Monday, October 30, 2017

Scoliosis---Early Intervention is Critical

     Schools offer scoliosis screening for good reason; the earlier it is detected and addressed, the better chance that conservative care can be effective. 
     My treatment plan, preferably begun early, includes chiropractic balancing of the entire frame, special exercises, and ergonomic counseling. 
     This approach has successfully stopped advancement of the curvature for several girls in their early teens.

Monday, October 23, 2017

The Brachial Plexus

     Nerves from the neck that go down the arm are called the “brachial plexus,” literally meaning “arm (brachial) network of nerves (plexus).” 
     Picture the wires inside an electrical box outside your house---multiple wires coming in, maybe different colors, bundled together in clusters of wires, going somewhere inside your home. A rough analogy, but your brachial plexus is somewhat similar. 
     Nerves exit the spine in the neck, join into “bundles,” and travel down the arm and into the hand.

Monday, October 16, 2017

Severe Pain, But There's No Fracture

     A not uncommon cause of severe pain in the ribs, when X-ray rules out fracture, can be strain of the tiny muscles between the ribs, the intercostal muscles. Some kind of trauma is usually involved, such as a fall, an auto accident, overexertion, etc. 
     These little muscles help with the movements of our chest when we breathe, so if they are injured, every breath can be painful. 
     Healing can be slow, but can be assisted by careful assessment of the rib cage for misalignments that put stress on the injured area.  

Monday, October 9, 2017

Pregnancy and Postpartum

A hormone called “relaxin” is generated in a woman’s body when she is pregnant. It has a loosening effect on her joints, partly to prepare the pelvic joints for passage of the baby through the birth canal, but it affects all the joints in her body. Because of this, her joints become more vulnerable to misalignments or distortions.
It is especially beneficial for expectant moms to come in for periodic full-body balancing. My Activator Chiropractic method is gentle, comfortable, precise, and especially suited for women in pregnancy.
After the birth, relaxin slowly dissipates, but for a while the mother’s joints remain susceptible. So continuing to get checked and balanced, while the body returns to pre-pregnancy status, is a good idea.

Monday, October 2, 2017

A Persistent Pain in the Neck

     Patients often present with tension and pain low across the back of their skull where the cervical spine transitions to the cranium. This area is called “suboccipital,” meaning just inferior to the occiput, the bone at the bottom of the back of the head. 
     Tension and discomfort here can be stubborn to alleviate, usually because of chronic bad postures, often at a computer. Suboccipital muscles work overtime with these stressed postures, resulting in fatigue, restricted blood flow to the tense tissues, and consequent buildup of cellular metabolic wastes, lack of oxygen & nutrients to the cells, and an eventual self-perpetuating, painful cycle.
     Precise Activator Chiropractic adjustments to balance the cervical spine & occiput, and to reset the tone in the suboccipital muscles, along with gentle cranial balancing, is the first step. But changes in postures and specific stretches done by the patient are key to a long-term solution.