Chiropractic
Treatment and Information
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is the art and science of detecting and correcting subluxations. A subluxation is defined as a bone that is misaligned slightly or is not moving or functioning properly. The term subluxation is derived from the Latin words meaning “somewhat or slight” (sub), and “to dislocate” (luxate). Subluxations can be caused by a variety of mechanisms. Slips and falls, poor posture, sports and work injuries, poor nutrition, and injuries resulting from automobile accidents are among some of the most common causes.
Subluxations can affect and
change five different components of normal body
function. Bones
can be out of
position, not moving properly, or can undergo
degeneration. Nerves
can be affected,
leading to a disruption of the normal signals to
and from the brain, resulting in abnormal function
of organs and tissues. Over time, this can cause a
variety of more serious conditions.
Muscles
typically spasm with
injury which can cause bones to be shifted even
more, worsening the condition. Ligaments, tendons,
blood vessels, and other soft
tissues can
become stretched or scarred leaving the spine with
either permanent instability or restriction.
Subluxations also cause a change in the
chemistry of the
body. One
type of chemical change is the release of a class
of substances called “kinins”, which are
pro-inflammatory, and increase the pain and
inflammation of the area.
These changes in the body get progressively worse over time if not treated correctly, leading to chronic pain, inflammation, arthritis, muscle trigger points, the formation of bone spurs, loss of movement, as well as muscle weakness and spasm. In order to be truly healthy, it is vital that your nervous system be functioning free of interference from subluxations.
Doctors of Chiropractic are the ONLY health professionals trained in the detection, location, and correction of vertebral subluxations.
What Can Chiropractic Do For You?
Over the past century, the profession of chiropractic has gained considerable recognition and scientific support. Research studies continue to demonstrate the value of chiropractic care in reducing health care costs, improving recovery rates, and increasing patient satisfaction. The general population is aware of the benefits of chiropractic care for low back and neck pain, but did you know that chiropractic has also helped ease the suffering of many other conditions? The following is a growing list of the most common conditions seen in the chiropractic office:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a relatively common condition that tends to emerge in children during their early school years.
It is not entirely certain what causes ADHD, but the current thought is that it is a combination of an overactive nervous system, coupled with a decrease in the brain's ability to filter out extraneous sights, sounds, thoughts and emotions. Although chiropractors don't directly treat ADHD, there are a number of things that your chiropractor can do to help eliminate things that stress a child's nervous system, such as:
Allergies have become more prevalent in recent years and complaints of itchy dry eyes, sneezing, and
running noses are on the rise. Many allergens have been identified, but they are not necessarily the cause of the problem. An allergen may make one person miserable, yet have no effect on the next.
Many allergic and asthmatic reactions are caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system. The immune system, as well as the glandular and respiratory systems are ultimately controlled by the nervous system. If the nervous system is not functioning properly due to the stress of subluxations, the other systems of the body are unable to respond and adapt the world around you. Chiropractic can help!
Auto accidents are a common reason people visit their chiropractor. Extreme forces can be placed on the musculoskeletal system during a car accident. Even if you car has experienced little to no damage during the accident, it may be tempting to minimize your own injuries. People react much differently than plastic, glass, and metal!
You may have visited the emergency room and were told you were healthy without any broken bones. You also may have been given muscle relaxers and pain medication to temporarily cover up your symptoms. Keep in mind that symptoms of a whiplash injury can sometimes take weeks to months to fully appear. You need a health professional that truly understands spinal and soft tissue injuries and who can recommend proper rehabilitation strategies.
Back and neck pain are by far the most common reasons people seek out the help of a chiropractor. An ever growing body of research continues to show that conservative care and chiropractic is the most appropriate step following the onset of symptoms.
"Maybe it will go away" are five dangerous words that may affect your health for many years to come. Only a small percentage of the nerves in your body actually transmit pain signals to and from the brain, so a lot of damage can occur before pain sets in. Too often, pain is a symptom that is ignored. Pain is one way your body tells you that something is wrong!
Have you recently experienced or currently have:
Bedwetting is very stressful for children as well as their families. Bedwetting is commonly due to poor bladder control in the first four years of life, but should be taken seriously if extends beyond that. Chiropractic is not direct treatment for bedwetting, but it has been very helpful for countless children.
The muscles that control the bladder are controlled by nerves that exit out of the lower part of the spinal column and sacrum. If these nerves are compromised due to misalignment of the sacral or lumbar bones, the nervous system can not properly control the bladder.
If the bedwetting is caused by nerve interference of the spine, many children see great results with chiropractic care!
Carpal tunnel syndrome has become one of the most common occupational health problems in U.S. It typically affects people who have jobs that require excessive repetitive motion, such as computer typing and swinging a hammer.
The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are caused by compression of the median nerve as it passes under the ligaments and through the carpal bones of the wrist. People often surprised to learn that their wrist condition actually stems from joint dysfunction of the elbow, shoulder, or neck.
You may also be surprised to learn that chiropractic is very effective treatment for other joints in the body, as well as the spine. In fact, adjustments to the carpal bones can be very effective. Chiropractic treatment along with physical therapy, stretching and strengthening exercises, can alleviate the initial discomfort as well as effectively eliminate the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Newborn infants lack the ability to tell their parents how they feel or ask for help so the cry...and cry...and cry some more. Infantile colic was first thought to be merely indigestion. However, if a baby is inconsolable, it is very difficult to determine if indigestion is the cause. So let us look at it in a different way.
During child birth, babies can be subjected to a lot of stress, especially if the child birth was a difficult one. It is common for chiropractors to find upper cervical distortions in newborns, which could be a cause of neck and head pain that the baby is unable to communicate to us.
Chiropractic is not considered to be a treatment for colic. However, keep in mind that, regardless of age and what the symptoms are called, interference of the nervous system due to subluxation can hinder the body's ability to heal.
Many parents deal with the stress of multiple or reoccurring ear infections ailing their children. The most common ear infection is termed otitis media and it affects middle ear. The most common treatments for ear infections are antibiotics and ear tubes. Antibiotic therapy is effective for acute bacterial infections, but many ear infection cases are actually viral in nature, which makes the use of antibiotics useless.
Ear tubes require surgical implantation, and often require anesthesia for your child. Chiropractic takes a different approach when dealing with the body. Our bodies, by design, have an incredible and amazing ability to fight infection.
If we are unable to heal or fight off an infection, it commonly shows that something else is wrong. Surprisingly, the nerves that monitor and control the middle ear exit out of the spinal column in the upper neck and may be compromised by subluxation. In addition to nerve compromise, the muscle spasms associated with subluxation can compress the normal lymphatic drainage, adding to the problem.
Chiropractic does not treat ear infections. However, restoring normal function to the nervous system will help your child's body defend against unwanted intruders!
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that affects millions of people in the U.S. It is defined as a condition consisting of widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points throughout the body. Fibromyalgia is thought to be a stress related condition in which affected people can experience many other symptoms such as sleep disturbances, morning stiffness, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, numbness, memory problems and others.
Fibromyalgia is a complicated disorder which typically requires a variety of treatment approaches to lessen the symptoms.
A combination of chiropractic care, trigger point therapy, and lifestyle changes can be very effective in decreasing the severity and duration of the physical pain of fibromyalgia.
Headaches are a very common problem, but are an example of another way the body is telling you that something is wrong. Headache medications are also very common, convenient, and provide temporary relief for many people by numbing and blocking the normal signals of the nervous system.
Prolonged drug use to treat headaches has been shown to cause kidney failure, liver damage, and stomach bleeding or ulcers. A better approach to headaches would be to find the underlying cause of the problem.
If spinal bones in the neck are not carrying the head properly, stress on the nervous system results. This often leads to muscle spasm and altered blood supply, followed by a headache. There are many types of headaches, with many different causes. Only a proper examination can determine if the cause of your headache is spine related.
Although we hear "I have a pinched nerve" a lot in the chiropractic office, actual pinched nerves make up a small percentage of the conditions that feel like a nerve is being pinched. The three most common conditions where a nerve is being physically pinched is carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, and sciatica.
The majority of conditions that feel like a pinched nerve, are actually cases in which a nerve is being irritated, inflamed, or sending more messages than normal. Most of the time, nerves become irritated or inflamed when bones, joints, and muscles of the spine are not in their proper position, or are not moving properly. This is the condition called a subluxation, the treatment of which is the specialty of the doctor of chiropractic.
Actual "pinched nerve" conditions are more complex to treat than a simple spinal subluxations, but respond well to chiropractic treatment, especially if combined with other physical therapies.
During and before menses, women discover that they not only experience pain from abdominal cramping, but often they experience low back pain as well. The nervous system controls every organ system, cell, and tissue in your body. The spine, especially in the lower back, can impair nerves that control and monitor the reproductive and hormonal system. When the nervous system regulation is disturbed because of subluxations, three effects can occur:
While chiropractic care is not a treatment for PMS, many women with spinal dysfunction often see an improvement in their reproductive health while under chiropractic care.
Although it may seem like a "condition" at times, pregnancy is a normal part of life. With pregnancy, comes a lot of hormonal and physical changes that can cause a variety of symptoms. Weight shifts forward causing stress on the lower back, while hormones cause ligaments to become more lax.
Chiropractic care has been shown to reduce neck, upper back, and lower back pain as well as shorten labor time and make pregnancy much more enjoyable.
Sciatica is a nerve compression disorder in which one or more of the nerves exiting the lower back are compressed. Typically, symptoms begin in the lower back and travel down one or both legs. However, the symptoms caused by sciatica can vary significantly.
Nerve compression in the lower back can occur due to a variety of conditions, such as disc disorders, stenosis, spondylolisthesis, piriformis syndrome, and others. Common symptoms that occur with sciatica include:
Bed rest can worsen sciatica, medications don't correct the nerve irritation of bulging discs, and physical therapy merely increases your tolerance to pain. Improving joint motion in the lower back with a program of chiropractic care has produced results for millions of people!
Scoliosis, or lateral curvature of the spine, can cause a whole host of unwanted symptoms. If left alone, scoliosis can progress and put pressure on the heart, lungs, or other vital organs. Scoliosis typically starts as a postural distortion, and can become a permanent deformity.
Scoliosis is caused by one of three things. It can be congenital or genetic in nature, caused by habitual behavior routines, or can be idiopathic or unknown in cause. Regardless of how it is caused, early detection is essential in the treatment of scoliosis.
If undetected and allowed to worsen, surgical intervention or permanent bracing may be necessary. Regular scheduled visits to observe the progression of scoliosis is an integral part of living a full and happy life. Chiropractic adjustments can help improve the structure and function of the spine as well as help retrain and strengthen muscles to improve posture in patients with scoliosis.
Commonly referred to as a "slipped disc", low back injuries can be much more complicated with actual disc involvement. Discs can not slip, but they can wedge, bulge, herniate, and protrude.
The intervertebral disc is the cartilage cushion that is found between the spinal bones or vertebrae. The disc is made up of two layers, and outer fibrous layer, and an inner gel-like layer. A normal healthy disc is what allows to bend and turn and provides us with our flexibility. With injury from slips and falls, improper lifting, and car accidents, the disc can become injured causing a variety of symptoms. The most common disc injuries are:
Occasionally a "slipped disc" is severe enough to require surgical intervention. However, mild to moderate disc problems respond well to chiropractic and conservative care. Chiropractic has helped millions with a variety of disc problems.
Now more than ever, we are under considerable stress. Jobs, relationships, health conditions, and many other aspects of modern day life can cause pressure, worrying, stress, and frustration. With stress, comes a whole host of physiological changes in the body. Stress hormones are released that can cause:
During a typical day, we are bombarded by physical, emotional, and chemical stress which can have a detrimental effect on the body. Chiropractic can not eliminate the stress in your life, but it can help you better accommodate and adapt to it.
Whiplash goes hand in hand with automobile accidents. When the motion of your car stops during a crash, the energy continues in the body and neck which is suddenly hyperextended followed by an immediate hyperflexion of the neck. This motion typically damages the muscles, ligaments and tendons, and sometimes the joints of the neck.
Even a minor "fender bender" can cause whiplash. Symptoms can be immediate, or follow days or months later. The longer you wait for treatment, typically the more damage there is, lengthening the time it may take to heal. You should seek a thorough examination immediately If you are in an accident and experience any of the following:
Chiropractic care is by far the single most effective treatment for minimizing the long-term impact of whiplash injuries, especially when coupled with massage therapy, trigger point therapy, and exercise rehabilitation.
What exactly is the definition of wellness? Wellness is not the opposite of "sick". Many of us can admit that sometime in our life, we believed that to be the case. The belief that being sick is having obvious symptoms, is now killing us. As it stands today, most of us will die from life-style diseases in which the first symptom is..death. True health revolves around how well our bodies work, not how we feel.
Chiropractic care is a holistic healthcare approach which addresses your overall health and does not focus just on symptoms. To truly be healthy, one must step back and look at the way every day activities affect your life. If you want to live a longer, healthier, happier life, begin by following these steps:
True health is optimum physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absent of disease or sickness.
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is the art and science of detecting and correcting subluxations. A subluxation is defined as a bone that is misaligned slightly or is not moving or functioning properly. The term subluxation is derived from the Latin words meaning “somewhat or slight” (sub), and “to dislocate” (luxate). Subluxations can be caused by a variety of mechanisms. Slips and falls, poor posture, sports and work injuries, poor nutrition, and injuries resulting from automobile accidents are among some of the most common causes.
These changes in the body get progressively worse over time if not treated correctly, leading to chronic pain, inflammation, arthritis, muscle trigger points, the formation of bone spurs, loss of movement, as well as muscle weakness and spasm. In order to be truly healthy, it is vital that your nervous system be functioning free of interference from subluxations.
Doctors of Chiropractic are the ONLY health professionals trained in the detection, location, and correction of vertebral subluxations.
What Can Chiropractic Do For You?
Over the past century, the profession of chiropractic has gained considerable recognition and scientific support. Research studies continue to demonstrate the value of chiropractic care in reducing health care costs, improving recovery rates, and increasing patient satisfaction. The general population is aware of the benefits of chiropractic care for low back and neck pain, but did you know that chiropractic has also helped ease the suffering of many other conditions? The following is a growing list of the most common conditions seen in the chiropractic office:
ADHD
Allergies/Asthma
Auto Accidents
Back/Neck Pain
Bedwetting
Carpal Tunnel
Colic
Ear Infections
Fibromyalgia
Headaches
Pinched Nerves
PMS
Pregnancy
Sciatica
Scoliosis
Slipped Disc
Stress
Whiplash
Wellness
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a relatively common condition that tends to emerge in children during their early school years.
It is not entirely certain what causes ADHD, but the current thought is that it is a combination of an overactive nervous system, coupled with a decrease in the brain's ability to filter out extraneous sights, sounds, thoughts and emotions. Although chiropractors don't directly treat ADHD, there are a number of things that your chiropractor can do to help eliminate things that stress a child's nervous system, such as:
- Remove spinal subluxations that irritate the nervous system
- Suggest dietary changes to avoid common problem foods
- Suggest changes to the home to help reduce exposure to toxic chemicals
Allergies have become more prevalent in recent years and complaints of itchy dry eyes, sneezing, and
running noses are on the rise. Many allergens have been identified, but they are not necessarily the cause of the problem. An allergen may make one person miserable, yet have no effect on the next.
Many allergic and asthmatic reactions are caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system. The immune system, as well as the glandular and respiratory systems are ultimately controlled by the nervous system. If the nervous system is not functioning properly due to the stress of subluxations, the other systems of the body are unable to respond and adapt the world around you. Chiropractic can help!
Auto accidents are a common reason people visit their chiropractor. Extreme forces can be placed on the musculoskeletal system during a car accident. Even if you car has experienced little to no damage during the accident, it may be tempting to minimize your own injuries. People react much differently than plastic, glass, and metal!
You may have visited the emergency room and were told you were healthy without any broken bones. You also may have been given muscle relaxers and pain medication to temporarily cover up your symptoms. Keep in mind that symptoms of a whiplash injury can sometimes take weeks to months to fully appear. You need a health professional that truly understands spinal and soft tissue injuries and who can recommend proper rehabilitation strategies.
Back and neck pain are by far the most common reasons people seek out the help of a chiropractor. An ever growing body of research continues to show that conservative care and chiropractic is the most appropriate step following the onset of symptoms.
"Maybe it will go away" are five dangerous words that may affect your health for many years to come. Only a small percentage of the nerves in your body actually transmit pain signals to and from the brain, so a lot of damage can occur before pain sets in. Too often, pain is a symptom that is ignored. Pain is one way your body tells you that something is wrong!
Have you recently experienced or currently have:
- Back or leg pain with coughing or sneezing?
- Difficulty standing up after sitting?
- Leg pain with numbness, tingling and/or weakness?
- Pain after walking?
- Pain in the buttock, hip, thigh, knee, or foot?
Bedwetting is very stressful for children as well as their families. Bedwetting is commonly due to poor bladder control in the first four years of life, but should be taken seriously if extends beyond that. Chiropractic is not direct treatment for bedwetting, but it has been very helpful for countless children.
The muscles that control the bladder are controlled by nerves that exit out of the lower part of the spinal column and sacrum. If these nerves are compromised due to misalignment of the sacral or lumbar bones, the nervous system can not properly control the bladder.
If the bedwetting is caused by nerve interference of the spine, many children see great results with chiropractic care!
Carpal tunnel syndrome has become one of the most common occupational health problems in U.S. It typically affects people who have jobs that require excessive repetitive motion, such as computer typing and swinging a hammer.
The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are caused by compression of the median nerve as it passes under the ligaments and through the carpal bones of the wrist. People often surprised to learn that their wrist condition actually stems from joint dysfunction of the elbow, shoulder, or neck.
You may also be surprised to learn that chiropractic is very effective treatment for other joints in the body, as well as the spine. In fact, adjustments to the carpal bones can be very effective. Chiropractic treatment along with physical therapy, stretching and strengthening exercises, can alleviate the initial discomfort as well as effectively eliminate the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Newborn infants lack the ability to tell their parents how they feel or ask for help so the cry...and cry...and cry some more. Infantile colic was first thought to be merely indigestion. However, if a baby is inconsolable, it is very difficult to determine if indigestion is the cause. So let us look at it in a different way.
During child birth, babies can be subjected to a lot of stress, especially if the child birth was a difficult one. It is common for chiropractors to find upper cervical distortions in newborns, which could be a cause of neck and head pain that the baby is unable to communicate to us.
Chiropractic is not considered to be a treatment for colic. However, keep in mind that, regardless of age and what the symptoms are called, interference of the nervous system due to subluxation can hinder the body's ability to heal.
Many parents deal with the stress of multiple or reoccurring ear infections ailing their children. The most common ear infection is termed otitis media and it affects middle ear. The most common treatments for ear infections are antibiotics and ear tubes. Antibiotic therapy is effective for acute bacterial infections, but many ear infection cases are actually viral in nature, which makes the use of antibiotics useless.
Ear tubes require surgical implantation, and often require anesthesia for your child. Chiropractic takes a different approach when dealing with the body. Our bodies, by design, have an incredible and amazing ability to fight infection.
If we are unable to heal or fight off an infection, it commonly shows that something else is wrong. Surprisingly, the nerves that monitor and control the middle ear exit out of the spinal column in the upper neck and may be compromised by subluxation. In addition to nerve compromise, the muscle spasms associated with subluxation can compress the normal lymphatic drainage, adding to the problem.
Chiropractic does not treat ear infections. However, restoring normal function to the nervous system will help your child's body defend against unwanted intruders!
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that affects millions of people in the U.S. It is defined as a condition consisting of widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points throughout the body. Fibromyalgia is thought to be a stress related condition in which affected people can experience many other symptoms such as sleep disturbances, morning stiffness, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, numbness, memory problems and others.
Fibromyalgia is a complicated disorder which typically requires a variety of treatment approaches to lessen the symptoms.
A combination of chiropractic care, trigger point therapy, and lifestyle changes can be very effective in decreasing the severity and duration of the physical pain of fibromyalgia.
Headaches are a very common problem, but are an example of another way the body is telling you that something is wrong. Headache medications are also very common, convenient, and provide temporary relief for many people by numbing and blocking the normal signals of the nervous system.
Prolonged drug use to treat headaches has been shown to cause kidney failure, liver damage, and stomach bleeding or ulcers. A better approach to headaches would be to find the underlying cause of the problem.
If spinal bones in the neck are not carrying the head properly, stress on the nervous system results. This often leads to muscle spasm and altered blood supply, followed by a headache. There are many types of headaches, with many different causes. Only a proper examination can determine if the cause of your headache is spine related.
Although we hear "I have a pinched nerve" a lot in the chiropractic office, actual pinched nerves make up a small percentage of the conditions that feel like a nerve is being pinched. The three most common conditions where a nerve is being physically pinched is carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, and sciatica.
The majority of conditions that feel like a pinched nerve, are actually cases in which a nerve is being irritated, inflamed, or sending more messages than normal. Most of the time, nerves become irritated or inflamed when bones, joints, and muscles of the spine are not in their proper position, or are not moving properly. This is the condition called a subluxation, the treatment of which is the specialty of the doctor of chiropractic.
Actual "pinched nerve" conditions are more complex to treat than a simple spinal subluxations, but respond well to chiropractic treatment, especially if combined with other physical therapies.
During and before menses, women discover that they not only experience pain from abdominal cramping, but often they experience low back pain as well. The nervous system controls every organ system, cell, and tissue in your body. The spine, especially in the lower back, can impair nerves that control and monitor the reproductive and hormonal system. When the nervous system regulation is disturbed because of subluxations, three effects can occur:
- Under activity - including missed periods or infertility
- Over activity - severe cramping or heavy bleeding
- Distorted activity - normal cells in the uterus, implant elsewhere causing pain, bleeding, and reduced fertility
While chiropractic care is not a treatment for PMS, many women with spinal dysfunction often see an improvement in their reproductive health while under chiropractic care.
Although it may seem like a "condition" at times, pregnancy is a normal part of life. With pregnancy, comes a lot of hormonal and physical changes that can cause a variety of symptoms. Weight shifts forward causing stress on the lower back, while hormones cause ligaments to become more lax.
Chiropractic care has been shown to reduce neck, upper back, and lower back pain as well as shorten labor time and make pregnancy much more enjoyable.
Sciatica is a nerve compression disorder in which one or more of the nerves exiting the lower back are compressed. Typically, symptoms begin in the lower back and travel down one or both legs. However, the symptoms caused by sciatica can vary significantly.
Nerve compression in the lower back can occur due to a variety of conditions, such as disc disorders, stenosis, spondylolisthesis, piriformis syndrome, and others. Common symptoms that occur with sciatica include:
- Varying buttock, thigh, groin, or leg pain
- Leg numbness or tingling
- Muscle weakness in the affected leg
- Pain with coughing or sneezing
Bed rest can worsen sciatica, medications don't correct the nerve irritation of bulging discs, and physical therapy merely increases your tolerance to pain. Improving joint motion in the lower back with a program of chiropractic care has produced results for millions of people!
Scoliosis, or lateral curvature of the spine, can cause a whole host of unwanted symptoms. If left alone, scoliosis can progress and put pressure on the heart, lungs, or other vital organs. Scoliosis typically starts as a postural distortion, and can become a permanent deformity.
Scoliosis is caused by one of three things. It can be congenital or genetic in nature, caused by habitual behavior routines, or can be idiopathic or unknown in cause. Regardless of how it is caused, early detection is essential in the treatment of scoliosis.
If undetected and allowed to worsen, surgical intervention or permanent bracing may be necessary. Regular scheduled visits to observe the progression of scoliosis is an integral part of living a full and happy life. Chiropractic adjustments can help improve the structure and function of the spine as well as help retrain and strengthen muscles to improve posture in patients with scoliosis.
Commonly referred to as a "slipped disc", low back injuries can be much more complicated with actual disc involvement. Discs can not slip, but they can wedge, bulge, herniate, and protrude.
The intervertebral disc is the cartilage cushion that is found between the spinal bones or vertebrae. The disc is made up of two layers, and outer fibrous layer, and an inner gel-like layer. A normal healthy disc is what allows to bend and turn and provides us with our flexibility. With injury from slips and falls, improper lifting, and car accidents, the disc can become injured causing a variety of symptoms. The most common disc injuries are:
- Herniation - symptoms may not be present as the disc wedges, narrowing nerve holes
- Protrusion - the disc bulges where it is the weakest, typically where a tear in the fibrous layer occurs
- Prolapse - the most serious, rupture of the fibrous layer compromising the cushioning and separating ability of the disc.
Occasionally a "slipped disc" is severe enough to require surgical intervention. However, mild to moderate disc problems respond well to chiropractic and conservative care. Chiropractic has helped millions with a variety of disc problems.
Now more than ever, we are under considerable stress. Jobs, relationships, health conditions, and many other aspects of modern day life can cause pressure, worrying, stress, and frustration. With stress, comes a whole host of physiological changes in the body. Stress hormones are released that can cause:
- Increased blood pressure and heart rate
- Altered digestive activity
- Altered or weakened immune system
- Altered nervous system function
During a typical day, we are bombarded by physical, emotional, and chemical stress which can have a detrimental effect on the body. Chiropractic can not eliminate the stress in your life, but it can help you better accommodate and adapt to it.
Whiplash goes hand in hand with automobile accidents. When the motion of your car stops during a crash, the energy continues in the body and neck which is suddenly hyperextended followed by an immediate hyperflexion of the neck. This motion typically damages the muscles, ligaments and tendons, and sometimes the joints of the neck.
Even a minor "fender bender" can cause whiplash. Symptoms can be immediate, or follow days or months later. The longer you wait for treatment, typically the more damage there is, lengthening the time it may take to heal. You should seek a thorough examination immediately If you are in an accident and experience any of the following:
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Upper back pain
- Shoulder pain
- Cognitive changes
- Low back pain
Chiropractic care is by far the single most effective treatment for minimizing the long-term impact of whiplash injuries, especially when coupled with massage therapy, trigger point therapy, and exercise rehabilitation.
What exactly is the definition of wellness? Wellness is not the opposite of "sick". Many of us can admit that sometime in our life, we believed that to be the case. The belief that being sick is having obvious symptoms, is now killing us. As it stands today, most of us will die from life-style diseases in which the first symptom is..death. True health revolves around how well our bodies work, not how we feel.
Chiropractic care is a holistic healthcare approach which addresses your overall health and does not focus just on symptoms. To truly be healthy, one must step back and look at the way every day activities affect your life. If you want to live a longer, healthier, happier life, begin by following these steps:
- Eat a healthy diet
- Take vitamin supplements
- Keep your weight under control
- Practice stress management
- Regular chiropractic check-ups
True health is optimum physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absent of disease or sickness.
What is Chiropractic Treatment?
Chiropractors use a variety of techniques to detect, locate, and correct subluxations found throughout the body. At the center of chiropractic treatment is the adjustment, sometimes referred to as manipulation by allopathic physicians. An adjustment differs from a generalized manipulation in that it is delivered with a high degree of specificity and is aimed at accurately applying a controlled force to vertebrae that have abnormal movement patterns or are not functioning properly. The objective of the chiropractic adjustment is to reduce the subluxation, which results in an increased range of motion, reduced nerve irritability, reduced muscle spasm, reduced pain, and improved function.
Typically, patients will feel immediate relief following an adjustment. Occasionally, minor discomfort is experienced, especially if surrounding muscles are in spasm or if the person tenses up before the chiropractic treatment. With adjustments and other services, our goal is to help you restore your body to its natural state of health.
“Chiropractic is so much more than simply a means of relieving pain”