Common Conditions Treated


About Neck Pain

 

In recent years, between 48% and 60% of adult persons in the United States reported experiencing neck or low back pain in the previous 3 months, or severe headaches or migraines. Neck pain is discomfort in any of the structures in the neck. These include muscles and nerves as well as spinal vertebrae and the cushioning disks in between.

What Causes Neck Pain?

Neck muscles can be strained from poor posture, wear and tear, abnormalities in the bone or joints, degenerative diseases and accidents/trauma. Most people suffer from headaches, neck stiffness and tenderness, muscle spasms, and shoulder aches. In our office, we will do a complete examination to the cervical spine to determine the cause and set up the proper treatment protocol for each patient. Treatment may consist of passive therapy, soft tissue massage, exercise and/or chiropractic adjustments.

Studies point out that it has been estimated that 75% of Americans will experience neck pain at some point in their life. For years, spinal manipulation has been criticized as being ineffective or providing limited benefits. Meanwhile, ads on TV, in magazines, and almost everywhere you look, show someone reaching for aspirin, ibuprofen, or even narcotics to manage their pain. I think the best way to find out about chiropractic is to ask a friend. I think, someone you know probably has been to a chiropractor and can give you firsthand knowledge. Studies prove chiropractic to be the most effective therapy for muscle strains and aches, pain going down the arms with pain, tingling or numbness. I see people getting better all the time and tell them, “you are going to wish you came in earlier”.

About Shoulder Pain

 

What most people call the shoulder is really several joints that combine with tendons and muscles to allow a wide range of motion to the arm. Mobility has its price, however. It may lead to increasing problems with instability of soft tissue resulting in pain. The pain may be temporary and disappear in a short time, or it may continue and require medical diagnosis and treatment.

 

What Do Shoulder Problems Involve?

Most shoulder problems involve the soft tissues—muscles, ligaments, and tendons—rather than bones. And most of these problems fall into three major categories:

  • Tendinitis/bursitis: result of the wearing process that takes place over a period of years
  • Injury/instability: dislocation of one of the joints in the shoulder
  • Arthritis: wear and tear changes with inflammation of the joint, causing swelling, pain and stiffness

 

Treatment generally involves altering activities, rest, and physical therapy to help you improve shoulder strength and flexibility.

Headaches & Chiropractic

If you have a headache, you’re not alone. Nine out of ten Americans suffer from headaches. Some are occasional, some frequent, some are dull and throbbing, and some cause debilitating pain and nausea. What do you do when you suffer from a pounding headache? Do you grit your teeth and carry on? Lie down? Pop a pill and hope the pain goes away?

There is a better alternative. Research shows that spinal manipulation – the primary form of care provided by doctors of chiropractic – may be an effective treatment option for tension headaches and headaches that originate in the neck.

A report released in 2001 by researchers at the Duke University Evidence-Based Practice Center in Durham, NC, found that spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of tension headaches than a commonly prescribed medication.

Also, a 1995 study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that spinal manipulative therapy is an effective treatment for tension headaches and that those who ceased chiropractic treatment after four weeks experienced a sustained therapeutic benefit in contrast with those patients who received a commonly prescribed medication.

Headache Triggers

Headaches have many causes, or “triggers.” These may include foods, environmental stimuli (noises, lights, stress, etc.) and/or behaviors (insomnia, excessive exercise, blood sugar changes, etc.). About 5 percent of all headaches are warning signals caused by physical problems.

Ninety-five percent of headaches are primary headaches, such as tension, migraine, or cluster headaches. These types of headaches are not caused by disease, the headache itself is the primary concern.

“The greatest majority of primary headaches are associated with muscle tension in the neck,” says Dr. George B. McClelland, a doctor of chiropractic from Christiansburg, VA. “Today, Americans engage in more sedentary activities than they used to, and more hours are spent in one fixed position or posture. This can increase joint irritation and muscle tension in the neck, upper back and scalp, causing your head to ache.”

What Can You Do?

If you spend a large amount of time in one fixed position, such as in front of a computer, on a sewing machine, typing or reading, take a break and stretch every 30 minutes to one hour. The stretches should take your head and neck through a comfortable range of motion.

    • Low-impact exercise may help relieve the pain associated with primary headaches. However, if you are prone to dull, throbbing headaches, avoid heavy exercise. Engage in such activities as walking and low-impact aerobics.
    • Avoid teeth clenching. The upper teeth should never touch the lowers, except when swallowing. This results in stress at the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) – the two joints that connect your jaw to your skull – leading to TMJ irritation and a form of tension headaches.
    • Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to help avoid dehydration, which can lead to headaches.

What Can a Doctor of Chiropractic Do?

 

Dr. McClelland says your doctor of chiropractic may do one or more of the following if you suffer from a primary headache:

Perform spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustments to improve spinal function and alleviate the stress on your system.

Provide nutritional advice, recommending a change in diet and perhaps the addition of B complex vitamins.

Offer advice on posture, ergonomics (work postures), exercises and relaxation techniques. This advice should help to relieve the recurring joint irritation and tension in the muscles of the neck and upper back.

 

Reference: American Chiropractic Association

How Common is Lower Back Pain?

 

Lower back pain is an extremely common condition that affects 31 million Americans experience low-back pain at any given time. However, the symptoms and severity of lower back pain vary greatly and may be caused by many different things. The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. You can sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture disks, and irritate joints, all of which can lead to back pain.

What Causes Lower Back Pain?

Sometimes the simplest of movements—for example, picking up a pencil from the floor— can have painful results. In addition, poor posture, arthritis, obesity, and psychological stress can cause or complicate back pain. Back pain can also directly result from diseases of the internal organs, such as kidney stones, kidney infections, blood clots, or bone loss. An irritation or problem with any of these structures can cause lower back pain and/or pain that radiates or is referred to other parts of the body. Pain from resultant lower back muscle spasms can be severe, and pain from a number of syndromes can become chronic.

What To Do Immediately?

 

Low back pain (LBP) will most likely be felt at some point for all of us, at least which statistically happens. How we “deal with it” initially can be critical in its progression or discontinuance of your pain. Here are helpful things to do when this happens to you.

STOP:  The most important thing you can do is stop what you are doing. That is, if you’re “lucky enough” to be pre-warned before the breaking point of LBP strikes. This step can be critical as once it hurts “too much,” it may be too late to quickly reverse the process. The “cause” of LBP is often cumulative, meaning it occurs gradually over time, usually from repetitive motion that overloads the region. As stated previously, “If you’re lucky” you’ll be warned BEFORE LBP becomes a disabling/preventing activity. Typically, when the tissues in the low back are over-stressed and initially injured, the nerve endings in the injured tissue trigger muscle guarding as a protective mechanism. This reflex “muscle spasm” restricts blood flow resulting in more pain creating a vicious cycle that needs to be stopped.

REACT: You’ll need to determine the position that reduces your LBP. Once established, you can perform exercises to help mitigate your back pain. To make this work, you must be able to perform these exercises in public without drawing too much attention so you can feel comfortable doing them at any time at any place.

What Are Exercises I Can Do?

Below are two different exercises that can help with Lower Back Pain:

If BENDING FORWARD feels relieving, the exercise of choice is to sit and

a) Cross one leg over the other
b) Pull that knee towards the opposite shoulder
c) Move the knee in various positions so the area of “pull” changes.

Work out each tight area by adding an arch to the low back, rotate your trunk towards the side of the flexed knee (sit up tall and twist – if it doesn’t hurt) and alternate between these positions (10-15 seconds at a time) until the stretched area feels “loosened up.” A second exercise is to sit and rotate the trunk until a stretch is felt. In doing this, alternate between different degrees of low back arching during the twists, feeling for different areas of stretching until it feels looser, usually 5-15 seconds per side. A third exercise is to sit and bend forward as if to tie a shoe, and hold that position until the tightness “melts away.”

Exercise B:

If Bending Backwards feels best, exercise options include placing your fists in the small of your back and leaning backwards over the fists, or bending backward and holding the position as long as needed to feel relief (usually 5-15 seconds). From a sitting position, try placing a rolled-up towel (make one with a towel rolled tightly like a sleeping bag held with rubber bands) in the small of the back to increase the curve. Lying on your back with the roll and a pillow under the low back can also feel great!

About Sciatica

What Causes Sciatica?

 

One of the most common things people complain of, when they come to see us, is sciatica. When we ask where hurts is, some point to their leg, some to their back and a few to their shoulder. Clearly not everyone is clear exactly what it is, so what is sciatica? Sciatica is not, strictly speaking, a medical diagnosis, it is a symptom of an underlying medical condition. It is a lay term for pain that extends down the leg; pain that can really, really, really hurt!

Common Symptoms of Sciatica?

  1. Most often it starts in the lower back and travels into the thigh; it can travel further down the leg to the foot and toes.
  2. Sciatica is not only felt as pain, it can be felt as a burning or tingling sensation.
  3. In advanced cases there can be numbness or weakness of the leg muscles.
  4. Sciatica mostly affects one leg, rarely does it affect both.

How to Treat Sciatica?

With the causes listed above, in my humble opinion, a combination of Chiropractic adjustments, massage, stretching and cryotherapy (using an ice pack or Biofreeze). With this approach you are addressing any misalignment’s of the spine and pelvis through the Chiropractic adjustments; this takes the pressure off the nerves and aides the recovery of any disc herniation (‘slipped disc’).

Massage relaxes the tight muscles around the spine and the piriformis if needed, this encourages what the Chiropractic adjustments are doing and relaxes any trigger points in the muscles of the lower back and buttocks. The stretching helps between seeing your Chiropractor + sports massage therapist, and the ice pack reduces the inflammation around the nerve, again aiding a speedier recovery.

An important final note, The symptom sciatica can be caused by serious underlying complaints and should be checked thoroughly by a trained physician who performs a complete physical examination of your muscles and joints and neurological examination of your nerves. If you have any change in your bowel or bladder habits (unusually can’t control or go!) or numbness in your ‘saddle’ area, coupled with severe back or leg pain, then you potentially have something called ‘cauda equina’. This is a medical emergency and you should contact the emergency services straight away. As a Chiropractor it is our job to ensure that the complaint you have is a Chiropractic case.

Auto Injury

 

If you have been in a motor vehicle accident as a driver or passenger at any speed, you should have your spine and nervous system checked immediately. It is not uncommon for painful symptoms to show up later when you don’t feel much pain initially after the impact.

Even when there are no broken bones, collision injuries are extremely harmful to the musculoskeletal structure of your entire body. Whiplash injuries are often a result. This can be extremely painful and cause headaches, muscle pain, fatigue, and many other symptoms Chiropractic is extremely effective when treating these types of conditions.

One of the most stressful aspects of living in modern life is dealing with the problems that arise after an auto accident. Some auto accident injuries are hidden and seldom detected for months or even years. Victims often settle their case with the insurance companies before getting evaluated from a Doctor trained in soft tissue injuries such as a chiropractor.

Carlsbad Chiropractic will evaluate you if you are an auto accident victim, and make any appropriate referrals to other health care providers if needed or imaging ie., X-rays, MRI.

What Can Auto Accidents Cause?

Auto accidents can cause post-traumatic osteoarthritis, which can ruin your posture (giving you a slumped or hump back appearance). Osteoarthritis can cause the discs in your spine to degenerate and create scar tissue formation leading to chronic stiffness and the inability to move properly.

If you have been in an auto accident, you need a doctor that is trained in the biomechanics of the human body; someone who treats these injuries every day. In addition, x-rays can be taken to find out if there has been any structural damage.

About Frozen Shoulder

 

Another common problem is “frozen shoulder.” This condition occurs when the ligaments and tendons of the glenohumeral joint ( shoulder joint) get so irritated that adhesion’s develop making the joint almost stuck together. This results in an extreme limitation of shoulder motion and pain. If left alone, frozen shoulder can take several years to resolve and therefore, need attention by a professional such as a chiropractor.

Chiropractors are the most qualified health care professionals, because of training and experience, to analyze and treat subluxations that are the number one cause of nerve irritation that result in shoulder, arm and hand problems.

Mid-Back Pain

Mid-Back pain can result from muscle and tendon strain and sprain; muscle tension, brought on by emotional stress; poor posture, brought on by weak or unexercised muscles; muscle spasms caused by over-exertion or over-use. Pain can result from disease of the spine such as the various types of arthritis and tuberculosis. Mid back pain can come from many causes. If there is no reported direct trauma or injury to the mid back, this type of symptom is usually caused by a spinal condition above or below the area in question. For example, if someone receives a blunt force to the mid back region, the cause would be obvious.

“I have noticed over the past 5-6 years more and more people are having upper middle back pains usually just below the tops of the shoulders and right or left of the spine. Some patients come in with symptoms of not being able to turn their head or having numbness down their arms. Most of the time, they do not know what caused their pain. They just know that when the twist their back or move in certain directions the region between their shoulders blades are very painful. When this symptom occurs, it can sometimes be very painful. I have also noticed,

Upon examination, it is very common to find a lower back misalignment or in some cases, a lower neck misalignment that has helped cause the mid back pain. In the majority of cases, patients will complain about neck or lower back pain specifically. However, mid back pain is a reality for some patients and that situation can be addressed using chiropractic treatment.

Doctors of chiropractic are specialists in the treatment of mid back pain as well as other spinal conditions. Chiropractors correct the cause of your pain with safe and gentle, non-invasive natural treatments.

About CTS

Can arise as a result of a number of different causes and as such, treatment is guided by the specific needs of the individual and tailored to each individual case. With that said, there are specific treatment strategies that chiropractors provide that address three primary goals: 1) Physical management strategies; 2) Chemical management strategies; and 3) Self-management strategies. All three goals include a component that we, the doctor, control AND a component that you, the patient, can control or manage. This combined effort or “team approach” ALWAYS works best, especially over the long-term. So, let’s break these three management strategies down along with the two components: my job (as your chiropractor) and your job (as my patient)!

Physical Management Strategies

  1. Physical management strategies: This category addresses the mechanical nature of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. That is, compression of the median nerve at ALL of the possible sites, not JUST the wrist/carpal tunnel area. Since the median nerve arises initially from the neck or cervical spine, nerve root compression of C6-T1 (and a little of C5) can give rise to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome signs and symptoms. As discussed last month, this area can be one of the “great imposters” of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and/or it may contribute as a co-conspirator and combine with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which magnifies or increases the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome signs and symptoms, the so-called “double-crush syndrome.”

My Job

  1. MY JOB (as your chiropractor) is to reduce the pressure on the nerve at any and/or ALL these locations (remember, each case is unique). This can be done by using manual therapies including (but not limited to) manipulation of joints in the neck, shoulder, arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, hand, and fingers. Mobilization of muscles and other soft tissues may include active release techniques, friction massage, trigger point therapy, stretching with and without resistance, traction, and more. Various modalities might be used to reduce muscle tightness, swelling, or inflammation.

Night-time Approach

A nighttime wrist splint keeps the wrist in a neutral position, as the carpal tunnel’s pressure goes up A LOT when the wrist is bent. Since you cannot control the position of your wrist while you sleep, the brace can REALLY HELP! A BIG part of my job includes teaching YOU about CTS so that you understand the underlying causes, thus allowing you to identify jobs, hobbies, or situations where you may be inadvertently harming yourself. If you can, PROMPTLY identify offending wrist positions and STOP the repetitive injurious movement and then MODIFY your approach to the task, whether it means taking “mini-breaks,” changing the work station set up, or some other approach. Along with this “teaching concept” is exercise training. It is also VERY IMPORTANT for you to properly perform the carpal tunnel stretches and other exercises (see Part 2 next month) on a regimented/regular basis

Your Job

YOUR JOB includes wearing the brace (don’t forget or procrastinate), most importantly at night. You can wear it during the day while driving or doing something where you are not “fighting” the brace. In some cases, the brace can bruise you if you are moving your wrist against it repetitively or too hard, and it can actually do more harm than good in those situations. Your job is also to identify ways to do your job and/or hobbies with less torque or twisting of your wrist.

About Knee Pain

Knee pain is one of the most common ailments of the musculoskeletal system. Knee joints happen to be the largest joint of the body and very often injured. Problems with the knee can be classified into three categories: 1) poor mechanics or overuse of the knee joint, 2) traumatic injury from events such as sports and falls, and 3) problems due to arthritic changes in the joint.

Poor Mechanics

Poor mechanics of the knee joint and the associated stress upon the soft tissues of the knee is by far the most common cause of non-traumatic pain. The most common part of the knee affected by this is the patella or knee-cap. Often the patella does not move smoothly causing abnormal stresses upon the tendons cartilage and ligaments.

Imbalances

Imbalances in other muscle groups that attach to the knee can also lead to pain and dysfunction. Lower back problems especially in the sacroiliac joints, are one of the main reasons for imbalances in the muscles associated with knee movement and subsequent knee problems.

What is the Main Treatment for Mechanical Injuries?

 

The main treatment for mechanical injuries to the knee is to re-establish proper balance of the muscles, restore proper movement to the patella and other joints of the knee, and correct any subluxations of the sacroiliac joints and foot problems. In certain cases, a brace is used to help with the alignment of the patella. Chiropractors are ideally trained to provide the proper diagnosis and management of these problems.

Traumatic Injuries?

Traumatic injuries often occur during sports that involve running and jumping. When the knee is stretched or twisted beyond the strength of the ligaments that hold the joint together, tearing of these tissues can occur causing a sprain. The muscles that move the knee can also be torn during injury causing a strain or pull of the muscle. As with a sprain, a muscle strain can vary from a minor injury that requires little care to a severe injury requiring surgery.

If poor mechanics or traumatic injuries are not corrected at an early age, the tissues of the knee joint especially the cartilage will eventually begin to wear out. As a result, the bones rub upon one another and changes such as bone spurs can occur. This painful condition is known as degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis and is often progressive with age and debilitating.

About Shin Splints

Shin Splints are the name given to pain at the front of the lower leg. It’s an overuse syndrome involving the leg muscles that stabilize and move the ankle and foot. During the first injury, the muscle fibers tear from their periosteal attachment surface. During the healing phase, they can become fibrotic which makes the area less resilient than normal muscle attachments. During further uses, they fail to lengthen properly which causes exponential increases in tension on the attachment and a repeat of the injury. Proper treatment will break down the fibrous tissue making the muscle behave more like a rubber band than a rope as it lengthens to the end of its range of motion.

Causes of Shin Splints

There are two main causes of shin splints. The first is “overload” or training errors and the second is “biomechanical inefficiencies.”

The Anatomy of Shin Splints

 

Shin splints are commonly associated with sports that require a lot of running or weight bearing activity. However, it is not necessarily the added weight or force applied to the muscles and tendons of the lower leg but rather the impact force associated with running and weight-bearing activities. When the muscles and tendons become fatigued and overloaded, they lose their ability to adequately absorb the damaging shock force.

Other causes of overload include:

  • Exercising on hard surfaces, like concrete
  • Exercising on uneven ground
  • Beginning an exercise program after a long lay-off period
  • Increasing exercise intensity or duration too quickly
  • Exercising in worn out or ill fitting shoes
  • Excessive uphill or downhill running

 

The major biomechanical inefficiency contributing to shin splints is flat feet. Flat feet lead to a second biomechanical inefficiency called overpronation (flat footed). Pronation is when the foot and ankle rolls inward causing over stretching of the muscles of the lower leg.

Other biomechanical errors include:

  • Poor running mechanics
  • Tight, stiff muscles in the lower-leg
  • Running with excessive forward lean
  • Running with excessive backwards lean
  • Landing on the balls of your feet
  • Running with your toes pointed outward
  • Running on worn-out footwear
  • Running on tilted surfaces
  • Engaging in sports with frequent starts and stops such as basketball and tennis

Symptoms of Shin Splints

  • Pain over the inside lower half of the shin
  • Pain at the start of the exercise that often eases as the session continues
  • Pain often returns after activity and may be at its worse the next morning
  • Sometimes swelling may be present
  • Lumps and bumps may be felt when feeling the inside of the shin bone
  • Pain when the toes or foot are bent downwards

Treatment

Treatment for shin splints is as simple as reducing pain and inflammation, identifying training and biomechanical issues which may have helped cause the injury initially, restoring muscle to their original condition and gradually returning to training.

  • See a sports injury specialist on recommendations for treatment and rehabilitation
  • Apply ice to the shin bone every few hours in order to reduce inflammation.
  • Apply Active Release Technique (ART)
  • Avoid activities that cause pain, swelling, and discomfort
  • Have your running style checked by your doctor and point out any habits that are causing you pain
  • Wear proper shoes: Your doctor may recommend shoe that is especially suited for your foot type, your stride, and your particular sport
  • Stretch the muscles of the lower leg
  • Strengthen and condition the muscles of the lower leg
  • Avoid running on cambered roads
  • Incorporate rest into any training programs
  • Gradual progression of training program
  • Be evaluated for custom orthotics
  • Practice swimming, pool-running, or cycling (low gear)

Arthritis Signs, Symptoms and Treatment

Arthritis literally means “inflammation of a joint”. There are more than 100 recognized forms of arthritis. However, most people affected by arthritis have one or two common types.

Rheumatoid arthritis usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 55. Almost any joint can be affected. The most common are the wrists, fingers, feet and knees.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. It usually starts to make its presence felt in the fifties age group with pain and stiffness in the joints. It does not usually cause severe disability but in some cases it can cause serious damage and early diagnosis and treatment is essential.

Other types of arthritis include gout, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus, psoriatic arthritis, and scleroderma.

Arthritis can also be associated with conditions such as accidental or sports injuries to muscles, bones and joints, backache, sciatica, lumbago, and whiplash injury. Arthritis is a painful and unpredictable disease. It can be frustrating to live with and sometimes leads to depression.

While anyone can be affected by arthritis at any stage of life, there are four groups especially at risk: children, women, older people and sports people.

Symptoms to watch for:
* swelling in one or more joints
* early morning stiffness for more than a few minutes
* recurring pain or tenderness in a joint or reduced movement
* obvious redness or warmth in a joint
* unexplained weight loss, fever or weakness combined with joint pain

Chiropractic care can be very beneficial in helping joints work with better motion and position. Treatment methods may include gentle passive movement, heat, electrical treatments, hydrotherapy, splints and advice on preventing further joint damage.

Sport Injury

No matter what activity one does, there is always the risk of injury. Injury can be broken down into two basic types, one from trauma such as a slip, fall or collision and the other being of the over-use or repetitive stress variety.

Traumatic injuries can cause the debilitating type of problems often associated with trauma. Most of these injuries are usually to the ligaments, the tissue that connects bones to bones and or to muscles though fractures and dislocations do occur at times especially with the contact sports. A strain is any injury to either a muscle or its tendon and a sprain to ligaments. The most common areas for these types of injuries are the ankles, knees, and the shoulders though other areas can be affected including the low back and neck.

Other Sport Injury

Overuse or Repetitive Strain Injuries are becoming more and more common especially among people pursuing sports such as golf, tennis, bowling or any other activity that are requires one to do the same activity over and over. These conditions occur when we are involved in a repetitive activity that causes a very slight strain to tissues especially tendons and muscles that alone would not cause a problem but done many times has an accumulative affect. After some time the muscle or other affected tissue develops changes that no longer allow it to function properly resulting in pain, stiffness and disability.

It is important to get the sport injury properly assessed by a health care professional so to know the extent of damage. Most of these injuries can recover though do need proper care during the various stages of healing. If not manage carefully some sprains and strains can leave you with long lasting problems of joint instability, painful or weak joints and muscles, and lack of mobility. A Chiropractor who is trained in the management of sports injury can give you the proper advice and treatment to insure that your injury will heal in the best possible way.

About Elbow Pain

Tennis elbow is the common name given to pain originating on the outside of the elbow. This condition arises from an irritation of the tendons of one or several forearm muscles at their attachment to the bony protuberance close to the elbow joint. If the condition is located on the inside of the elbow it is often referred as Golfer’s Elbow.

Causes of Elbow Pain

There are many causes for tennis or golfer’s pain – 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.

Some cases 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). If left untreated it is possible that the joints of the elbow can become subluxated further complicating the condition.

Treatment

Treatment of Elbow Pain

 

Tennis elbow is a condition that rarely resolves of its own accord and so requires proper medical management. A chiropractor can determine the exact cause of the problem and initiate the proper care and treatment. This might include ultrasound, electrotherapy, massage, hot and cold treatments, bracing and home stretching and exercises. Chiropractic adjustments have proven extremely effective in the overall management of this problem.

About Foot Pain

The average person takes between 8,000 and 10,000 steps per day.
It is no wonder that many people have aches and pain in this part of the body. Factors such as flat feet or over-pronated feet, our walking and running style, the type of shoe wear can determine if we will get foot and ankle pain. However these factors can also affect the health of your back, knees and legs.

Flat feet are very common and it is estimated that at least one quarter of the population has flat feet. We are all born with flat feet and somewhere between the ages 3-10 we develop and arch. However in certain people this development never occurs. Besides genetic causes, there are a number of factors that can cause flat feet or predispose people to the condition. Age and weight also play a role in the condition’s development.

Having flat feet does not necessarily mean you will have pain as it’s possible for people to have the condition and never feel any discomfort. For people who do develop pain, it usually occurs in the feet and knees, and possibly in the hips and lower back.

Heel pain is one of the most common of the foot ailments is and the cause is usually inflammation of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a band of connective tissue that surrounds the muscles on the bottom of the foot. It connects the heel bone to the ball of the foot, supporting the arch, protecting the foot and absorbing shock.

People who are constantly on their feet, such as nurses, teachers and waiters, are more susceptible, as are athletes who participate in foot-stressing activities such as aerobics, volleyball, running, basketball and tennis.
Once one develops plantar fasciitis, it is often difficult to manage and can become very painful and persistent.

A chiropractor will be able to determine the cause of your problem and what treatments are best suited. These might include ultrasound therapy, joint manipulation, muscles stretching and strengthening exercises, special strapping. Our office has a machine to pin point if orthotics are needed for your feet.