet them. Whether you plan to begin training now, or show up on race day to break in your new Nikes, we look forward to seeing you there and are excited for you.

Adequate preparation is paramount in achieving your goals, but also for enjoying your workout and preventing injury.

Plan

Set a goal.
Whether walking or running to set a PR (personal record), it is important to set yourself an achievable goal.
What pace do you want to run at? What is your target finish time? How many high fives can you give out?
The feeling of fulfilling a goal is a great mental boost. You deserve to feel accomplished!

Prepare

Begin training and build up to running 5k.
Incorporate static and dynamic stretches into your pre and post routine.

Hydrate

Start hydrating 2 days before. Anticipate losing a lot of water through sweat during the race.
This is a great habit to get into as it prepares your mind and body for the race in advance.
Just like tests, you cannot cram or chug water right before the race and expect to reap the benefits. You should consistently hydrate up until the race and after.

Fuel

Wake up early to allow enough time for a healthy breakfast and time to digest.
Around 4 hours before the event.
High quality carbs that digest well, lean protein, healthy fats.
I’ll have whole grain avocado toast with eggs.

Recover

Hydrate, refuel, rest.
Stretch post race.
Have a cool down session the following day.
Light exercise, <50% intensity.
Get adequate sleep the night of the race ~ 8 hours.

Have fun!

- mike