Your first time at the Chiropractor’s Office

The body’s ability to heal itself depends on a healthy nervous system. Events such as auto accidents, sports injuries, and repetitive stress to the back can hinder the body’s natural ability to adapt. The joints of the spine “lock up” when these events happen, limiting range of motion. Spinal joint restriction and/or misalignment irritates and puts more pressure on the spinal nerve, which can show up as back pain or neck pain.

How many Billions of Dollars did Americans spend treating lower back pain?

The lower back is the region that connects the upper body to the lower body. Since it supports the majority of the body’s weight, lower back pain is a lot more common than you might think. It is not that difficult to hurt yourself by lifting a heavy object or reaching for something. In fact, the majority of people will experience some form of lower back pain at some point in their lives. Americans spend almost $50 billion each year to treat lower back pain, which is the most common cause of missed work days and job related injury or stress.

$50 Billion Annually spent to treat lower back pain

There are many causes of lower back pain, which include, but are not limited to:

Overuse, strain, or injury
Aging
Herniated disc
Arthritis
Compression fractures
Illness
Spinal problems you were born with

Acute back pain tends to fade within a few weeks. However, if left untreated, lower back pain can become chronic, especially if you are under a lot of stress or undergoing depression.

Depending on the cause of pain, symptoms can vary from:

Dull pain
Sharp pain
Pain occurs over a small area
Pain occurs over a wide area
Muscle spasms
Leg symptoms (pain, numbness, tingling)

Walking and rest are perhaps the simplest treatments for lower back pain. However, if your pain persists for a few weeks, further treatment (such as massage, spinal manipulation, and muscle strengthening exercises), may be needed.

Chiropractic treatment is a very effective way to treat lower back pain. Chiropractors will use hands-on spinal manipulation, aligning the body’s musculoskeletal structure so the body can heal itself. Applying heat or cold may also be used to alleviate any pain felt as a result of the lower back pain.

Tennis stars slip and fall at Wimbledon

People who have had lower back pain are very likely to have it again. In order to avoid further pain you can practice the following things

Practice good posture
Stretching and low impact exercise, such as walking, swimming, or riding a stationary bike
Wearing low heeled shoes
Sleeping on your side
If you sit for long periods at work, make sure your chair has good back support and take regular breaks to walk around
If you lift heavy things for work, talk to your human resources department to see there are other ways to do your work.
Do not depend on a lifting belt to protect your back.

If you are still suffering from lower back pain, make an appointment with us, Injury Clinic of Dallas, at 972-644-5555. One of our staff members will help you set up a time to come in for your free consultation and direct you to our office in Richardson, Texas and visit with our Chiropractor.

Sciatica

A few weeks back we ran a herniated/slipped disk article detailing it’s causes, symptoms and potential treatments. If you’ve missed that article, you can find it here.Today we’re going to discuss sciatica, a condition often associated with and caused by a herniated or slipped disk in the vertebrae.

Sciatica is a condition of the sciatic nerve in which the nerve is either damaged, irritated or compressed. As the sciatic nerve is the single longest and widest nerve in the human body, running from the lower back all the way down to the back of the foot, there is a fairly large area where the nerve may become irritated.

Sciatic Nerve

The image above is a diagram of the sciatic nerve, courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Symptoms of Sciatica include but are not limited to

Pain in the legs that is at it’s worst when sitting down
Burning/Tingling of the legs particularly at the back of the leg
Loss/limited range of motion of one or both legs/feet
A shooting pain through the leg/rear, especially when standing up

If you experience one or many of these or similar symptoms, it is important to seek treatment. Sciatica, first and foremost, is a symptom or a group of symptoms of an underlying condition, not a standalone ailment. Because of this, it must be identified and diagnosed as early as possible in order to keep the underlying condition from worsening.

Please come by the Injury Clinic of Dallas office or call us today for your FREE consultation!

Do You Have Wrist Pain? It Could be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Blog Post, Chiropractic, Work Injury - Auto Accident, Carpel Tunnel, Chiropractor, Dallas, Doctor, Personal Injury, Physical Therapy, Richardson, Texas, Work Injury, Wrist Pain - 06/29/2012

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or CTS as it’s commonly abbreviated is a condition that affects the median nerve of the wrist. The median nerve (nervus medianus) is the nerve responsible for providing motor control and feeling to the thumb side of the hand. That is, it controls the palm, the thumb and the index and middle fingers. When this nerve becomes pinched, or worse damaged, motor control of the hand decreases and the feeling of numbness of the hand becomes prevalent.

CTS is a rather common condition, as the carpal tunnel of the wrist is inherently narrow. Any inflammation or swelling will essentially guarantee a pinching of the median nerve. The swelling of this tunnel is typically a result of repetative motions of the hand/wrist, such as typing on a keyboard for prolongued period of time or working with small hand tools. The very task of typing that lead to the creation of this blog and website can potentially serve as a source of CTS for the author.

CTS, in most cases, is an easily treatable condition if detected early. However, if CTS is left untreated, it can lead to serious complications or even permanent damage of the muscle tissue. In some of the more serious cases, patients have been known to lose feeling or motor control within the thumb side of their hand altogether.

Numbness/Tingling in the palm of the hand
Weak Hand Grip
Weak ability to squeeze/make a fist
Shooting pain from wrist up to shoulder
Tapping on the median nerve leads to pain
A sense of swelling in the fingers with no visible sign of swelling
Painful, nighttime tingling

If you’ve experienced any of these symptoms or experiencing them on a frequent basis, it is time for a checkup. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome if detected and properly treated is unlikely to cause any long term complications. In fact, CTS treatment in chiropractic is quite common and as some studies show, equally effective if not better than the conservative medical alternative. It is why we recommend for you to call us, The Injury Clinic of Dallas, today at 972-644-5555 or come by our office in Richardson, TX for a free consultation today!

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Work Injury

Your first time at the Chiropractor’s Office

How many Billions of Dollars did Americans spend treating lower back pain?

Sciatica

Do You Have Wrist Pain? It Could be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

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