You are on my last nerve! When I was a kid my mom probably said that to me a hundred times. Now my patients in my San Diego chiropractic office complain of other types of nerve issues. Sometimes, pinched nerves accompany neck pain, back pain and headaches.
Pinched nerves always result in pain traveling down either an arm or a leg resulting in what is called radiating pain. Many patients come to my San Diego chiropractic office complaining of a pinched nerve but my exam reveals simple neck pain or back pain.
There are many causes of pinched nerves. One of the worst scenarios involves a herniated disc in the spine that is putting pressure on the nerve. Herniated discs don't always mean that surgery is required but it usually results in stretched out, more intensive treatment plans.
One of the more common causes of pinched nerves results from irritated and inflamed joints in the spine. Poor lifting habits, awkward sleeping positions, poor posture and many other aggravating activities can inflame the ligamentous capsule that surrounds the joint. As the capsule swells, it cause local muscle spasm and can cause compression or pinching of the nerve.
Like I wrote earlier in the article, pinching of the nerve causes radiating pain that travels down the leg, into an arm, down the back or sometimes up to the back of the head. Either way, pinched nerves can make you absolutely miserable.
There are several things that you can do for a pinched nerve at home. To begin with, pinched nerves almost always involve inflammation and swelling. By applying ice packs to painful areas you can reduce the inflammation and relieve some of the pain. In addition to ice pack use, you have to acknowledge and respect your pain. That means rest as much as you can - working through pain rarely works out well for the patient. Try your best to stay out of painful positions and don't "test" it.
Chiropractic treatment is very effective at relieving the symptoms of a pinched nerve. Instead of masking the pain with drugs, chiropractic care improves the mechanics of the joint which helps relieve the pain and improve your range of motion.
Showing posts with label Sciatica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sciatica. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Headaches and Chiropractic Treatment
I don't know about you, but I am a headache wimp - and I freely admit it to the patients of my San Diego Chiropractic clinic. I hardly ever get headaches, when I do I don't handle them very well. I get moody and I tend to "snap" at people that really mean me no harm.
In addition to my San Diego chiropractic office treating patients with neck pain and low back pain, we see many people with headaches. Headaches have many causes and there are many different types of headaches as well.
The most common types of headache that we provide treatment for are migraine and muscle tension headaches.
Muscle tension headaches typically begin in the muscles of the neck and upper back. When these muscle become tense, they pull on the muscles that cover your head. This tension results in a headache.
Muscle tension headaches can result from postural stresses such as long hours of computer work, they can develop as a result of car accident injuries, or just plain old work and home stresses.
One common reason for chronic, on going tension in the muscle is miss-aligned vertebra. When the vertebra become miss-aligned due to postural stress, awkward sleeping positions, accidents, etc., the muscles around that vertebra tighten up as a protective mechanism. The tight muscles are commonly the root cause of the muscle tension headache.
Chiropractic care re-aligns the joints of the spine causing a relaxation of the surrounding muscles. When the joints in the neck are re-aligned, the muscles that move and support that particular vertebra relax and return to their normal functions.
When the muscles are relaxed, the muscle tension subsides and the headache goes away. Treatment for muscle tension headaches usually requires a series of treatments but you should notice a decrease in the frequency and the severity of your headache with subsequent treatment.
In addition to my San Diego chiropractic office treating patients with neck pain and low back pain, we see many people with headaches. Headaches have many causes and there are many different types of headaches as well.
The most common types of headache that we provide treatment for are migraine and muscle tension headaches.
Muscle tension headaches typically begin in the muscles of the neck and upper back. When these muscle become tense, they pull on the muscles that cover your head. This tension results in a headache.
Muscle tension headaches can result from postural stresses such as long hours of computer work, they can develop as a result of car accident injuries, or just plain old work and home stresses.
One common reason for chronic, on going tension in the muscle is miss-aligned vertebra. When the vertebra become miss-aligned due to postural stress, awkward sleeping positions, accidents, etc., the muscles around that vertebra tighten up as a protective mechanism. The tight muscles are commonly the root cause of the muscle tension headache.
Chiropractic care re-aligns the joints of the spine causing a relaxation of the surrounding muscles. When the joints in the neck are re-aligned, the muscles that move and support that particular vertebra relax and return to their normal functions.
When the muscles are relaxed, the muscle tension subsides and the headache goes away. Treatment for muscle tension headaches usually requires a series of treatments but you should notice a decrease in the frequency and the severity of your headache with subsequent treatment.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Lower Back Pain in San Diego
The other day I had a young 34-year-old woman came into to my chiropractic office in San Diego and was complaining of low back pain. In addition to her low back pain she also complained of sciatica or leg pain.
During our consultation, she told me that she had been dealing with the low back pain for about 10 years and with intermittent sciatic pain for the last 5 years. Her low back pain and sciatica made it difficult for her to exercise and sometimes it bothered her enough to affect her ability to work.
This condition was a big problem for her.
I should also tell you that she had been to many doctors for her problem and had many diagnostic procedures that were not of any help. She had an MRI that showed a small disc herniation that was not pinching a nerve. This lady had never been to a chiropractor before.
Of course her question was "Do you think you can help me? If you can't, I don't even want to start!"
I could tell that she was a little combative and with good reason. Ten years of pain can give you a short fuse - especially with doctors.
I told her that I would do my best and I told her that the success of treatment is often determined by "trying" to see if it works and then I promised her that if after our exam I felt that I couldn't help her that I would inform her before she incurred any charges.
My exam of this patient was unremarkable. I explained to her that my tests showed that nothing was seriously wrong with her back. I also explained that even though she has a herniated disc that it may not be the source of her pain and that there was only a very slim chance that my chiropractic care would aggravate it.
I also explained to her that the basic process that affects joints is one that progresses from some sort of injury, like a fall, that can irritate the joint. That joint irritation leads to inflammation that can cause muscle spasms and pain. In her case, a small disk herniation can become irritated and inflamed by some bio mechanical problem with the joint that leads to the leg pain.
I explained that by resolving the bio mechanical problem with the joint with chiropractic care that there is a good chance of resolving both of her problems. She was excited by my analysis - it made sense to her.
The one thing that she was not happy with is that I told her that I was not sure how many treatments she would need. I did tell her that if her condition didn't show improvement or worsened in the first 12 visits over a four week period that the treatment probably wasn't right for her.
To wrap this post up, this patient had 90% of her back pain symptoms resolve in the first 5 treatments. By the end of the third week of treatment her sciatic pain was gone. Was my patient thrilled to lose her low back pain and sciatic pain? You bet she was.
During our consultation, she told me that she had been dealing with the low back pain for about 10 years and with intermittent sciatic pain for the last 5 years. Her low back pain and sciatica made it difficult for her to exercise and sometimes it bothered her enough to affect her ability to work.
This condition was a big problem for her.
I should also tell you that she had been to many doctors for her problem and had many diagnostic procedures that were not of any help. She had an MRI that showed a small disc herniation that was not pinching a nerve. This lady had never been to a chiropractor before.
Of course her question was "Do you think you can help me? If you can't, I don't even want to start!"
I could tell that she was a little combative and with good reason. Ten years of pain can give you a short fuse - especially with doctors.
I told her that I would do my best and I told her that the success of treatment is often determined by "trying" to see if it works and then I promised her that if after our exam I felt that I couldn't help her that I would inform her before she incurred any charges.
My exam of this patient was unremarkable. I explained to her that my tests showed that nothing was seriously wrong with her back. I also explained that even though she has a herniated disc that it may not be the source of her pain and that there was only a very slim chance that my chiropractic care would aggravate it.
I also explained to her that the basic process that affects joints is one that progresses from some sort of injury, like a fall, that can irritate the joint. That joint irritation leads to inflammation that can cause muscle spasms and pain. In her case, a small disk herniation can become irritated and inflamed by some bio mechanical problem with the joint that leads to the leg pain.
I explained that by resolving the bio mechanical problem with the joint with chiropractic care that there is a good chance of resolving both of her problems. She was excited by my analysis - it made sense to her.
The one thing that she was not happy with is that I told her that I was not sure how many treatments she would need. I did tell her that if her condition didn't show improvement or worsened in the first 12 visits over a four week period that the treatment probably wasn't right for her.
To wrap this post up, this patient had 90% of her back pain symptoms resolve in the first 5 treatments. By the end of the third week of treatment her sciatic pain was gone. Was my patient thrilled to lose her low back pain and sciatic pain? You bet she was.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Role of Exercise in Building a Healthy Spine
As a San Diego Chiropractor, I see many types of injuries because people in San Diego are more active because of the nice weather. Common injuries result in neck pain, back pain, chronic headaches, sciatica etc.
The causes of these injuries range from auto accidents and work related injuries to injuries caused by domestic chores that involve around the house work and sometimes things as simple as sleeping in an awkward position.
Of these injured patients, I would say that at least 50% of them, for the moment, while they are in pain they ask "what can I do for myself to make sure that this doesn't happen again?" This question served as the inspiration for this article and I will address in this post.
To begin with, pain is a great motivator.
When people are in pain they take a proactive approach to their health. People often inquire about what kind of stretch or exercising that they can start right away. Unfortunately, the best thing that you can do while your injury is new is to apply ice packs to the injured area and rest.
Over my 15 plus years in practice I have seen a large percentage of enthusiastic patients ignore this advice and end up giving their conditions a major set back. The time to start exercising and stretching your back for most of us is when it is out of its acute stage of pain.
My biggest struggles in practice have been dealing with my patients exercise and diet habits. Exercise is one of the few things that a patient can do at home, outside of chiropractic care, to help prevent or diminish the chances of developing back pain.
After an injury, you should approach exercise cautiously - almost to a point where the exercise that you are performing feels like it is doing nothing. If you can get through a few low intensity exercise sessions like this without aggravating your condition, you should slowly add resistance which allows you to build confidence and strength at the same time.
You have to remember to incorporate a sensible approach to exercising after a back injury. Be sure to exercise and stretch under the advise of a health care professional. Strong and flexible muscles add strength and support to your spine and will provide much needed stability.
The causes of these injuries range from auto accidents and work related injuries to injuries caused by domestic chores that involve around the house work and sometimes things as simple as sleeping in an awkward position.
Of these injured patients, I would say that at least 50% of them, for the moment, while they are in pain they ask "what can I do for myself to make sure that this doesn't happen again?" This question served as the inspiration for this article and I will address in this post.
To begin with, pain is a great motivator.
When people are in pain they take a proactive approach to their health. People often inquire about what kind of stretch or exercising that they can start right away. Unfortunately, the best thing that you can do while your injury is new is to apply ice packs to the injured area and rest.
Over my 15 plus years in practice I have seen a large percentage of enthusiastic patients ignore this advice and end up giving their conditions a major set back. The time to start exercising and stretching your back for most of us is when it is out of its acute stage of pain.
My biggest struggles in practice have been dealing with my patients exercise and diet habits. Exercise is one of the few things that a patient can do at home, outside of chiropractic care, to help prevent or diminish the chances of developing back pain.
After an injury, you should approach exercise cautiously - almost to a point where the exercise that you are performing feels like it is doing nothing. If you can get through a few low intensity exercise sessions like this without aggravating your condition, you should slowly add resistance which allows you to build confidence and strength at the same time.
You have to remember to incorporate a sensible approach to exercising after a back injury. Be sure to exercise and stretch under the advise of a health care professional. Strong and flexible muscles add strength and support to your spine and will provide much needed stability.
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