The Unseen Connection: Spine, Psoas Muscle, and Wellness

The psoas muscle is definitely a hip flexor muscle, generally the one that takes us out of commission because we've been sitting for so long, and this is the muscle that contracts to help us keep us in a seated position. But the longer we sit there and it stays in a contracted state or consider a shortened state and then you want to go stand up, which is a lengthen state is like we don't do that very well and you have one on each side of your body, so they're both shortened when you're sitting and then you try to stand up. Well, what presents next when you're trying to stand up, either hip pain, lower back pain, groin pain and, even more interesting, heel pain.

Hey there, I'm Amy Connell. Welcome to Grace Health, the podcast for women who want simple and grace filled ways to take care of themselves. I'm a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach who wants you to know your eating, movement and body don't have to be perfect, you just need to be able to do what you're called to do. My first experience with a chiropractor was with my uncle, who would adjust my mom and I. When I was younger, he lived in a different city and so when we would go up and visit him and my grandfather, he would often adjust us. I think I was probably in early elementary school when this was happening, and the only thing I remember is being terrified of having my neck adjusted. One thing I don't think I've ever said on this podcast and you probably don't know about me is I have an irrational fear of breaking my neck and I was convinced that was going to happen, even though he was a trained professional. Good news, no spoiler alert my neck is fine, but it's still my least favorite part of going to the chiropractor. After my conversation with Dr Daniel Peoples, who is on today, I am reminded of how beneficial chiropractic care can be. I've sporadically gone as an adult, but Dr Peoples' passion for educating others about chiropractic care is inspiring, I think you will agree. We talk about some of the primary reasons people go to a chiropractor, but how that often leads to further treatment as the patient heals In other ways. We talk about why you might go if you're not in pain the psoas muscle, also known as the hip flexor and you are going to be blown away by the story of healing she shares. At the end, let me tell you just a bit about Dr Peoples. She is an author and chiropractic physician. She is a trailblazer in her field. She founded Pro Health Family Chiropractic in 2007 and has worked with thousands of people, helping them regain mobility, strength and overall well-being. Dr Peoples specializes in working with athletes who are suffering from injuries. She's also worked with professional basketball players, football players and Olympic athletes. She is the author of Sex Sent Me to the Chiropractor, which communically teaches you the benefits of chiropractic care. She also serves the community through other organizations such as Sigma, gamma, rose, sorority and the YMCA O'Fallon Park, where she is a board member. This is a great conversation. I think you're going to learn a lot and, just so you know, we do talk about various body parts in their actual anatomical language. If you need to pause and listen to this at a different time, then be sure to do that. Okay, let's bring on Dr Peoples. Dr Peoples, welcome to the Grace Health Podcast. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here with you today. The feeling is mutual, I love. There's so many things in that bio that I wish we had time to dig into. But let's just back up a bit. I want to hear what drew you to being a chiropractor.

Well, that story is actually interesting because ever since I was six years old, I wanted to be a doctor, but as I was aging, growing up, learning more about the medical field, I had my sights set on being a neurosurgeon. And then it wasn't until during my undergrad years that I received a call. I was going to St Louis University at the time and I was a financial loan officer in the financial aid office, and one day I received this phone call out of the blue from the med campus, and it was interesting because it came from this office called the Office of Multicultural Affairs. They had heard about me from someone else that said you know, dr Daniel Peoples would be great for this. This is where I want to put a pin in it. You never know who's watching you, you never know who's paying attention to what you're doing, and that they will one day speak on your behalf. There was a summer program on the Slough Med Campus that focused on helping high school students who aspire to become medical doctors, and there were two second year med students that they have to coordinate this program, but this particular year they could only find one second year med student, and so a fellow, a man I met only once. His name was Dr Brown and he said I want you to give this opportunity to Danielle Peebles. And they were like well, she's an undergrad, why would we give it to her? She might not be mature enough for it. And he was persistent give it to Danielle Peebles. So they called me. I didn't even know this was a position, I didn't know this was a thing. But they called me. I did the program. It was a six-week program. They were very, very pleased with what I had done, the amount of information I brought to them. But what was pivotal about that experience was that the wife of the dean of that particular office asked me one day. She said Danielle, what do you want to be when you grow up? And I said, oh, I'm going to be a neurosurgeon. She said oh, ok, that's nice. What she didn't know was, at the time she asked me that question, I was having a value system shift occurring. At the beginning of my undergrad my value system was career than family. But she didn't know that it was now shifting to become family and then career. So when she asked me the next question do you want to have a family? She didn't know where this whole conversation was going to go. She didn't realize the trajectory of it and I said, yes, I do want to have a family. And then she asked me well, have you considered the amount of time you would need to have for being a neurosurgeon as well as being a mother? So I thought about it and I said, you know, I do want my children to know me. I'm traumatized by the lifetime movies. I saw the hand that rocked the cradle and I just don't want those kind of issues. So, yes, I have thought about having a family. I want them to know mommy better than they know the nanny. I have nothing against nannies. Please do not send me an email. And so she said, ok, well, have you thought about being a chiropractor? And I'm like, yeah, chiropractor, my back hurts and I need one, but I never thought about being one. And she said, ok, well, let me introduce you to a chiropractor. So she introduced me to my first African-American chiropractor, who also was a female. And so, speaking to her and then doing my research, I feel more and more in love with chiropractic, and even to this day, every day, I fall in love with chiropractic again and again. So that's how I ended up becoming a chiropractor on my track and on my way to med school. So I said hey, let's consider something else too.

That is a great story and I love all the little nuggets you dropped in there. Yeah, it's true, you never know who's watching you. You never know who's picking up on the things that you may be doing or saying or seeing. And also this is kind of outside of the world or the conversation of what we're talking about in terms of chiropractic, but just the importance of representation and seeing people who look like you and seeing people who can be role models and all of the representation. I mean, what a great way to foster and mentor young people and an opportunity, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. So I'm so glad that you had that, because it sounds like that's exactly where you needed to be. You maybe just needed a little bit of a gentle nudge from someone who could see that in you and could connect you with the right kind of person or mentor or guide in doing that.

Absolutely, and some people are just giving that gift that they can see that in others.

Totally Okay. So now you're in this and you've been a chiropractor for a while. Talk to us some about some of the primary reasons that people will come in and what you are passionate about educating people on in the chiropractic practice, if that makes sense.

Yes, initially patients come in for and I give them levels. They come in for the initial level. They say my neck has been hurting and I keep getting massages, I keep stretching, I keep exercising and it's still hurting. Or they'll say my back hurts. If it's not that particular entry point, then sometimes it's a car accident. So it has to be drastic for most patients to come in because they otherwise do not know the benefits of chiropractic or why they should come to a chiropractor outside of. I'm hurting or I've been in an accident. So most entry patients are coming in from those chief complaints. The next level of patients that come in are the ones who have been to me and have now been able to have a more informed conversation with their peers or with their family and friends as to why they should come in. So the next level of patients come in because they have specific complaints. I am having trouble sleeping at night, I am having trouble going from sit to standing, I am having trouble with headaches. Those are the people that starts to come in. But even then I teach them another level of understanding once they come into the office. So those are the types of patients that comes in at first, but because of my educational standpoint, every moment is a teaching moment. They always leave with another lesson or new information when they leave out.

I think what you're getting at is because you said well, that's when I you know they come in, because they can't sleep and the headaches, and that's where your education kicks in. So now let's cross that bridge and tell us some about what you really love teaching about teaching people, about chiropractic.

My favorite moments. I have two to three favorite moments that occur in the office. The first moment is that ah, that's why I was hurting. That's connected to that. I love it when they are making the connection between my neck hurts and specific symptoms. I get a kick out of it because now they're learning and in this particular scenario this becomes a more hands-on anatomy class for them, without it being the true lecture sense. So they're learning about their anatomy. The other moments that I live for are when they see that they can do the things that they thought they would never be able to do again. So, for example, I had an older patient. I remember when she came to me she just had some generic aches and pains, but she still didn't really know what it is that I do or that I will be able to do for her. And the one day she came into me and she said I could get on my knees again for my prayers the small things that we take for granted for those who like to kneel to do their prayers, those who can, we do it without thinking about it. But she made me realize there are people who wish to do it and can't get down there. And the day that she was able to get down there. She came in so excited she said I can kneel again. That's what I'm looking forward to in my office when people are able to achieve the things that matter to them. For example, I can walk through the mall with my grandchildren, I can walk through the mall with my child and not have to find the nearest seat to take a break. Those are the things that gets me excited and keeps me passionate about chiropractic when my patients are coming in and experiencing it and learning about it.

I love those stories and I get to experience that some as a fitness professional as well. I mean, I have trained women who have gone on like a European vacation and they're like I could walk all day. And one of my clients was just sharing a story about how she was able to pick up a 70 pound reel with her husband at work just moving things and putting it in, and she's 60 years old and she was like I don't think I could have done this without our time. So I do love those stories. I think a lot of us feel like, okay, if we have an issue, we go see a professional about it. If I, you know, whatever that is a medical issue, we see a professional. So why would we go see a chiropractor if we don't have pain?

This is my favorite question right here, because pain does not show up as everyone expected to. So when people say I'm not in pain, what they're thinking is I'm not saying ouch to something and that's okay. You don't have to say ouch to everything for it to be a pain. Pain shows up as a dysfunction. I have a dysfunction in my body. So what does dysfunction look like? That will be considered pain For my ladies. For example, my menstrual cycle is a lot heavier this past two months than it has been in the previous year. That's a dysfunction. Yes, go to your OBG. Also, check with your chiropractor because you may have injured your lower back. That is now triggering a signal to kick off a heavier flow. It could cause an heavier flow. It could cause increased cramping, make your cycle a day or two longer than usual. It may make it erratic, irregular. It's not appearing at the time that it would. It came earlier or it came later. Those are indications that you should see your chiropractor if that has switched up. Another dysfunction your digestive system is a little off. You notice you're a little bit of gassy, a little bloated. You're having some belching. You're coming out the other end with gas as well. Those are indicators to go to the chiropractor. That's not pain, but it's a dysfunction because it had not been there consistently. Another dysfunction that people miss sleep. I simply keep tossing and turning all night long. Yes, your thoughts may keep you up, but you may physically be uncomfortable. That it's causing you to toss and turn, and a lot of times that is because the hips are not in alignment and so at some point you have injured your hips, whether you stepped off the curve, you tripped, missing a step going up or down anything. And when those hips are out of line you're tossing and turning. And then the fun thing that will eventually come around to sex sent me to the chiropractor. Fun extracurricular things or other issues with the sexual reproductive system could also sing in. So it's pain Doesn't have to be an out, it can be a dysfunction. That's a great point.

Yeah, that's a great point. Those are all good things, I think, to have people kind of start doing a Inventory of like okay, is this, is this bothering me and is this something that could be? You know that a chiropractor might be able to help me, so let's see, one of the things that you mentioned in my intake form was your uptick in people coming in with so as pain. Now my guess is they're probably not saying my so as is hurting me, brother, probably saying my hip flexors bothering me, but because that's kind of one little part of that. But first tell us what the so as is and what is unique about it. I have some understanding of it, but I, I, I know that I don't know as much as you do about it well, what's the saw as muscle?

and my patients when they learn this muscle they are so tickled how I get them to remember it. And yes, the so as muscle is definitely a hip flexor muscle, generally the one that Takes us out of commission because we've been sitting For so long, and this is the muscle that contracts to help us keep us in a seated position. But the longer we sit there and it stays in a contracted state or Consider a shortened state and then you want to go stand up, which is a lengthen state, is like. We don't do that very well, you have to remind me, but it's that like and it's tend to be painful. And so, with my patients to help them remember the saw as muscle, I said it is one sore as muscle and there is so tickled by it. And I said whoever named that muscle, they named this one on point because it hurts. It hurts, but this muscle, the muscle, originates on the spine and it's a pretty lengthy muscle and it wraps around the side of your body, comes down the front part, near the V, if you are so fortunate to have that part of your abs. It's a, it's a keg on us, on some of us, but it comes down in the V, towards your vagina, towards the inside, the middle, inside of your thigh, the inner thigh, and you have one on each side of your body, so they're both shortened when you're sitting and then you try to stand up. Well, what presents next when you're trying to stand up, either hip pain, lower back pain, growing pain and, even more interesting, heel pain. When you're standing and you're, like my, heels hurting so immediately people go to plantar fasciitis. Oh, I have plantar fasciitis. Yes, you may have it and you may also have a sore as muscle issue. And so, due to COVID, that creating an uptick immediately, because now we're sitting at home, working, but then we go and sit on the couch and we Netflix, and then we're primed, we watch a TV, so we're sitting on top of sitting, on top of sitting, and then the one time you get up to go to the bathroom, it's painful. Well, the sofa just ate you for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and that is why your thaw as muscle is hurting. And so when they come to my office, I am often doing quite a bit of work on their so as muscle, but immediately once I get it to release, they can stand up, do a sit up and walk, just fine.

It is. It's so true, I mean, and it just radiates up and down and it impacts so much of us because of how long it is and because of all the things that it connects. So, talk, tell us some like how a chiropractic visit can help, can help the so as and so as pain, and and walk us through a little bit of what we can expect and also what we can ask for, if we are recognizing ourselves in this and we go to a chiropractor, because, as I like to remind my children, you know, medical professional professionals are not magicians. They cannot read your mind, so you have to talk to them and tell them what's going on. So tell us some about, like, what to expect and and how to share with a chiropractor what's going on and to help some of those pains that you're talking about when you go into the chiropractor.

Just share Almost everything that you're feeling. Share where we're in point directly to it. We're able to ask, and usually the doctor will guide you and say Okay, can you point to it? What actions are you're not able to do? What actions increases the pain? So in our consultation we would get a lot of the information from you During our treatment. Our treatments vary. They're very similar but they vary in nature. We will do soft tissue work on it to work on the muscle, but we will also realign the spine because there are spinal connections for the muscle. And once we realign the spine then we're also addressing the nerves that innervate or make the muscle do what it does. We addressing those nerves so that the nerves can heal from the trauma of the spine being stuck in one particular position or the muscle being pulled and creating another issue. So all of those are stimulus to the nerves and we treat those areas to help the nerves heal, the muscle recover and the joints go back to its proper movement.

Got it, thank you. Thank you for that, and I think that that'll be great guidance for us. Now, before we get into the questions that I ask all of my guests, I have one more. I have got to ask about the title of your book. Sex Sent Me to the Chiropractor. Okay, so I know it's a fictional account of people's hilarious stories, but I have a sneaking suspicion there's some based on real life events to it, so I would love for you to tell us more about this book.

Yes, you got me. There were definitely inspirations from other stories that has been shared. My patients are characters in themselves, and they have because I created a very welcoming and comfortable environment and since they understand that chiropractic works on everything. So now they come in with saying, okay, I did this over the weekend. Could this be the reason why my back was hurting this morning? Absolutely? Or I couldn't do this, and so yes, there are stories that did inspire the book in some degree. But one of the stories that I would like to share that did not get in-depth attention in the book but definitely was an inspiration, and that was with the menstrual cycle. I had a patient come in. She was in her 50, she was 50 actually and she had been dealing with ongoing menstruation for two years, whereas most of us get seven days, five, seven days and we're done. No, she has been nonstop bleeding and they have been giving her different treatments to try to get it to stop, and it may stop for a week, but then it comes right back around and then it's going on and on and on for two, three, four months at a time, and it was going on so long that she eventually had to have blood transfusions, iron transfusions but by the time she had gotten to me, this had been going on for two years. But what caught my attention was not the fact she said oh, I've been having this ongoing menstrual cycle. I was in the middle of a lecture, so I wasn't trying to sell chiropractic at that moment and I said, okay, we'll talk about it later. I just pushed it off. But she said something. She said, yes, I dropped these huge clocks with this cycle. I said, okay, and I'm still not tuning in because I am not trying to be the physician, dr Peebles, I'm trying to be the lecturer, dr Peebles, so that they're not conflicting. But she shows me a picture that catches my attention and I'm looking at the picture. I said whose fetus is that? And she said no, that's the size of the clocks I'm dropping. I said you're dropping clocks the size of a fetus. How are you walking and functioning and dropping something that size? And so she was dropping seven of those a day. She was wearing the heaviest menstrual pad inside of a depend and she was changing the depend four times a day in addition to the menstrual pad. I was like, wait, what? This is crazy. So I said well, let allow me to adjust you because there's definitely something going on in your back. So we go ahead, we get her adjusted. The first day she was adjusted, the clocks stopped for about 24 hours but then, when they did return, they returned smaller. They were now golf ball size. But as she continued to get adjusted and her body was becoming more and more in line, the nerves were healing, the clocks continued to drop in size until they didn't show up anymore. So everything had to go in reversal. But what had been uncovered during the exam was that she had fallen and never got it checked out. Her knees were injured, her back was injured, and so much she had. She was in the medical field and she had fallen dealing with a patient and took a very bad injury. But being that it was going unchecked for so long, the this was one of the sequela of the injury was that her cycle became heavier, heavier and heavier until it was out of control. After I continued adjusting her for less than a month I adjusted her for several visits. She still needed blood as a chiropractor I can't give you blood so she still needed some more blood to replace what she had lost. She needed iron transfusion. And once she did that? Do you know? She actually went into menopause, as expected for her around her fifties and she didn't have any more of those issues. So once all that became in a line and she healed and had her blood and iron transfusion, her edges grew back I know we like to have our edges Her hair grew back. Her color came back. When she came back I realized she did look like a ghost, but she because I never knew her before that. I did not know how ashen she was. But her quality of life returned. She was able to go to parties again, she was able to hang out with her family because she didn't have to worry about messing up her clothes. She didn't have to worry about being hot and then cold and just all over the place. And so stories like that was an inspiration for this book. But then on the other end I have my men who come in. They're like okay, dr Peebles, I'm just gonna be honest, it's not doing what it used to do, like I used to be able to just whoa. I don't know if it. Maybe I don't like her as much. I said no, did you injure your knee playing basketball or something recently? Yes, well, conveniently, that is a correlation to how strong your urine stream is. It also is a correlation to how strong your erection is. Let's get it together. And so men have come in hearing that I have helped someone they know have better erections, et cetera. So those are some of the stories that have inspired the book. Sets me to the chiropractor.

Well, those are life-changing stories. I mean, I think both of those. Yeah, I mean I just can't even imagine that woman that you just shared that story with. I mean what you changed her life. I mean you changed her life. That's incredible. Yes, and she's still nice. Yeah, I bet she does. I bet she does. Let's get into some of the questions that I ask all my guests. One is I love learning about people's tattoos because I have discovered, when people put a tattoo on their body for the rest of their life, they often, but not always, will have a meaning behind it. So I was wondering if you have one and if you'd be willing to share what it is. And if not, if you had to get one, what would it be and where would it go?

So I don't have a tattoo. And the reason one of the reasons I don't have a tattoo is because I could never figure out what I wanted to be. So I laughed. When I saw that question. I was like, oh great. The question that I still haven't been able to answer for the past 20 plus years is what would it be? So I still don't know what that tattoo would be. But the funny thing is there's a rap song out called Tatted Up by Fable. It's such an old song and I sing that song with passion even though I don't have not nary a tattoo on my body. But I love the song Tatted Up and I sing like I do have a tattoo.

That's great. Yeah, I don't really know either, so that's okay. I just like to learn. Okay, tell people how they can connect with you if they want to learn more and where they can get your book.

You can find the book on amazoncom or, if you happen to come on over and visit my website, although I was told don't say www. I like the sound of www, so I'm going to tell you wwwstlprohealthcom. And you can also find me at my handles of Dr DannyP on Instagram or Facebook, and Dr Danny P is spelled with two ends and an I, so that's D-R-D-A-N-N-I-P at yahoocom, and we will include all of that in the show notes as well.

Okay, what is I'm going to? Let you have the last word. What is the one final thing, one simple thing that you want my community to remember about our conversation today?

The one takeaway that I would love for your community to have is that your overall health is an indication of what is all going on. So how do you know what your overall health is doing? Check your spinal health. Your spinal health is a true indicator of your overall health. We can see which systems are functioning and isn't functioning. So my challenge to you, my takeaway, is to encourage you to go and get your spine checked and see what you learn about your body.

Okay, that is all for today. Go out there and have a grace day.