The safety of chiropractic care is unquestionably one of the most frequently asked questions of patients suffering from back and neck pain. Before a patient decides to try out this therapy, they’d like to assure themselves that the treatment is safe and has no side effects. So, is chiropractic safe? The short answer to that question is ‘yes’.

When you’ve been suffering from low back or neck pain, your first thought may be to dull the pain through pain killers in order to bring your condition to a manageable level. You may even have considered surgery to alleviate the pain. However, chiropractic is a safe, non-surgical treatment that concentrates on re-aligning your spine to dissipate your pain. This is done through several sessions with a doctor who specializes in massaging your spine to correct the alignment and alleviate your pain.

You won’t be prescribed any doses of medications or undergo extensive surgery needing careful post operative care. In fact, there is absolutely no invasive surgery involving your spine or back whatsoever. The spinal cord is a delicate region in your body which must be attended to with precise care and skill. A chiropractic doctor works externally on your vertebrae to bring your discs in proper alignment and reduce the pressure on your central nervous system caused by slipped or misaligned spinal discs.

Chiropractic care also involves the manual management of your muscles, joints and tendons to heal injuries to the muscles and bring relief from incessant pain. This treatment must be done by a qualified practitioner with verifiable credentials and training. As your spine is very sensitive to mistreatment, only an experienced practitioner should manipulate your vertebrae.

If you’re elderly and suffering from osteoporosis, you may want to speak to your physician before considering this option. Similarly, very young patients may also require prior consultation with a physician who may be able to advise whether chiropractic therapy would be conducive. You should always reveal your personal medical history to your chiropractic doctor to enable your doctor to perform a thorough diagnosis of your condition and devise a suitable course of treatment.

You may experience some mild discomfort when you’re undergoing treatment for the first time. This is common as your body adjusts to the alignment of your vertebrae, just like when you exercise for the first time in awhile. You may undergo posture stabilization as part of your therapy in which case you’ll feel slightly uncomfortable at first as you start to stabilize your posture. None of these initial side effects will last and you will not suffer any permanent damage to your body when you are treated by a skilled and experienced chiropractic practitioner.

By using alternative methods of treatment, chiropractic care has gained a reputation for being a safe alternative treatment to conventional medicine and surgery. The proponents of this therapy advocate its efficacy by stressing that all treatment methods are externally conducted. Only spine, joints and muscles are manipulated to achieve the desired results.

When you choose chiropractic as your preferred solution to alleviate acute or chronic pain in your back and neck, you’re opting for a safe, alternative therapy that doesn’t involve surgery. Through the gentle hands-on manipulation of your spine, you’ll quickly experience relief from your pain and begin to enjoy a pain free life again.

Philip Vincent is a health educator. Need a Manhattan NY Chiropractor? Consider a visit to this Manhattan NY Chiropractor.

Why do we spend most of our “Health Care” dollars when we are sick? Would you wait to take your car for an oil change until after the transmission falls out? Do you wait until you need a root canal or dentures before you visit a dentist? Of course not! Confusingly though, when it comes to our bodies, most people take a reactive approach.

Men and women need hip and knee replacements at younger and younger ages. Back pain, neck pain and headaches are common place. A growing number of seniors can no longer stand up straight because of the wear and tear on their spines. Stress, anxiety, depression, ulcers, chronic fatigue, sleep disorders, concentration difficulties, cancer and autoimmune diseases are increasing exponentially.

So what does all this mean? It means that we are putting so much stress on our bodies that our function is deteriorating. There are three types of stress that affect us all. Physical stress can be an accident or injury, but most often occurs due to daily wear and tear such as, walking, sitting, lying down, and exercising.

Yes, exercising! Even though exercise is essential, it puts a lot of wear and tear on your body. Chemical stress includes smoking, a bad diet and chemical emissions. Lastly, there is emotional stress caused by work, school, family, friends, insecurities and phobias. All types of stress can lead to the same outcome.

Is it possible to avoid every ache and pain and every disease? Absolutely not. The only thing you can ask of yourself on a daily basis is that your body will fight the strain of daily life, the best it can, and function at its’ highest level.

So what is the answer? Exercise and a good diet are a start but if you have never had your spine checked by a Chiropractor, it is time. Chiropractic care will help keep the nervous system flowing and reduces stress build up in the body. It will improve the communication between the brain and the body as well maintains mobility of the spine and joints of the body by reducing wear and tear.

Dr. Mark Halpern is a Toronto Chiropractor. For more information, visit his website at http://www.TheTorontoChiropractor.com

Anyone who sits at a desk studying or using a computer, has probably had student syndrome. Sitting in any position for a prolonged period of time can cause neck, midback, or lower back pain. Most people however, suffer through and wait for it to disappear, which it eventually will, that is, until the next time. To understand how to treat these aches and pains it is important to understand what is actually happening.

When students sit for prolonged periods they strain muscles, ligaments and joints of their spine. This usually occurs because of the lack of strength in the stabilizing muscles of the spine, combined with bad posture. Most people do not strengthen the proper muscles in their daily workouts, and many students do not exercise at all. The result of this is that spinal joints and ligaments take the majority of the force being put on the spine.

Just as in a sprained ankle, the joints swell up and there is a very active inflammatory process that occurs. The surrounding muscles sense that there is an injury, and they contract to protect the area from any further damage. Now there are two problems, the tight muscles and the strained joints.

If no treatment is done, and the area is left to rest, the pain will eventually go away, but the area is not healed. When inflammation settles it becomes scar tissue. Scar tissue can restrict the motion of joints, as well as reduce the amount of blood flow,oxygen and nutrients to the area. Scar tissue is also much weaker than healthy muscle or ligamentous tissue. So, you can see how important it is to get rid of any scar tissue to allow the body to heal properly.

Treatment goals would be to reduce pain, regain motion and strengthen the stabilizing muscles of your spine. Reducing pain and increasing motion can be accomplished with spinal adjustments. An adjustment releases endorphins which help kill the pain, but it will also help reduce the scar tissue, by regaining the range of motion and natural mobility. This enables the body to heal naturally. When sufficient healing has occurred, exercises are added and proper stretching should be done throughout the entire course of treatment. Eventually, stretching should become a daily habit.

As a chiropractor I have to be realistic. I know that patients are leaving my office to go home and do the same type of things that caused the problem in the first place. Most patients, after a series of treatments, realize that they can use chiropractic care as a tool. In busy times they will come weekly, or every other week to help them get through the tough times. As long as the same stimulus is there, it is hard to cure the problem, but in most cases it is controllable. One last hint: Have an icepack handy, it will help reduce the inflammation and pain.

Dr. Mark Halpern is a Toronto Chiropractor. For more information, visit his website at http://www.TheTorontoChiropractor.com

Many people go through life in chronic low level pain. Many of them have lived with it so long that they do not even notice it. TV ads blame bad mattresses and want you to buy their better (and more expensive) mattresses, some claim it is due to stress or pollutants in the environment and some people simply find themselves on a steady stream of over the counter pain killers to take the edge off. This constant pain can be at its worst when it is in the lower back as that makes it hard to even move around let alone pick anything up or otherwise go about your daily routine.

Chiropractic just may be the answer you’re looking for to help with your low back pain, whether your condition is recent or of a more chronic nature. Many times your low back pain can be caused by the back muscles pulling unevenly on either side of your spine. This results in soreness, aches and pains, or even a “pinched nerve.” Another possibility is that your problems are from the bones of the spine, in which case a chiropractor should be considered since they deal specifically with the back.

Not every chiropractor is the same, however. In chiropractic medicine there seem to be two specific schools of thought. The first is of the opinion that chiropractics deals solely with physical issues of the spine and back, and the alignment thereof. Practitioners of this traditional form of chiropractic healthcare use only their hands and sometimes the help of diagnostic testing to make corrections to the alignment of the spine and reduce back pain.

The other, perhaps more new age school of thought involves something called a subluxation, which is a single misaligned vertebra which may hamper blood or energy flow up and down the spine. Subluxation based doctors believe they can solve nearly every bodily ill by correcting and preventing these subluxations with a constant regimen of maintenance, and often offer themselves as general practitioners as well, with a complete line of nutritional supplements.

For this reason it is important to look for a chiropractor with experience in sports medicine or who specializes in back pain. They will be able to either identify and fix the problem in your back that is causing you pain, or be able to identify if it is something more serious which spinal manipulation may actually make worse. The spine is a delicate area and one wrong move can leave a person paralyzed or worse. It is important to treat it with care and precision, but with the right chiropractor your lower back pain is in good hands.

Philip Vincent is a health care educator. Need a Chiropractor Thousand Oaks? Consider this Thousand Oaks Chiropractor.

One of the most painful conditions is sciatica. It occurs when the biggest nerve in the body, the sciatic nerve, gets inflamed. Severe pain and tenderness emanates from the buttocks and travels to the thigh, leg and foot. If you are suffering with these symptoms, a Lake Orion chiropractic doctor can provide relief.

Sciatica is often caused by a ruptured lumbar disc. A simple action like bending over can bring on the pain. Sitting, standing, or straining will aggravate it. It can be so severe that if you cough, sneeze or go to the toilet, it can be excruciating. Other associated symptoms include numbness, ‘pins and needles’ or weakness in the leg.

Pressure on the sciatic nerve can sometimes be so bad that it is incapacitating. Just moving around the home is a distressing experience and you certainly will not be able to function efficiently at your job. Just one little movement can feel like an electric shock. Before sciatica gets to this stage, it would be wise to consult a chiropractor when the symptoms first start.

During the first consultation, you will be asked a number of health-related questions. After this, the chiropractor will give you a physical exam, paying particular attention to the legs and spine. This will enable him or her to assess your reflexes, flexibility, muscle strength and mobility. If the condition is severe, a CT or MRI scan may be required.

When the problem has been pinpointed, there are a number of relieving and effective therapies that the chiropractor can use. These include ultrasound, TENS (transcutaneous electrical stimulation), hot or cold therapy, trigger point therapy, or spinal adjustments. In addition, you will also be given daily exercises to prevent the situation from re-occurring.

The main principle behind chiropractics is to assist the body to heal on its own. When you visit a Lake Orion chiropractic physician, all therapies are completely drug free and non-surgical. The approach is holistic and the ultimate objective is to enable people to recover naturally.

Lake Orion chiropractic care has solutions for the discomfort and pain of sciatica. Decide if the all-natural techniques and methods might help you when you visit http://www.innatespecific.com .

How many times have you heard doctors tell you that there is nothing we can do? They tell you that you’ve got arthritis and that there is no cure. If you haven’t heard it yourself, I bet you know a family member or friend who has. Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is one of the oldest and most common types of arthritis around. It is characterized by the breakdown of the joint’s cartilage. This is the part of the joint that cushions the ends of bones. It causes the bones to rub against each other. This causes pain and loss of movement. It most commonly affects middle-aged and older people. Osteoarthritis can range from very mild to very severe. It affects hands and weight-bearing joints such as the knees, hips, feet and the back.

There are so many factors that can cause osteoarthritis. Although age is a risk factor, research has shown that osteoarthritis is not an inevitable part of aging! There are many causes. Some of these include obesity, joint injuries and genetics. As a person ages, these defects can cause early cartilage breakdown in the joint which could cause inflammation, a release of enzymes, and more cartilage damage to the area. What if I told you arthritis has a reasonable explanation most doctors and scientists have completely overlooked and not taken note of? What if I told you with this knowledge, it may be possible to slow down the progression of arthritis and ease the pain associated with it? And what if I told you I have scientific proof to back up these findings? Would you be interested in what I have to say?

If you’re not interested yet after you read these chilling statistics, you will be. Osteoarthritis affects an estimated 20.7 million Americans, mostly after age 45. Women are more commonly affected than men. Osteoarthritis is responsible for more than 7 million physician visits per year Eighty percent of people with osteoarthritis report some form of limitation in movement or activities. Knee osteoarthritis can be as disabling as any cardiovascular disease except stroke. As many as half the people who have osteoarthritis do not know what type of arthritis they have and cannot make informed decisions about their care because treatment options vary among the more than 100 forms of arthritis. Musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis cost the U.S. economy nearly $65 billion per year in direct expenses and lost wages and production.

Enough about that. Let me ask you a question: What happens to the wheels on your car if the alignment on the front end is messed up? They wear out… right? Not only do they wear out…they wear out FASTER than they should.

So what do you do when the front end of your automobile is out of alignment? You fix it or your mechanic lines it up. As soon as this is done, the abnormal stress on your tires is stopped and your tires stop wearing out abnormally. The same is true with your spinal column and the other joints of your body. The delicate joints in your spinal column can misalign causing them to either move unnaturally or get “stuck” and not move at all. Either way, this can cause abnormal stress and strain or just like the tires on your car when the front end is out of alignment your joints wear out. This is osteoarthritis or degenerative arthritis and can lead to lot of pain and suffering.

Tapio Vidman, M.D. did extensive research on arthritis and found that when he caused a joint to not work right…Microscopic Damage Was found Within 24 Hours And PERMANENT Degenerative Changes Took Place Within 3 Weeks! Basically, when your joints are no longer aligned and no longer have move arthritic changes begun to occur right away and permanent damage that can no longer be reversed may be present within just 3 weeks. How do you fix it?

Simple. Take a look at what you did when the front end of your car was out of alignment. You went to someone who specializes in detecting and correcting misaligned front ends on cars. Know this: Your mechanic didn’t put something in your gas tank or oil to try to “chemically” realign your wheels. No. That wouldn’t make sense. He simply realigned the wheels. Listen, the same is true with your body. What makes you think taking a drug or rubbing on a lotion will realign your joints? It won’t. Sure, powerful painkillers may mask the problem for a while…but…what happens when they wear off?

The bottom line is: If your joints are misaligned, they will continue to degenerate and, Chiropractic Helps Align Misaligned Joints! This happens in Your Hands, Knees, Ankles, Feet, Neck, Low Back, & Your Entire Spinal Column! By making your joints function properly, you will live a life with less stiffness and pain.

With what you’ve just read, doesn’t it make sense that routine Chiropractic care will also slow down…if not…halt much of the degenerative process and arthritis? Don’t Wait Until You Have Joint Pain, Before Seeking Chiropractic Care! Come IN Today And Discover How Much Better You Can Feel And Move With Chiropractic! And don’t forget, if you ever have any questions or concerns about your health, talk to us. Contact us with your, questions. We’re here to help, and don’t enjoy anything more than participating in your life long good health!

Looking to find the best information on arthritis, then visit www.arthritishealthcenter.com to find the best advice on arthritis treatment in San Diego for you.

Sciatica can cause numbness, pain, or weakness in your buttock, hip, and leg. Chiropractic and sciatica is a good match because chiropractic can address many of the issues that can cause sciatica pain. Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve is inflamed, compressed, or irritated.

The sciatic nerve happens to be the largest and longest nerve in your entire body. It starts at the spinal column close to your pelvis and down each leg. This nerve can be as wide as your thumb near its point of origin. As the sciatic nerve progresses downward, it breaks into five branches that serve your thigh, knee, calf, ankle and foot. It is easy to see why it can be so incapacitating when this nerve is compressed.

Causes of Sciatica Misalignment (subluxation) of the spine Pelvic misalignment Slipped or herniated disc from a fall or accident Tumors Diabetes Arthritis Vitamin deficiencies Pregnancy

Simple movements are often the triggers for sciatic pain. Actions that you would normally not give a second thought to, like sitting, standing, walking, lifting, sneezing or bending may be enough to send sharp pains down your leg from your hip. Chiropractors have treated many sciatica cases successfully over the years.

Most people don’t realize that sciatica commonly begins with mild lower back pain. They may feel these aches and pains for a few weeks before the true “sciatica pain” kicks in. They may feel numbness, pain or weakness that starts in the hip and moves through the buttocks, then down through the thigh, the calf and finally the foot. The pain can be a dull ache or it can be a hot, shooting pain. Pain can last for a few minutes, a few hours or several days or weeks. The pain going down the leg eventually becomes more severe than that in the low back. Those who have suffered sciatica for a long time will realize the pain will localize in the buttocks and thighs. If left untreated or ignored, the nerve can possibly sustain permanent damage and the calf muscle may begin to deteriorate. Some extreme cases also include a weakened bladder and paresthesia.

Many people will wait until the pain is unbearable before they seek the assistance of a chiropractor. If you contact a chiropractor when you just start to feel sciatic pain, there is a much better chance of success in relieving the pain and fixing the cause. A chiropractor will take your medical history when you first meet, and then do a physical exam including orthopedic and neurological tests. You may need x-rays, but not always. The chiropractor will discuss the results and recommend treatment for you.

Manual adjustments to your spine may be done to help correct any misalignments. These adjustments help remove any blockages that may be pinching the sciatic nerve. Muscle spasms may be treated with massage. Your chiropractor may also recommend ice packs or ultrasound treatments to help relieve the symptoms. In the majority of cases, several sessions of manual adjustments are adequate to relieve the problem.

Chiropractic care for sciatica pain works well. Sciatica has a typical underlying cause that can be determined. Chiropractic care can not only relieve the symptoms but remove the cause as well, so the chance of a return of the pain is minimal. X-rays taken pre and post-treatment have proven that chiropractic care realigned the spine and reduced the symptoms. Before you take pain medications to simply cover up your symptoms, see a chiropractor if you think you may be developing sciatica.

Philip Vincent is a health care educator. Need a Chiropractor Calgary? Consider this Calgary Chiropractor.

Many people may consider chiropractic care, but may hesitate because they don’t know how often you should see a chiropractor. The answer to this is simple: it depends on your condition and what type of healing needs to be accomplished.

When you go to your first appointment, you should expect to be filling out paperwork, talking with the doctor about your problem, and giving your medical history. You may get an x-ray or make an appointment for an MRI. These pictures show the doctor what is truly going on with your skeleton. The doctor may also give you a physical examination and explore the area where you are having pain. He may have you do some range of motion tests as well. After your thorough examination, the doctor may or may not do any adjustments for you. He may decide to wait until he can see the results of your x-rays or MRI scans. You may also be given suggestions you can do at home before the next visit like applying ice packs or avoiding certain tasks.

At your next visit, the chiropractor will discuss your x-ray films with you and talk about a possible course of treatment. Some conditions only need a single visit to help you feel better. Others may require two or three visits per week for a several weeks. If your condition is serious, you may end up needing a longer course of treatment that will taper off in frequency as your condition improves. The doctor will then begin treatment with manual adjustments to lessen your pain and increase your movement abilities.

Chiropractic adjustments are done by applying a thrust to your spine using either the doctor’s hands or a small device. Most adjustments cause no pain or discomfort. The adjustments that are a little uncomfortable only last for a few seconds, and are usually the result of inflammed muscles, not the adjustment itself.

The chiropractor will reassess your progress every few treatments. If you are showing steady improvement, it is likely that you can reduce the frequency of your visits until you only go in as needed. Once you are feeling an improvement in your pain, you may do some sessions to correct the underlying problem. The spinal adjustments at this point are trying to increase your mobility so you don’t need to worry about re-injuring yourself. If you do experience a flare up or recurrence of your problem, you’ll easily be able to increase your sessions briefly until you feel better again.

The next part of your treatment works on strengthening the soft tissue that surrounds the area that was affected by your injury or pain. By strengthening this tissue, you will have proper functioning of the muscles and joints of this area. Once the pain is gone or at least stabilized, you may get supportive care, or maintenance. This can be as frequent as once a week for serious issues to once every few months for minor issues. This helps the patient remain on a healthy course of action to prevent re-injury.

Since you may need more frequent visits at first, you’ll probably want to check with your insurance company. Most do cover chiropractic care to some degree. You can also ask the chiropractic office to find out if you have coverage on your policy as well. They are usually better suited to assess your benefits anyway.

Philip Vincent is a health care educator. Need a Chiropractor Edmonton? Consider this Edmonton Chiropractor.

Doctors of chiropractic are licensed doctors. A licensed chiropractor will have the initials, “DC” after his/her name referring to “doctor of chiropractics.” The chiropractic licensing board is recognized by the US Department of Education to do just such work. Therefore you can be confident that a chiropractor is a “real” doctor.

In fact, the first couple years of training for general practitioners and doctors of chiropractics are very similar. They both study anatomy, physiology and neurology to a great extent. It is not until after these two first years are done that the program changes for the two types of doctors. The length of schooling is the same as well. It’s truly not even a difference in majors or studies but rather concentrations. Imagine the difference between a chemistry major with a concentration in chemical technology and physics. Both would be just as educated and helpful to the community. When you consider the difference between a general medical doctor and a chiropractic practitioner, imagine it in this way.

Remember that chiropractic doctors do not dispense prescription medicine. They promote a more holistic, natural type of approach that does not include medication. Due to this, they do not study pharmacology like a traditional medical doctor would. Also, there is no need for chiropractors to do rotations within different fields because they have already chosen their expertise and will not be required to provide care outside of that realm. In fact, they will not be licensed to provide care outside of that expertise and therefore have absolutely no use for it.

The licensing for chiropractors will differ between states, but this is not a dramatic change. For the most part, chiropractors receive their license from the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) and some states require additional fees or testing.

Chiropractors go to undergrad just like every other doctor before being accepted to medical school. Medical school itself is typically a five year program. That’s nine years of post high school coursework for the vast majority of people. In any other field, that would be equivalent to a doctorate. The notion that chiropractors get their diploma on the internet or through a weekend course is ludicrous. As long as they have been licensed through the CCE, they are real doctors.

It is true that chiropractors are often seen as something less than real doctors but this is just not the case. There are over 150,000 chiropractors working throughout the US and that number is growing. As people consider all the benefits to seeing a chiropractor, the number of students pursuing this career will increase.

You can feel confident that your licensed chiropractor is a real doctor. Don’t hesitate to examine if the doctor has proper credentials, but once they are verified you can breath easily that you are in good hands. Chiropractors can be a cost effective way to live a happier, healthier life.

Philip Vincent is a health educator. Need a Bellevue Chiropractor? Consider a visit to this Factoria Chiropractor.

In short, the answer is yes, many do. These two complementary specialties overlap with attention to soft tissue on the human body. It has become very commonplace and acceptable for chiropractors to have a massage therapist on staff to provide services for their clients. Both of these alternative health services are considered more holistic in nature and have been marginalized in the past by the medical community. However, the benefits of both chiropractors and massage therapists have lately received more attention from the larger medical community.

Doctors of Chiropractic tend to need multiple appointments with their clients. More often than not a “round of treatments” is required for a chiropractor to cure a health condition. And even more common are regular appointments for chronic injuries. Having a licensed massage therapist on staff allows the chiropractor to delegate services so that they can take on more clients. This is similar to the dentist/dental hygienist type relationship. A massage therapist is not a secretary, but rather another professional providing a much needed service.

Massage therapist licensing requirements vary from state to state. For the most part, a state license, test and annual fee are required to be a massage therapist. And with any business, there are legal ramifications. The training is not nearly as extensive as a chiropractors, but it is more than just a weekend course.

Massage therapist have been known to work in a number of locations. A very common place to find them are at specialty sports locations or gyms. Many personal trainers use and refer people to massage therapists for deep tissue treatments.

Whereas doctors of chiropractic seem to be more clinical in their approach, to be a successful licensed massage therapist, a great deal of customer service is required. Also, in general, chiropractors tend to be male, and massage therapists tend to be female. This is of course not always the case, but the vast majority of the time it is true. Having a great combination of clinical and friendly, men and women in one office is a recipe for success!

Lastly, when a chiropractor works with a massage therapists, they can keep costs to a minimum. Due to the difference in education, a chiropractor demands a higher wage. Whenever duties can be transferred to a massage therapist, money is saved for the business. And of course, the majority of the time, these savings are passed to the client.

So as you can see, it is rather obvious why a chiropractor would work with a massage therapist. Many different business owners across the spectrum utilize them to provide more services to clients. It’s a truly win-win type of situation. As massage therapists and chiropractors become more and more respected in the medical community, it is only a matter of time before everyone starts to use them. This may or may not mean an increase in prices so consider finding an office today!

Philip Vincent is a health educator. Need a Louisville Chiropractor? Consider a visit to this Louisville Chiropractor.