by admin | Jun 21, 2012 | Common Ailments
Pinched nerve
Most of the time, what is called a pinched nerve is actually an irritated, or inflamed nerve. When a spinal bone loses its correct position or motion, it can encroach upon where the nerve exits the spine. This causes one of the two types of nerve interference:
1. Compressed lesion or “pinched nerve”.
2. Facilitative lesion – where the nerve root is either stretched, twisted or rubbed against.
The treatment of this condition is the specialty of the Chiropractor. A Chiropractic examination can locate these areas of your spine and reduce their impact on your nervous system.
There are instances when nerves do become ‘pinched’, such as in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Sciatica and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. In each of these cases, injury, spasm or inflammation of the surrounding muscles and connective tissue causes the nerve to become compressed, resulting in pain. These conditions are referred to as “tunnel syndromes.” Treating tunnel syndromes is more complex than treating a simple spinal pinched nerves, but they usually respond very well to chiropractic care; especially when combined with other physical therapies, such as exercises and stretches.
Trigger points are very tight “knots” of muscle that form when muscles are either chronically overworked or injured, and are often experienced as a pinching or burning pain. Trigger points will commonly cause pain that radiates to other parts of the body, which is also known as referred pain. The successful treatment of trigger points usually requires a combination of chiropractic care, stretching and a form of deep tissue massage called ‘trigger point therapy.’
It is very important that the cause of any form of pain be properly diagnosed. This is especially important when nerves are affected as severe or long term irritation, or compression, of a nerve can lead to permanent nerve damage.
by admin | Jun 21, 2012 | Common Ailments
Slipped Disc
Discs do not actually “slip”. Rather, they may herniate or bulge outward.
A herniation is a displaced fragment of the centre part of the disc.
You may have heard the term “slipped disc” used to describe a low back injury. Discs do not actually “slip”. Rather, they may herniate or bulge out from between the bones. A herniation is a displaced fragment of the centre ‘jelly-like’ part of the disc that is pushed through a tear in the outer layer of the disc. Pain results when irritating substances are released from this tear and also if the fragment touches or compresses a nearby nerve. Disc herniation has some similarities to degenerative disc disease and discs that herniate are often in an early stage of degeneration. Herniated discs are common in the low back or lumbar spine.
What causes discs to herniate?
Many factors decrease the strength of the disc and increase the risk of disc herniation. Life style choices such as smoking, lack of regular exercise, and inadequate nutrition contribute to poor disc health. Poor posture, daily wear and tear, injury or trauma, and incorrect lifting or twisting further stress the disc. If the disc is already weakened, it may herniate with a single movement or strain such as coughing or bending to pick up a pencil.
How do I know if I have a disc herniation?
Herniated discs are most likely to affect people between the ages of 30 and 40. Disc herniations may be present without causing pain. The most common symptom will be pain in the area of the herniation that may radiate across the hips or into the buttocks. You may also experience numbness or pain radiating down your leg to the ankle or foot. If the herniation is large enough, you may notice weakness with extension of your big toe and you may be unable to walk on your toes or heels. In severe cases of lumbar disc herniation, you may experience changes in your bowel or bladder function and may have difficulty with sexual function.
How is a disc herniation treated?
Most disc herniations can usually be treated conservatively with stretching, exercise therapy and chiropractic adjustments.
Occasionally, a herniation may be severe enough to warrant surgical intervention. These cases are usually reserved as a last resort when other forms of therapy have failed to relieve pain, or if there is significant compression of the spinal cord or nerves
by admin | Jun 21, 2012 | Common Ailments
Pregnancy care
During pregnancy, a woman’s centre of gravity shifts forward to the front of her pelvis. This additional weight in front causes stress to the joints of the pelvis and low back. As the baby grows in size, the added weight causes the curvature of her lower back to increase, placing extra stress on the fragile joints on the back side of the spine. Any pre-existing problems in a woman’s spine tend to be exacerbated as the spine and pelvis become overworked, often leading to pain and difficulty performing normal daily activities.
Studies have found that about half of all expectant mothers develop low-back pain at some point during their pregnancies. This is especially true during the third trimester when the baby’s body gains the most weight.
Chiropractic care throughout pregnancy can relieve and even prevent the pain and discomfort frequently experienced in pregnancy, and creates an environment for an easier, safer delivery. It is one safe and effective way to help the spine and pelvis cope with the rapid increase in physical stress by restoring a state of balance. In fact, most women have found that chiropractic care helped them avoid the use of pain medications during their pregnancy, and studies have shown that chiropractic adjustments help to reduce time in labour.
by admin | Jun 21, 2012 | Common Ailments
Headaches affect just about everyone at some point and they can present themselves in many different ways.
Some people only experience pain in one part of their head or behind their eyes, some people experience a pounding sensation inside their whole head, and some people even experience nausea, while others do not. The pain itself may be dull or sharp and may last for anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Fortunately, very few headaches have serious underlying causes, but those that do require urgent medical attention.
Although headaches can be due to a wide variety of causes, such as drug reactions, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), tightness in the neck muscles, low blood sugar, high blood pressure, stress and fatigue, the majority of recurrent headaches are of two types: tension headaches (also called cervicogenic headaches) and migraine headaches. There is a third, less common, type of headaches called a cluster headache.
Tension Headaches
Tension type headaches are the most common, affecting about of 75% of all headache sufferers. Most people describe a tension headache as a constant dull, achy feeling either on one side or both sides of the head, often described as a feeling of a tight band or dull ache around the head or behind the eyes. These headaches usually begin slowly and gradually and can last for minutes or days, and tend to begin in the middle or toward the end of the day. Tension headaches are often the result of stress or bad posture, which stresses the spine and muscles in the upper back and neck.
Tension headaches, or stress headaches, can last from 30 minutes to several days. In some cases, chronic tension headaches may persist for many months. Although the pain can at times be severe, tension headaches are usually not associated with other symptoms, such as nausea, throbbing or vomiting.
The most common cause of tension headaches is subluxations in the upper back and neck, usually in combination with active trigger points. When the cervical vertebrae lose their normal motion or position, a small muscle called the rectus capitis posterior minor (RCPM) muscle goes into spasm. The problem is that this small muscle has a tendon which slips between the upper neck and the base of the skull and attaches to a thin pain-sensitive tissue called the dura mater that covers the brain. Although the brain itself has no feeling, the dura mater is very pain-sensitive. Consequently, when the RCPM muscle goes into spasm and its tendon tugs at the dura mater, a headache occurs. People who hold desk jobs will tend to suffer from headaches for this reason.
Another cause of tension type headaches comes from referred pain from trigger points in the Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) or levator muscle on the side of the neck. These are much more common in people who suffer a whiplash injury due to the muscle damage in the neck region.
Migraine Headaches
Each year, millions of people in the Australia experience migraine headaches, and about 75% are women. Migraines are intense and throbbing headaches that are often associated with nausea and sensitivity to light or noise. They can last from as little as a few hours to as long as a few days. Many of those who suffer from migraines experience visual symptoms called an “aura” just prior to an attack that is often described as seeing flashing lights or that everything takes on a dream-like appearance.
Migraine sufferers usually have their first attack before age 30 (although can occur in the teens), and they tend to run in families, supporting the notion that there is a genetic component to them. Some people have attacks several times a month; others have less than one a year. Most people find that migraine attacks occur less frequently and become less severe as they get older.
Migraine headaches are caused by a constriction of the blood vessels in the brain, followed by a dilation of blood vessels. During the constriction of the blood vessels there is a decrease in blood flow, which is what leads to the visual symptoms that many people experience. Even in people who don’t experience the classic migraine aura, most of them can tell that an attack is immanent. Once the blood vessels dilate, there is a rapid increase in blood pressure inside the head. It is this increased pressure that leads to the pounding headache. Each time the heart beats it sends another shock wave through the carotid arteries in the neck up into the brain.
There are many theories about why the blood vessels constrict in the first place, but no one knows for sure. What we do know is that there are a number of things that can trigger migraines, such as lack of sleep, stress, flickering lights, strong odours, changing weather patterns and several foods; especially foods that are high in an amino acid called ‘tyramine’. You can reduce the likelihood of migraine headaches by making some lifestyle changes.
Cluster Headaches
Cluster headaches are typically very short in duration, excruciating headaches, usually felt on one side of the head behind the eyes. Cluster headaches affect about 1 million people in the United States and, unlike migraines, are much more common in men. This is the only type of headache that tends to occur at night. The reason that they are called ‘cluster’ headaches is that they tend to occur one to four times per day over a period of several days. After one cluster of headaches is over, it may be months or even years, before they occur again. Like migraines, cluster headaches are likely to be related to a dilation of the blood vessels in the brain, causing a localized increase in pressure.
Chiropractic treatment for Headaches
Each individual’s case is different and requires a thorough evaluation before a proper course of chiropractic care can be determined. However, in most cases of tension headaches, significant improvement is accomplished through adjustments of the cervical (neck) vertebrae, along with adjustments to the upper spine. This is also helpful in most cases of migraine headaches, as long as food and lifestyle triggers are avoided as well.
Numerous research studies have shown that chiropractic adjustments are very effective for treating tension headaches, especially headaches that originate in the neck.
A report released in 2001 by researchers at the Duke University Evidence-Based Practice Centre in Durham, NC, found that “spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of tension-type headache than commonly prescribed medications.”
These findings support an earlier study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics that found spinal manipulative therapy to be very effective for treating tension headaches. This study also found that those who stopped chiropractic treatment after four weeks continued to experience a sustained benefit in contrast to those patients who received pain medication.
by admin | Jun 21, 2012 | Common Ailments
Neck pain is a very common complaint – amongst both men and women, from the young to the older, active to sedentary. Quite often the cause of neck pain can be so obscure, people don’t realise which activities they are doing may in fact be exacerbating their problem. At Better Health Chiropractic we focus not only on reducing your pain, but also identifying any factors in your lifestyle that may be aggravating your symptoms.
Neck Pain Symptoms
Neck Pain can arise from many different causes but the symptoms can be easily described as a pain in the neck. The pain can be sharp, dull, or throbbing; it may also cause tightness in the joints and muscles. Occasionally people may report pain travelling into their shoulders and arms, or even upwards to cause a headache.
Neck Pain Diagnosis
Because neck pain can be caused by so many different factors, your chiropractor will perform a full history and evaluation of your symptoms to determine the cause. It may be necessary to take x- rays to fully confirm a diagnosis.
Neck Pain Causes
Of the many causes of neck pain some of the most common are:
Facet joint inflammation
Muscular strain
Cervical Disc Bulge
Degenerative Joint Disease/Arthritis
More serious causes are also possible making it important to discuss this type of pain with your chiropractor.
At Better Health Chiropractic, we have found that a number of lifestyle issues are the deeper cause to these neck related pains. With the high use of laptop computers, tablet PCs and smart phones, we are seeing an increase in the presentation of neck pains in our practice.
Neck Pain Treatments
There are a number of treatments available to neck pain sufferers. These range from mobilisation and adjustments, massage, exercises and stretches. Each has a different goal and effect. We recommend you discuss these with your chiropractor before you commence any treatment so that you may achieve the best short term and long term benefits.
