Archive for neck pain
The Importance of Good Posture
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It’s a great time to be alive, isn’t it? Science and technology have literally put the world at our fingertips. And, in addition to the unlimited access we all have to information and communication, there are computer games, video games, and round-the-clock TV shows. Unfortunately, the “pros” of most things arrive hand-in-hand with the “cons.” Now, there are plenty of “cons” to be addressed here, but as a chiropractor, I’m going to focus on the adverse effect that our bad posture is having on our musculoskeletal system, not only while we’re engaging in these activities, but even after the work and play is done. All you need to do is to take a look at the majority of teenagers to see that posture, in general, is in a slump.
Why is posture so important? Poor posture causes headaches, neck pain, and back pain, just for openers. And, since the back bone is (eventually) connected to the hip bones and knee bones, bad posture can create a lot of painful movement from your head to your toes.
Joe Donofrio, dean of clinical services at Sherman College of chiropractic in Spartanburg, offers some great posture tips. Check them out at goupstate.com
As a Chiropractor, I know from experience that sometimes life can be a pain in the neck! Unfortunately, though circumstances in our life may change quickly, neck pain can linger and, often, get much worse. Neck problems, in addition to causing pain in the immediate area of the neck, can cause pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness down the arm and into the fingers. Neck conditions can contribute to both tension headaches and head pain. Finding the reason for your particular neck pain will require a thorough examination and evaluation by a proficient chiropractor, like myself.
Why do so many people suffer from neck problems? There are many causes for neck pain and associated symptoms. The neck might sustain trauma from an accident causing strained muscles, sprained ligaments, and spinal joint injuries. Postural stress can occur from sitting at a computer for long periods and/or performing repetitive tasks. Such stress creates muscular tension and inflammation in the neck and upper back. Poor spinal mechanics and weak or overdeveloped muscles can add to postural stress. Other causes of neck problems are “slipped,” herniated, or ruptured cervical discs, and general aging that produces degeneration of the spinal joints and discs creating inflammation of soft tissues leading to chronic pain.
A chiropractic approach offers a natural and unique mechanical approach to a wide range of cervical problems. Chiropractic treatment results in pain relief, decrease in tension, and increase in motion.
With my education and training in chiropractic technique, and in my years of being a Chiropractor, I’ve become an expert when it comes to knowledge of the spine and musculoskeletal system. I am able to determine the reason for your neck pain and treat it at its source. Chiropractic care can give you the neck pain relief you’ve been looking for. Give my Office a call today!
Did you know that chiropractic therapy has been increasing in popularity for a long time and that it’s continuing to increase annually as the favored healthcare option for many people? As a Chiropractor, I can confidently tell you that individuals are choosing chiropractic treatment because of the many positive aspects that such care offers. No other medical practice is less invasive to the body and, at the same time, is able to stimulate the body’s organic capacity to heal itself, instead of masking symptoms with medicines.
Let’s face it, where there’s a musculoskeletal structure, as in the human body, there is the chance of musculoskeletal dysfunction such as low back pain and neck pain, pain in the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee joints, and ankle and foot pain. No one is immune from misalignment of the spine and joint inflammation, though a large number of problems can be the consequence of sports injuries, accidents, and the aging process. Regardless of the cause, any kind of motion on a traumatized area of the body can not simply add to pain or suffering, but will result in inactivity. And, certainly, specific musculoskeletal challenges, if left untreated, can lead to irreversible incapacitation.
It has been claimed of chiropractic treatment that its “many benefits exceed” merely eliminating a specific challenge. And, though correcting a particular problem is fantastic, in and of itself, in actual fact, someone who comes in to see a chiropractor for lower back pain, for instance, not only profits from pain alleviation, but also from increased circulation, a reduction or elimination of lactic acid, smoother travel of oxygen and nutrients within the body, more flexibility, less everyday pain and soreness, quicker recuperation time, a more comfortable sensation, and the deterrence of future harm! Is it any wonder that chiropractic care has become the treatment of preference for so many people?
Besides providing specialized musculoskeletal care, chiropractors also include education and guidelines as it pertains to strengthening your complete health and wellness. Chiropractors are well aware that in order for you to get healthier and remain that way, it is important for to decide on a naturally healthy lifestyle that includes drinking enough water to keep the body well-hydrated, following a nutritious diet program, and developing a basic stretching and exercise routine.
Chiropractic treatment doesn’t exactly work “miracles, ” but it can come fairly close in a considerable number of areas that may perhaps surprise you. For example, chiropractic treatment can help pregnant women deliver more easily. It can strengthen developmental abilities of babies, such as better motor skills, and it can often eliminate scoliosis. Chiropractic adjustments for kids may help relieve asthma complaints, ear infections, and even bed-wetting. Along with the positive aspects just stated, routine chiropractic management can help adults to feel more vital and dynamic, which consequently improves productivity and life enjoyment. And, finally, for maturing baby boomers and the growing senior population, not only can chiropractic therapy aide in reducing age-related problems and keep an individual more active in later years, it can reduce the balance problems that all too often end up in critical injury from falls.
If you’re already visiting a chiropractor, good for you! You have probably experienced many of the “plus points” mentioned above. If so, have you thought to enlighten an associate, friend, or family member about chiropractic? Don’t let someone you care about, who may be living with pain, fall victim to the sort of misinformation regarding chiropractic care that could keep them from living their life more actively. Tell the people you care about to call me. I can help and they’ll thank you!
Your Camarillo Chiropractor: Neck Pain Can Make You One of the "Typing Wounded"
Posted by: | CommentsAs a chiropractor, I know all too well that if you sit for extended periods at a computer, you may be experiencing neck pain, as well as lower back pain, upper back pain, and pain that radiates down one or both of your arms with accompanying pins and needles or numbness. neck pain and shoulder pain are, in fact, the most common upper-extremity musculoskeletal problems among computer users. In a 2002 study tracking 632 computer users newly hired at major Atlanta companies, Dr. Fredric E. Gerr, an occupational medicine physician and ergonomics investigator at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues observed that roughly 60 percent developed neck or shoulder pain in the first year, though the study did not track how long symptoms persisted.
Younger generations growing up in the digital age are also joining the ranks of the “typing wounded.” Surveys at two universities found that 40 to 50 percent of undergraduates experienced upper-extremity pain from using their computers. Colleges do not build dormitory furniture to be ergonomically adjustable, said Dr. Benjamin Amick, scientific director of the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, who was a co-author of those studies. “They build it to be indestructible.”
In addition to repetitive stress problems, sitting at your computer too long places your upper back in a sustained, stressful posture, especially if you tend to lean forward when you’re working. This also puts your neck at an unnatural and strained angle. Lower back pain, in addition to being generated by simply sitting for long periods of time without getting up and moving around, is aggravated by bad posture.
Problems caused by extended computer use can not only lead to an inability to perform your work duties, but can keep you from enjoying the rest of your life, too. Your chiropractor can assist in eliminating the neck pain, lower back pain, and/or upper back pain that you are currently experiencing. After that, it is important for you to become mindful of your body as you sit at your computer, and to give your body what it naturally needs. You can cultivate the habit of both sitting straight in your chair (as opposed to slouching) and relaxing your shoulders. This will help to relieve tension in your lower and upper back and neck. Take time to stretch periodically to ease muscle tension and encourage healthy blood flow. If your work station permits, sitting on an exercise ball can not only aide in keeping you in a beneficial posture, but can help to strengthen your core muscles as well. (Make sure that the ball is the right size so that when you are seated on it your arms are at a ninety-degree angle to your keyboard.)
I offer these tips for pain-free computer activity: good posture for ease of movement, variety in the motions that you do, and short breaks to relax and stretch. These will go a long way in keeping your computer work (or play) pain-free.
Partial source: The New York Times, health Review, June 22, 2009
Camarillo Chiropractor Asks: Are You Among the "Typing Wounded"?
Posted by: | CommentsIf you sit for extended periods at a computer, you may be experiencing lower back pain, upper back pain, and/or neck pain that also radiates down one or both of your arms generating additional pain, pins and needles, or numbness. Neck and shoulder pain are, in fact, the most common upper-extremity musculoskeletal problems among computer users. In a 2002 study tracking 632 computer users newly hired at major Atlanta companies, Dr. Fredric E. Gerr, an occupational medicine physician and ergonomics investigator at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues observed that roughly 60 percent developed neck or shoulder pain in the first year, though the study did not track how long symptoms persisted.
Younger generations growing up in the digital age are also joining the ranks of the “typing wounded.” Surveys at two universities found that 40 to 50 percent of undergraduates experienced upper-extremity pain from using their computers. Colleges do not build dormitory furniture to be ergonomically adjustable, said Dr. Benjamin Amick, scientific director of the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, who was a co-author of those studies. “They build it to be indestructible.”
In addition to repetitive stress problems, sitting at your computer too long places your upper back in a sustained, stressful posture, especially if you tend to lean forward when you’re working. This also puts your neck at an unnatural and strained angle. Lower back pain, in addition to being generated by simply sitting for long periods of time without getting up and moving around, is aggravated by bad posture.
Problems caused by extended computer use can not only lead to an inability to perform your work duties, but can keep you from enjoying the rest of your life, too. Your Camarillo chiropractor can assist in eliminating the lower back pain, upper back pain, and/or neck pain that you are currently experiencing. After that, it is important for you to become mindful of your body as you sit at your computer, and to give your body what it naturally needs. You can cultivate the habit of both sitting straight in your chair (as opposed to slouching) and relaxing your shoulders. This will help to relieve tension in your lower and upper back and neck. Take time to stretch periodically to ease muscle tension and encourage healthy blood flow. If your work station permits, sitting on an exercise ball can not only aide in keeping you in a beneficial posture, but can help to strengthen your core muscles as well. (Make sure that the ball is the right size so that when you are seated on it your arms are at a ninety-degree angle to your keyboard.)
Good posture for ease of movement, variety in the motions that you do, and short breaks to relax and stretch will go a long way in keeping your computer work (or play) pain-free.
Partial source: The New York Times, Health Review, June 22, 2009
How Your Camarillo Chiropractor Can Help Neck Pain and Whiplash
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When we arise in the morning with a stiff and painful neck, the propensity is to blame the situation on our pillow, bed, or sleep position during that night. We also try to figure out what is happening when we move our neck suddenly and feel a sharp pain that feels as if something has suddenly slipped out of position or is pinching a “nerve.” Though it may seem so, one isolated occurrence is hardly ever the cause of most neck problems, but more often than not the cumulative effects of incorrect sitting posture, bad work and lifestyle habits, and lack of healthy exercise for strength and flexibility. Of course, some neck challenges are due to traumatic events such as a whiplash accident, a fall, or a sports injury.
Anatomy
In order to understand neck pain, it is important to understand the anatomy of the spine. The spinal bones or vertebrae of the neck are made up of posterior joints, called facets, that link vertebrae to one another and serve to pilot the motion of the spine. Inter-vertebral discs, comprised of dense cartilage, join the “bodies” of the vertebrae. This tough cartilage surrounds the nucleus, a soft material in the center of the inter-vertebral discs. The discs act as shock absorbers and spacers between the vertebrae. In a canal found between the body and the facets of the vertebrae is the spinal cord. The spinal nerves go out from the spine between the vertebrae and impart the energy to make the muscles and other organs of the body function. They also carry impulses from the body to the brain concerning pain, touch, position, temperature, as well as other senses. The nerves that exit from the neck are assigned to the entire upper extremity including the shoulder, elbow and hand, as well as structures of the head and neck. The natural forward curve of the neck balances the weight of the head and decreases stress on neck vertebrae. For more information please feel free to visit your Camarillo Chiropractor.
Risk Factors: Neck Pain and Computer Use
Computer use has risen significantly over the years, at home and in the workplace. Nowadays, a large number of people spend eight to ten hours a day, or more, bent over a keyboard and staring at a monitor. Sitting with the head in a forward bent position (the posture most computer users adopt), puts enormous strain on neck ligaments and muscles. In addition, the normal forward curve of the neck becomes reversed causing more stress upon all the surrounding tissues of the neck. All of this can lead to spinal problems including disc herniation and subluxations, which are the primary causes of spinal nerve irritation. Besides general pain, spinal nerve inflammation in the neck can cause symptoms like headaches, eye problems, giddiness, arm and hand pain (and paraesthesia), as well as shoulder pain.
Headaches and Chiropractic Care
Headaches or migraines are commonly associated with disorders of the cervical spine. Symptoms, from a dull ache to throbbing pain, are produced when the cervical vertebrae lose their natural position or motion and sensitive nerves and blood vessels, related to structures in the head are stretched or agitated. In many cases the tight knots in the muscles of the neck, called trigger points, can also refer pain to the head. Many other factors are associated with headaches such as toxic fumes, certain foods, additives such as MSG, alcohol, caffeine, and stress. Still, the alignment of the neck and the irritation of surrounding tissues should be a primary consideration when treating headaches and migraines. Chiropractic treatment and management have proved to be very effective in the treatment of headaches. Ask your Camarillo Chiropractor about the benefits of Chiropractic care.
Whiplash and chiropractic Care
Unfortunately, many people are involved in car accidents. Rear-end collisions are the most common. During such an accident, the passenger in the front vehicle gets his or her head forcefully jolted backward and then forward causing injury to the structures of the back and front of the neck. This type of damage is often called a whiplash. Even at low speeds, the amount of force arising from such an accident is very intense and can cause trauma to the ligaments, muscles, facet joints, discs, and spinal nerves. Along with neck pain and immobility, symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vertigo, arm and shoulder pain, tingling in the hands and fingers and weakness of the arm and hand are attendant with whiplash injury. Immediate evaluation and x-rays are extremely important in order to rule out a fracture. Usually in most cases, the injuries are primarily to the soft tissues and joints. Proper care is crucial in recovery from the pain and symptoms of whiplash, and also to prevent future disability. Your Camarillo Chiropractor is extremely knowledgeable in the area of whiplash injury, and is more than capable of managing the case from start to finish.
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