|
"The team wasn't just riders. It was mechanics, masseurs, chefs, soigneurs, and doctors. But the most important man on the team may have been the chiropractor. I could not have won without my Chiropractor's help". - from the book Every Second Counts, authored by Lance Armstrong, 7 time Tour de France winner
"Chiiropractic patients were three times more satisfied with their care than patients of family practice physicians." -Western Journal of Medicine, 1989
Consumer Reports' survey of 34,000 readers finds hands-on treatments most successful. Chiropractic was ranked ahead of all conventional treatments, including prescription drugs, by readers with back pain. (Readers said it also provided relief for neck pain.) -Consumer Reports August 2005 issue
Chiropractic care has been proven to help relieve many categories of symptoms and problems, including, but not limited to, neck and back pain. Below is a list of some of the more common conditions reported to be positively affected by chiropractic care. If you are experiencing any of these problems, please contact us right away for an appointment or more information. If you're not as well as you know you can be, time's a-wasting!
Allergy
Millions of people who suffer from allergies have benefited from chiropractic care even though chiropractic is not specifically an allergy treatment. Why? Because chiropractic "adjustments" realign structures that allow for better lymphatic drainage and reduce nerve irritation to systems that, when working optimally, permit your body to function at its best. That is especially important if you suffer from allergies.
But first, let's find out, what is an allergy? Your immune system aims to keep you 100% natural, organic and unadulterated! It recognizes and destroys anything that is foreign: invading bacteria, viruses, pollutants, dust, pollen, drugs, food additives, tumors, things that aren't where they belong-like your own dead skin cells, and even artificial hearts and donor organs (metal and plastic, however, don't trigger an immune reaction).
A healthy immune system creates fine-tuned resistance to disease and infection, the ability to deal with stress better and greater health and well-being. With allergies, the body's normal immune response overreacts, sort of like a person wearing headphones who is talking too loudly, only allergies are not funny!
By reducing mechanical and chemical stress on the nervous system, chiropractic care permits the immune system to function more effectively-something all allergy sufferers need. A nervous system without undue stress functions more efficiently. Recent conclusions in the field of psychoneuroimmunology reveal that, even though they are not hard wired together, your nervous system directly affects your immune system; when one is optimized, so is the other.
Chiropractic adjustments (to bring off balance spinal structures into better alignment) can simultaneously reduce mechanical and chemical stresses to the intertwined nervous system. Just like when headphones are taken off and talking instantly adapts to a volume more suitable to the environment, adjustments can help optimize the responses of the immune system so your body can work more effectively to neutralize the allergy causing chemicals that have entered and reeked havoc in your body.
Disc problems
The disc is a small cartilage pad that is situated between spinal bones. The soft jellylike center of the disc is surrounded and contained by layers of fibrous tissue. Each disc serves as a connector, spacer, and shock absorber for the spine. When healthy, discs allow for free and flexible motion of the spine.
Spinal discs have a very limited need for blood supply and depend upon the circulation of surrounding joint fluids to bring nutrients and expel waste. If a spinal joint loses its normal motion and this pumping action is impaired, the health of the disc deteriorates. Like a wet sponge, a healthy disc is flexible. A dehydrated disc, like a dry sponge, is hard, stiff, and can crack easily. A progressive loss of hydration is how many disc problems begin.
Because of the way each disc is attached to the entire surface of the vertebrae above and below it, a disc cannot slip as commonly thought. However, trauma or injury to the spine can cause discs to bulge, herniate, or worse, rupture. This can be quite painful, putting pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots, and interfering with their function.
While results cannot be guaranteed, many patients have avoided surgery or a dependency on pain pills, by choosing conservative chiropractic care to help them heal and manage the intermittent instability sometimes associated with disc problems.
Whiplash
Whiplash, most often experienced as a rapid backward to frontward (or front to back) "whipping" of the head, most commonly results from riding in a car that is struck from behind or that collides with another object. When the head is suddenly jerked back and forth beyond its normal limits, the muscles and ligaments that support the spine and head can be overstretched or torn. The soft, pulpy discs between spinal bones can bulge, tear or rupture. Vertebrae can be jerked out of their normal alignment, causing swelling and muscle tension and reducing range of motion. The spinal cord and nerve roots in the neck can get stretched and irritated. Often, with impacts at relatively lower speeds, occupants can suffer considerable soft tissue injury while the car may only be slightly damaged.
The resulting instability of the spine and soft tissues can cause headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, pain in the shoulder, arms and hands, reduced ability to turn and bend, and even back problems further down the spine. As the body attempts to adapt, symptoms may continue to surface for weeks or even months.
The chiropractic approach to these types of injuries uses specific, gentle chiropractic adjustments and supportive therapies to help heal and return spinal function back to normal. After a thorough examination and case history, the doctor will recommend a series of visits, called a treatment plan, to help restore proper motion and position of the spinal bones. If caught early enough, inflammation can be reduced and scar tissue can often be minimized.
Consult a Chiropractic Doctor before enduring constant headaches, depending on addictive pain medication, or submitting to non-emergency spinal surgery.
Osteoarthritis
Arthritis is a condition characterized by the gradual breakdown of joint cartilage, most common in the weight bearing joints of the body such as the knees, hips, and back. It is also common in the neck and hands. As the joint is broken down it can lead to joint stiffness and increased strain on the muscles in that area. Additionally, as more joints break down, their function changes which can lead to increasing disability, poor posture and altered balance as movement becomes more painful. Over time osteoarthritis effects the entire body one way or another. Although degenerative changes are common with age they do not automatically result in chronic pain. Research now shows that it is not the degeneration of the joint that is responsible for pain but the effects the degeneration has on how the joint is functioning particularly the stiffness and muscle strain.
Chiropractors and their patients focus on restoration and maintenance of function by emphasizing joint movement and increasing the ability of the muscles to support and stabilize the affected joints. In addition, we assess how the body as a whole is functioning, aiming to uncover any other movement abnormalities that may be affecting the degenerated areas.
Along with adjustments, exercise and nutritional evaluation (especially Vit D3, minerals, joint lubricating nutrients like glucosamine/chondroitin and increased water intake), chiropractic management can often help arthritis sufferers return to a more normal life than they ever thought possible!
Joint Dysfunction
The joints in your body need to move! When your body's ability to move becomes progressively restricted and normal motion is altered several problems arise. Most commonly joint dysfunction results in pain, stiffness, muscle tightness, cartilage breakdown/degeneration, and movement compensation leading to escalating stresses on other areas of the body. Joint dysfunction is common in the spine and the extremities, occurring with injury, poor posture, muscle tightness, scar tissue, or muscle imbalance.
Your chiropractor will assess the movement of your joints to feel (palpate) for areas of altered or restricted movement. Once identified, the abnormal movement can be progressively restored using a combination of chiropractic adjustments and ART (a soft tissue therapy that helps restore normal muscle function). Whenever possible simple home exercises are demonstrated to facilitate and maintain proper motion in key areas. Underlying factors such as poor posture and muscle imbalance also may need to be addressed, especially in cases of chronic or recurrent joint dysfunction. Restoring joints to normal function is the "bread and butter" of the practice of chiropractic. It's what we do!
Neck/Low Back Pain
Subluxations (misalignments of the joints of the spinal column) are one of the most common causes of neck and low back pain. When vertebrae are misaligned, mechanical and chemical stresses directly irritate spinal nerves, often causing pain. Muscle spasms may set in, which can increase the pressure further. This extra pressure can cause even more inflammation and irritation, which leads to more pain. And the cycle continues.
Often times stretching and massage alone may only temporarily relieve the pain, because the misalignments of the vertebrae (subluxations) have not been addressed. A series of Chiropractic adjustments focuses on progressively correcting and healing the cause of the underlying problem.
Headaches
80% of headaches originate from the neck and jaw. Escalating stress and tension held in the shoulders and/or jaw, often result from poor neck and head posture and/or spinal misalignments. These progressively cause escalating contraction of surrounding neck muscles that attach from the shoulders all the way up to the head and scalp. When these muscles contract for a prolonged period of time, vertebrae can become further misaligned causing increased pressure on spinal nerves, and ultimately result is a horrible headache. Sounds painful, doesn't it?
With a typical cervicogenic (neck origin) headache, a person usually feels pain starting at the base of the skull which may radiate into the temples, eyeballs, side of the head and/or forehead. TMJ (jaw) related headaches often settle in the forehead or temples. Neck joints have their own patterns of referred pain as well. A careful history and examination of recurring headache pain can often lead back to specific facet joints in the neck where the pain is originating from. This is the beginning of the cure! There are several classifications of headaches, so a proper examination is needed to determine the actual type of headache before appropriate treatment protocols can be established. Tension and cervicogenic headaches often respond very well to chiropractic care. Migraines and cluster headaches are sometimes helped significantly. A limited trial of treatment is often the best way to tell if chiropractic care can eliminate or at least help reduce the severity and frequency of tension, TMJ, cluster or migraine headaches.
Sciatica
The sciatic nerve is a long nerve originating in the lower back and extending down the backs of the legs. When this nerve is irritated, it can cause pain, numbness, weakness, or other symptoms in the lower back and down the leg. There are several possible causes of this condition. A misaligned vertebra can cause inflammation of the joints, putting pressure on the nerve. Bulging discs and muscle spasms can also cause pressure on the sciatic nerve. Several other conditions may also cause this symptom, so a complete evaluation would be needed to correctly assess the exact cause. If your evaluation indicates that your sciatica is a chiropractic condition, treatment often includes chiropractic adjustments, use of icepacks to the lower back, where the sciatic nerve originates, and muscle stretching exercises. Chiropractic built its reputation helping to resolve conditions like sciatica when no other form of treatment did the job.
Pinched Nerve
A pinched nerve is just that. It is a severely compressed nerve, usually caused by a misaligned vertebra. When nerves get pinched they become severely inflamed and muscles may spasm, causing even more discomfort. The pain may become so severe that you can't move that part of the body and it can cause other symptoms as well. There can be several causes of pinched nerve; a proper examination is needed to determine the exact cause. Your chiropractor has had years of study and is licensed to evaluate and diagnose your pinched nerve problem. This is what we do! Let us help you figure out what is going on and help manage your care to resolution, whether under our care or in the hands of someone we can refer you to if yours is not a chiropractic case alone.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
These days millions of Americans have jobs which can have damaging long term effects on the hands and arms. We are also particularly concerned about the potential for widespread chronic repetitive stress conditions in our younger generation from endless texting and gaming starting at a very young age. Repetitive movements, especially combined with poor ergonomics, can cause ongoing micro-trauma to the hands and wrists. This trauma combined with joint dysfunction and spinal problems may result in a condition known as carpal tunnel syndrome. The median nerve, which travels from the tips of the fingers through the wrist up the arm and into the neck, connects eventually to the spinal cord. If one or more of the structures along the pathway are affected, symptoms of wrist pain, numbness, weakness, burning and loss of grip strength and other muscle dysfunction can occur. Chiropractic care can help assure that all of the joints and muscles along the path of the median and other associated nerves are free of obstruction and functioning normally, thus reducing the damaging effects of overuse syndrome.
Maintenance Care
What many people don't know is that you don't have to be injured or in pain to benefit from chiropractic care. Staying "well adjusted" with periodic and regular chiropractic care can help prevent injuries and slow down the relentless progress of aging. Degenerative changes in joints escalate faster in joints that don't move properly. Keeping your body better aligned can add years to your life and life to your years! The nervous system and associated immune system also protect the body better when under less stress. Some other possible benefits of maintenance care are: optimal nerve output (like a dimmer switch turned up all the way), optimal physical performance, improved posture, decreased stiffness, increased mobility, energy, strength, circulation, and optimized immune function just to name a few. Everybody benefits from chiropractic a little differently because we each have our own unique genetic background and structural identity. Protecting the health that you do have is a lifelong adventure. Periodic chiropractic care, before major problems arise, can be a very valuable "tool" in your "health care toolbox".
Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome are controversial and complicated conditions to understand. For proper diagnosis and treatment, a wide variety of factors need to be considered including "head-to-toe" joint and muscle function, nutrition, and lifestyle issues. A thorough examination including orthopedic and neurologic testing, as well as other specialized tests, will help to determine the exact causes of your symptoms and your individualized treatment plan. Very often a comprehensive treatment program, in collaboration with other health care providers, addressing all of these issues, leads to significant improvement.
From a chiropractic perspective, joint and soft tissue manipulation is often very helpful in relieving the aches and pains of fibromyalgia, myofascial pain and related conditions. Other treatment options may include ultrasound or electrical muscle stimulation, acupuncture, therapeutic exercises, and massage therapy & myofascial release techniques. These procedures, combined with nutritional & herbal medicine, and/or homeopathy (avoiding indiscriminate use of natural remedies concurrently with prescription medications that alter serotonin and other brain chemical levels) constitute a comprehensive, holistic approach. Although researchers are still a long way from finding a "cure" for fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome, chiropractic care is promising in the effective management of these condition, often in collaboration with other patient centered providers.
|
