Fibromyalgia - Chiropractic

Fibromyalgia symptoms are quite common but non-specific. However, the constellation of symptoms can often suggest a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Read more about it with the link below and consult your chiropractor for treatment tips:

http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/fibromyalgia/fibromyalgia-symptoms

6 Quick Stretches Protect Your Back At Work

Are you spending most of your workday sitting down? Left unchecked, this positioning leads to muscular imbalances and skeletal malalignment, all of which can worsen back pain.

http://www.spine-health.com/blog/6-quick-stretches-protect-your-back-work?source=3tab

VIDEO: Back Muscle Spasms

Back muscle spasms may occur because of an injury or condition affecting the spine. Unless the underlying problem is evaluated, discovered, and treated, the back muscle spasms will tend to recur.

http://www.spine-health.com/video/causes-back-muscle-spasms-video

Muscle Strain video by Dr. Jardon

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia symptoms are quite common but non-specific. However, the constellation of symptoms can often suggest a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Read more about it with the link below and consult your chiropractor for treatment tips:

http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/fibromyalgia/fibromyalgia-symptoms

Article: Chiropractic aids muscle recovery, helps prevent fatigue

Study: Chiropractic aids muscle recovery, helps prevent fatigue 

A New Zealand study found a 60% increase in muscle electrical activity readings and 45% increase in "drive" between the brain and muscle after a full spine chiropractic adjustment session. The findings were published in the journal Experimental Brain Research. PRWire (Australia)

Make Your Voice Heard: Help Veterans Receive the Care They Need

Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have introduced the Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act. The bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to phase-in the chiropractic benefit at all major VA medical facilities over several years. You, too, can help ensure the essential services provided by doctors of chiropractic are available to the brave men and women who have served our country by simply clicking the link below to urge your senators to cosponsor this bill!

To contact your senators, click http://cqrcengage.com/aca/app/write-a-letter?10&engagementId=78697

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Stay Safe While Shoveling - By Dr. Jardon

More snow so watch your shoveling mechanics.

Limit bending and twisting combinations by bending your knees as you bend forward and come back up. Do not twist to throw the snow until you are standing upright. Limit twisting by moving your feet towards the direction you're throwing it. Bending/twisting combinations can "unhinge" the facet joints, allowing more strain on the protective muscles and ligaments.

Also, make sure you're warmed up in the morning by stretching beforehand. Dress warmly.Take it easy for the first 5 mins and, as you warm up with the activity of shoveling, you can safely speed up. Also helpful, don't try to do it all at once. Do it in shifts.

But, here's the best advise, get a snow blower!

Dr. Jardon's Newsletter from Spine Health - Feb-March 2015

Back muscle spasms, whiplash treatment & hamstring stretching

Back muscle spasms

Back muscle spasms may occur because of an injury or condition affecting the spine. Unless the underlying problem is evaluated, discovered, and treated, the back muscle spasms will tend to recur.
http://www.spine-health.com/video/causes-back-muscle-spasms-video

Whiplash treatment

Because each individual case of whiplash is different, it is not possible to generalize about the chiropractic whiplash treatment.
http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/chiropractic/chiropractic-treatments-whiplash

Hamstring stretching for sciatica and lower back pain

Most low back pain and sciatica problems will benefit from a regular routine of hamstring stretching. Read all about it and check out the videos, too.
http://www.spine-health.com/wellness/exercise/hamstring-stretching-exercises-sciatica-pain-relief

Pilot study suggests wearable devices can help alleviate back pain

http://news.yahoo.com/pilot-study-suggests-wearable-devices-142202857.html

A major missing element, according to healthcare analytics startup Vivametrica, is context for the data generated and presented by these devices: what's needed is a comparison of an individual's activity pattern with the relevant sector of the general population, an assessment of the relative risks of different diseases based on these patterns, and personalised interventions designed to reduce those risks.

Vivametrica has been researching lower back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), which, according to cofounder and chief operating officer Dr Christy Lane, "is the top reason for orthopaedic surgery in North America; it's a huge, costly problem, and what's happening is that people are getting thrown into surgery, which is often very successful, but there also are a lot of people who could avoid surgery through something like this".

Vivametrica's pilot study, released today, finds that body mass index is the best predictor of daily function in people with LSS, suggesting that weight loss and increased physical activity may improve the condition. The study also finds that objective activity measures from wearable devices eliminate the guesswork inherent in patient feedback such as questionnaires, allowing more targeted treatment. The use of wearable devices also empowers LSS patients to be more involved in their own health and encourages them to change their behaviour.

Chiropractic manages pain naturally

“Almost everyone can benefit from chiropractic,” says Dr. Nancy J. Trimboli, owner of Trimboli Chiropractic with offices in Munster and Cedar Lake, about managing pain. “Every person on the planet has had a fall, has done sports, and has been involved in a vehicle crash of some type, however minor. These bumps and bruises of life cause spinal misalignments which irritate or interrupt normal joint function and nerve function. If left uncorrected, this will definitely lead to problems. Chiropractors correct those misalignments, allowing the body to heal and function normally. It’s a simple concept yet the ramifications are huge.”

According to Trimboli, chiropractic care has shown through individual patient cases and published research to be not only highly effective for long term back—and other--pain resolution, but to be highly cost effective.

“We have helped countless numbers of people over the years avoid surgery,” she says. “Back surgery obviously should be a last resort. You should do every treatment possible prior to surgery. That should include Chiropractic, massage therapy, physical therapy, acupuncture, even yoga and other exercise. There are specific reasons to have back surgery and pain is not on that list. This is because you most certainly will have pain after back surgery from the surgery itself.”

But that doesn’t mean surgery isn’t totally off the table in certain cases.

“If someone has a progressive muscle weakness or loss of sensation that does not improve with conservative care, they may need a surgical intervention,” says Trimboli. “Also, you need to remember that most people have multiple issues creating their discomfort. Sciatic type pain can be caused from the nerve as it exits the spine, or from disc issue, from a pelvic misalignment, from a muscle spasm, or adhesions on the nerve itself. Chiropractic can address all of these issues, where surgery may only address one of them.”

This approach to pain management has long been a goal for Trimboli who knew from a young age she wanted to work the in medical field. Despite achieving high grades, after completing her undergraduate studies in pre-med, Trimboli decided attending med school was not for her. When a friend’s mother suggested she talk to a chiropractor, it didn’t take long for Trimboli to realize that was the field for her.

“Even when I was 18 I knew there had to be a different way,” she says. “I wanted to study a style of healing that was different than drugs and surgery.”

Choosing chiropractic school, Trimboli spent the first three years taking the same courses and using the same books as medical students. It was then that chiropractic and medical studies began to differ. That divergence formed the foundation for her work. Her mission, she says, is giving to people, young and old, the power and knowledge of chiropractic, so that they may get their greatest enjoyment out of life.

“We offer low force chiropractic adjustments for infants, children and adults,” says Trimboli noting that means there is ‘no popping’ when adjustments are made. “To help us in our work, we have 15 massage therapists on staff that do therapeutic massage, myofascial release, lymphatic drainage, and cranial sacral therapy. Our trainers teach our patients effective at-home exercises to stretch and strengthen spinal muscles. Modalities, such as cold laser therapy, help patients to feel better more quickly and heal more completely.”

It’s also important for people to work at keeping their spines remain flexible and functional including doing specific stretches at home on a routine basis to alleviate or prevent pain.

“Exercise by doing something you enjoy,” says Trimboli. “Challenge your balance and strengthen your core with a yoga, tai chi or Pilates class. Ask for help when lifting things or doing heavy work that you don’t often do. Watch your diet and avoid foods that inflame the spinal joints, which for everyone is sugar.”

Sciatica treatments, insomnia & back pain, and exercise

When someone is suffering from sciatic pain, the first treatments should be heat or ice, chiropractic manipulations, massage, medications, and acupuncture, followed by exercises.

http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/sciatica/sciatica-treatment

Without sufficient sleep, aches and pains become more prominent. And many chronic pains can make it more difficult to get to sleep and stay asleep. This loop can make recovery more difficult unless sleep issues are addressed as part of a treatment program.

http://www.spine-health.com/video/insomnia-and-back-pain

Exercise and chiropractic care go hand in hand as part of a comprehensive treatment plan to back or neck recovery.

http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/chiropractic/exercise-and-chiropractic-therapy

Exercising while in pain, study on chiropractic manipulation, and more

Exercise can be difficult while in pain, but it is a key aspect in healing from the injury and preventing future episodes of pain. Muscle pain and aches can be normal, but flaring joint pain should be a warning to avoid certain exercises. See this video from Spine-Health.com for information.

http://www.spine-health.com/video/video-if-my-back-or-joints-hurt-should-i-work-through-pain

It may be easier and less time consuming to take pain medicine to help your lower back pain, but a recent study shows that spinal manipulation may be more effective.

http://www.spine-health.com/blog/chiropractic-manipulation-or-medication-low-back-pain

For patients with lower back or buttock pain that stems from the sacroiliac joint, a variety of chiropractic procedures can be applied and are often considered the first line of treatment.

http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/sacroiliac-joint-dysfunction/chiropractic-procedures-sacroiliac-joint

Chiropractic techniques & history, PLUS a do-it-yourself massage for back pain!

Scientific evidence has indicated that spinal manipulation is a safe, mild-to-moderate pain reliever for lower back pain, neck pain and headache, and recent health care guidelines have listed it as a viable treatment option for symptoms that do not respond to self-care.

http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/chiropractic/evolution-chiropractic-medicine-health-care

There are well over 100 types of adjustment techniques used by chiropractors throughout the world. Typically, chiropractors will focus on and utilize 8 to 10 different approaches in their practice.

http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/chiropractic/spinal-manipulation-techniques

Do-it-yourself massage ideas to alleviate back pain!

http://www.spine-health.com/blog/how-tennis-balls-and-duct-tape-can-morph-a-do-it-yourself-massage-lower-back-pain

Chiro questions answered - plus info on muscle soreness

Sometimes joint cavitation or cracking does not occur during a chiropractic adjustment. Why not? And what are the chiropractors next steps?

http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/chiropractic/chiropractic-adjustment

Even though there is usually some temporarily added muscle soreness (similar to the feeling of having completed an aggressive exercise session) after the manipulation, the patient should experience an immediate increase in range of motion post-anesthesia care.

http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/chiropractic/post-operative-care