Symptoms

There are many causes to arm pain. Many people with jobs that involve repetitive motion, such as mechanics, assembly line workers, musicians, athletes, clerical workers who use the keyboard for extended periods, and data entry personnel, experience frequent arm pain. Injury and too much stress can be causes, too. Most arm pain is due to shoulder instability, whether caused by repetitive movement or another reason. Experts agree that evaluating the cause of pain is the best way to address pain. Experts also agree that arm pain, cannot be corrected by medication.

The brain directs the shoulders to move the arms by using the spinal cord and nerve system. The nerves and blood vessels that supply the shoulders, arms, and hands start in the neck and upper back and pass as a bundle betweeen the bones of the neck and upper back and ribs and colarbones near the cervical spine. Pressure on these nerves and blood vessels create symptoms. These symptoms can include lack of normal motion, inflammation, cramping, stiffness, weakness, and swelling in the arm.

Chiropractors work to gently restore motion and to restore proper nerve flow through eliminating any misalignments in vertebrae that affect pressure on the corresponding nerves.

Asthma is caused when the tubes carrying air into and within the lungs are too sensitive to dust, pollen, pollutants or other substances and conditions. When the airways react, they constrict and their inner linings swell, narrowing the passageway for air. During such an attack, the asthmatic person struggles for breath.

The nervous system is directly involved in asthma. In almost every case of asthma, there is a curving or twisting of the spine. When the spine begins to curve or twist abnormally, it can produce a light pressure in the spinal cord and nerves. If less than 100% of the nerve energy from the brain is reaching the lungs, the lungs may still function , but with considerable difficulty.

Chiropractic offers a simple procedure to reduce the pressure on the nerves to the lungs.

Asthma can also be caused by poor waste elimination. If one or more of the bodies waste elimination organs fail to eliminate their normal share of waste, then the remaining organs must pick up the slack. If one of the elimination organs (skin, lungs, mucous membranes, kidneys, and bowels) besides the lungs is failing to do its share of elimination, the lungs may be asked to do more than its share, causing fluid build up or mucous congestion, resulting in symptoms such as asthma.

The regulation of the body's elimination of waste is under the control of the nervous system. Any interference with the flow of nerve energy from the brain to the various elimination organs can result in the situation described above.

Once again, gentle chiropractic adjustments can help relieve any interference of the nerves between the brain and the elimination organs, helping the asthmatic person to breathe normally again.

Chiropractic spinal adjustments can help to alleviate both the direct and indirect interference of the nervous system and restore normal nerve supply to the joints, organs, and tissues.
All joints have sacs filled with fluid that act as lubricated protection to spots where the tendons rub against any bony protrusion. When these sacs become inflamed, the result is the painful onset of bursitis.
 
While any joint may develop bursitis, the most common joints affected are the shoulder, elbow, knee, hip and foot. Bursitis may be acute or chronic. It starts with localized pain and with immobility in various ranges of motion.
 
The causes of this inflammation may be trauma, acute or chronic infection, rheumatoid arthritis or gout. These conditions are almost always associated with a direct or indirect disturbed physiology which is normally maintained and controlled by the nervous system. Direct interference can be any interference to the nerve supply to a joint, like a shoulder. Indirect interference is created when the body's physiology is disturbed due to an insufficient nerve supply from the brain and spinal cord to organs involved in maintaining the fluid in the bursa sac.
 
Chiropractic spinal adjustments can help to alleviate both the direct and indirect interference of the nervous system and restore normal nerve supply to the joints, organs, and tissues.
 

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome refers to a variety of symptoms, including numbness, tingling and pain in the hand, wrist and arm and associated weakness or wasting away of hand muscles that are supplied by the median nerve. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when tendons in the wrist become inflamed after being aggravated. A tunnel of bones and ligaments in the wrist narrows, pinching nerves that reach the fingers and the muscle at the base of the thumb.

Often, when there is a misalignment of one or more of the spinal bones in the neck, the brain is not able to send a strong, steady nerve current to the arm and hand. This imperfect nerve flow can cause an inflammation or swelling of the median nerve, which is then easily irritated within the wrist by repetitive movement. The result is the numbness, tingling, pain, and weakness associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

While there is little agreement in the medical community about the causes of Carpal Tunnel, there is building evidence that chiropractic care can help. Through gentle manipulation, chiropractic can realign the spinal bones in the neck, relieving the pressure on the nerves, allowing strong nerve current to flow from the brain.

Chronic pain is pain that has been experienced for more than 6 months. Chronic pain can cause muscles to contract, contributing to soreness and stiffness. If you do not do something about the chronic pain, chances are it will get worse. According to the American Pain Society, 56% of those suffering with chronic pain have been suffering for more than five years.

The most common types of chronic pain include back pain, tension headaches, abdominal pain, shoulder pain and neck pain. Chronic pain can not only hurt, it can interfere with the normal function of glandular, digestive, eliminative, nervous and circulatory systems.

While many people with chronic pain look to medications to mask the pain, there are many common risks and side effects associated with taking medication. Chiropractic targets the cause of the chronic pain instead of masking the symptoms. After looking into the cause, gentle chiropractic manipulation has been shown to be effective in correcting the problems.

You do not have to "live with" chronic pain. If you are suffering, please visit a chiropractor today.

Dizziness is not a disease, it is an indication that there is something wrong somewhere else in your body. The dizzy spells are your body's warning that something is interfering with the proper function of the body's organs, nerves, glands, or muscles. Chiropractors have long suspected a relationship between upper neck spinal bone misalignments and vertigo.

All of the functions of the body are under control of the nervous system. The nervous system originates in the brain where nerve energy is transmitted down through the spinal cord inside our spine and branches out between the vertebrae as spinal nerves. Occasionally, something may cause the spine to twist or curve. This creates a misalignment of the spinal bones which can put pressure on the nerves, interfering with the transmission of nerve energy.

Chiropractors, after ruling out other causes, such as caffeine and aspirin sensitivity, can diagnose the spinal misalignment. Through gentle manipulation, chiropractic can relieve the pressure on the spinal nerves, allowing the body to heal itself.

The nerve tract on the back of the spinal cord (posterior column) relays messages to your brain about your body positioning. If those messages are not in sync with the nerves from your eyes or inner ears your brain will receive mixed messages about your position or movements making you feel uneasy.

Chiropractic simply locates and corrects any subluxations present in the spine which may be interfering with the proper nerve signals. This allows the nerve function to restore to normal and the body to resynchronize its messages.

Chiropractors have had a long history of success with relieving the symptoms of vertigo or dizziness by correcting subluxations often found in the cervical/occipital region, TMJ or through the use of otolith repositioning.

Tennis elbow is the common name given to pain originating on the outside or lateral side of the elbow. This condition arises from an irritation or inflammation of the tendons of one or several forearm muscles at their attachment to the bony protuberance close to the elbow joint, known as the lateral epicondyle. Therefore the medical term for this condition is lateral epicondylitis, meaning an inflammation of the epicondyle. If the condition is located on the inside or medial side of the elbow it is often referred as Golfer’s Elbow or medial epicondylitis. This, however, is not as prevalent as lateral epicondylitis.

There are many causes for Epicondylitis - not just tennis & golf - as any activity that involves repetitive gripping of objects can result in this affliction. Some individuals develop tennis or golfer’s elbow from prolonged carrying of heavy bags, knitting, chopping food, and/or computer work using improper wrist and arm posture. With sports, the problem arises when we are new to the game, use an improper technique, try out new racquets or clubs, or increase the intensity or duration of exercise without the proper preparation. Sometimes the condition can be so severe that it is difficult to even grip and lift one’s coffee cup!

Some cases involving epicondylitis can be attributed to problems further up the arm or even in the neck. If someone has a disc condition or spinal subluxation, the nerves that control the forearm muscles may become irritated causing the muscles to tense and put marked strain on the tendon attachment(s). In these circumstances, this predisposes an individual to elbow pain from any of the above mentioned causes. If left untreated it is possible that the joints of the elbow can become subluxated further complicating the condition.

Epicondylitis is a condition that rarely resolves of its own accord and so requires proper medical management. A qualified medical professional such as a chiropractor can determine the exact cause of the problem and initiate the proper care and treatment. Chiropractic adjustments have proven extremely effective in the overall management of this problem.

There are a number of contributing factors to excessive tiredness. Not receiving the proper rest needed is the most easily understood reason for tiredness. Another reason is the stress involved with thoughts of fear, worry, anger, or jealousy. Thinking these stressful thoughts robs us of our needed energy. There are other factors that can contribute to fatigue and, in the majority of cases, there is usually more than one factor involved.

Often when a person suffering from chronic fatigue seeks medical help, there is no physiological disease that can be pinpointed. Chiropractic believes that one of the major contributing factors to chronic fatigue is the nervous system. Without proper nerve energy, we cannot stay alert, vigorous and healthy. When something interferes with the flow of nerve energy, we can easily feel tired and rundown. While an organ that is receiving limited nerve energy may still be functioning, it is not functioning at its maximum.

The spinal cord, which is made up of all the nerves leading to the organs and tissues of the body, is protected by the spinal column. If one of the bones that make up the spinal column slips out of proper alignment, a nerve can be pinched or squeezed and the function of an organ or gland will be decreased.

Chiropractors can locate such misalignments and, through gentle manipulation, restore the spinal column back to its normal alignment.

Everyone has had the experience of crossing your legs and then having one of them go numb. We usually refer to the sensation we have as 'gone to sleep'. Sometimes that tingling sensation appears for no apparent reason. This is often traced to nerve compression. Nerve compression is often caused by misalignments of the spinal bones. Until this is corrected, the condition will only continue and possibly worsen with time.

Chiropractors know that problems exhibited in the foot are not always created there. Spinal examinations can determine exactly where the misaligned spinal bones are and through gentle spinal adjustments, realign them.

Another cause of foot pain can be from poor walking posture. Chiropractors may suggest a pair of custom orthotics. Orthotics are worn in the shoe to help support the foot, thus helping to correct poor walking posture. Not only can you experience foot pain from poor walking posture, but you can also develop back and leg problems.

Another cause is women wearing high heel shoes. Along with foot pain, high heel wearers can experience back, knee, hip and pelvic pain. High heels force an unnatural forward curvature of the spine and create an unbalanced position in the entire body. When the unbalance occurs, other systems in the body have to compensate for it. This compensation can cause misalignment in the spinal bones.

Along with gentle chiropractic adjustments to realign the spinal bones, a chiropractor will also advise on a healthier approach to footwear.

Foot pain can be caused by a wide variety of causes and therefore it is important to pin-point the origin of your pain. Our doctors will perform not only a physical examination like other doctors but also a biomechanical evaluation to determine the cause of your symptoms.

If the cause of your foot pain is found to be due to nerve impingement or altered biomechanics, our chiropractors my recommend a treatment plan involving chiropractic adjustments, exercises, activity modification and/or foot orthotics. If your condition requires a referral to another health care professional, one will be made for you.

To play golf at your peak ability, a healthy full-functioning body is a necessity since compromised body mechanics and nerve flow will impair your performance. The most common injuries golfers experience are low back, wrist, elbow, and shoulder pain. The National Golf Fitness Society developed a list of do’s and don’ts for golfers to help reduce the chance of injury.

The first recommendation is to choose the right equipment. The clubs you use should fit your height. Clubs that are too short can put significant strain on your low back. Your shoes should be correctly fitted too. Improperly fitted shoes can hurt your swing and your back. Another recommendation is to take lessons. Having a pro help you with your swing will not only help your score but also help correct any negative impact that an incorrect swing is having on your back.

Another recommendation is to make sure you warm up and stretch before each round. Warming up gets blood flowing to your muscles and stretching loosens up the muscles you will be using. Drinking lots of water is important too while playing golf. Water is necessary for replacing lost fluids in the body and hydrating spinal joints and muscles.

A final recommendation would be chiropractic adjustments. Improper swing, improper club size, improper shoes, and the repetitive action of golf can cause spinal bones to become misaligned, putting pressure on nerves running through your spinal cord. Through gentle manipulation, chiropractic can realign the bones, relieving the pressure on the nerves and opening the flow of nerve energy.

If you are experiencing pain playing golf, a visit to the chiropractor can help. Even if you are not experiencing any pain, a visit to the chiropractor can be a wise investment in making sure you are playing at your highest level possible.

Studies show that 9 out of 10 people suffer from occasional headaches, while 7 out of 10 people suffer from frequent headache pain, including migraine headaches. While many sufferers search for relief through a variety of medications, these are only temporary solutions. Research has shown that chiropractic can not only relieve the pain of headaches but correct the cause of them.

The spinal cord houses numerous nerves that run from the head to the feet. These nerves send messages to every part of the body. When spinal bones become misaligned, they can cause interference with the spinal nerves. When there is interference with these nerves, it causes stress and strain on the nerves surrounding the brain and can cause inflamed blood vessels. This stress and inflammation causes the pain associated with headaches.

Chiropractic focuses on maintaining the correct structure of the spine. When the spinal bones are in correct position, the muscles that support the head are relieved of stress and spasms. Both the relaxation of the muscles in the back and the correct alignment of the spinal bones, relieve the spinal nerves of the pressure and allow the correct flow of energy through the nerves.

You do not need to suffer with headaches or take medications that mask the pain. Let your body heal itself, call us today.

Just like a house needs a sturdy foundation, so does your body. The foundation of your body is the hip area, the pelvis, sacrum and ilia (hip bones). This area holds up the structure of your body, and your spine. And just like an unseen problem in the foundation of your house can cause other problems in the house, problems in the hip area can cause other problems on your body. Your spine, which keeps the head erect, must make up for any imbalance in the foundation. Imbalances here can cause stresses on the body at the hip level and farther up the spine. When the spine compensates, the whole structure is compromised, causing dysfunction and pain.

Chiropractic can help keep the body structurally balanced and sturdy. By setting and keeping the foundation of the spine straight, the body can stand straight and sound.

There are many possible reasons for knee pain. One common cause is misalignment in the feet arches and ankles which create an imbalance, causing stress and pain in the knee joints. Another is an imbalance of the pelvic region, including hips and sacrum, which cause the body to protect itself by shifting the majority of your weight to the other side. The structural imbalance, caused by either of these reasons, results in spinal nerve stress and muscle spasms on one side of the body and will pull one leg up short. There are three easy tests you can do to see if you have skeletal misalignments.

The first test is to look at the bottoms of your shoes. Does one heel wear down faster than the other? The second test is to see if the hem of one pant leg drags the ground and frays while the other side is fine. The third test is to look in the mirror while wearing a belt. Does the belt look slightly cock-eyed rather than straight across? If you answered yes to any of these, that is an indication of a correctable imbalance.

Chiropractors are well trained at searching for the cause of knee pain. Through gentle realigning of the spinal bones, chiropractic can remove the burden on your knees and relieve the pain.

There are many possible reasons for knee pain. One common cause is misalignment in the feet arches and ankles which create an imbalance, causing stress and pain in the knee joints. Another is an imbalance of the pelvic region, including hips and sacrum, which cause the body to protect its self by shifting the majority of your weight to the other side. It may also be produced by a subluxation of the knee itself. Subluxated knees will often “click”, “lock”, or “give out” similarly to meniscal tears so it is important to have a chiropractor, who works with extremities (arms or legs), differentiate the origin of your symptoms. Our experience has found many patients have been told they need knee surgery by their M.D., when in fact they only had a subluxated knee.

At the very least, get a second opinion from a chiropractor before you submit yourself to a life altering surgery to make sure it is really necessary. If surgery is really required, we will assist you in getting the proper care.

The cause of most leg pain is improper weight balance from the upper part of the body. If you lean forward, backwards or to one side in the standing position, it will cause the involuntary muscles in the legs to contract and tighten to maintain balance. Prolonged contraction of these muscles will cause leg pain. Another example of this uneven weight distribution is seen in the advanced stages of pregnancy. The increased weight in the abdomen causes lower back muscles to contract resulting in back pain and leg pain. These same symptoms can also be caused by abdominal obesity. Abnormal spinal curvature in children during their growing years can cause an uneven distribution of weight on the lower extremities, causing pain.

Because most of the weight of the upper body is supported and suspended from the spinal column. It is important to have spinal adjustments to restore normal balance with equal weight distribution to the legs.

Besides the pain, structural imbalances can cause the lower spinal bones to become misaligned. This misalignment can cause the sciatic nerve, which runs down the legs, to become irritated and inflamed. This inflammation is called sciatica and is very painful.

Chiropractic adjustment can help with sciatica by readjusting the spinal bones and relieving the pressure on the sciatic nerve. This allows the inflammation to go down and restore proper energy flow through the nerve.

Leg pain may result from pinched nerves, muscle cramps, sciatica, neuralgia, nutrient imbalances, circulation problems, and more. Nerve interference from subluxations of the lumbar and sacral regions can produce radicular pains in various parts of the legs depending on what nerve is pinched. Subluxations may also result in muscle imbalances within the legs which may further complicate the underlying condition. Inflammation in the joints may also refer pains to certain areas of the legs.

Chiropractic looks to find the cause of your leg pain and eliminated it rather than masking it with damaging medications. Your chiropractor will locate any subluxations in your spine which are interfering with nerve function and restore their function.

Your chiropractor will be able to determine what is causing your symptoms and let you know whether chiropractic care is the best approach for you.

Low back pain can be caused by a number of things. One of the most common underlying causes is pain in the lumbo-sacral, sacroiliac and/or pelvic regions. The sacroiliac is made up of the sacrum, a triangular shaped bone, and the surrounding support of ligaments and muscles and or pelvic region. Nerves to the lower extremities run through the sacroiliac region and any irritation to these nerves can result in pain, numbness, weakness, or poor circulation..

Since even the slightest misalignment of the sacroiliac joint can put pressure on these nerves, chiropractic addresses the problem of the misalignment rather than the symptoms one experiences. Chiropractic works to restore the normal nerve energy flow from the brain through the spine by realigning the vertebrae and the sacrum.

Chiropractic is simple and non-invasive. There are not the side effects that are common when using drugs or surgery.

Migraines are marked by periodic, usually one sided, pulsing headaches. They tend to begin in childhood or early adulthood.

Classic migraines are associated with experiencing a preceding aura, which consists of episodes of well-defined, transient focal neurological dysfunction. Visual symptoms include seeing spots, stripes, lines or blind spots. Other related symptoms are light sensitivity, mood changes, fatigue, difficulty thinking, depression, sleepiness, hunger, thirst, urinary frequency, altered libido, increased energy, clarity of thought, increased appetite, nausea or vomiting.

Common migraines has a similar onset with or without nausea but and aura is not experienced.

Migraines are a debilitating symptom for which medical science is unsure of the cause. However, chiropractic treatment (which has been very successful for many migraine sufferers) has long held that nerve pressure is an underlying cause of many migraines. Pinched nerves from cervical vertebral subluxations can cause altered nerve function leading to changes in blood supply to the brain, brain wave activity, digestive activity, pain perception, overall body function and more.

Migraine headaches afflict many people. Migraine symptoms include severe pain on one side of the head that can last for days and can include nausea and sensitivity to light. While many treatments address the symptoms, chiropractors view addresses the cause of the pain.

Chiropractors view migraines as caused by pressure on nerve endings in the head resulting from a chemical imbalance in the brain. Since the brain controls the entire body's function by communication through the nervous system, any interference to this communication effects the body. If any spinal bones, which protect the nerves, get misaligned, there is a negative effect on the body's systems. Muscles attached to spinal bones overreact and become spastic and irritated because the nerves stretch and become traumatized. Headache pain can easily result from these imbalances.

By making sure the vertebrae is moving correctly, the muscles that support the head are relieved of stress and spasms. The pain is diminished as the structure of the spinal bones of the neck is improved.

If you are suffering from migraines, you owe it to yourself to have a chiropractic evaluation to see if your migraines are being caused by vertebral subluxation.

Muscle spasms range from persistent and sustained to brief and alternating. Wherever a spasm falls in that range, they are all painful. Muscles are maintained with a certain tone-not too tight and not too relaxed. The brain controls how the muscles work. With activity, the brain innervates the voluntary muscles to function and support our movement. Frequently, muscle spasms are the result of interference between the brain and the muscles.

If there is misalignment of the spinal bones, nerve tissue can be compressed or stretched. When this happens, there is a decrease in the ability of the brain to transfer information to the muscles and organs of the body. Without the proper information, the muscles do not know how to react. If the misalignment is not corrected, the conditions for recurring muscle spasms continue to exist.

Chiropractic addresses the cause of the muscle spasms by releasing the nerve pressure and allowing the nerves to transmit the brain’s controlling messages to the muscles. The muscles can then regain normal function and the symptoms of muscle spasms clear up

Muscle spasms range from persistent and sustained to brief and alternating. Wherever a spasm falls in that range, they are all painful. Muscles are maintained with a certain tone-not too tight and not too relaxed. The brain controls how the muscles work. With activity, the brain innervates the voluntary muscles to function and support our movement. Frequently, muscle spasms are the result of interference between the brain and the muscles.

If there is misalignment of the spinal bones, nerve tissue can be compressed or stretched. When this happens, there is a decrease in the ability of the brain to transfer information to the muscles and organs of the body. Without the proper information, the muscles do not know how to react. If the misalignment is not corrected, the conditions for recurring muscle spasms continue to exist.

Chiropractic addresses the cause of the muscle spasms by releasing the nerve pressure and allowing the nerves to transmit the brain’s controlling messages to the muscles. The muscles can then regain normal function and the symptoms of muscle spasms clear up

Pain and numbness can have a number of causes. One of the most common factors is pressure on the spinal nerves in the neck and upper back areas which supply nerve energy to the arms and hands. Spinal nerve pressure may be the result of old injuries such as falls, blows, or whiplash. This pressure on the nerves can be intensified or made worse by combinations of physical and emotional stress.

The pressure on spinal nerves can be so slight that the individual may be totally unaware of it until the pressure is increased due to stress involving the neck and shoulder muscles.

While temporary relief may be obtained by relaxing the muscles with therapy or drugs, the most effective and long-lasting relief will come from gentle spinal adjustments to relieve the pressure on the nerves.

One of the most common causes of numbness is physical pressure on the spinal nerves as they pass by the vertebrae or discs.

Chiropractic treatment attempts to relieve the nerve pressure by correcting any subluxations in the spine. Often times an MRI or CT scan may be used to attain detailed images of the area of nerve pressure and help guide your doctors in the treatment of your numbness.

Numbness is usually a severe sign of altered nerve function in the body and should be investigated immediately. If your chiropractor determines that you may be helped with chiropractic care, relief from numbness is often requires a more extended treatment plan due to the degree of the degeneration.

Due to the unique physiological makeup of a woman's body, there are health related issues that are unique to them. Pregnancy and its recovery, pain during the menstrual period, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and chronic pelvic pain are four of the most pressing conditions unique to women.

Chiropractic, along with nutrition and fitness, has been shown to lessen the discomfort of the menstrual period and chronic pelvic pain. Now chiropractic is being used to help women who suffer from intense PMS discomfort.

A chiropractic examination and X-ray of a PMS prone woman's spine often shows structural problems where the lumbar nerves supply the ovaries and uterus.

Gentle chiropractic manipulation, especially just prior to the menstrual cycle can help relieve the discomfort of the premenstrual tension syndrome.

Sciatica is pain felt emanating from the lower back which radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in your body. It runs from your spinal cord, all the way down the back of legs and into the toes. True sciatica will produce symptoms which extend beyond the back of the knee.

Normally, sciatica affects only one side of the body. Pain radiates down the buttock and into the back of the leg and can range from a tingling sensation to a burning, shooting pain that makes it difficult to find a comfortable position.

Sciatica symptoms may appear from a ruptured intervertebral disk, arthritic changes, inflammation and/or muscle spasms which all indicate the presence of long standing uncorrected subluxations which have resulted in degeneration of the spinal joint structures.

Sciatica is the inflammation of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in your body. It runs from your spinal cord all the way down the legs into the toes.

Normally, Sciatica affects only one side of the body. Pain often radiates down the buttock or leg and can range from a tingling sensation to a burning, shooting pain that makes standing almost impossible.

A common cause of Sciatica is the misalignment of the spinal bones in the low back or pelvis. Bed rest and epidural injections have shown to be significantly unsuccessful with Sciatica, in some cases interfering with healing. Chiropractic has been shown to help Sciatica by realigning the spinal bones through gentle manipulation.

Bed rest has been found to be unsuccessful with sciatica and in some cases interfering with healing. Chiropractic has been shown to help relieve sciatic nerve pain by correcting subluxations through gentle manipulation, thereby taking pressure off of the sciatic nerve

Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine (The spine should be straight when viewed from the front or back). It usually consists of two curves, the original curve and a compensatory curve in the opposite direction. Lateral curvatures may develop from subluxations in the spine and/or pelvis, congenital development, leg length inequality, scar tissue contraction, spinal injuries, muscle imbalances, neurological disorders, ocular imbalances, bone deformities, rickets and more.

Scoliosis screening can easily be performed by having the patient bend forward and touch their toes while someone else looks at their back. If one side of the back is higher, a scoliosis should be strongly suspected. Moderate to severe scoliosis may be detected by anyone using this method however early or subtle scoliosis cases may be missed by an untrained eye so it is wise to have all children screened yearly by a chiropractor for this deformity during adolescence.

When the spine suffers a scoliotic curvature, a great deal of stress and abnormal function occurs in the body. The ability of the nervous system to coordinate and control all structures and organs of the body is affected. Depending on the cause of the scoliosis, chiropractic may be able to help correct the curve and improve the functioning of the nerves and body in general.

Many people have found that chiropractic is very successful in stopping the progressive worsening of spinal curvatures which often occurs. Chiropractic care can also help reduce many types of abnormal curvatures if detected early enough. Leaving any scoliosis untreated always results in early degeneration of the spinal joints and progressively declining health.

Sinusitis

Sinusitis is the inflammation of the lining of the membranes of any of the paranasal sinuses. This inflammation causes a swelling of the mucus membrane which begins to over-produce secretions. The narrow channels that provide mucous drainage become swollen and clogged. When this happens, bacteria, which are always present in our nasal cavity, multiply quickly and cause infection. While the multiplication of the bacteria that causes infection, bacteria do not cause sinusitis. What causes sinusitis is the inflammation of the sinuses. Often, the cause of the inflammation is the body's inability to deal with something in the air.

Because the bacteria do not cause sinusitis, antibiotics do not work. Chiropractic treats the cause of the sinusitis. Because the nervous system controls the body's ability to fight infection, chiropractic makes sure there is no interference with the nervous system through safe, gentle manipulation of the spine.

Allergies

Allergies are a hypersensitive immune system's reactions to normal antigens in the environment. Allergens may be airborne, substances in food, or chemicals. While these allergens may normally be harmless, when someone's immune system is compromised, the body recognizes these as poison. The hypersensitive immune system tries to protect the body from these poisons but the immune system has become overloaded.

When this overloading happens, the organs that are responsible for eliminating waste become inflamed and become easily irritated when they come into contact with allergens on both the outside and inside of the body.

Because all body functions are controlled by the nervous system, any interference to the flow of nerve energy from the brain to the eliminative organs can contribute to allergies. Instead of treating symptoms by taking medication for 'temporary relief', chiropractic works to normalize the body's immune system with gentle spinal adjustments to restore the flow of nerve energy.

The term “Slipped disc” is a misnomer for a disc bulge or herniated disc. Discs are important and essential for a healthy functioning spine. The discs provide a cushion between the vertebrae and allow the spine to support body movement while keeping the spinal bones from grinding together when we move. The discs also assist the spinal bones to properly protect the spinal cord which carries thousands of nerves through it.

Vertebral discs are layered between stacked spinal bones. The outsides of the discs are made of an elastic fibrous mesh like tissue that is fused to the spinal bones. Inside the elastic webbing is a gel-like hydraulic system that is 88% water and helps react to compression.

Any subluxations of the spinal bones results in altered forces places upon the discs which compromises the form and function of the discs. Subluxations also restrict the exchange of nutrients to and from the disc since discs do not have a direct blood supply. In other words, if a subluxation is present in your spine, your discs are starving to death (degenerating). The subluxated spinal bones can cause the gel in the disc to be displaced from its normal location. If the gel is pushed out of its normal location but still contained within the outside fibrous ring, the condition is referred to as a bulge. If the gel has been pushed through the outside fibrous ring, the condition is referred to a herniated disc.

Science has questioned whether the bulge or herniated disc is the cause of the symptoms since research findings have found that many people with these conditions do not have pain while many people with these conditions have debilitating pain. This is the exact opposite of what would be expected if the disc derangement was the cause of the symptoms.

This may help explain why chiropractic is successful with many disc bulges and hernias. The Chiropractors approach is to help remove nerve irritation through correcting subluxated vertebrae. Since this treatment has been successful for many people the cause may be found related to the subluxation complex. Future research may shed light on this.

Chiropractic works to gently realign the spinal bones that are placing stress on the discs. Once the pressure is taken off of the discs, they may return to their normal position and are allowed to heal, once again providing proper shock absorption to the spine.

Temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, is the joint where the jaw hinges to the skull just in front of the ear. This joint is held together by a complex system of muscles, tendons, and ligaments which help it move up to 2000 times a day, making it the most active joint in the body. Symptoms of TMJ disorder include clicking or popping in the jaw, headaches, earaches, neck pain, and sensitive teeth.

The causes for TMJ disorder are many, including neck subluxations, TMJ subluxations, dental problems, whiplash injury to the neck, grinding and clenching teeth, or injury to the jaw.
Recent preliminary research findings discovered that the Activator Methods chiropractic technique provided a substantial benefit to those who are suffering from TMJ disorder. Your chiropractor will check primarily your TMJ and cervical region for any subluxations which may be contributing to your symptoms. Subluxations involve misaligned bones, muscle tone changes or referred pain patterns which contribute to TMJ disorders.

Chiropractic, using specific adjustments, carefully corrects any subluxations which can often times relieve TMJ symptoms.

A slightly inflamed nerve in the wrist can go unnoticed for years until it is aggravated by repeated action of the wrist. To the person suffering, it is logical that the repetitive action is causing the pain. Behind the pain though, may be misaligned spinal bones, which caused the nerve to be slightly inflamed in the first place.

Carpel Tunnel Syndrome is caused by this misalignment, when the median nerve is pinched, hindering the brain from sending strong nerve currents to the arm and hand.

Chiropractic manipulations to realign the spinal bones help to relieve the cause of the nerve inflammation and relieve the pinched nerve. Following chiropractic adjustment, resting and ceasing the repetitive action helps the wrist heal.

Whiplash occurs when the neck and head are thrown forward and back or side to side in a violent manner. If a spine has been whipped out of its normal balanced alignment, the first sign of an injury will usually be soreness and stiffness of the neck and/or back muscles. Although these are usually the first signs, you can have whiplash without even realizing it. Symptoms such as aches and pain, headaches, numbness, nervousness, irritability, and depression may not be experienced until months or years after the accident. Research has found whiplash can occur at speeds as low as 4-5 mph.

The most critical damage occurs when the head movement is initiated at accelerations which exceed the body reflexes. Subsequently the head moves before the spinal muscle can react to protect itself. When the muscles do respond, it is too late and more damage is produced due to the violent contraction. These forces produce multiple subluxations which restrict motion at some spinal levels while other levels are left with hyper mobile (sprained) segments.

If the subluxations are not corrected the hyper mobile segments are placed under excessive undue stress as a result of the lack of motion at the subluxations. It is easy to ascertain that this will impede the healing of the hyper mobile segments due to the continual excessive strain while at the same time causing early degeneration of the subluxated vertebrae do to the lack of proper motion. This is why everyone who has been in a motor vehicle accident should have their spine evaluated by a chiropractor as soon as possible.

Chiropractic is the only profession that specifically addresses these misalignments. Through gentle realigning of the spinal bones, chiropractic can correct the damage done by whiplash and help the body heal itself.

All of our doctors have taken additional training from the world’s premiere whiplash educational facility, The Spine Research Institute of San Diego (http://srisd.com/consumer_site/).