Chiropractic San Diego

A 2.9 km (1.8 miles) trail length with a 933 m (2800 feet) vertical rise makes Grouse Grind in Vancouver BC a perfect one hour (ish) cardio workout.

When mentioning to a client, that I was traveling to Vancouver for Canada Day and some hiking, he said “you’ve gotta do the Grouse Grind hike at Grouse Mountain.” I’m glad I listened to him as it was the perfect start to my Vancouver hiking weekend. Hop on bus 236 to Grouse Mountain and join me…

236 Grouse Mountain Bus to Grouse Grind from downtown Vancouver was a good choice. I opted to use the Metro transit system (Translink <- site has lots of maps) while staying in Vancouver, versus renting a car. I’m glad I did. The transportation system in Metro Vancouver was spectacular for getting to all my destinations. To hike Grouse Mountain, I boarded an early morning bus near the Marriott Hotel in the Coal Harbor area, with the 236 dropping me off within a few hundred yards of the Grouse Grind trailhead.

The Baden Powell Trail and Grouse Grind trail signs are nearby the trailhead. Once you’ve reached the Grouse Mountain parking lot, it’s easy to locate the Grouse Grind Trailhead, since lots of people seem to be heading in that direction. If you don’t see it at first glance just ask around or visit guest services.

Attention Hikers – New closing and opening times for the Grouse Grind trail will be posted and take effect (see photo). I am sharing the above photo because I discovered (unfortunately later) it’s really important to pause before heading up on the trail and go over your hiking plans (especially when traveling as a group).

I am an avid and active hiker, and living in Los Angeles, I most frequently hike Mojave/Colorado desert (like hiking to the rock of faith) and mountain terrain over long distances. Don’t let the seemingly short distance of the Grouse Grind fool you, it can be extremely dangerous, if proper preparations are not made and precautions not taken.

Follow the Hiker Responsibility Code and know your limits. On the day that I hiked, the weather on the mountain had changed dramatically for the worse (and it was July!). By the time I had reached my return to the parking lot, there were several paramedic vehicles at the trailhead, with emergency teams racing up to make rescues. Stay safe and have a plan.

The Notice to Hikers regarding exclusion of liability and assumption of risk appears at the main fence and along the trail (once that I noticed). This sign alone should be enough reminder for people to review their safety essentials and hiking plans and to take the climb seriously. I put my camera away at this point, and didn’t take it back out, until I reached the top.

Downhill Travel Prohibited was the first thing I saw when I reached the top and that was where my disappointment set in. My intention was to return the way I came, but that apparently wasn’t permitted (although I saw people doing so), so I decided to explore the Grouse Mountain area (it was raining) before returning to the parking lot on the sky tram.

The Grouse Mountain Grouse Grind Skyride will return you back to the parking lot, but there is a fee, I believe it’s $10 one-way. I encountered numerous people at the top of the trail that didn’t know downhill travel was not permitted and also didn’t know there would be a fee to use transportation back down the mountain. I don’t mind that there is a fee, but hopefully there is now some sort of sign clearly posted, near the beginning of the trail.

Watch out for grizzly bears on Grouse Mountain. You won’t see any grizzly bears along the trail (at least I don’t think you will) but if you have the time while up on the mountain you can take a walk over to the grizzly bear habitat (it’s fenced in). There is also a lumberjack show in the summer time, which is nearby the grizzly bear area.

The Grind Timer Program on a Grouse Mountain TV screen was a very cool sighting for us techies. I noticed a marker at the trailhead where it looked like people were activating timer chips. When I got to the top and saw this display I discovered what the purpose was for. What an excellent way to measure one’s performance for hiking the Grouse Grind. Notice the posted times are from about 43 minutes to 52 minutes. Depending on your endurance and your pace (and the amount of people ahead of you) you could finish in under 30 minutes (extremely fit) or take more than an hour and a half to complete the near two-mile all uphill hike.

Canadian Flag at Grouse Mountain underneath where the aerial tram boards to take you back down to the parking area. Look for the huge flag on your exit and take the tramway back down (don’t forget anybody from your party up on the mountain).

Hope you enjoyed the trip. In my next hiking post (it may be a while) we will visit Lynn Headwaters Regional Park and a trip through a Vancouver rainforest to Norvan Falls.

By Michael Dorausch, DC

I was reading a Reuters report that stated fewer than a third of U.S. adults have received a flu vaccine so far this year and only about half said they intended to get one. The report goes on to explain why this is the case.

Rather than rely soley on drug company funded surveys I created a survey of my own, and had results in about 15 minutes. Using my @chiropractic Twitter profile I posted the following tweet…

FLU SHOT Survey: Getting one? Got one? No plans to get shot?

I performed a search for results to my tweet and took some screenshots. Here’s what people had to say about getting a flu shot.

Out of those three replies it looks like we’ve got one person that already had the flu and doesn’t plan on getting a shot, one person has gotten the shot a month ago, and one person got a flu shot and still got the flu. Total = 2 for shot + 1 for not.

In the next set of results we have one not having the time but wanting to get a flu shot, one person that’s already had a flu shot, and two people that have no plans to get the flu shot this year.

I had seven different replies regarding thoughts on the flu shot, so I began preparing this post. When I went to make the screenshots, there were more replies, so I’ve included those as well.

Out of the four replies shown above, we have one saying no way they would get the flu shot, one saying they’ve already had the flu so no go, a third one saying no, and a fourth saying never had a flu shot and no plans to get one. That’s 4 for NO on the flu shot, not good news for flu-shot manufacturers.

But we’re not done yet, I had three more replies.

In this batch we have never got a flu shot and no intentions to get one now, no flu shot for the strong and healthy, and no plans to get the flu shot. That’s a total of three more no’s for getting the flu shot.

Lets total up the numbers. 14 people replied. 3 people got the flu shot and 1 person is planning on getting the flu shot. 10 responded as not planning to get the flu shot. 1 is planning on getting the shot.

3 things I’ve learned from conducting this survey: 1) if these numbers represent general consensus there is going to be a massive surplus of flu shot available for the 2008-2009 flu season; 2) we could save the government and flu shot manufacturers tons of money by doing surveys like these; 3) people on twitter are wicked cool (at least the ones that are following me).

Many thanks to @Pamela_Lund, @steaprok, @TheMadHat, @bharshe, @DannyDover, @WordCures, @kwlow, @thesteffy, @pratt, @lyndseo, @MattMeeks, @CarrieHill, @kid_disco, @rumblestrip, and @BuySellDomains.

NOTE: After completing this post I noticed more replies on this topic. If you want to share your thoughts on getting the flu shot or not getting the flu shot, feel free to post them to the comments, and/or message me on twitter with the hash tag #Flu.

By Michael Dorausch, DC

This post is real simple. The goal is to provide an easy to remember acronym to be used when identifying 5 important parts related to the human cervical spine (neck) as shown on the following x-ray. Landmarks highlighted with red letters identify the parts to be remembered.

LMFAO – Cervical Spine X-Ray

L stands for Lamina – In the cervical spine, the lamina is thin area of bone that helps create a protective ring over the spinal cord. The surgical procedure involving the removal of lamina is referred to as a Laminectomy. The procedure may be performed in cases when a ruptured spinal disc may need to be removed or when bone spurs are putting pressure on the spinal cord.

M stands for Muscle – When taking x-rays on exceptionally muscular individuals, the seventh cervical vertebrae and first thoracic vertebrae areas of the spine may not be as visible on a lateral film. On the x-ray shown above, only six bones in the neck can be counted. In some cases, having an individual hold an object in each arm (such as a 5 pound weight) while relaxing their shoulder muscles, can help improve viewing of this area on x-ray.

F stands for Foramina – Two nerves exit the spine at each cervical vertebra and they pass through the foramina, one on the left and one on the right. Many people don’t realize nerves exit at each level of the cervical spine. It’s not uncommon that  tingling or numbness felt in one’s arms and hands can be the result of pressure on nerves in one’s neck. Foramina is the plural term and neural foramen is the term to identify a single area.

A stands for Atlas – Positioned at the very top of the spine is the first cervical vertebrae, sometimes referred to as C1 or the Atlas. The atlas features two thick bony arches that form a large opening for the spinal cord to pass through. It is the spinal bone located nearest to the brainstem and it is often identified by chiropractors as the most important vertebrae to be in adjustment.

O stands for Occiput – The Occiput is an area of bone located at the base of the skull. It is an important lateral cervical spine x-ray landmark commonly used in identifying location and positioning of the first cervical vertebrae (Atlas). A skeletal abnormality sometimes seen in the upper cervical spine is known as atlanto-occipital fusion, or occipitalization of the atlas.

So there is your anatomy lesson for the day. Go ahead and show your friends how smart you are.

L amina
M uscle
F oramina
A tlas
O cciput

easily remembered as LMFAO