Pain

Chronic

Chronic pain is pain that has been experienced for more than 6 months. Chronic pain can cause muscles to contract, contributing to soreness and stiffness. If you do not do something about the chronic pain, chances are it will get worse. According to the American Pain Society, 56% of those suffering with chronic pain have been suffering for more than five years. The most common types of chronic pain include back pain, tension headaches, abdominal pain, shoulder pain and neck pain. Chronic pain can not only hurt, it can interfere with the normal function of glandular, digestive, eliminative, nervous and circulatory systems. While many people with chronic pain look to medications to mask the pain, there are many common risks and side effects associated with taking medication. Chiropractic targets the cause of the chronic pain instead of masking the symptoms. After looking into the cause, gentle chiropractic manipulation has been shown to be effective in correcting the problems. You do not have to “live with” chronic pain. If you are suffering, please visit a chiropractor today.

Elbow

Tennis elbow is the common name given to pain originating on the outside or lateral side of the elbow. This condition arises from an irritation or inflammation of the tendons of one or several forearm muscles at their attachment to the bony protuberance close to the elbow joint, known as the lateral epicondyle. Therefore the medical term for this condition is lateral epicondylitis, meaning an inflammation of the epicondyle. If the condition is located on the inside or medial side of the elbow it is often referred as Golfer’s Elbow or medial epicondylitis. This, however, is not as prevalent as lateral epicondylitis. There are many causes for Epicondylitis – not just tennis & golf – as any activity that involves repetitive gripping of objects can result in this affliction. Some individuals develop tennis or golfer’s elbow from prolonged carrying of heavy bags, knitting, chopping food, and/or computer work using improper wrist and arm posture. With sports, the problem arises when we are new to the game, use an improper technique, try out new racquets or clubs, or increase the intensity or duration of exercise without the proper preparation. Sometimes the condition can be so severe that it is difficult to even grip and lift one’s coffee cup! Some cases involving epicondylitis can be attributed to problems further up the arm or even in the neck. If someone has a disc condition or spinal subluxation, the nerves that control the forearm muscles may become irritated causing the muscles to tense and put marked strain on the tendon attachment(s). In these circumstances, this predisposes an individual to elbow pain from any of the above mentioned causes. If left untreated it is possible that the joints of the elbow can become subluxated further complicating the condition. Epicondylitis is a condition that rarely resolves of its own accord and so requires proper medical management. A qualified medical professional such as a chiropractor can determine the exact cause of the problem and initiate the proper care and treatment. This might include modalities such as ultrasound, electrotherapy, massage(License No.: MM 16271), hot and cold treatments, bracing and home stretching and exercises. Chiropractic adjustments have proven extremely effective in the overall management of this problem.

Foot

Everyone has had the experience of crossing your legs and then having one of them go numb. We usually refer to the sensation we have as “gone to sleep”. Sometimes that tingling sensation appears for no apparent reason. This is often traced to nerve compression. Nerve compression is often caused by misalignments of the spinal bones. Until this is corrected, the condition will only continue and possibly worsen with time. Chiropractors know that problems exhibited in the foot are not always created there. Spinal examinations can determine exactly where the misaligned spinal bones are and through gentle spinal adjustments, realign them. Another cause of foot pain can be from poor walking posture. Chiropractors may suggest a pair of custom orthotics. Orthotics are worn in the shoe to help support the foot, thus helping to correct poor walking posture. Not only can you experience foot pain from poor walking posture, but you can also develop back and leg problems. Another cause is women wearing high heel shoes. Along with foot pain, high heel wearers can experience back, knee, hip and pelvic pain. High heels force an unnatural forward curvature of the spine and create an unbalanced position in the entire body. When the unbalance occurs, other systems in the body have to compensate for it. This compensation can cause misalignment in the spinal bones. Along with gentle chiropractic adjustments to realign the spinal bones, a chiropractor will also advise on a healthier approach to footwear.

Hip

Just like a house needs a sturdy foundation, so does your body. The foundation of your body is the hip area, the pelvis, sacrum and ilia (hip bones). This area holds up the structure of your body, and your spine. And just like an unseen problem in the foundation of your house can cause other problems in the house, problems in the hip area can cause other problems on your body. Your spine, which keeps the head erect, must make up for any imbalance in the foundation. Imbalances here can cause stresses on the body at the hip level and farther up the spine. When the spine compensates, the whole structure is compromised, causing dysfunction and pain. Chiropractic can help keep the body structurally balanced and sturdy. By setting and keeping the foundation of the spine straight, the body can stand straight and sound.

Knee

There are many possible reasons for knee pain. One common cause is misalignment in the feet arches and ankles which create an imbalance, causing stress and pain in the knee joints. Another is an imbalance of the pelvic region, including hips and sacrum, which cause the body to protect itself by shifting the majority of your weight to the other side. The structural imbalance, caused by either of these reasons, results in spinal nerve stress and muscle spasms on one side of the body and will pull one leg up short. There are three easy tests you can do to see if you have skeletal misalignments. The first test is to look at the bottoms of your shoes. Does one heel wear down faster than the other? The second test is to see if the hem of one pant leg drags the ground and frays while the other side is fine. The third test is to look in the mirror while wearing a belt. Does the belt look slightly cock-eyed rather than straight across? If you answered yes to any of these, that is an indication of a correctable imbalance. Chiropractors are well trained at searching for the cause of knee pain. Through gentle realigning of the spinal bones, chiropractic can remove the burden on your knees and relieve the pain.

Leg

The cause of most leg pain is improper weight balance from the upper part of the body. If you lean forward, backwards or to one side in the standing position, it will cause the involuntary muscles in the legs to contract and tighten to maintain balance. Prolonged contraction of these muscles will cause leg pain. Another example of this uneven weight distribution is seen in the advanced stages of pregnancy. The increased weight in the abdomen causes lower back muscles to contract resulting in back pain and leg pain. These same symptoms can also be caused by abdominal obesity. Abnormal spinal curvature in children during their growing years can cause an uneven distribution of weight on the lower extremities, causing pain. Because most of the weight of the upper body is supported and suspended from the spinal column. It is important to have spinal adjustments to restore normal balance with equal weight distribution to the legs. Besides the pain, structural imbalances can cause the lower spinal bones to become misaligned. This misalignment can cause the sciatic nerve, which runs down the legs, to become irritated and inflamed. This inflammation is called sciatica and is very painful. Chiropractic adjustment can help with sciatica by readjusting the spinal bones and relieving the pressure on the sciatic nerve. This allows the inflammation to go down and restore proper energy flow through the nerve.

Low Back

Low back pain can be caused by a number of things. One of the most common underlying causes is pain in the lumbo-sacral, sacroiliac and/or pelvic regions. The sacroiliac is made up of the sacrum, a triangular shaped bone, and the surrounding support of ligaments and muscles and or pelvic region. Nerves to the lower extremities run through the sacroiliac region and any irritation to these nerves can result in pain, numbness, weakness, or poor circulation.. Since even the slightest misalignment of the sacroiliac joint can put pressure on these nerves, chiropractic addresses the problem of the misalignment rather than the symptoms one experiences. Chiropractic works to restore the normal nerve energy flow from the brain through the spine by realigning the vertebrae and the sacrum. Chiropractic is simple and non-invasive. There are not the side effects that are common when using drugs or surgery.

Neck

While there are many reasons why someone may experience neck pain, such as sleeping in a bad position, the underlying problem involves the neck and spinal muscles. The spine can be curved, twisted or misaligned by the various mishaps of our daily living. Once the spine is misaligned, prolonged or repetitive contractions of the muscles that are attached to the spinal bones in the neck and back can aggravate the misalignment. Many things can cause muscle contractions in the spine. Physical stress can be caused by keeping your head in a contracted position for an extended period of time such as painting a ceiling or holding a phone between your head and shoulder. Whiplash or any form of neck injury can also be physical causes. Emotional stress, such as feelings of anger, fear, worry, hatred, and jealousy also cause the spinal muscles to contract. Although the stresses that cause contractions in our spinal muscles should be avoided, chiropractic manipulation can realign the spinal bones so that the contractions will not cause further problems.

Wrist

A slightly inflamed nerve in the wrist can go unnoticed for years until it is aggravated by repeated action of the wrist. To the person suffering, it is logical that the repetitive action is causing the pain. Behind the pain though, may be misaligned spinal bones, which caused the nerve to be slightly inflamed in the first place. Carpel Tunnel Syndrome is caused by this misalignment, when the median nerve is pinched, hindering the brain from sending strong nerve currents to the arm and hand. Chiropractic manipulations to realign the spinal bones help to relieve the cause of the nerve inflammation and relieve the pinched nerve. Following chiropractic adjustment, resting and ceasing the repetitive action helps the wrist heal.