It may surprise you to know that chiropractors like me, your chiropractor in Dallas, treat almost as many patients with knee pain as we do patients with back problems. But, we, chiropractors, would likely see far less knee problems if more people came in sooner for back care. That’s right! Most people don’t know that keeping their back in good condition can help prevent knee pain!

How is that possible? The answer is that the musculoskeletal system of the body functions in a compensatory, “chain-reaction” manner. Which is to say that when one area of the musculoskeletal system isn’t functioning correctly, the rest of the system shifts and tilts in an effort to compensate for the problem.  For example, pain in the patella (kneecap), also known as Patella Femoral Syndrome (Knee Cap Pain) is frequently due to imbalances in the quadriceps muscles of the thigh that connect to and move the patella. This inequality frequently begin in the lower spine, especially in the sacroiliac joint. It’s not unlike the old song, “…the knee bones connected to the thigh bone…”. From our head to our toes, we are one, whole, organic structure. It is for this reason that chronic challenges are never separated. So, it’s not just your back that’s the culprit! For instance, reduced foot movement in response to foot pain can also cause painful knee problems as well. In addition, poor knee tracking due to inappropropriate gait patterns, such as pronation (walking like a duck with toes pointed out rather than straight ahead), can create wear and tear on the knee joints and extreme pain over time. And, finally, excess body weight and, sorry, ladies, but the wearing of high heels on a regular basis can cause knee problems over time.

Fortunately, chiropractic treatment can restore healthy muscle balance, return appropriate motion to the patella and other knee joints, and adjust subluxations of the sacroiliac joints or bones of the foot. Your very last resort in attempting to get rid of your knee pain, should be knee replacement surgery! Try a conservative course of chiropractic treatment first.
But, you should never disregard knee pain, or “play through” knee pain, or continue walking in those lovely Jimmy Choo heels when your knees are aching. Pain is the body’s way of telling you that there’s a problem that needs correcting. If knee problems are not taken care of, the tissues of the knee joint, particularly the cartilage, will continue to degenerate. And, changes, such as bone spurs, can occur if the bones begin to rub on one another.

As we age, certain musculoskeletal problems frequently increase, such as knee pain and degerative joint disease (osteoarthritis). But remember, no matter what your age is today, right this minute you are younger than you will ever be again. See your Dallas Chiropractor today…for tomorrow’s sake!

Technorati Tags: arthritis, chiropractic, knee injury, knee pain

Corona Chiropractor

Your Corona Chiropractor provides a highly effective non-invasive, drug-free approach to relieving hip pain and often eliminating it altogether. Whenever possible, surgery should be seen as a last resort. So, before you decide on hip surgery, ask yourself the following questions: Does hip pain wake you up at night and make it impossible for you to get a good night’s sleep? When you arise in the morning, and/or when you step out of your car, are you stiff and do you find it initially hard to get your legs moving sufficiently? Do you feel pain in one or both hips when you cross your legs or rotate or twist your hips? If so, you may have imbalances and alignment problems in your lower extremities that, in addition to causing your hip pain, can eventually lead to degenerative joint disease in your hips if not treated. The good news is that chiropractic treatment can help whether or not degenerative changes have already begun!

It may be true that you’re getting older and your hip joints just aren’t what they used to be. Even so, are you aware that your hip pain and related problems, which usually point to age-related degenerative conditions, may not actually be generated by osteoarthritis? That’s right. In many cases, rather than being the original source of your problem, osteoarthritis of the hip joint is more often than not the outcome of a earlier injury (or injuries) to your hips.

As a general rule, hip problems have to do with asymmetry or imbalance when you are in motion, as when you are walking. If you tend to walk “pronated” with your toes pointing away from your body (like a duck), it is inevitable that you will feel pain in your hips as a result of the asymmetrical stress on your hip joints and your body’s efforts to compensate. Fortunately, you can learn to alter your gait pattern at any age, and your chiropractor in Corona can show you how to do it.

Moreover, you may have undergone gait changes due to an ankle sprain or knee strain, and since “the knee bone’s connected to the hip bone,” these biomechanical accommodations cause pain in the hip(s). Of course, if not corrected, your hip joints will suffer further consequences, namely, the wear and tear that produces degenerative changes.

Other circumstances that can sometimes impact the hip joints are starting a new job or beginning a new sport that necessitates your moving your body in atypical ways. Also, ferrying a child (or grandchild) on one hip can produce hip pain. Even your sitting position or driving for prolonged periods of time on a regular basis can cause hip injury and pain.

So you can see that not every pain is caused by “old age,” although we may start to feel more pain due to the progressive capacity of untreated injuries.

As part of the chiropractic management of your hip problem, along with your adjustments, your Corona Chiropractor will recommend individualized rehabilitative exercises that include gentle muscle stretching and strengthening, and will also evaluate your gait and may suggest simple pattern changes.

Your hip pain won’t vanish on its own. Hip pain is a symptom telling you that there’s an injury that needs treatment. If ignored, more than likely that at some point you will require that hip replacement surgery. Remember the old adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Your chiropractor in Corona can eliminate your hip pain, get your body back into balance, and help you get to back to enjoying your life again!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, hip pain, osteoarthritis

Wichita Chiropractor

As a Wichita Chiropractor for more than twenty years, I have treated hundreds of individuals suffering from sciatic pain, therefore, I’m genuinely aware from experience just how debilitating the pain from sciatica can be. Sciatica sufferers are unfortunately all too familiar with the deep radiating pain that persists during the day and inhibits almost all of their daily activities.

Here’s how you can ascertain if your low back pain is generated by sciatica. You are probably suffering from sciatica if your pain radiates from your low back, through your buttock(s), down the large sciatic nerve in the back of your leg(s), and possibly penetrates into your knee(s). Moreover, sitting, as well as motion, can be painful. Often lying down will reduce, or occasionally even temporarily eliminate the pain. But, you should be alerted to the fact that sciatica cannot be corrected without proper management.

Radiculopathy

A radiculopathy is a medical term that describes a condition where a disc has protruded from its natural position in the spine and is putting pressure on the radicular nerve (nerve root) that forms part of the sciatic nerve in the lower back. Such pressure can generate excruciating pain.

Prolonged sitting, particularly in an improper position, can produce imbalances in the muscles surrounding the spine and increased pressure on the intervertebral discs. A specific event or injury isn’t commonly the cause of sciatica, more often sciatica has a tendency to evolve over time as a consequence of general wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine. After a while the lower spine can lose its ability to function normally during ordinary stresses.

Ultimately, the intervertebral disc develops small fissures or cracks, which then let the soft nucleus to protrude the disc outward. Pain is produced as the disc pushes on sensitive tissues. This occurrence is frequently called a ruptured, or slipped, disc. Sciatica is the result of the disc pressing on the spinal nerve. Fortunately, most disc problems, including sciatica, can be completely relieved with chiropractic treatment and management that frequently includes postural exercises.

Periformis Syndrome

Another cause of sciatic pain is periformis syndrome. Periformis syndrome develops when the periformis muscle, which is superficial to the sciatic nerve, goes into spasm and irritates the nerve. Along with chiropractic adjustments, this particular sciatica can be significantly relieved by sciatica stretches that your chiropractor can recommend.

It is vital for you to see your chiropractor for treatment if you are experiencing sciatic pain. 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!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, sciatic pain, sciatic stretches, sciatica

Cincinnati Chiropractor

At my Cincinnati Chiropractic Clinic I treat many seniors who are affected by balance problems. In fact, dizziness, “wooziness,” and other balance-related conditions affect at least 9% of adults, aged 65 and over. Good balance is extremely important, of course, in assisting older adults to remain independent and in avoiding falls and incurring injuries that are commonly very serious or even fatal. But, you may be surprised to hear that falls are the cause of a large number of work-related injuries for adults under 65 years of age, including workers in their twenties and thirties. That’s right! No one is exempt from to balance problems, no matter what their age may be. That is why those who work in “high places” like construction workers, roofers, oil platform employees, windows cleaners, or anywhere else where a ladder is involved are in danger of serious injury if their balance is “off.”

The principal capacity of good balance is to aid us in managing and maintaining our body position, whether standing still or moving, and whether on the ground or high up on a platform. Good balance aids us in walking without faltering, arising from a sitting position without teeterin, and in climbing stairs without slipping. In other words, good balance is extremely important to our health and well-being.

What come as a surprise to you is that you could have a balance abnormality without being aware of how threatening it may be. Often times a person can “shake off” a dizzy sensation and it may not reoccur for a while. However when precipetous dizziness comes about at a consequential time, it is too late to shake it off and a fall is often inevitable.

When you have the feeling that you, yourself, are spinning or that objects around you are moving, it is called “vertigo.” Close to forty percent of individuals in the U.S. will have at least one incidence of dizziness that is acute enough to seek out a health professional, such as your Chiropractor in Cincinnati. But, if you are involved in any of the activities listed above, it is an excellent idea for you to see a chiropractor to have your balance checked prior to a sudden episode of dizziness, rather than as a response to such an episode. Why? Because as a chiropractor, I can not only check your balance, and make adjustments if needed, but can assist you in maintaining good balance in the future. And, naturally, having good balance will likely save you from serious injury or worse.

Balance disorders are dangerous at any age. If you think that you may have a possible balance disorder, it is extremely important for you to be diagnosed and treated without delay. Often guidelines are helpful. Therefore, if you can answer “yes” to any of the following questions, even if the experience is seldom or infrequent, you should discuss the symptom(s) with a chiropractor as soon as possible:

• Have you experienced a feeling of being “unsteady?”

• Has the room seemed to spin around you?

• Has there ever a time when you felt as if you were moving when you knew you were standing still?

• Have you lost your balance and/or fallen down?

• Have you ever felt as if you were falling?

• Has your vision ever become “blurred?”

• Have you ever felt disoriented, or lost a sense of time, place or identity?

It is important for you to remember that balance problems are not isolated to a particular age group. Our falling down is an ever-present possibility from the time we learn to walk until we take our final step All the more reason to have your balance checked if you work in a job that makes your falling down a “critical” issue. Don’t wait until it’s too late! If you’re in the area, give your Cincinnati Chiropractor a call today. I can help!

Technorati Tags: balance, chiropractic, chiropractor, dizziness, falls, vertigo

San Diego Chiropractor

As a San Diego Chiropractor, 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. Have you been trying to persuade yourself that just a few extra pounds don’t matter? As we age, they can add up to a surprising number of health issues from heart and pulmonary diseases and diabetes to back challenges and joint degeneration. Extra pounds put excessive stress on organs, like the heart, and on joints in the low back, hips, and knees. Over half (62%) of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to recent studies. That is a very significant figure and a sizable dilemma (no pun intended).

It is likely no surprise to you to learn that the human body has not evolved to schlepp around a surfeit of weight in the form of body fat. Just an additional 20 or 30 pounds can literally overload and encumber the joints and muscles of the body. Excess weight in the tummy, for example, makes it necessary for the body to compensate (counterbalance the weight) by tilting the pelvis forward. This angle puts pressure on the joints of the low back. Joint compression restricts nerve activity and causes painful inflammation. A larger percentage of people that have a heavy midsectionexperience low back pain as the result of  a pinched sciatic nerve or spinal misalignments that constrict nerves as a consequence of weight-bearing stresses. If not addresses, misaligned vertebra as a rule create new arthritic changes in the spine over time, as well as persist in irritating the degenerative changes that have already taken place.

Here are the ways in which chiropractic treatment can help. To begin with the obvious, a “normal” body weight is necessary in order for the musculoskeletal system to perform in the way it is designed to. That said, in addition, chiropractic adjustments relieve nerve impingements in the spine and assist in getting mobility back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, particularly in the low back, hips, and knees. And, obviously exercise and physical activity are a lot easier, and healthier for the body, when the spine is in alignment and the joints have good movement. Not only will exercise help with weight reduction, but it can actually reduce degenerative changes as over the years.

healthcare professionals, like your chiropractor, can advise you regarding your diet and exercise choices. In addition to caring for people suffering from back pain and joint inflammation, chiropractors can provide proficient advice on the kinds of lifestyle modifications that can help you to stay healthier, more vital, and more active through the years. arthritis and immobility due to aging don’t have to be compulsory. The human body was created for a lifetime of pain-free movement.

So, if those extra pounds have been sneaking up on you, and they’ve turned into a surprising load of pain, as your San Diego chiropractor and someone who understands, I can help. Make an appointment today!

Technorati Tags: arthritis, back pain, chiropractic, chiropractor, excess weight, joint inflammation, weight loss