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Auto accidents, no matter how small, can cause serious damage to your spine. Even those who do not report injury or pain at the time of the accident can experience pain or joint dysfunction later on. Auto accidents can produce problems that linger for many years.
Chiropractic can correct these joint dysfunctions in your spine, even if you do not know it is there. If you have recently been in an auto accident, consult a chiropractor whether you are experiencing pain or not.
The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. You can sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture discs, and irritate joints, all of which can lead to back pain. While sports injuries or accidents can cause back pain, sometimes the simplest of movements—for example, picking up a pencil from the floor— can have painful results. In addition, arthritis, poor posture, obesity, and psychological stress can cause or complicate back pain. Back pain can also directly result from disease of the internal organs, such as kidney stones, kidney infections, blood clots, or bone loss.
Manipulation as a Treatment for Back Problems
Used primarily by Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs) for the last century, manipulation has been largely ignored by most others in the health care community until recently. Now, with today’s growing emphasis on treatment and cost effectiveness, manipulation is receiving more widespread attention.
Chiropractic spinal manipulation is a safe and effective spine pain treatment. It reduces pain, decreases medication, rapidly advances physical therapy, and requires very few passive forms of treatment, such as bed rest.
In fact, after an extensive study of all currently available care for low back problems, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research—a federal government research organization—recommended that low back pain sufferers choose the most conservative care first. And it recommended spinal manipulation as the only safe and effective, drugless form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults.
What happens to someone with carpal tunnel syndrome? The wrist houses a kind of “tunnel” through which nerves run up to the hand and fingers. Sometimes, the tunnel can collapse, creating painful pressure on the nerves. This is known as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Occupations which require a great deal of physical labor on the hands may lead to wear and tear on the carpal tunnel and carpal joints. Chiropractic adjustments, mobilization, and soft tissue treatments can be very beneficial for those suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome.
Symptoms: the simplest explanation of fibromyalgia is widespread pain. This can include fatigue, anxiety, depression, trouble concentrating, headaches, morning stiffness, irritable bowel syndrome, tenderness, swelling, painful menstrual cramps, deep muscle aches, and more.
While many people with fibromyalgia feel too fatigued to exercise, it can help. Even starting small will lead to increased energy and decreased pain. Water-based exercises and slower paced movements such as tai-chi have been shown to help, and are also very low-impact.
Another thing that will help? You guessed it, chiropractic. Fibromyalgia affects every part of your body in most cases. The spine also affects every part of your body in some way. Studies have shown that fibromyalgia is related to abnormalities of blood flow to the brain, thereby causing the brain to interpret pain in various places throughout the body. With adjustments, those suffering from fibromyalgia may benefit and find relief of their symptoms.
Most people experience headaches from time to time. There are many different reasons that people can get headaches. Headaches can happen if you are dehydrated, ill, stressed or your general wellness is decreased. They can also be caused by dysfunctional joints in the neck and back secondary to poor posture. While headaches are common, they are not normal and they do not need to be permanent. If the cause of your headache is a dysfunctional joint in the spine, a chiropractic adjustment may be a perfect option for you.
Your neck, also called the cervical spine, begins at the base of the skull and contains seven small vertebrae. Incredibly, the cervical spine supports the full weight of your head, which is on average about 12 pounds. While the cervical spine can move your head in nearly every direction, this flexibility makes the neck very susceptible to pain and injury.
The neck’s susceptibility to injury is due in part to biomechanics. Activities and events that affect cervical biomechanics include extended sitting, repetitive movement, accidents, falls and blows to the body or head, normal aging, and everyday wear and tear. Neck pain can be very bothersome, and it can have a variety of causes.
A neck adjustment (also known as a cervical manipulation) is a precise procedure applied to the joints of the neck, usually by hand. A neck adjustment works to improve the mobility of the spine and to restore range of motion; it can also increase movement of the adjoining muscles. Patients typically notice an improved ability to turn and tilt the head, and a reduction of pain, soreness, and stiffness.
Of course, your chiropractor will develop a program of care that may combine more than one type of treatment, depending on your personal needs. In addition to manipulation, the treatment plan may include mobilization, mechanical traction, soft-tissue treatment or rehabilitative exercises, or something else.
For those who have experienced a pinched nerve, you know the pain can be excruciating and can also radiate to other places in the body. Large nerves that branch off from the spinal cord go through nerve openings. A “pinched nerve” feeling can occur due to one of two things: a compressed lesion, which is the actual pinching of a nerve, or a facilitative lesion, which is the stretching, twisting, or chafing of the nerve root. The facilitative lesion is more common, and the soft nerve tissue rubbing on the hard bone can be quite painful. When spinal joints do not move and absorb shock properly, additional pressure is incurred on these nerves which can then be extremely painful.
Chiropractic adjustments combined with rehab exercise and soft tissue therapy help reduce nerve pain. By correcting dysfunctional spinal joints, mechanical pressure is properly absorbed by the joints and muscles, decreasing the amount of pressure on the irritated nerve.
Chiropractic can be beneficial and safe during all stages of pregnancy.
During pregnancy, there is a great deal of extra pressure on the spine and the muscles surrounding it. There are ways to safely adjust and balance your spine during pregnancy to help your body adjust to the changes that are being made.
Often, people rely on chiropractic for balancing and alignment just prior to giving birth, which is known to help reduce the risk of complications during labor.
After birth, chiropractic can be beneficial to both baby and mother.
The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It originates in the spinal cord and runs down through the buttocks and into the legs. Sometimes, a trauma can occur to this nerve. The trauma may not be severe or even noticeable, but it causes the discs between the vertebrae to bulge. This creates crowding and pressure on the sciatic nerve, which then radiates down into the leg. Due to the size of the nerve, this is extremely painful and can make walking, sitting, standing, and lying down painful. Chiropractic has been known to be very helpful for those suffering from this condition.
Scoliosis is the unusual sideways curvature of the spine. This can occur at different degrees, but there are three different kinds of scoliosis: congenital (genetic predisposition), habitual (caused by habits and behavioral routines), and idiopathic (other unknown causes).
Scoliosis can cause pain and discomfort in the spine. In some cases, scoliosis may not be completely reversible, but posture and curvature can be improved through a series of adjustments. If these adjustments are started during childhood, muscles can be trained to support the spine differently.
In between each vertebra is a disc made of cartilage which allows for space for the nerves to exit the spinal column. At times, these discs can become traumatized and “slip,” causing a great deal of pain.
The term “slipped disc” conjures an image of a whole disc actually sitting slightly out of its place in between 2 vertebrae. However, a slipped disc is actually a bulging, protruding, wedged, or herniated disc.
Slipped discs can occur from improper lifting, bending, turning, etc. Remember, if you are lifting something off the ground, the safest way to do so is to bend at the knees and lift with your legs; never bend at the waist to lift something from the ground.
Everyone has stress in their life. Between careers, families, school, and everything else we do, we’re bound to get stressed about all that we have going on in our lives.
Many people tend to carry stress in the muscles surrounding their spines. Tension in the muscles can pull the vertebrae out of alignment. As you may have already learned, misalignment can cause a large variety of problems. If you have a great deal of stress in your life, and are having health issues, see a chiropractor. A simple adjustment may be all you need.
Whiplash occurs when the head is snapped forward or backward very quickly. This is what usually happens in an auto accident. Even minor fender-benders can cause whiplash. In a major accident, the vehicle absorbs most of the impact. In a minor accident, however, the people in the vehicle will absorb most of the impact.
You might not even know you have whiplash. Some people don’t experience pain until a week after their accident. Neck pain, headache, and even pain in the arms and hands can occur.
Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage between then bones becomes worn down or wears away completely. This is not reversible, but the pain associated with it is treatable.
A chiropractor can help with pain management by introducing 1) adjustments to the joints and 2) exercises that strengthen the muscles around the joints. This can help support the joint better.
Plantar fasciitis occurs when mild repetitive trauma happens in the foot, such as wearing shoes with improper foot support (such as in the arch), standing for long periods of time, obesity, and other causes. The tendons in the heel are compromised and cause pain.
Traditional western medicine will treat the pain with medication to reduce pain and inflammation; they may even suggest surgery. Chiropractic offers a more natural and less invasive range of treatment options. Adjustments for the foot, along with soft tissue treatment, work with your body naturally to treat the underlying causes of the pain and inflammation caused by plantar fasciitis.
Maintenance (Wellness) care adjustments to stiff and achey areas of the spine are excellent for your health. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to decrease pain, improve flexibility, improve proper joint motion and decrease muscle spasm. Many of our patients benefit from maintenance care and come in for an adjustment when they are experiencing stiffness and tightness in their neck, shoulders or back. If you suffer from chronic stiffness and tightness, a routine chiropractic adjustment may be an excellent choice.