Conditions
Low Back Pain
The lower back supports most of your body’s weight and can withstand tremendous forces without injury. The human body is very durable, and doesn’t have to be treated delicately! Problems arise when joint dysfunctions don’t allow the back to move properly and/or has weakened supporting muscles. Something as simple as picking up a wallet, putting your child in the car seat, or even a sneeze can cause your body to go into spasm and low back pain begins.
Eighty percent of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is the most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office besides the cold/flu. In fact, it is estimated that low back pain affects more than half of the adult population each year and more than 10% of all people experience frequent bouts of low back pain.
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The common belief has been that back pain would heal on its own. We have learned, however, that this is not true. Recent studies showed that when back pain is not treated, it might go away temporarily, but will most likely return. This is especially true with pain that recurs repeatedly over several years.
Low back pain may be acute (short-term), lasting less than one month, or chronic (long-term), lasting longer than three months. While getting acute back pain more than once is common, continuous long-term pain is not, as is usually a sign of an underlying problem.
Neck Pain
Most neck and upper back pain is caused by a combination of factors, including injury, poor posture, joint dysfunction, stress, diet, and disc problems. The neck is more susceptible to injury due to the large range of motion it has. The more range of motion means less stabilization in the neck. That’s why it’s very important to keep proper stability, posture, and strength in the neck. The head weighs about 11 pounds, which means small distortions in our neck posture can wreak havoc.
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The spinal cord runs through a canal in the vertebrae to send nerve signals to every part of the body. The spinal cord has nerve branches that go down the length of the spine. It sends large bundles of nerves that run down and control the arms and to some degree, the upper back. This means that if your arm is hurting, it may actually be a problem in the neck. Symptoms in the arms can include numbness, tingling, cold, aching, and “pins and needles”. These symptoms can be confused with carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful condition in the hands that is often found in people who work at computer keyboards or perform other repetitive motion tasks for extended periods.
Problems in the neck can also contribute to headaches, muscle spasms in the shoulders and upper back, ringing in the ears, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), restricted range of motion, tightness in the neck and upper back.
Headaches
Almost everyone will have a headache at some point in their life. There are a few types of headaches that can be drastically different. They may affect the whole head or just one section. They may be felt as anything from a dull ache to a sharp stabbing pain. They can last as short as a few minutes or as long as a few days. Some people have visual and auditory disturbances or even have nausea with their headache.
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There are many reasons for headaches, including drug reactions, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), tight neck muscles, low blood sugar, high blood pressure, stress and fatigue, but most can fit into one of two categories: tension headaches and migraine headaches. A third less common category is called cluster headaches. These different types of headaches make a good history and exam critical to know how to properly treat the headache.
Extremity Pain
Although they are known for their specialization with spinal conditions, Chiropractors are actually trained to specialize in musculoskeletal conditions throughout the whole body. This includes issues throughout the upper and lower extremities. Although there are too many specific conditions to list here. We are trained to examine and treat musculoskeletal conditions of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hands as well as the hip, knee, ankle, and foot. So although chiropractors do specialize in spinal conditions, they are well trained in extremity conditions as well. At water's edge, we will treat any extremity conditions that can be handled conservatively. Any conditions that require further imaging or more aggressive care will be referred to the appropriate providers.
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It is not uncommon for extremity pain to actually be referred pain from the low back and neck. This is another advantage of visiting a chiropractor for your extremity condition. At waters edge our history and examination will help us determine if your extremity condition is actually a problem from you spine or is truly an issue with that extremity.