Back Pain

Household chores can be a pain in the sacroiliac. Unless you’re careful, routine activities around the home— washing dishes, vacuuming, even talking on the phone— can strain your back, including the sacroiliac area near the tailbone, and result in debilitating discomfort.

If pain persists for more than a day or two or if you experience numbness, tingling or weakness in your arms or legs, see a doctor of chiropractic. A doctor of chiropractic is an expert in spinal health and can help identify and treat your problem.

Neck Pain

Who hasn’t had neck pain at one time or another? What’s more, many of us have experienced on-going neck troubles at some point during our lives. Looking at human anatomy, it’s no wonder pain strikes us so often in this vulnerable area. While the neck structure gives us an amazing range of movement with which to see our environment, it also leaves us prone to injury of the muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints. But by making regular visits to the chiropractor, paying attention to posture and doing regular stretching and strengthening exercises, our necks can be pain-free.

Neck pain that won’t go away or keeps coming back can signal a more serious underlying problem such as a subluxation or degeneration in the joints (such as what occurs with arthritis). If you experience neck pain that doesn’t abate within 24 hours, seek the advice of your chiropractor for diagnosis and treatment.

Knee Pain

Many hip and knee problems are a result of chronically poor posture. Almost none of us are taught how to use our bodies properly. We don’t come with instruction manuals. So as time goes on, the inefficient habits we develop as children and teenagers become permanent. People slouch, they let their abdominal muscles sag, they stand with all their weight on one leg, and their heads stick out in front rather than being centered over their chests. One result is chronically tight and painful neck, shoulder, and lower back muscles. Another result is chronically uneven distribution of the weight of the body, ultimately causing degeneration of hip and knee joints.

It’s very important to address these issues when you’re young. When you’re not as young as you were, the time to begin making healthful changes is right now. Chiropractic care directly helps improve a person’s biomechanics. Chiropractic care also helps people make the best use possible of the good food they’re beginning to eat and the regular exercise they’re beginning to get.

Shoulder Pain

The shoulder has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the human body. The shoulder is capable of 360º of mobility from front to back (the sagittal plane), 360º of mobility in the frontal plane, and 180º of mobility to the right and the left (horizontal plane). Taken together, these optimal ranges are termed circumduction. But the shoulder’s remarkable capabilities come at a price. The shoulder girdle is the least stable joint structure and is readily subject to sprains (of the acromioclavicular joint) and dislocation injuries (of the glenohumeral joint). Additionally, the rotator cuff, the group of muscles that protect the shoulder girdle and move the shoulder joints through three-dimensional space, is commonly injured, owing to the substantial mechanical stresses involved in such extensive motion.

We can help prevent such injuries by engaging in regular physical exercise such as yoga, strength training and regular chiropractic care. These activities place weightbearing loads on the shoulder, progressively training the muscles, tendons, and nerves that supply the shoulder joint structures to handle mechanical stresses. As a result of such training, when called upon to manage the shock of an unusual mechanical force, the shoulder will be able to respond effectively while likely preventing injury.

Chronic Headaches

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 – is an effective treatment option for tension headaches and headaches that originate in the neck.