Blog - Oklahoma City, OK 73120

Apr 30 2024

Non-Specific Neck Pain and Chiropractic

What is Non Specific Neck Pain?

Everyone feels a certain amount of pain in the neck at some point in their life. There might be a sudden onset of sharp pain where you find yourself massaging your neck and wondering what exactly caused the sudden stinging neck pain. Mostly the underlying cause is not a disease or a degenerative story; rather it is either bad posture or prolonged strain to the neck.

Symptoms of Non-Specific Neck Pain

Always remember that your neck supplies nerves to the shoulders, arms and hands. This means that any disruption in the neck can cause an equal amount of disruption in the areas that it transfers messages to. Analogically, when a route becomes dysfunctional on the road, it affects every trade that takes place via that route.

With stiffness in the neck, the pain is carried along to the aforementioned parts and can cause weakness, numbness and the like. These symptoms can hamper your everyday functioning. When the passageway for nerves is irritated, the messages carried forward to other parts of the body are distorted with painful signals. Hence, even though non-specific in nature, neck pain requires special attention.

Dealing with the Issue

Wondering why you should visit a chiropractic practitioner for a condition that is harmless? Well. The answer is that such sudden onset of pain can be dealt with under this practice. Under chiropractics, the purpose is not alleviation of neck pain but also providing guidance for preventing neck pain in future. The fact that posture and pain in neck are well connected in nature, your doctor can guide you to maintaining a good posture which will protect you against non specific neck pain.

Without the use of medicine, you can quickly be on the road to recovery with this method. Utilizing the techniques of spine manipulation, a chiropractic practitioner will first locate the area of concern followed by a careful application of force on the spinal joints.

Why a Chiropractic Practitioner?

Several people believe that chiropractic is a pseudoscience and does not result in successful healing of your neck pain. On the contrary these doctors, if they feel you need attention from doctor with a different medical background, will recommend you further to another professional for proper treatment. Additionally, these doctors make you undergo thorough examinations before application of any spine related techniques.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: sore neck? by Aidan Jones

Apr 30 2024

5 Steps to Relieving Holiday Neck Pain, Headaches, and Stress

12-22-2011

As I was driving through the parking lot today I noticed people racing through to get to the next store and get the best parking place. People were running in front of cars, cars were driving 30 mph in the parking lot, it was crazy! Traffic was backed up for a half-mile in all directions. What a pain in the neck! Everyone I saw looked terribly stressed!

You might be asking what this has to do with headaches and neck pain. We have had more than the normal amount of patients complaining of neck pain, shoulder pain, and headaches over the past few weeks. These were problems they did not have just a month or so ago. What is causing this and what should they do about it?

First of all, this is a very stressful time of year. Our schedules are packed and our margins are full. Secondly, this is the time of year that people’s sugar, fat, and overall caloric intake go up, which increases inflammation. To make things worse, exercise gets pushed off until tomorrow. And you know what they say about tomorrow… People also tend to miss their chiropractic and massage appointments which adds to the problem.

So, how do people reverse this holiday stress cycle? It’s simple to explain, harder to do, but still very doable! Let’s go through it step by step:

1) Limit the mad foods to one/day. Instead of eating a whole plate of fudge, peanut brittle, etc., eat one piece and then just walk away. You won’t even think about it after five minutes. This beats the sick feeling you have after eating a whole plate.

2) Get up! Regardless of how late the Christmas party was, or how much you ate and/or drank, get up at your normal time. Make sure you get at least 20 min. of exercise each day. Sure, it’s hard and you won’t feel like it, but it will make the rest of your day much better. It’s ONLY 20 minutes!

3) Breath… Doing #1 and #2 will already decrease the holiday stress effects on your body tremendously, but it’s still the season and you still have to deal with everyone else who didn’t get up early to exercise, ate tons of junk, and are flat out mad at the world. These are the people cutting you off, hollering obscenities, and giving you the not so friendly gestures. No matter how much exercise you did this morning and how well you’ve eaten all day, this can still raise your blood pressure and give you a headache. Best thing to do now is breath! Take a really deep breath in and hold for about ten seconds, then exhale slowly. Do this 5-10 times and you’ll feel a lot better. Trust me, I’ve done this myself today already.

4) Take care of your Master Control System. Now is the time to make sure you are getting your spine adjusted. Chiropractic adjustments are very effective at reducing headaches, neck pain, and stress. Besides that, adjustments can suppress the negative effects of stress. So many patients have sighed in relief after their adjustment the past few weeks and said, “Man I needed that today.” By by neck pain and headache!

5) Take some time to relax with a massage. Not only does massage therapy feel good, but it also reduces muscle spasms, pain, and inflammation. Let your body take a break and have some time to heal from the daily stresses.

So there you have it. Holiday stress can cause neck pain and headaches, but now you know how to reduce, or even beat, that nagging pain.

Apr 30 2024

Kids and Chiropractic Tests

Every chiropractor you meet will say that kids shouldn’t suffer from backaches, period – that is unless they suffer from back conditions. Those who deal with kids and chiropractic services will agree, which is why most medical specialists often carry out the following tests to determine why a child who is in the prime of his youth shouldn’t yell every time he bends over to pick up his favorite toy.

X-Rays – A doctor might recommend an x-ray of the child’s spine in order to make it possible for him to examine it from all angles. The exam will show any potential deformities, vertebral displacements or any other problem that might be causing discomfort to the child.

CT Scans – A CT, or Computed Tomography, scan will be necessary if the medical specialist needs to see a full 3D scan of the child’s spine. CT scans allows doctors to analyze anomalies that might not be visible on 2D x-ray scans. This is also why CT scans are so valuable in assessing complex structures in the spine or any small fractures that will not show up in an x-ray.

Bone Scans – Kids and chiropractic practices also use bone scans to diagnose any issues with a patient’s spine. This test uses a special substance that is injected into a vein. A special camera is used to see where it is picked up. The test is successful in detecting a number of spinal anomalies such as tumors, infections, inflammations and fractures. Medical specialists will also recommend bone scans if the cause of a backache cannot be determined by an x-ray.

MRI – MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a very valuable technique in diagnosing back issues in kids and chiropractic cases in children. Since MRI scans show both tissue and bone this doesn’t come as a surprise.

Professional chiropractors are of the opinion that pediatric backache does not normally carry a diagnosis so parents need not worry about making their kids go through a plethora of imaging tests. Special tests such as the ones mentioned are only necessary if a child’s condition worsens or if he/she was involved in an accident.

It is also best that parents care about their kids’ well being by educating them on better ways to take care of themselves. Kids and chiropractic practices can only go so far to ensure that your child’s back is healthy enough to facilitate his growth.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Teenagers at Play (6768191473).jpg

Apr 30 2024

Sciatica, Chiropractic and Pregnancy – What to Expect

Sciatica – What is it?

According to chiropractic practices, Sciatica is a common type of pain that affects the sciatic nerve which is a large nerve that extends from an individual’s lower back down the back of each leg. The sciatic nerve also happens to be the largest single nerve in the human body. It is composed of individual nerve roots that branch out from the spine in the lower back and come together to form the sciatic nerve.

A person who suffers from the condition may exhibit the following symptoms –

Burning or tingling sensation down the leg
Weakness or numbness
Difficulty moving the leg or foot
Constant pain on one side of the rear
Shooting pain that increases when the individual tries to stand up

The pain that is associated with sciatica usually extends from the lower back through the back of the thigh and down the leg. It often occurs on one side of the body. It can also be debilitating to some. The symptoms of sciatica also vary according to where the nerve is pinched. For example, an impingement in the lumbar segment 5 (L5) can cause weakness in extending the big toe and in some cases, the ankle.

Sciatica and Pregnancy

Sciatica is also a common condition in pregnant women and usually appears during the third trimester of pregnancy. It is caused when a woman’s expanding uterus ends up putting pressure on the sciatic nerve on the lower spine. The same occurrence is also known to cause lower back pain during pregnancy. The reason the condition occurs during the third trimester is due to the fact that the growing baby shifts into the proper birthing position during this time. This makes the developing fetus rest directly on the nerve which causes the mother major pain in the buttocks. The pain also radiates to the back and legs.

The pain can be constant or intermittent depending on how many times the baby changes position. However, the lower back pain may also persist after birth.

Fortunately there are ways through which a person might be able to rid herself of the pain. Some women say that a cold or hot compress to the affected area can help lessen the pain. Just make sure that the heating pad isn’t too uncomfortably hot. Getting off your feet and walking around can also help get rid of the pain.

Chiropractic and Pregnancy

There are also patients who have sought out chiropractic services instead of opting for spinal surgery for cases such as these. It is easy to see why. Chiropractic care is non invasive and relies on the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

Image Used under Creative Commons license. Photo Credit: Swanger_vrou2.jpg

Apr 30 2024

The 3 most Common Sports Injuries and How to reduce their Risk

Over 200 million Americans participating in a sport at any given time, so there are bound to be sports injuries. Every year, up to 5% of the American population incurs a sports injury and has to rest at home while the injury heals. Chiropractors know that this number can be reduced significantly. Here is a closer look at the 3 most common sports injuries and how the risk of attainment can be reduced.

1 – Traumatic Injuries

Traumatic sports injuries are probably the most common types of injuries in sports. They are frequently seen in a variety of contact sports such as rugby, football and ice hockey. Possibly the most common of traumatic sports injuries, the main reason why people see chiropractors, are sprains.

When muscles are stretched beyond their limits, they cause pain. Stretched too far and they can tear. Chiropractors work with people to not only help treat these injuries but reduce their frequency. Using a variety of techniques, they help improve the joints, ensuring they can withstand more stress and perform better as well.

2 – Repetitive Stress Injuries

In many sports such as cricket, table tennis, football, running and weightlifting, players repeat a number of movements and stress the same area of their body. As such, these people are prone to a number of injuries classified as repetitive stress/motion sports injuries. In part, considering the nature of these sports, these injuries are inevitable. However, their frequency can be reduced.

Chiropractors work with athletes of such sports and help them reduce their risk of injury. How? Chiropractors simply use a number of techniques to help strengthen their joints. As a result, a stronger joint is less prone to injury.

3 – Soft Tissue Injuries

Soft tissue sports injuries are regarded as a separate type of injury as they usually occur when a severe sprain has been incurred, usually coupled with a contusion. Such an injury involves localized swelling and the production of a lot of heat. However, chiropractors know that if left untreated for too long, it takes quite a while to heal.

As such, chiropractors work to reduce the swelling as fast as possible, allowing them to properly manipulate the affected area and help reduce pain and enable faster recovery.

In many cases, sports injuries are inevitable. However, according to many medical experts, including chiropractors, their frequency can be significantly reduced.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Shane Williams scores try at Ravenhill.jpg

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