Common Injuries Plus Treatment

Back Pain Neck Pain Headaches Senior Health Issues Anti-Aging Women's Health

Back Pain

Back problems can be caused by an extraordinarily wide range of problems - some of them originating elsewhere in the body, but with pain being transmitted (referred) to areas of the back by the nervous system, or other organs. Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical attention. It is the symptom that prompts most patients to seek out chiropractic care. The majority of backache sufferers complain of pain in the lower back; the second most common site of discomfort is the base of the neck.

Who suffers from back pain?

Virtually all human beings are subject to back problems. The fact that humans walk upright, on two legs, puts great pressure on the spine and muscles that support it. Normal wear and tear, accidents, disease, and such bad "back habits" as unnecessary strain from overexertion at play or work (especially lifting, pushing, pulling, and reaching for things improperly), and poor standing and sitting posture result in both immediate and long-term back problems.

What can chiropractic do?

Chiropractors successfully treat subluxation (a complex of functional and/or structural changes in joints, which can interfere with nerve transmission, disturb other organ systems and undermine general health). Spinal subluxations may have symptoms localized in some part of the back or may radiate down to the buttocks, thighs and legs. Chiropractors also treat tension that can show up as backaches and/or headaches or pains elsewhere in the body.

Doctors of chiropractic draw upon a wealth of knowledge and experience with treating and preventing back pain and back injuries. Soothing and pain-reducing spinal adjustments have been developed over the last century, during which chiropractors have practiced, improved and refined their techniques.

The chiropractic approach is similar to the clinical practice guidelines of the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. That is, doctors of chiropractic not only treat the pain, they try to keep patients engaging in their normal activities rather than resting immobile in bed, which can actually cause further debilitation. And, of course, chiropractors do not rely on surgery, hospitalization and medication that can be both dangerous and needlessly costly for patients and their insurance providers. Although, if your condition calls for another form of treatment your doctor of chiropractic will gladly refer you to the appropriate health care practitioner.(Return to top)

Neck pain can be so mild that it is merely annoying and distracting. Or it can be so severe that it is unbearable and incapacitating.

Most instances of neck pain (and stiffness) are minor and commonly caused by something you did. That is, if you keep your head in an awkward position for too long the joints in your neck can "lock" and the neck muscles can become painfully fatigued. The price you pay for carelessness in how you position your head and neck (say, while working, watching TV, using a computer, reading a book, or talking on the phone with the receiver held against your shoulder and under your chin), is a pain in the neck. You may be one of the many unfortunates who, after a long and tiring day, has "harmlessly" fallen asleep in a chair or in bed with your head propped up, only to awake with a stiff and painful neck. Fortunately, most minor, posture-induced neck pain episodes clear up on their own after rest and efforts not to repeat the offending stresses on the neck.

But neck pain that just won't go away after a day or so may be a more serious matter. Neck pain that lasts for many days or keeps coming back is a signal that something isn't right. Disease, an injury (such as whiplash in an auto accident), a congenital malformation, or progressive degeneration that can come with age may be responsible for the more significant pain you experience. A proper evaluation must be done to determine the underlying causes of such neck pain. Examination, diagnosis and treatment by a doctor of chiropractic can relieve your mind and may quickly relieve your pain.

Who suffers from neck pain?

Almost everyone experiences some sort of neck pain or stiffness at one time or another. Because you are human and walk upright, your head is "balanced" atop your spinal column. If the muscles that support your head are not kept strong and in good condition, the upper part of your spinal column is vulnerable to strains and injuries.

Older people, whose joints have been worn by much use over time, are subject to osteoarthritis (also known as degenerative joint disease or DJD). When this form of arthritis hits your back and neck, you feel it as neck pain that gets worse over time. The pain may radiate into your shoulders and arms, and you may feel numbness or tingling in hands and fingers. Arthritis can also involve symptoms including headaches, dizziness, and even a grating/grinding feeling when you move your head. It is very important for your chiropractor to examine you to rule out osteoarthritis or identify it and see that it is properly treated.

What can chiropractic do?

Doctors of chiropractic have the training and skills to relieve your neck pain, overcome stiffness, and restore the mobility and range of motion to a troubled neck. They are devoted to helping you get back to your normal pursuits and start feeling like yourself again.

Perhaps their most important contribution is their ability to bring their specialized diagnostic skills, techniques, and equipment to bear in assessing what is causing your neck problems. Your chiropractor can determine if you have a relatively minor and treatable condition or a more serious underlying condition (from disease, degeneration, or trauma) that may require more intensive, extended treatment or referral to a specialist.

Your chiropractor will ask you for detailed information on your behavior, posture, physical condition, and work and home environment. He or she will obtain x-rays and other diagnostic images if necessary to pinpoint which of many possible causes is responsible for your discomfort. Only then will the appropriate treatment be recommended.

Once your normal feeling and function is restored, your chiropractor will be available to keep the muscles and joints of your neck and back in optimum condition to help prevent recurrence of neck pain and related life-restricting symptoms.(Return to top)

More than 90 percent of headaches can be classified as tension-type, migraine or cervicogenic.

By far, most people get tension-type headaches and get them frequently. They typically suffer mild to moderate pain, on both sides of the head, that is often described as tight, stiff, constricting - like having something wrapped around your head and pressing tightly.

Migraines are periodic, severe, throbbing headaches that afflict far fewer people (and more women than men), usually hurt on one side of the head, can cause loss of appetite, nausea and even vomiting, and may involve a visual change called an aura.

Cervicogenic headache is a muskuloskeletal form of tension-type headache (which may also be related to migraines). Many times cervicogenic headache goes undiagnosed as such due to the relative newness of this classification.

Who suffers from headaches?

Many millions of adults, worldwide, get headaches regularly. Headaches are among the most common physical complaints prompting people to treat themselves or get professional assistance. One estimate holds that some 50 million people in the U.S. get severe, long-lasting, recurring headaches. Most headaches are not signs of serious underlying conditions, but they can be very distracting, debilitating and account for significant amounts of time lost from work.

What should I be concerned about?

If you are a headache sufferer, your obvious concern is to obtain safe, dependable relief. You should avoid making things worse by using drugs - even over-the-counter, nonprescription drugs - that can have serious side effects and dangerous interactions with other medications or supplements you take. You should also be aware that many people experience what are termed "analgesic rebound headaches" from taking painkillers every day, or nearly every day. Watch out! The medicine you take to get rid of today's headache may give you a headache tomorrow and the days after.

What can chiropractic do?

Chiropractors have had considerable success relieving the cause of headache pain and releasing headache sufferers from the dangerous vicious circle of taking ever-larger doses of ever-stronger painkillers that may even be causing new and worse headaches.

Chiropractic adjustments have shown to be as effective and even more effective than medications in reducing the severity and frequency of headaches. Chiropractic is particularly successful dealing with cervicogenic headache. Even though cervicogenic and other tension-type headaches may not actually involve stress or muscle tension, chiropractic's ability to adjust spinal abnormalities seems to lessen or remove the forces contributing to many individuals headache pain.(Return to top)

Aging is not so much a matter of the passage of time as of changes in fitness; in the way your body works and reacts. If your body changes enough that you look, feel, and function differently than when you were younger, age may be overtaking you. The earliest and most obvious signs include men losing their hair and men and women needing reading glasses because of presbyopia (inability to focus on near objects). But diseases have a greater impact on how your body functions than does aging alone. Therefore, staying fit and healthy is an important part of keeping your body operating as if it were still young.

If you are lucky enough never to get arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer, hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, cataracts, Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's, you'll feel younger, longer. This may sound like "if you don't get sick, you'll feel well." Yet the point is an important one that must be considered when we think about what aging really means. People may be more prone to such ailments as they get older, but just because you get older doesn't mean you will experience all the symptoms associated with these and other diseases. Although the disease process and the aging process may run concurrently, they are not the same thing. You can get sick and even die from many diseases common to old age, but you don't have to get old to have such diseases. And if you maintain an optimal level of wellness, you should be able to get older without automatically and inescapably being condemned to the pain, discomfort and disabilities associated with many disease states. Growing old and getting sick simply are not interchangeable or even inextricably linked processes.

It is true that older people are more likely than the young to get certain diseases, and older individuals may have several different health problems at the same time. But more and more people are living longer and staying healthier--and happier--as they get older. The key is to gain control over your health as early in your life as possible. Learning how to stay well will give you a better chance of feeling well, longer.

The increasing numbers of seniors is attributable, in part, to the growing reliance on health care that stresses lifelong wellness, proper diet and adequate exercise (which are all mainstays of chiropractic care).

Living long and being vigorous and vital means maintaining overall physical and emotional wellness. It means functioning at as high a level as possible, with physical and mental functions diminished only moderately, if at all. Most older individuals are more concerned about their diet and digestion than about what disease may ultimately strike them down. They worry more about sleeping well, seeing and hearing adequately, looking good, having a reasonably active sex life, controlling their weight, experiencing as little pain as possible, maintaining their mental acuity, not being depressed, and remaining active and independent. These are all, to varying degrees, reliant on your musculoskeletal health.

It is imperative that you do all you can to protect yourself from degeneration, illness and accidents that can rob you of many additional years of healthy and happy living. If the joints, muscles and nerves that make up your musculoskeletal system aren't kept functioning properly, you may be jeopardizing your overall health and well-being. Chiropractic is designed to maximize musculoskeletal health so that you can feel better over the entire course of a long life.

What can chiropractic do?

Doctors of chiropractic are trained in maintaining wellness by gentle, reassuring, safe and effective techniques and counseling that can play a role in suspending or reversing the aging process.

Chiropractors realize that aging and older patients require special assessment of their problems, with support, treatment and management goals tailored to their unique health situation and needs. Moreover, chiropractic is especially useful in restoring and maintaining joint, muscle, nerve and soft tissue health, which is fundamental to keeping older people fit and flexible, feeling good and functioning at their highest potential.

Chiropractic clinicians regularly counsel their patients on how to employ flexibility and weight-bearing exercise for better health. They offer guidance on how diet and supplements combine to provide health-sustaining and life-prolonging nutrition. They can help you take control of your health through lifestyle modifications, nutritional counseling and by maximizing musculoskeletal function.

Chiropractic adjustments are well suited to safely and effectively addressing and preventing a wide range of problems encountered by the elderly. More and more aging men and women rely on doctors of chiropractic to remove some of the underlying skeletal and muscular causes of the distress, debilitation and depression that plague so many older individuals. Chiropractors have the skills to reduce pain and infirmity, give even older patients greater mobility, more robust good health, and a more-confident expectation that the future can encompass many more fulfilling years of functioning better--and feeling younger.(Return to top)

With science finding ways to increase human longevity, ever-greater numbers of older people will be trying to cope with age-related complaints and enjoy not just a longer life, but also a healthier one.

As we age, our bodies naturally change and become more prone to certain health problems. From middle age on, most of us may experience unpleasant alterations in our skin, eyesight and hearing, teeth and digestion, which we associate with old age. Loss of hair, memory and sex drive are expected, and feared, signs of aging.

Worse, older people are far more likely than younger individuals to develop such serious disorders as arthritis, osteoporosis, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), high blood pressure, hernias, thyroid and kidney problems, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and various forms of cancer.

Why should I be concerned about aging?

Everyone should be concerned about how the aging process affects them and their loved ones, including their older friends and relatives and even their children - whose longevity and wellness when they are older may depend to a great degree on how their health is protected while they are young.

Your vulnerability to the various ailments associated with aging is a product of the interplay between your individual characteristics (your physical condition, genetic heritage, age, gender, marital status and sexual preferences, even your occupation) and the environment in which your body functions. That environment includes your diet and lifestyle, what stresses your body is exposed to - including smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, drug usage, overexposure to sunlight and pollution, insufficient exercise, emotional stress and untreated health problems.

That's why it is so important to take preventive measures to arrest or even reverse the most devitalizing aspects of aging. Anti-Aging is really about taking steps to protect the quality of your life by not allowing the aging process to take the life out of you - slowly or, worse, suddenly.

What can chiropractic do?

Chiropractic philosophy and practice are ideally suited to helping older people live longer and healthier lives. Because chiropractors are committed to health maintenance, and promoting lifelong wellness, they can give members of the aging population the health care they need for continued longevity and an enhanced quality of life.

You probably know of men and women in their seventies or older who look, feel and act years, even decades, younger than they are. That's how we all want to be: as active and vital as we've been in our thirties and forties. Research has shown that chiropractic treatment and guidance in nutrition and lifestyles helps reduce your vulnerability to the damaging and debilitating aspects of growing older.

Chiropractic helps you to remain active, permits your joints, muscles, and nerves to function appropriately, free of pain that could prevent you from remaining active, feeling fully alive and more youthful, even as your age increases.(Return to top)

Women have most of the same health concerns that men have. But women face many health problems unique to them or that more often or more seriously affect women than men. Because of this (and because most women tend to have a heightened awareness of their physical condition and are accustomed to seeking help from health professionals), more women than men regularly rely on chiropractic care.

Women must contend with specific health concerns raised by their female physiology, by the fact that the female body is designed to be able to bear children. Issues involving pregnancy and the menstrual cycle are centrally important health matters for women. Being pregnant, preparing for pregnancy, and recovering from childbirth are female indispositions. Pain during the menstrual period (dysmenorrhea), premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and chronic pelvic pain are among the distressing conditions that disturb the otherwise healthy lives of many women.

Older women are much more likely than men to develop such serious ailments as Alzheimer's disease (which burdens the afflicted with near-total memory loss and reduced mental functioning) and osteoporosis (in which the bones become weak, brittle, and porous; the posture stooped with the shoulders rounded). These are just two of the problems of aging that women must be aware of and can take steps to prevent.

Less ominous, but more pervasive, are headaches. Women may get headaches during menstrual periods and pregnancy, as well as under ordinary circumstances. They are more likely to be troubled enough by headache pain to find a way to overcome it. Similarly, women are often victims of osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) and have a 200 to 300 percent greater chance than men of suffering rheumatoid arthritis.

What can chiropractic do?

Chiropractic offers demonstrated relief for many of women's health problems. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to lessen the discomfort of dysmenorrhea and chronic pelvic pain. Numerous back disorders that strike women are addressed and remedied daily, all over the world, by chiropractors skilled in treating those problems and in improving their patients' capacity to cope and to improve.

More and more women have become interested in diet, nutrition, weight loss, exercise, sports and physical activity, and methods for maintaining wellness and general fitness - about which chiropractors have considerable knowledge that they are eager to share with their patients. Chiropractic wellness programs are particularly well suited to the special needs of pregnant women, new mothers, women who are overweight, who are in stressful situations, and others who need to protect and strengthen their bones, nerves, joints, muscles and overall health.

Great numbers of women rely on chiropractors because of the caring interaction that develops between patient and doctor and because of chiropractic's effective combination of diagnosis, effective spinal adjustments and soft tissue therapy, exercise and nutritional guidance, and lifestyle counseling.(Return to top)