Open House

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Dr. Luke Pietrantone

Pietrantone Chiropractic Entrance

The Pietrantone Chiropractic Open House will be this Friday, October 24th from 6-8pm! The Dr. Luke and Dr. Michelle will be available for consultation throughout the evening or we can sip wine and talk about how we love the Pegulas. This would be a good oopportunityto ask any questions you may have about how we practice.

Karen Rosolowski, from Infinite Wellness Reflexology will be holding an Open House at the same time. JoyWheel Yoga will be open as well so you can see the space and speak with an instructor.

We will have light food for those coming right from work, refreshments and wine.

RSVPs to 655-1421 or drlpietranotne@aol.com are appreciated so we know how much food to prepare.

Location: 411 Main Street, East Aurora, NY 14052

Over Hydrating or Hyponatremia in Endurance Sports

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Dr. Luke Pietrantone

I just was finally able to read and finish a book, Challenging Beliefs, by Dr. Tim Noakes that was sitting on my desk for over a year. Sometimes you only get to books like that when the time is right. It is a memoir of Dr. Noakes research, running, and writing career. He is most famous for writing the Lore of Running, the definitive text on running, which is sold in almost any bookstore I have ever been. In Challenging Beliefs, Dr. Noakes talks about the different topics he has studied over the years and one in particular really caught my attention. The idea that you can be over hydrated causing a state in the body called exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH). This can not only affect your performance but can possibly lead to death if all the conditions are right. Symptoms of EAH are nausea, vomiting cramps and the water sloshing around in your belly as you run.

It seems to be universally know the dehydration has the potential to damage your performance in endurance sports. It makes sense. Not enough water in the body and chemical process in the body will not work the way that they should. As you lose water the sodium level in your blood begins to rise which triggers your to become thirsty. That thirst disappears after you have drank enough water and the sodium concentration returns to normal. When this potential problem was recognized there was massive education of the athletes to avoid dehydration. There was also money to be made by sports drink companies and the advice turned into the dogma that athletes should be constantly drinking to avoid zero percent dehydration or drink before you are thirsty.

Think About Passing That Aid Station If You Are Not Feeling Thirsty

EAH occurs when an athletes drinks water in such large quantities that it dilutes the amount of sodium in the blood. Water then moves into the cells increasing their volume. Normally this water would come out in the athletes urine but in some individuals they still secrete hormones that make the body retain the water. The increasing cell volume can put pressure on the brain as it expands making the whole situation worse and even lead to death in extreme cases. The treatment for these people is to add sodium to their system so the water can begin to move out.

Dr. Noakes first study on the idea of over hydrating in in durance events was in 1985 but it would take until 2003 for USA Track & Field and 2007 for the American College of Sports Medicine to accept his recommendations. More studies through out the years showed consistently that over drinking can lead to EAH and negative effects on performance and the dehydration should not necessarily be so feared. In fact, another study of the 1997 New Zealand Ironman Triathlon, showed those athletes who perform best often are dehydrated to some degree at the end of a long race. Some races even reduced the number of aid stations on longer races noticing a reduction in need for drastic medical attention for the athletes. Challenging Beliefs is fascinating and worth the time to read if you are interested in athletics of any kind.

It still happens that a relatively healthy athlete dies during a marathon from over drinking. At the very least over-hydrating can negatively affect your performance. I wonder how often a person is very disciplined in their training, is in shape for a marathon, only to be sabotaged by drinking large amounts of water days before and then during the race. I have had so many patients well train, fit and ready for a marathon only make it half way through a race and have to pull out. Maybe I should have told them to avoid over hydrating and it might have made a difference. I also think about the people who have over-trained and stressed there adrenal glands. One of the functions of the adrenal glands is to help regulate electrolyte balance through a hormone called aldosterone. Are these over-trained individuals more susceptible to EAH? It might be one more reason to be mindful over over-training.

Here are Dr. Noakes recommendations on hydration:

Be trained and fit enough to race the distance you have signed up for.
Drink when your are thirsty which tends to be between 400mls, and no more than 800mls per hour, of water. This could vary with fitness level and conditions.

Pretty simple but some many of the best ideas are.

Improving Your Fertility Naturally and Mercier Therapy

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Michelle Pietrantone

Improving your Fertility Naturally and Mercier Therapy

Mercier Therapy Can Help Your Chances Of Conception.

Our son, was conceived via natural cycle in-vitro fertilization following a ten year fertility journey. We tried many paths and suffered many failures. This past weekend I traveled to Chicago to study Mercier Therapy. A therapy I wish I had myself ten years ago. Mercier Therapy is a deep, pelvic-organ visceral manipulation. It is intended to increase blood flow within the pelvis, and improve inappropriate position of reproductive organs. This type of therapy is used for women who are having pelvic pain, trying to conceive, have undergone pelvic surgery or a procedure that may have created adhesive type scar tissue within the pelvis. Scar tissue can cause diminished blood flow, and also cause the delicate reproductive organs to become entangled leading to both pain and poor organ performance. Which may result in diminished fertility.

For a woman trying to conceive there is nothing more stressful than not getting pregnant in a timely fashion. In the United States the infertility label is given after one year of unsuccessful trying. Often times during this initial year, the couple is left to their own devices, having little or no support with their attempts. After one year, and sometimes during the first year the couple may be offered prescription medication to induce ovulation and will begin multiple diagnostic tests. For many women, infertility leads to anxiety and depression. Mercier Therapy provides an atmosphere where a woman will be supported, both physically and emotionally during her fertility journey.

Reproductive medicine has become a go to method for infertility in our country. It is difficult not to accept the treatment in hopes that a baby might result. Often though, the statistics are low, and the procedures and prescriptions are more dangerous than many women understand. Being no stranger to “unexplained infertility” and having my son following a successful natural cycle IVF, I understand those emotions all to well. Having taken Mercier training this past weekend, I too may have benefited from it and may have avoided IVF. Beautiful little boy in arms, I know I am one of the lucky ones.

Mercier Therapy concluded a four year, evidence based research study in September 2012, indicating an 83-percent pregnancy success rate. The abstract, “Mercier Therapy Helps Infertile Women Achieve Pregnancy” was published in the spring 2013 edition of Midwifery Today. In contrast the success rates of stimulated IVF cycles are averaging 27 percent. When time is taken to improve the function and position of the pelvic organs, they are able to function to their full potential in creasing the odds of a pregnancy.

The Female Pelvis and Organs

In addition to fertility struggles, women who have dealt with any of the following may suffer from pelvic pain: pelvic surgery such as: laparoscopy, laparotomy, D&C, LEEP, abortion, cystocele or rectocele repair, c-section, or hysterectomy, vaginal childbirth, sexual abuse trauma, urinary tract or yeast infection, endometriosis. Chronic pelvic pain can be debilitating and difficult to handle on a daily basis. Pain can be the result of ligament imbalance leading to poor organ position, and scar tissue following surgery. Mercier Therapy seeks to identify these imbalances and increase blood flow, motion and function. Resulting in reduction of pain, and an overall improvement in well being.

The road to having a baby is sometimes a long one. Pelvic pain and infertility leaves many emotional wounds and can leave a woman experiencing negative emotions toward her reproductive organs or even feeling disconnected all together. Becoming reconnected to our reproductive organs in a safe, gentle and comforting atmosphere can be one of the first steps toward welcoming a baby into the womb.

Happy National Midwifery Week!

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Michelle Pietrantone

Having delivered both of our babies at home, I have a special place in my heart for midwives. We were so blessed to be served by Marilee Pinkleton of TLC Birth while we lived in Northern Virginia. What a beautiful gift it is to have a midwife at your side during such a defining moment in your life. October 5th-11th is National Midwifery Week. Created by ACNM to celebrate and recognize midwives and midwife-led care. I believe everyone needs to know how much #MidwivesMakeaDifference to women and families! Our midwife came to our home for each prenatal visit, bringing with her a simple bag of tools to check on both me and the baby. Each visit was such a relaxing hour where the trust I would need in myself and in her grew every time we met. When I think of standard prenatal care it saddens me to know this same kind of trust isn’t always being built. The mother is faced with many tests, some invasive and all stress inducing. The World Health Organization ranks the United States as 24th (last) among all industrialized nations in infant mortality and low birth weight. The medical system in the United States is considered to be the most highly advanced in the world. We spend more on birth than any other country in the world. We expect this technology to improve our lives and solve our problems. We are led to believe this technology alone leads to improved outcomes. This is not always the case. In countries with the healthiest, happiest and best supported mothers it is midwives managing normal births. Obstetricians only take care of high-risk mothers.

Midwives are the experts in normal physiologic birth. Midwifery is based on the idea that most pregnancies, labors, and births are normal biological processes resulting in healthy outcomes for both mothers and babies. Midwifery concentrates on optimizing the health and wellness of a woman and her baby, identifying and managing medical problems early on, and attending to the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of both pregnancy and birth. They understand a woman needs to move around during labor. Walking, squatting, and swaying allow the mother to choose the best position to manage pain for herself. Guiding her along, never forcing. Eating and drinking during labor provide critical energy for the final stage. Most importantly treating each woman as an individual rather than a statistic. Due dates are not stuck to rigidly. Starting, stopping, and slowing down during labor are all allowed as part of the natural process. Midwives are trained to be vigilant in identifying women with serious complications. Medical expertise and interventions are sought when necessary.

Choosing a pregnancy and birth provider is in your hands. Do all the research you can about a group or individual to fully understand how they practice. If their ideas don’t match up with yours, or you have a bad gut feeling when meeting them, move on. If you have suffered a traumatic birth consider changing to a new provider. VBAC can be a healing experience for many who have had an unplanned C-Section. Most areas don’t promote midwifery despite evidence in numerous studies. A 2013 Cochrane systematic review comparing midwife-led to physician-led models of care found that women attended by midwives were less likely to have an episiotomy or instrumental birth, less likely to have a preterm birth or loss of the fetus before 24 weeks gestation, and more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth. The review concluded, “Midwife-led continuity of care was associated with several benefits for mothers and babies, and had no identified adverse effects compared with models of medical-led care and shared care.”

Midwife means “with-woman.” You take the time to plan so many aspects of your babies future. Plan for the birth of your dreams- choose a midwife.

Chiropractic and Pregnancy

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Michelle Pietrantone

Chiropractic and Pregnancy

In thinking what to write about in my first blog post, I couldn’t imagine any other topic! I have had the joy of working exclusively with pregnant patients (and their babies of course) for the last seven years. I have explained many times why working with the female pelvis makes such a profound difference to the mother during pregnancy from a comfort standpoint but most importantly how it helps during labor and delivery.

Just yesterday standing outside my sons preschool another students grandpa was asking why we moved from Virginia to Buffalo, assuming it was because of my husbands job. I explained we moved to be near our families, and that we were both Chiropractors. He shared his Chiropractic success story with me and asked for a card. When he saw I treat pregnant woman he had so many questions! He said he had never thought of that before…. but looking back recalled how much his two daughters complained about their pregnancy aches and pains.

I explained to him that the position of the unborn baby is critical during pregnancy. The function of the mother’s pelvis has everything to do with this success. A pelvis that can adapt to the changes the body undergoes during pregnancy creates a comfortable pregnancy and uncomplicated birth for both mother and baby. It can significantly reduce the need for interventions such as drugs, forceps, vacuum extraction, and c-section, which may result in birth trauma. Chiropractic care during pregnancy is the best way to achieve a functional pelvis and give the baby the most room to get into that optimal birth position.

Importance of Uterine Ligaments

Chiropractic eases the discomfort of pregnancy and prepares the low back and pelvis for birth.

There are four major ligaments that support the uterus during pregnancy. These ligaments have attachments at various points of the lumbar spine, sacrum, tailbone and pubic bone. Two of these ligaments have smooth muscle fibers in them, allowing them to contract and also spasm. As the belly expands these ligaments balance and stabilize the uterus from front to back. The joints and muscles of the pelvis must work in harmony. If one or more joints become less mobile than optimal, the ligaments may spasm in response. Symptoms will include: groin pain, cramping, shooting leg pain, rib pain, hip pain, back pain, and pubic pain, just to name a few. Have you ever noticed a pregnant woman constantly rubbing her lower belly? She is experiencing the discomfort of the round ligament as it works to stabilize the uterus.

Uterine Constraint

If the mom is suffering with pelvic dysfunction, the baby is under strain as well. The amount of room within the uterus decreases as the torsion of the uterus increases. The analogy I share with moms is sort of corny, but seems to help people understand. Imagine the uterus is a fully inflated hot air balloon tethered to the ground by a rope on either side. If one rope is tighter than the other, the balloon can tilt a bit to that side. The ligaments of the uterus can create a similar dysfunction. The result may be improper position of the baby, delayed labor, slow labor, and sometimes facial deformity and torticollis at birth.

Chiropractic during pregnancy identifies and removes mechanical strain in the spine and pelvis. Soft tissue massage, ligament release, and gentle adjusting allow the body to respond and adapt to the postural and mechanical strain of pregnancy. The most well known Chiropractic technique addressing pregnancy and Chiropractic is the Webster Technique. Think of the difference in quality of life Chiropractic during pregnancy could make! Enjoying your pregnancy and achieving the birth you have imagined for yourself and your baby is the ultimate goal.