Feel Pain Relief

What do an excavator, jackhammer, and hydraulic skid have in common? You may already know that the use any of these can cause back pain when used improperly or if your spine is misaligned. But, the same can be said for using Flint tool rentals such as pressure washers, hand grinders, and even vacuums. Your spine and the rest of your musculoskeletal system must be in good condition if you want to complete construction on the job or at home.

Be smart before you start: Prior to beginning any job, big or small, and even before you head out to an equipment or tool rentals Flint company, you should have your back examined by a health care professional who’s a back expert, like a chiropractor. You don’t want to start any kind of physical demand without having your chiropractor check to see if your spine is in good alignment. You may be provided with a back support or other supportive means if you have any age-related degenerative spine and joint changes.

Along with making sure that you are in healthy alignment and overall musculoskeletal good health before you start a new project, it’s important to remember to visit your chiropractor at regular intervals during the project and also when the work is complete. Even healthy joints can be effected by heavy machinery and tool vibration. Furthermore, you may be unfamiliar with certain positions and heavy weight when working with hand tools and this can stress back, shoulder, and arm muscles.

Remember these tips during your project: Because misalignment can result from the use of heavy equipment and tools, be sure to visit your dhiropractor on a regular basis during the duration of your project. Icing inflammed areas may be one of the suggestions made by your chiropractor. In addition, stressed or strained muscles may require kineseo taping while your working on your project. In some cases, a stressed or strained muscle may require rest before continuing work.

When your project is done: When your project is done, be sure to get a thorough chiropractic check up once again.

Do the work you enjoy! Just remember, from start to finish, you need to take smart precautions to stay healthy and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

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Chiropractors understand that all too often life can be a pain in the neck, literally as well as metaphorically. In fact, for over eleven years a chiropractor in Grand Rapids has been treating cervical disc injuries using his patented two-way traction devices!  Chiropractors also know that the emotional circumstances in your life that often seem like a “pain in the neck” may change quickly, but neck pain caused by physical stress and injury can hurt unabated and, unfortunately, if not treated, such problems can get much worse. Neck injuries, in addition to producing pain specifically in the immediate area of the neck, can create pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness down the arm and into the fingers. Furthermore, both tension headaches and head pain can often be attributed to neck injuries. Because chiropractic treatment has been found to be the most effective, non-invasive treatment for relieving neck pain, it would be advantageous for you to seek a thorough examination and evaluation by your chiropractor to find the reason for your particular neck pain.

There are quite a few causes for neck pain and associated symptoms. For instance, strained muscles, sprained ligaments, and spinal joint injuries are frequent traumas sustained in an accident. Postural stress can develop from sitting at a computer for long periods and/or performing repetitive tasks. Such stress creates muscular tension and inflammation in the neck and upper back. Postural stress can also be caused by poor spinal mechanics and weak or underdeveloped muscles. Other causes of neck problems are “slipped,” herniated, or ruptured cervical discs, and general aging that produces degeneration of the spinal joints and discs creating inflammation of soft tissues leading to chronic pain.

As mentioned above, chiropractor, Dr. Douglas McKenzie, specializes in cervical disc injury treatment using his own patented two-way traction devices.  A chiropractor who has developed a specialized natural and unique mechanical approach to cervical disc injury treatment? Who could ask for more?! In fact, his treatments in his Grand Rapids chiropractic office result in pain relief, decrease in tension, increase in motion, and an overall sense of well-being.

Chiropractors, like this Grand Rapids chiropractor, are experts when it comes to knowledge of the spine and musculoskeletal system. Chiropractic care offers the neck pain relief you’ve been searching for. Don’t wait to visit a chiropractor near you. And, if you’re in the Grand Rapids area, call Dr. Douglas McKenzie. He’ll evaluate and discover the reason for your neck pain and treat it at its point of origin.

Technorati Tags: cervical adjustments, chiropractic care, chiropractor, neck pain

Does it seem strange to you that a Decatur veterinarian is writing about arthritis? Well, let me explain. I suspect that many people don’t know that arthritis isn’t limited to humans. Sadly, it’s true. Quite a few animals can suffer from painful arthritis, as well, including your dog or cat. And, arthritis is just as painful for pets as it is for humans, especially for certain pets, like dogs, who tend to do what “their” humans do. Arthritis in humans can make simple activities, like going for a walk and climbing stairs intensely painful. Because dogs frequently accompany their owners, doing these activities can cause the same kind of pain and debilitating problems.

Simply going for a walk, let alone catching a frisbee or running in the fields, can be very difficult and prohibitively painful for a dog with arthritis. To put it another way, arthritis can take the fun out of your dog’s “purpose” in life…to have fun! As a concerned veterinarian in Decatur I am happy to tell you that treatment for canine arthritis is not entirely limited to the use of pain medication. Dogs suffering from arthritis may be able to benefit from the physiotherapy that helps to improve joint mobility, just like humans are. Physiotherapy, in humans, aids in relieving arthritic inflammation and improve function of the affected joints and limbs. You may be wondering how physiotherapy affects canine joints and limbs, as well as what therapy is most effective.

Even though physiotherapy for dogs isn’t new, until recently there hasn’t been adequate research done to sufficiently document its effects on canine arthritis. However, according to a new study, the results of which were published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research, verification of the efficacy of physiotherapy in relieving arthritic pain and immobility has been made by researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.

The researchers used a specially-designed treadmill and sophisticated computer algorithms to analyze the movements of the joints in the front and back legs of dogs while the dogs performed three different types of exercises: walking uphill, walking downhill and walking over low obstacles.

The study showed that the three movement protocols had distinct and particular effects on the motion of the dogs’ joints. Walking uphill caused significantly greater bending at the hip, as opposed to walking downhill, which caused the hip to be less bent and the tarsal joint to be less extended. However, the most noteworthy effects came when the dogs walked over low obstacles. This resulted inincreased bending of all joints except the hip and shoulder, and greater extensions of the carpal and stifle joints.

What does all of this mean for your dog? First of all, it indicates that walking uphill is a simple exercise that you could provide to help to improve your dog’s joint flexibility, particularly at the hip joint, and that providing low obstacles could aid in improving the bending of the joints in the forelimbs and hind limbs. It is important to mention, though, that adding low obstacles should be avoided if your dog has recently undergone surgery for the tibia, as such activity could result in increased bending of the joints and potentially strain the tendon that joins the knee to the shin.

And, as a dog loving Decatur veterinarian, I would add one final suggestion for “man’s best friend,” since walking downhill wasn’t  shown to be effective anyway, after you’ve exercised your dog uphill, perhaps a ride in the car back down the hill would be a nice treat!

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Do you suffer from painful tension headaches? Dr. Gerald Helwig, the best Oak Lawn Chiropractor, understands that life can be a pain now and then. Sometimes the pain is due to an accident or injury. Sometimes it can be the result of the cumulative effects of bad posture and poor gait. Sometimes it can be created by degeneration due to aging. However, frequently pain, especially headache pain, can be the result of everyday stress.

Are you “put out of commission” by your tension headaches? Do they cause you to be absent from work or ineffective while you’re there? Do they interfere with your family and social life? Tension headaches are common and the majority of people have experienced more than one in their life. If you are someone who has had tension headaches, the intense, dull ache in your head is familiar. A feeling of tightness or pressure along the forehead or on the sides of the back of the head often accompanies such pain. Occasionally, you may experience tenderness of your scalp, neck and shoulder muscles, and once in a while you might lose your appetite or feel nauseous.

Most tension headaches are defined as mild to moderately intense, but the severity of the pain varies from one person to another, and can vary from one headache to another in the same person. Would you describe your tension headaches as occurring frequently? Headaches are considered cronic if they take place fifteen or more days days a month for a minimum of three months.

The good news is that if tension headaches are disrupting your life just once in a while or chronically, chiropractic treatment can help. For over twenty years Dr. Helwig has been helping the Oak Lawn Community to get out of pain, whether an individual is suffering from back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, knee pain, foot pain, and headaches. Just in case you didn’t know, chiropractor don’t just treat back pain. They address the entire musculoskeletal system!

So, if you’re not living your life as fully as you’d like, call Dr. Helwig, your Chiropractor in Oak Lawn, Illinois today. Get your life back!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic treatment, chiropractor, tension headaches

Corona Chiropractor

Where hip pain relief is concerned, your chiropractor in Corona offers potent non-invasive, drug-free treatment. As most of us know, surgery should be a last resort whenever possible. Therefore, before you schedule a surgery to replace that hip, ask yourself the following questions: Is it impossible for you to get a good night’s sleep because your hip pain wakes you up at night? When you arise in the morning, and/or when you get out of your car, are you stiff and do you find it difficult at first to move your legs? Do you feel pain in one or both hips when you cross your legs or rotate or twist your hips? If so, you may have asymmetries and misalignments in your lower extremities that are not only causing your hip pain, but can eventually lead to degenerative joint disease in your hips if not treated. The good news is that whether or not degenerative changes have already started, chiropractic treatment can help!

It may be true that you’re getting older and your hip joints just aren’t what they used to be. Even so, are you aware that your hip pain and related problems, which normally signal age-related degenerative conditions, may not actually be produced by osteoarthritis? That’s right. In fact, as opposed to being the root cause of your pain, osteoarthritis of the hip joint is frequently the outcome of a earlier injury (or injuries) to your hips.

Hip problems frequently have to do with asymmetry or imbalance when you are in motion, as in the case of walking. If you “pronate” when you walk, with your toes pointing away from your body (like a duck), it is inevitable that you will develop pain in your hips due to the asymmetrical tension on your hip joints as your body attempts to compensate. Thankfully, you can make changes in your gait pattern at any age, and your chiropractor in Corona can help you to do it.

Additionally, you may have had gait changes as the result of an ankle sprain or knee strain, and since “the knee bone’s connected to the hip bone,” these biomechanical accommodations generate pain in the hip(s). Of course, if not corrected, your hip joints will suffer further consequences, namely, the wear and tear that produces degenerative changes.

Other activities that can frequently injure the hip joints are starting a new job or beginning a new sport that requires you to move your body in unfamiliar ways. Also, transporting a child (or grandchild) on one hip can produce hip pain. Even your sitting position or driving for extended periods of time on a routine basis can cause hip injury and pain.

See? Not every pain is caused by “old age,” though we may suffer from more pain as the result of the progressive capacity of untreated injuries.

And important aspect of the chiropractic management of your hip problem, in addition to your adjustments, your Corona Chiropractor will provide individualized rehabilitative exercises that include gentle muscle stretching and strengthening, and will also evaluate your gait and may offer simple pattern changes.

Your hip pain won’t vanish on its own. Hip pain is a sign that something needs correcting. If put off, more than likely that at some point you will require that hip replacement surgery. So, don’t put off until tomorrow, what truly needs to be done today. Your chiropractor in Corona can relieve your hip pain, get your body back into balance, and help you get to back to enjoying your life again!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, hip pain, osteoarthritis

Chiropractic Marketing

Social Media is the “hottest” buzz word on the Internet today. For those of you who would like to explore Social Media marketing as an adjunct to your overall chiropractic internet marketing strategy, but aren’t really sure what all the buzz is about, let’s talk a little about the “Who, What, When, Where, and How” of social media and you, that’s “Who.”

Social media marketing may seem familiar in some respects to other chiropractic marketing strategies you’ve considered in the past, but also unfamiliar at the same time. In the “familiar” category, you wouldn’t try any sort of marketing plan without making an effort to understand what it is and what you want to get from it. It’s important to ask yourself, “What are my goals?” Once you know what you want, you’ll be able to use social media to your greatest advantage.

Before you begin your social media endeavor, you will need to make sure that you “own your name” on all the social media outlets, that is to say, be certain that your name or your clinic’s name is procurable so that you can use the exact same name on all of the social channels you want to use. When you’re ready, there’s a service, which is totally free, that can help you with your search. That who is knowem.com. This service will research where your name is and/or if it’s attainable or not on a large number of social media sites.

When you have secured all of your social media accounts, the next step is to decide where you would like to be active. Starting with only a small number of social media sites is preferable because, let’s face it, you have a clinic to run and patients to see. You won’t want to get caught up in too many social media sites. How do decide which sites are best for you? Choose the social media site where the most action is, which are facebook, twitter, linkedin, and Youtube

What your social media activity goal should be is to build a genuine presence in your community. What you should never do “sell” on your social media sites, which is to say don’t sell your chiropractic services, don’t sell products, don’t sell anything! The purpose of social media is for you to have an addition channel through which to network with the community. Certainly, let them know what you do, but do it by participating in the conversation. There is actually no difference between social networking offline and social media networking. There is no getting around it, people on social media do not want to be sold to! What might be a beneficial idea to think of social media sites like a neighborhood backyard barbecue. People are standing around talking about who they are and what they do, and then a participant asks you what you do. Or, maybe you start the conversation by (just) saying, “Hello, I’m Dr. ____. The same kind of interaction applies with social media. “Work” your social media sites in the same way you’d work your offline networking communities, which is to say, answer the questions and concerns that let people know who you are and gets them interested in the who that’s you!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic marketing, facebook, linkedin, social media, social media marketing, twitter, Youtube

Here’s an interesting question for you to consider: Do you want to keep your chiropractic internet marketing in-house or do you want to hire a professional? There are pros and cons to both, and the answer lies in your particular situation. Let’s check out the advantages and  disadvantages of both.

Advantages of in-house chiropractic internet marketing

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Wichita Chiropractor

I am aware from over twenty years experience as a Chiropractor in Wichita treating people suffering from the pain of sciatica that the affliction can be extremely incapacitating. Sciatica sufferers are unfortunately all too familiar with the kind of deep pain that frequently radiates through the lower part of their body, persists during the day and restricts almost all of their daily activities.

Are you wondering if your low back pain could be caused by sciatica? You are more than likely suffering from sciatica if your pain travels from your low back, through your buttock(s), down the large sciatic nerve in the back of one or both legs, and possibly radiates into your knee(s). Moreover, not just movement, but even sitting can be painful. Commonly lying down will decrease, or occasionally even temporarily get rid of the pain. However, it’s important for you to know that sciatica will not go away without proper treatment.

Radiculopathy

A radiculopathy is a medical term that describes a condition where a disc has protruded from its normal position in the vertebral column and is causing pressure on the radicular nerve (nerve root) that forms part of the sciatic nerve in the lower back. Such pressure is extremely painful.

Additional pressure on the intervertebral discs, as well as imbalances in the muscles encompassing the spine, can occur during and after prolonged sitting, especially with bad posture. Usually, a particular event or injury doesn’t cause sciatica, but rather sciatica has a tendency to develop over time due to ordinary wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine. Eventually the lower spine can lose its ability to function normally during common stresses.

If this occurs, the intervertebral disc incurs small fissures or cracks, which then let the soft nucleus to protrude the disc outward. If the disc pushes on sensitive tissues, it produces the pain that is commonly known as a ruptured, or slipped, disc. Sciatica is the result of the disc pressing on the spinal nerve. The good news is that most disc problems, including sciatica, can be completely relieved with chiropractic treatment and therapy that usually includes postural exercises.

Periformis Syndrome

Another condition that creates sciatic pain is periformis syndrome. Periformis syndrome occurs when the periformis muscle, which is superficial to the sciatic nerve, goes into spasm and irritates the nerve. In addition to chiropractic manipulation, this particular sciatica can be significantly relieved by sciatica stretches that your chiropractor will advise you on.

It is crucial for you to seek chiropractic attention if you are experiencing sciatic pain. If you are in the Wichita area, as your Chiropractor in Wichita, I invite you to come in to see if I can get you out of pain and help you to get your life back!

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