September is Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month in the State of Iowa! Recently, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation establishing September as Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month in the State of Iowa! According to the proclamation, the opioid epidemic among Americans is considered a national crisis. Here are the scary statistics: the leading cause of injury death in the …
What is an Injury Screening?
So… what exactly is an “injury screening”? An injury screening is a free face-to-face assessment with one of our practitioners. These are relatively short (10-20 minutes) exams in which our clinical team’s goal is to find out why you hurt and discuss what we think we can do to help. There does not need to be an acute injury or …
Jaw Pain: A Big Pain in a Small Joint
Many of our patients experience temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and dysfunction. It can be debilitating, chronic, and can significantly affect quality of life. Eating some of your favorite foods can become painful and limited. TMJ pain can radiate into the neck and even cause headaches. Often, it can feel that TMJ problems will never go away. So, what is TMJ? …
Is Your Shoulder Pain an Illusion?
First things first: Is your pain coming from the shoulder or the neck? Shoulder pain affects millions of people each year. According to population surveys, shoulder pain affects 18-26% of adults at any point in time [1–4], making it one of the most common areas of pain. So if you have shoulder pain you are not alone–your pain is not …
What is the best way to warm up?
Evidence Based Warm Up Before Your Run It’s the time of year that we want to spend more time outside, and runners might be signing up for their races. As the weather is warming up, we are excited to share some rising research on what is recommended for how you can warm up before your run to reduce your risk …
Why won’t my pain go away?
Why do I hurt? When it comes to pain, how an injury was sustained provides valuable information as to what may be going on. In the case of a car accident or sports injury, the cause is more easily identifiable and gives clinicians insight to what tissues may be involved. When a clear reason for one’s pain is not available, …
Joint Discomfort with the Cold Weather
Feeling it in your bones Do you feel that you have more joint discomfort with cold weather? A study performed at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston found that changes in ambient temperature and barometric pressure can increase joint pain. This has been investigated more so in individuals with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Barometric pressure can vary greatly depending on …
Our Health Community–Campbell’s Nutrition
Editor’s note: We are so excited to feature Campbell’s Nutrition on this series for many reasons, including that their location at 42nd Street and University Avenue in Des Moines is now only a few blocks away from our clinic. We all love to pop in for snacks, quick bites and groceries. Their team is so helpful, whether you’re looking for …
Lowering blood pressure without medication
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, was a primary or contributing cause of death for nearly 500,000 people in the United States in 2018 (1). Hypertension is defined as systolic pressure greater than 130mmHg or diastolic pressure greater than 80mmHg. The increased pressure forces the heart to work harder and places additional strain on arteries and veins. This puts you at …
Recipe: Chocolate Cherry Mango Fudgsicles
Hello summer! As the temperatures are peaking and the humidity is closing in, you can cool down easily with this tasty frozen treat. Dr. LoRang has experimented with this recipe for months and finally landed on a winner. Both kids and adults have taste-tested this concoction and everyone gives two thumbs way up. Introducing, the Chocolate Cherry Mango Fudgsicle! Clean …