Chiropractic Conditions
Disc Bulges & Herniations
Do I Have A Slipped Disc?
The intervertebral disc is a special type of cartilage that connects and cushions the 24 bones of your spinal column. Each disc attaches to the vertebra above and below it. This provides the proper spacing for pairs of nerve roots to exit the spine from between each joint. A disc can thin, wedge, bulge, protrude, tear or herniate, but it doesn’t slip!
Each spinal disc has a jelly-like “ball bearing” core that is contained by bands of fibrous tissue. Healthy discs give you flexibility, allowing normal turning and bending. This movement produces a pumping action that supplies proper disc nutrition and waste removal.
Trauma produces the most common form of disc injury.
Spinal misalignments can cause disc tissue to adapt into a wedge-like shape. This is the earliest stage of disc damage. While this position can encroach upon adjacent nerve tissue, pain or other obvious symptoms may not be present. Even before symptoms appear, chiropractic care can be helpful.
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Fibromyalgia
If you or your loved ones have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, you may be wondering what the disorder means for you. The condition still remains a mystery, although an estimated 3 to 6 percent of Americans, predominantly women, have fibromyalgia syndrome. Even diagnosing the condition can be complex: according to the National Fibromyalgia Association, it can take a patient up to 4 years to be accurately diagnosed.
Fibromyalgia is typically diagnosed in patients with:
Widespread pain in all 4 quadrants of the body for a minimum of 3 months; and Tenderness or pain in at least 11 tender points when pressure is applied.
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Headaches
There are many types and causes of headaches. Regardless of the cause, if you have a headache, you want it to end. Fast!
This has produced a huge market for medications that cover up the symptoms of headaches. Powerful drugs can numb your nervous system so the pain doesn’t register. While these approaches may be convenient, they can cause adverse effects and kidney or liver damage. Worse, they don’t correct the underlying cause of the headache.
A cause of headaches can be from spinal bones in the neck that aren’t supporting your head properly. They’re not moving right. This can affect nerves, muscles and even the blood supply to your head.
Chiropractic doctors locate areas of the spine that aren’t moving properly. They notice if proper spinal curves are present. They look at your posture and your ability to turn and bend. These and many other examinations can help determine if you are likely to benefit from chiropractic care.
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Neck Pain
What Causes Neck Pain?
Your neck is the most vulnerable part of your spine. Not only does it support your 10- to12-pound head, maintain a gentle forward curve, and permit head rotation, but it must also allow the free flow of nerve impulses to the head, face, hands and the rest of your body. Besides discomfort and annoyance, chronic neck pain is a sign that something is wrong.
Many everyday things can cause neck pain, such as watching TV, using your computer, reading a book or falling asleep in a chair or on an airplane. The temporary pain that results can resolve on its own, especially when the offending activity is discontinued. When it doesn’t, a more serious underlying problem may be indicated.
A thorough examination can determine if you’re a good candidate for chiropractic care. These tests may involve your ability to turn and bend. Muscle tone of the supporting muscles in the neck may be tested. Diagnostic imaging to reveal the underlying structure of the spine may be requested. These and other tests are designed to identify the cause and location of your neck pain.
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Sciatica
Sciatica can be a distracting pain that starts in the lower back and extends down into one or both legs. Chiropractic care has proven to be quite helpful.
Those suffering from sciatica are often in their 40s and 50s. It usually begins as an acute pain in the lower back and then extends down the back of either leg. The pain usually worsens with long periods of sitting or standing.
Like a large river created by smaller streams, five pairs of nerves exit the spine in the lower back to form the two sciatic nerves. The soft, pulpy disc between each spinal bone is often involved. While a disc can’t “slip,” it can bulge, herniate or rupture. This can put direct pressure on the nearby nerves. The result? Swelling. Inflammation. Pain when coughing, sneezing or with others kinds of movement.
Fortunately, sciatica often responds to safe, natural chiropractic care.
Sciatica often worsens with extended bed rest. Pain pills or muscle relaxers are unable to correct the nerve compression caused by the bulging disc. Physical therapy merely works the area to increase your tolerance to pain. Surgery often involves cutting away disc tissue or removing bone to make room for the nerve.
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Scoliosis
Scoliosis affects 5 to 7 million people in the United States. More than a half million visits are made to doctors’ offices each year for evaluation and treatment of scoliosis. Although scoliosis can begin at any age, it most often develops in adolescents between the ages of 10 and 15. Girls are more commonly affected than boys. Because scoliosis can be inherited, children whose parents or siblings are affected by it should definitely be evaluated by a trained professional.
What is scoliosis?
Because we walk on 2 feet, the human nervous system constantly works through reflexes and postural control to keep our spine in a straight line from side to side. Occasionally, a lateral (sideways) curvature develops. If the curvature is larger than 10 degrees, it is called scoliosis. Curves less than 10 degrees are often just postural changes. Scoliosis can also be accompanied by lordosis (abnormal curvature toward the front) or kyphosis (abnormal curvature toward the back). In most cases, the vertebrae are also rotated.
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Stress
Not all stress is bad. A 20-minute workout for a fit and trim 65-year old is good stress. The same workout for an out-of-shape 35-year old would likely be bad stress!
Whether your body considers stress good or bad is largely a function of how well it can accommodate it. Ultimately, this capacity is based on the condition of your nervous system.
Stress is part of everyday living. In fact, a stress-free life would be boring! Life is enjoyable when we have ample resources to experience and overcome the stresses we face.
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