The Mind Performance Health Podcast
MPH is a personal training studio located at Rouse Hill, Sydney NSW Australia that has been helping clients achieve transformations with their physique, health and fitness goals.
Our team has created this podcast to share insights on various topics that can influence your body, health and fitness transformations. These topics include:
Nutrition
Mindset
Workouts
Lifestyle
To learn more you can visit www.mindperformancehealth.com.au
The Mind Performance Health Podcast
Redefining Health Through Chiropractic Innovation and Therapy
Have you ever found yourself at a crossroads, where one decision reshaped your entire career path? Our guest Kareem lived this reality, transitioning from an aspiring physiotherapist to a chiropractic devotee, thanks in part to a twist of destiny at Macquarie University. This episode unravels his personal journey, giving us a raw look into the chiropractic realm and its profound impact on fostering active, healthy lifestyles. We navigate through Kareem's experiences and philosophies that underscore the importance of a sturdy health foundation, especially for those pushing their physical limits.
When pain strikes, what's your first line of defense? Forget the quick fixes; Kareem walks us through the dynamic world of chiropractic care and the comprehensive strategies to achieve patient wellness. We dissect the intricate tapestry of manual therapies, from hands-on adjustments to dry needling, that help individuals surmount health hurdles and reach their peak. Listen as we dissect a case study about a bicep tendon tear and the meticulous rehab plan that transformed an athlete's setback into a comeback, shedding light on the customised care provided in chiropractic practice.
Finally, let's talk stress—the silent saboteur of our health. Kareem introduces the 'stress bucket' concept, painting a vivid picture of how life's pressures can overflow and manifest physically. This episode emphasizes the holistic approach to chiropractic treatment, where managing life's weight becomes as crucial as the physical therapy itself. Through personal anecdotes and a deep-dive into preventative care, we reveal how chiropractors play a pivotal role in guiding patients through recovery, underscoring the power of mindset in healing, even when surgery enters the equation. Join us for an enlightening journey through the chiropractic landscape, and perhaps find a new perspective on balancing life's demands.
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Hey guys, welcome to the my Performance Health podcast. You're joined here today with myself, your host Michael, and I'm also joined today with our resident, the amazing Bench Press. So we beat some PBs this week. We hit some PBs this week, but I'm joined with Karim Karim's, our resident, cairo. He helps a lot of our team and our clients and even myself when I had an injury with my bicep tear and all our other needs as well when it comes to getting our body on track, getting it healthy, as a foundation to train. But, karim, thank you for joining today.
Speaker 2:Man, I'm very excited to get in this one my pleasure. Thanks for inviting me, man.
Speaker 1:And to get out now. Some of our audience will be aware, especially our clients and our team that go and see you. But for those that are not aware, can you just give yourself a bit of an introduction, get us up to speed of, kind of why you became a Cairo and how you got into this field?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, man. Thanks. I started out 2019. I graduated from Cairo Practic at Macquarie Uni. I wanted to do physiotherapy out of high school, funnily enough. So I didn't quite get the results. I wanted to, which was a bit of a bummer. You know, your fresh, fresh face out of high school you're kind of like, you know, ready to go to uni.
Speaker 2:I was a bit bummed about not getting into physio. As a younger kid I played a lot of soccer, played a lot of squash, had my fair share of injuries, ended up in the physios office a few times and I really liked the health aspect of things and helping people. I knew I always wanted to go to university. So it was kind of like, okay, let's do physiotherapy, go into sport, always had an interest in health and athletes and then from there it was like shit, didn't get the results. So you know, as a fresh face, 18 year old, I was like, oh crap, what do I do?
Speaker 2:Pulled out the UAC guide at the time and I was like, right below physio was Cairo. And I didn't know shit about Cairo. Honestly, like I didn't know anything about Cairo other than, like you know, it was very similar to physio. So I was like, okay, I'll just go into Cairo, like you know. I read the, I read the description. I was like, yeah, you know, they do kind of very similar things. So I went straight into Cairo and then after my first year there, man, everyone the students, the staff, like the whole environment was like no, this is where I want to be. My intention was like transfer after a year. Yeah, I was like you know, just, they're all very basic, you know, intro level, first year subjects. I was like I'll just transfer after a year. What? Why?
Speaker 1:is that why? Why? What made you change your mind, though?
Speaker 2:So the environment and the people that I was with you know the the cohesiveness of the cohort. When you're when you're a Cairo student at Macquarie I went to Macquarie Uni when you're a Cairo student there it becomes real tight knit straight away because you're all doing the same courses, your timetables are almost exactly the same. You spend so much time with the same people and you get really clicky from the get-go, whereas other students, by doing arts or science, they got different electives. They're all over campus. They have different timetables A lot of them don't have.
Speaker 2:We had face-to-face classes from week one where we were assessing and doing postural analysis and actually getting physical with each other as well, which obviously built that more of a closer rapport and connection and our relationships just grew from there. Then it was kind of like, as I got through the first maybe semester, it was coming to that realization that Cairo is a bit more niche. There's like five or six universities that churn out physiotherapists every year. You can think of all the major universities, especially in New South Wales. They all have a bit of a physiotherapy course where Cairo was very niche In my own mind's eye. I kind of had this idea that, okay, there's a lot less Cairo practice graduating every year. There's a bit more of a market, there's a bit more niche. Then the environment tied in with that, that idea of this is more niche. This is a bit more specialized or a bit more specific to having a smaller cohort of competition once I graduate. That was kind of like okay, this is great, I'm going to stick with this. I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1:So yeah, man.
Speaker 2:So started out straight from uni, straight from high school, excuse me.
Speaker 1:And then I just fell in love with it, man. Yeah, it's funny, sometimes you get direction can change. So just to summarize so yeah, you had the intention to do physio, went into Cairo as the next option, but you kind of the proximity of the people around you influenced you in that field, but also to realize that, hey, this is a bit more niche, maybe better off for the long run. And then that's kind of how you pivoted into this kind of area with what you do now. And this is where I wanted to get you on, man, because I just want to cover some of the important reasons that we use yourself with myself, why I come to you, my team, your philosophies around what you do, because everyone's a bit different, no matter what field it is whether it's with us, with trainers, coaches, or it's with you with your chiropractic work, and I really feel that our audience will get a lot of value of understanding things to help them with their health, but also just make them aware of things as well.
Speaker 1:So we've made some notes for today, which is great.
Speaker 2:Well, when I say we've made.
Speaker 1:I meant you've made. I had to come prepared.
Speaker 2:I'm going to be invited onto your talk and then be prepared.
Speaker 1:Which is great right, but I want to kick it off with your label of chiropractic and what it actually means to you, because everyone's a bit different. But can you just break that down for the audience so they understand?
Speaker 2:So my label or my style or technique or philosophy, I?
Speaker 2:guess you could call it. I'll continue the story because it transitions into this. So it was in my second year of chiro and any chiro students physio students, allied health, even PTs trainers if you're listening to this go get yourself a mentor and you would obviously advocate for that as well, I'm sure. 100%, get yourself a mentor. And it was in my second year when I started working in the industry as well. So my second year of my bachelor's I started working for a chiropractor in Castle Hill, based in the Hills. So living and being close to this chiropractor I was like this is fantastic.
Speaker 2:You know, uni student, I needed a job experience and then being in the industry, seeing firsthand, like whether you're a trainer, whether you're a physio, chiro, whatever, actually going from. You know textbook knowledge, you know the coursework that you have to do, the pen and paper to get that piece of paper to being in the industry and seeing at firsthand. I was working on patients in my second year of uni. So I was working. Their patients would come in the chiropractor I was working for would assess them, they diagnose them. Then I'd be doing all the massage work. I was a laborer.
Speaker 1:Essentially I was doing all, as you are when you first get into it, exactly.
Speaker 2:So that mentoring, role and work experience kind of transitions, obviously your lived experience is to your why, or you know your philosophy. So the philosophy that I use at Helical Health in terms of my clients and my patients and how we try to get the best out of out of our athletes and just regular old people, all of our patients is that we need to come to a diagnosis first and foremost. Yes, we need to find out what the condition is and what is the reason for that person for coming and seeing you. That's the why. That's the why and what is happening on that person's body, whether they're coming, for you know neck pain, back pain, for your example, your, you know your bicep tear that you had, yeah, correct. Getting the accurate diagnosis. Starting there will help build our picture, and then from there it's a matter of how can I best get that client or that patient back to health and wellness and being pain free, going about their day, living their day to the best of their ability. Yep, so we start with a diagnosis and then from there it's all about just promoting and encompassing the wellness and the health of that client or that patient to getting them to their end goals as well, because they have their expectations when they come and see you as well. So when they're coming to you, whether it's weight loss for your examples, for clients that want to do bodybuilding, it's the same for me it's like they come to you you're the chiropractor.
Speaker 2:They know, stereotypically, chiropractors deal neck pain, back pain. That's the stereotypical kind of expectation when they come and see you. But then when you build your rapport, you get your, you know your name out there it's kind of like well, go see Karim. And like you guys, when you send me clients as well, it's like go see Karim if you hurt yourself, you know, if you've got this injury.
Speaker 2:It's not just about neck pain and back pain anymore, it's about we start with the diagnosis and then we go into manual therapy. So I would branch it or call it manual therapy or physical therapy. Where it's like we do, we have all the tools in our power to help that patient, whatever their goals are. So whether it's the you know, the adjustments, the manipulations, which is the pure chiropractic things, or it's the exercise, the rehabilitation, and then everything in between, from the passive care, which is hands on, massage, cupping, dry needling, those kinds of things, to the active stuff, which is there, which is the rehabilitation, which is the exercise and the rehab, which is going to get them feeling and performing back into it Exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so make sure I've heard you correctly there, karim, which is kind of like how I see many different even fields operate with, if it's done correctly. But what I'm hearing correct me if I'm wrong is that, yes, you identify the cause, the issue where the pain is, you manage the symptoms, but then you've got a toolkit that you've built out, like I said, the stereotypical or the expectation of chiropractic, like you said, back, neck, crack, get out. But what I'm hearing from you is like no, we've got an outcome where we want to go. We find out what the cause is, we manage the symptoms, but you use these tools whether it's cupping, whether it's active therapy, whatever you've got to pull out to help assist, get to point A, to point B, so you can perform and like with my arm, for an example, like for those that don't know, is that well, we'll explain to me what happened to my arm.
Speaker 2:Well, correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 1:This is when July last that while let's, let's, let's test my memory. That way I think I popped. This is when.
Speaker 2:I first started in.
Speaker 1:Rouser, yeah, I popped it in April and then the surgery, I think, happened a few months later. A couple months later, so you were boxing at the time. Yeah, so I hit the bag and I completely ruptured the tendon off the bone with the bicep and they had that nice little fling up.
Speaker 2:You felt the pop, I felt the pop and you looked down, you saw it it was a slingshot, it was a slingshot all the way up so I could see you know when you see those videos. When you get on the phone. Can I get it at my right? Yeah, I can write you. Yeah, well.
Speaker 1:I called my wife.
Speaker 1:Alicia, I was like you're not gonna, not gonna believe this, but I think my arms, my biceps, halfway up my arm. But then, like the, obviously we knew what the issue was. That was pretty obvious with that one. But make even just talk to the audience with your process, with myself, how we kind of got from from when I walked in. This is my problem surgery. I had it reattached to how we kind of got back to me performing because I couldn't do any curls, I couldn't use my right arm for a while, I couldn't do chin ups. So even just talk to us a little bit of that, that case study.
Speaker 2:So I guess I guess that's the extreme right. Yeah, most people when they come to see me it's like they want to avoid surgery at maximum cost, especially because chyros get more of that reputation of being a bit more natural, wellness based, rather than the medical. You know, pop a pill and you'll feel better, kind of. You know reality that a lot of people go down that path. As soon as they get any like signs or symptoms, it's like straight to the medicine cabinet we want drugs.
Speaker 1:We want to feel better immediately.
Speaker 2:Stereotypically, I'd say, most of the clients that come to a chiropractor want that natural alternative way of healing or they want to respect their body in that respect. So it's like okay, we knew yours was the worst case scenario. We need an operation and it's there. You know, we ideally we don't want to go operate on things, but when it's a trauma, when there's something like that, you have to operate, yeah, unless you want to live with the consequences of.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what we said, we could manage and live, but it's up to you.
Speaker 2:You got to weigh up the options there Risk versus benefit, or what is your goal? Like same with athletes. They get ACL surgeries. You know Bailey's a good example. Yes, like, when do you want to go back to sport? If that's your goal, yep. So obviously, weighing up again comes back to expectations, weighing up the goals of the client.
Speaker 2:Surgery is typically the last thing. In terms of triage, we talk about triage. I'll, you know, go down this rabbit hole a little bit with you. Whenever we talk about triage with pain and symptoms and people recovering or getting better, it's typically okay. First, first point of call is that first aid kind of protocol, and then it's physio, chiro, massage, whatever you like in terms of allied health or rehab, and then, if rehab fails, it's typically a cortisone or a steroid injection or some sort of you know local. And then, if that doesn't work, then it tends to be like, okay, let's go operate.
Speaker 2:It's that's the type of musculoskeletal speaking in terms of the treatments and the conditions that I treat. It's like, okay, you've hurt yourself. If the physio and the chiro can't help you, we're going to go give you some drugs, or some more hardcore drugs like an injection. And if then that doesn't help. It's like, okay, guess what. You're booked in with the surgeon, it's the last resort, it's the last resort. Unfortunately, sometimes that's what you have to do. And so, yeah, in your example, straightaway boom, get the MRI go speak to orthopedic surgeon, you know get the surgery done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's only so much we could do without the surgery really Well, look, if something's torn, you've got to retouch it, especially in your functional aspect, in terms of your aesthetics and wanting to train and be strong and stay to their living. There's a lot of people that have probably torn things and never done anything about it, but they're not the expectations, they're not trying to get to an outcome where they've got many of guys that
Speaker 2:have torn gastrocs or torn calves or torn hair strings and they never did anything about it. And you can. You can see the atrophy. You can see the asymmetries between left and right as well, but they function.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for them that's just that and it's not impacting enough their day to day or their performance goals to go get 100%.
Speaker 2:So the thought process is OK once you've had that surgery, what is the most optimum way for you to get back to normal? Because, like you were saying, obviously couldn't bicep kill, couldn't lift your arm. You had a lot of pain, discomfort. Luckily for you actually your case, case study, talking wise you didn't have much pain. You were actually quite OK.
Speaker 1:I was OK, yeah, I didn't have too much pain, no, and then because there are some, people that go through absolute hell, and this is the thing. Like this is very like.
Speaker 2:N equals one in terms of the case studies. It's exactly like every individual reacts and responds differently.
Speaker 1:Even just up here.
Speaker 2:You know like depends how you manage the expectations and look at it, the psychology of it is huge in terms of whether it's placebo or or if. That we all know, especially we all know hopefully most of us would know you and I know that mental, you know that fortitude and that mental toughness and that expectation and and having even just positive thoughts and positive, positive reinforcements and daily affirmations. Those kinds of things will always lead to a better outcome, no matter what the goal is, whether it's recovery or training. Yeah, yeah, if you know, you have that positive mindset, it will, it will help.
Speaker 1:It will help whether it's a one percent or if you're an athlete, going for that one percent, that one percent is fantastic, yeah. And then you know, succumb to the problem.
Speaker 2:You know, and as part of that psychological aspect of it, that that that you know social as well as psychological. Yeah, there's a huge part. Right Apart from the physical and chemical or the other, you know, scientific stuff, there's a huge aspect of our health that comes from that psychological.
Speaker 1:Look and I definitely even when we see clients, when you adapt around things and push mentally with our do see it fast track how quick he can come out of a hole if it's an injury or anything like that, whereas sometimes, though, that's those that succumb to it, their belief or whatever around it will stop them from progressing. But yeah, mate, we went from like I snapped it. Surgery came to you, and then my biggest problem was the imbalance of strength. You know, and you helped me come up with a game plan to get my range back, to get my strength back, and you know, over time I was a little bit worried with that type of surgery that it may impact me worse than it did in terms, in terms of performance and stuff that may even now it's been what, a year since the surgery say, or just a little bit under. Sorry, but I don't think of it anymore. But we had a game plan you gave me. We have to do like the east.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you came. You reached all your targets, you came to your appointments, you did your homework, you know and I think that's where it matters to homework part homework part is half of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because like if I just something I said on my client I'm pretty good, I would think I'm pretty good at my job. Yeah, and unless I've missed something, yeah, and you do the homework that I prescribed you, you'll get better. Yes, like I don't think I'm a shit practitioner. Yes, and then I put it. Then it's like it's straight back onto you.
Speaker 1:I don't think you're a shit patient. Yes, you do your homework.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do my job, you do your job and then you get the outcome.
Speaker 1:That's how it goes.
Speaker 2:That's how it goes in a perfect world.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, perfect world. But that's that's yeah, but I think that's set yourself up for success. But that's what I was saying before too. Like with what you do is you have some toolkits that you use and you have a game plan. It's not just coming in to manage the symptom and then you're done. It's like, okay, this is what we're going to do to get out of it. Yes, I've got a part to have to take personal ownership of it to, and play a role in doing work.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, and I just um, I think that's what's very useful, instead of like like said at a start, mate, some chiro's just have the, the Reputation, if you will, that that people go and get cracked in the neck and cracked in the back in the way they go, which is useful sometimes, I've imagined. But what I really like with what you do is the game plan towards the outcome and not only that working around problems. So if someone has a goal, still to exercise or still do their day to day, you'll come up with a Game plan to work around it.
Speaker 2:So, for example, for yourself, obviously had the surgery. We need to respect the injury. That's the other thing that a lot of people and you'll find athletes that don't respect the injury or you know regular people Runners is a great example, crossfitters is a great example yeah, like they want to go back. You know what I mean. Like they want to like I've got to run this weekend, can I run? I'm like You're just telling me you're in like nine out of ten pain and you like you got plan of fascia artists, for example, and you're like you know you can't run. Like you got to manage your load. Your body doesn't work like that. It will, yeah, it will fall to shit.
Speaker 2:Instantly but you can't build it back up like that. Yeah, the way it works. So, unfortunately it's. It's. Some people just really don't respect the injury, yeah, don't respect their body because they're so used to it. You know, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, and then it's like all of a sudden, the crumbles, yep, and it's like it takes a lot longer to repair something that it does to break it apart, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, correct, so come back so yeah, some people just don't respect the injuries enough, yeah, and that's the other thing. So we get to that stage of immediately after surgery. You need to respect that injury, like you need to respect, yeah, what's going on tissue needs to heal.
Speaker 1:You've just had a major surgery, you under anesthetic, you know, like all these things, and it's like Obviously you're not gonna be able to, you know, bend your arm or do a bicep kill Especially, you know I get medicine strength left, you know you just had an operation, so yeah, and you got to pay attention and I I liked what we to be on we we would correct me if I'm wrong I felt like my recovery process was pretty quick Considering, and I felt that too With it. But I think this would be a good segue as well with our notes. Here is the leaky bucket and stress bucket. Yeah, so I just want to give some insight to our audience. What do you mean by leaky bucket and stress bucket? Because I do feel, with what we're talking about here respecting injuries and potential of those injuries happening what do you mean by these two kind of terms?
Speaker 2:So.
Speaker 2:So in your case, it was very straight, clear-cut. You were punching, you were doing a boxing movement, you felt it pop, boom. You have a mode of injury. And that's the question that a lot of people ask me. It's like why did this happen? It's like, okay, well, if we have a really cool story of you know you were saving kids from burning building, or yeah, if we knew the why, if you could tell me, karim, I was punching, felt it boom, yep. End of story, okay, we know why.
Speaker 2:But sometimes shit happens. Yes, sometimes you sleep funny, you wake up and you have a crooked neck, and I see people like this all the time. So people come in and have a crooked neck and they are just like why did this happen? I'm not your pillar, I'm not your partner, I'm not sleeping with you, so I don't know why things are happening. People go out gardening and sit there for three hours and they hurt their back. It's there's, sometimes there's a why and people always have that question why did this happen? The real inquisitive ones, anyway. So it's like so, why did this happen?
Speaker 2:Well, there's this thing called the leaky bucket or the stress bucket. Yeah, you have your bottle, for example. Thanks, frank Green. You have your water bottle Little plug for Frank Green so you have your water bottle and you've got your daily stresses. You've got your day to day things. You've got your life, you've got your emotional, you've got your financial, you've got your. You know, you've got your day to day stresses, yes, and so typically in a perfect world, if you know, if we're at an equilibrium, we're able to manage our stresses. We have our strategies, we have our goals, we have, you know, the things that we do. And the buckets, fine, although you know the bottle is fine, there's no cracks in it, there's no leaks, it's not overflowing.
Speaker 2:But what sometimes does happen and this is what people aren't good at in terms of managing their stress or their load or if there is something that throws off that equilibrium and you start to get little cracks, or there starts little fissures in the bucket and then there's little leaks, or if there's too much from the top coming in to the bucket, then you have that. You have that stress response and sometimes it can lead to injury. Sometimes that can be injury. So if you've got an athlete, or if you've got a person who, for example, they ran a marathon but they're not trained for marathons, yep. So you, just, you just dumped a whole bunch of stress and stress onto their system and it's like, well, your body wasn't ready for that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, not conditioned, you're not conditioned, you're not adapted.
Speaker 2:You know that's the weekend warrior kind of thing, yep. Or you've got the people that had a shit night's sleep, just had a fight with their partner, eating crap or smoking or vaping no, yeah, had a big night out the night before, and then they're playing football the next day. And then, boom, something happened. Kareem, why is my ankle fucked? I'm like we got to look at the bigger picture. Sometimes it's like that's the stress response. That's your body is an organism and the same as your car or, you know, houseplant.
Speaker 2:There's another two analogies I love to use. It's like if you don't fill up the fuel, if you don't maintain it, if you don't you know, clean it, if you don't do all these things with it, you're going to have issues, it's going to break down. Yes, and so the stress bucket is that response where it's like, okay, these things are happening in your body now as a reaction to all the other crap that you're not managing. Well, so it's now coming down to the. We need to identify what is going on in your external factors, what's going on internal factors as well, yep, extrinsic and intrinsic factors, and what we can control, what we can't control. And, unfortunately, if you dump a whole lot of shit on yourself. That's sometimes why these injuries occur and that's why that's the you know downfall of why these things actually happen. So that's in a nutshell. I hope I covered most of it.