Archive for April, 2010
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, When you consider the alternative, getting old isn’t so bad.” But, if the aging process is creating pain in your body, you are painfully aware that aging is no joke! As a chiropractor in Santa Barbara, when it comes to musculoskeletal challenges, I see too many age-related breakdowns that likely wouldn’t have taken place if the primary cause had been treated earlier. Pain in the back, neck, hips, knees, and even the feet are commonly the result of undue stresses due to poor posture, improper gait, and repetitive overuse. If we only knew then how our aging body would feel today, eh? But, as they say, “hindsight is 20-20.”
As you can see from the list areas of pain above, there are plenty of musculoskeletal challenges that can, and often do, develop as we get older, however painful back problems are one of the most prevalent. Back pain that is age-related is most often caused by spine osteoarthritis, or Spondylosis, a degenerative disorder.
Spinal osteoarthritis is caused by increased wear and weight-bearing pressure on the spine that eventually damages discs, joints, and surrounding ligaments. The area of the body and degree of the degenerative process of spondylosis varies from person to person. The regions that are generally affected are the cervical (neck), thoriacic (mid-back), or lumbar (low back). Spondylosisi symptoms very from person to person and depend on the severity of the degeneration, and can range from negligible pain and numbness to extensive sensory loss and muscular atrophy.
Calcium is deposited in the tissues around the vertebrae due to repetitive stresses that negatively affect the cartilage surrounding the joints These calcific deposits, known as bone spurs, can constrict adjacent nerves, blood vessels and soft tissue. This type of compression is at the root of Spondylosis.
Whether or not you are suffering from spondylosis, regular chiropractic adjustments and overall chiropractic management can considerably slow the aging process of your spine. It may be true that “you can’t un-ring a bell” or “turn back the hands of time,” but it’s never too late to give your spine the attention it deserves. When it comes to treating the spine, chiropractors are experts! See your chiropractor in Santa Barbara today, for the health of your spine.
As a Chiropractor in San Diego, I counsel many individuals who come to my clinic who want to lose weight. I know how hard it can be, and I also know how important it is to lose those extra pounds. Before you let the seams out in those slacks or skirt, there are some things that you need to know relating to those few seemingly benign extra pounds you may have gained. Over time, extra weight can add up to a substantial number of health issues from heart and pulmonary diseases and diabetes to back challenges and joint degeneration. Extra pounds put undue stress on organs, like the heart, and on joints in the low back, hips, and knees. A whopping 62% of American adults are overweight or obese, according to recent studies. That is a very significant number and a sizable national health issue (no pun intended).
It is likely no surprise to you to learn that the human body was not intended to transport additional poundage in the form of body fat. Just an additional 20 or 30 pounds can veritably overload and even overwhelm the joints and muscles of the body. Added weight in the abdominal region, for example, requires that the body compensate (counterbalance the weight) by tilting the pelvis forward. This angle produces compression in the joints of the low back. Joint compression inhibits nerve activity and causes painful inflammation. A larger percentage of people who have a heavy midsectionsuffer from low back pain caused by a pinched sciatic nerve or misalignments of the spinal column that restrict nerves as a result of weight-bearing stresses. If not addresses, misaligned vertebra not only continue to irritate the degenerative changes that have taken place already, but can develop into new arthritic changes in the spine in the future.
Here are the ways in which chiropractic treatment can help. Perhaps, it should go without saying that a “normal” body weight is essential in order for the musculoskeletal system to function in the way it is built to. Chiropractic treatment can not only ease the pain created by excess weight compensation, but it can aid in weight reduction. Here’s how. Chiropractic adjustments relieve nerve compression in the spinal column and help to get motion back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, particularly in the low back, hips, and knees. And, obviously exercise and physical activity will be a lot easier, and more beneficial for the body, when the spine is in alignment and the joints have good motion. The added benefit of exercise the, in addition to helping with weight reduction, it can actually inhibit degenerative changes as the body ages.
It is always best to review your diet and exercise choices with a healthcare professional, like your chiropractor. In addition to treating individuals suffering from back pain and joint inflammation, chiropractors can provide proficient advice on the type of lifestyle corrections that can help an individual to stay healthier, more energetic, and more active through the years. Arthritis and immobility due to aging don’t have to be compulsory. The structure of the human body is intended to carry a person through an entire lifetime of pain-free movement.
So, if those extra few pounds have started to add up to a lot of pain, as your chiropractor in San Diego and someone who cares deeply about your overall health, I can help. Make an appointment today!
Social Media is the “hottest” topic on the Internet today. If you’ve been giving some thought to getting on board, but don’t know where the platform is, let’s take a minute to talk about the “Who, What, When, Where, and How” of social media and you, that’s “Who.” Then you can make up your mind whether or not to add Social Media to your chiropractic marketing strategy.
Social media marketing may seem familiar in some ways to other chiropractic marketing strategies you’ve engaged in in the past, and yet unfamiliar at the same time. In the “familiar” category, you’d never consider trying any type of marketing plan without taking the time to understand what it’s about and what you want to get from it. What are your goals? Once you’re clear about what you want, you’ll be more capable of using social media to your best advantage.
When you are ready to begin your social media venture, but before you start, it will be necessary for you to make certain that you “own your name” on all the social media outlets, that is to say, make sure that your name or the name of your clinic is attainable so that you can use precisely same name on every one of the social channels you desire to use. When you’re ready, there’s a service, which is absolutely free, that will assist you with your search. Knowem.com is the who to go to. This service will research where your name is and/or if it’s attainable or not on a sufficient number of social media sites.
When you have “locked up” all of your social media accounts, the next step is to decide where you would like to be active. Starting with only a small number of social media sites is preferable because, let’s face it, you have a clinic to run and patients to see. You won’t want to get active in too many social media sites. So, how do you choose the best sites for you? The big ones (where most of the action is) are facebook, twitter, linkedin, and Youtube.
What your social media activity mission should be is to build a real presence in your community. What you don’t want to do is “sell” on your social media sites, that means don’t sell your clinic, don’t sell services or products, don’t sell anything! The benefit of social media is for you to go out and network with the community. Of course, let them know what you do, but do it by becoming a participant. Social media works the same way as social networking offline. People on social media sites don’t want to be sold to, plain and simply. Social media sites are a lot like a neighborhood backyard barbecue. People are standing around chatting about who they are and what they do, and then someone asks you what you do. Or, maybe you start the conversation by (just) stating, “Hello, I’m Dr. ____. With social media marketing, the same dynamics apply. “Work” your social media sites in the same way you’d work your offline networking communities, which is to say, answer the questions and concerns that get potential patients interested in the who that’s you!
So ladies, take a walk! Do it for your health's sake! For more information on this interesting story, click the link provided above.
As a Wichita Chiropractor for over twenty years, I have assisted hundreds of people suffering from sciatic pain, therefore, I’m genuinely aware from experience just how disabling sciatic pain can be. Sciatica sufferers are regrettably all too familiar with the type of deep pain that often radiates through the lower part of their body, persists during the day and restricts almost all of their daily activities.
There is a way to ascertain if your low back pain is caused by sciatica. You are probably suffering from sciatica if your pain travels from your low back, through one or both sides of your buttocks, down the large sciatic nerve in the back of your leg(s), and possibly penetrates into one or both knees. In addition, not solely activity, but even sitting can be painful. Commonly lying down will lessen, or occasionally even temporarily get rid of the pain. But, it’s important for you to know that sciatica will not go away without proper treatment.
Radiculopathy
A radiculopathy is a medical term that describes a condition where a disc has protruded from its normal position in the vertebral column and is creating pressure on the radicular nerve, or nerve root, that forms part of the sciatic nerve in the lower back. This type of pressure is extremely painful.
Prolonged sitting, especially in an awkward position, can produce imbalances in the muscles surrounding the spine and increased pressure on the intervertebral discs. Usually, a particular event or injury doesn’t cause sciatica, but rather sciatica tends to develop over time as a consequence of general wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine. Over the course of time the lower spine can lose its normal functioning capabilities during ordinary stresses.
If this happens, the intervertebral disc incurs small fissures or cracks that then allow the soft nucleus to protrude the disc outward. Pain is generated as the disc pushes on sensitive tissues. This condition is frequently called a ruptured, or slipped, disc. Sciatica is the result of the disc pressing on the spinal nerve. With chiropractic adjustments and management, which often includes postural exercises, almost all disc conditions, including sciatica, can be totally alleviated.
Periformis Syndrome
Periformis syndrome is another cause of sciatic pain. Periformis syndrome develops when the periformis muscle, which is superficial to the sciatic nerve, goes into spasm and irritates the nerve. In addition to chiropractic adjustments, this type of sciatica can be significantly relieved by sciatica stretches that your chiropractor can recommend.
If you are experiencing sciatic pain, it is extremely important for you to seek chiropractic attention. If you are in the Wichita area, as your Wichita Chiropractor, I invite you to come in to see if I can get you out of pain and help you to get your life back!
As a chiropractor who treats many senior patients suffering from painful back problems, I was very concerned when I read about a new study published this month in The Journal of the American Medical Association that found that the percentage of older adults undergoing a complicated fusion procedure for the painful lower-back condition called spinal stenosis has increased sharply– rising fifteenfold from 2002 to 2007.
This type of fusion procedure is not only complicated, but costly. And worse, it carries three times the rate of life-threatening complications than alternative procedures such as decompression (removal of part of the bone pressing on the nerve) or simple fusion (in which two or three vertebrae are fused and only the front or back of the vertebrae, rather than front and back). And, the bottom line is that earlier studies haven’t found that the complex surgery leads to better results or greater pain relief. Gentle, non-invasive chiropractic treatment can often relieve the severe back pain caused by spinal stenosis. I fully recommend a short conservative trial of chiropractic care prior to considering most surgeries involving the musculoskeletal system. Any type of surgery carries risks and such risks increase exponentially as we age. But, when a study reveals that a costly, life-threatening surgery does little to relieve pain or improve an individual’s quality of life, in my opinion such a surgery should not even be considered.