Blog
Morning Back Pain
Back pain in the morning is the worst way to start the day
Waking up can be a nightmare when you live with morning back pain. Often the pain is at its most intense immediately upon waking, and may dissipate throughout the day to the point where you feel almost no pain at nighttime.
Symptoms of back pain in the morning include:
- Tightness, stiffness, reduced range of motion
- Sharp pain that makes movement difficult
- Feelings of frustration and stress associated with lack of sleep and pain
Sitting in Motion
When it comes to your spine, motion is health-giving
Lack of movement is one of the most common causes for missed work, early retirement and disability. It is a factor that often goes under the radar and accumulates over years of inactivity until it becomes a large problem. As an office of chiropractic, we can confidently say that lack of movement is responsible for many of the complaints we treat on a regular basis. We always say that while there is no silver bullet for solving back pain, there are things you can do to prevent it from happening in the first place. One of the most important of these factors is movement. If you are someone whose job requires them to sit for hours in front of a computer screen, sitting in motion is a good idea!
Maintaining a Normal Life Despite Joint Degeneration
Early detection of degenerative joint conditions is crucial
Osteoarthritis and osteoporosis are autoimmune disorders that contribute to the breakdown of joint cartilage and cause pain and stiffness in the joint areas. These are progressive degenerative conditions that get worse with time and, as of now, there is no known cure. However, that doesn’t mean we have to give up hope! At Family Chiropractic & Natural Healing Center, we focus on treating these conditions in a way that slows down the degeneration and allows you to live a normal life despite the symptoms. One thing that is crucial to our success in treating degenerative joint conditions is their early detection, which means that as soon as you suspect something isn’t right in your joints, it is worth checking in with a medical professional.
Stop Suffering from Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis defined
Spinal stenosis is most commonly depicted as a narrowing of the spinal canal that affects the elderly. A common precursor to spinal stenosis is the crippling onset of arthritis which often reduces the amount of space between vertebrae and instigates a domino effect of problems. As the spinal cord and nerves become pinched, other symptoms begin to rear their ugly heads including:
- Sciatica
- Difficulty moving, standing and sitting
- Issues with bowel control
While there is no known cure for spinal stenosis, there are steps we can take to treat the condition symptomatically, focusing on pain reduction and maintaining a good level of movement.
Your Brain Tangling with Stress
The brain is the organ most affected by stress
Stress and the associated hormone cortisol are well known and studied for their effects on the body, but it is important to remember there is an equal and perhaps even more devastating effect on the brain. Symptoms of a brain exposed to stress for long periods of time mostly operate behind the scenes until they well up into something truly problematic. As if you needed more reasons to reduce your stress level, the brain is quite a compelling one.
The Physical Side of Stress
Stress is a key contributor to subluxation of spinal joints
While not all stress is bad, very few of us know how to achieve a balance between good and bad stress. By all accounts stress leads to tension and this manifests itself in your muscles: muscles all over the body contract in response to stressful stimuli, whether it be emotional or physical. A body rife with muscle tension is bound to be pulled out of balance- and in this scenario, a likely outcome is that your spinal joints can lose their normal position and exert pressure on spinal nerves.
Recognizing the Signs of Stress
Stress is inevitable; let’s talk about limiting it’s presence
Stress isn’t all bad; in fact some studies suggest that there is a perfect amount of stress to compliment your well-being. While stress is a source of motivation and problem solving, it can also take more than it gives. But how do you determine your line of “too much stress;” and how do you keep yourself from reaching it too frequently?
Chiropractic Helps you Understand your Body’s Signals
You know when it’s right to push hard or
The saying “Go big (or hard) or go home,” is actually quite a damaging mantra. While the spirit and attitude embodied by that statement is nice, encouraging us to give it our all, it often leads athletes to push past a point of no return where their bodies are concerned. At Family Chiropractic & Natural Healing Center, we subscribe to a more reasonable attitude when it comes to physical exertion: “listen to your body.”
Help! My Neck is Stuck Sideways!
A neck that is twisted or locked is known as acute torticollis
The first thing you need to do is relax. This is a common problem and stressing out mentally is only going to make the pain worse. It often occurs when people wake up, potentially due to sleeping for a prolonged period in an awkward position. Other causes include:
- Working at a computer for an excessive amount of time with very little movement of the neck
- Sitting with poor posture.
- Mental anxiety can contribute to tightness of the muscles in the neck
Realize that the pain will likely subside by itself given time and care. If it lasts longer than 48 hours it may be worth checking with a doctor.
Managing a stiff and sore neck from home
- Mobility is important: little by little, try to move your neck and return to normal range of motion.
- Utilize ice and heat intermittently
- Sleep with a properly adjusted, firm pillow that avoids putting your neck at an aggressive angle.
- Once range of motion gradually returns, utilize neck exercises to restore pliability to the soft tissues in the neck.
What we can do for people with stiff and sore necks in Milpitas
Many people who suffer an episode of acute torticollis will readily admit that their neck is generally in and out of stiffness and soreness; it is a byproduct of their lifestyle. But it doesn’t have to be this way! At our office in Milpitas, we help people come to terms with the behavior that is causing a stiff neck and how their daily actions decide how their neck feels. We can provide chiropractic adjustment and other hands-on modalities to improve nerve function and range of motion and show you stretches that can be done from literally anywhere that will protect the mobility of your neck and prevent pain.
Poor Circulation in your Legs Getting you Down?
Poor circulation in the legs can be painful
While it is caused by multiple conditions, poor circulation to the legs often has a predictable outcome: pain, as well as feelings of numbness and weakness. Other symptoms include swelling or pain during physical exertion and feelings of discomfort in the lower extremities while resting. So what can we do to get the circulation flowing to those legs?