Sciatica. This one word is used so much in my office. Over and over patients come in with complaints of sciatic pain, leg pain, pain shooting down the leg. If this sounds like you or someone you know, please keep reading because this article is for you.

The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that runs from roughly the base of the spine down to the feet. Since the individual nerves that make up the sciatic nerve start in the low back and then merge around the hip joint most cases of sciatica I see actually originate in the low back where nerves are pinched by the spinal vertebra being out of place.

The chiropractic adjustments I deliver to my patients with sciatica shift the bone so that the pressure on the nerve is relieved. This allows the body to begin to heal and naturally relieve the tingling, numbness, shooting pain and weakness most often associated with sciatica. Most cases I see take from 3-6 weeks to clear up.

Too often I see pain killers, shots or physical therapy recommended to patients with this condition when a simple course of chiropractic adjustments can usually do the trick. If you or someone you know has the symptoms of sciatica consider chiropractic treatment. I see 3-4 cases a week so chances are I’ve helped someone with similar symptoms to yours.

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You have probably heard that chiropractic is great for many conditions. Migraine headaches, carpal tunnel, numbness and tingling in the limbs and many more. But what is it about chiropractic that allows it to benefit so many seemingly unrelated conditions?

Consider that when the body is first forming the FIRST organs to form are the brain and nerves. From this frame work all the other organs from the stomach to the liver are formed. This is because the nerves are how the brain sends electrical energy to the organs causing them to function.

The spinal vertebrae protect the nerves just like the skull protects the brain. No other organ is offered special protection like this. If damage occurs to the brain or nerves the muscle or organ that nerve goes to stops working well or may even not work at all. This is why spinal injuries can cause paralysis by the way.

This is where chiropractic enters the picture. It is a well known fact that spinal bones can get out of place and pinch the nerves exiting the spine. This is called a subluxation and is the root condition chiropractors treat. When a nerve is being pinched by misaligned bones in the spine the organ or muscle at the end of that nerve do not work properly because they are getting only a fraction of the message and power from the brain. Its very similar to how a light bulb functioning at 50% power emits less light that if it is receiving full power.

This is the #1 reason chiropractic improves health. Regular chiropractic care ensures the energy supply from the brain to the muscles and organs is as good as it can possibly be. You need this nerve flow to be as good as possible to make sure your body is reaching its full potential.

Lets face it. Injuries are a part of life. And whether they occur at work, at play or another time they limit our enjoyment of life by causing pain, limited movement and reduced ability to get work done.

So how long should a sprain/strain type injury take to heal? Well, under normal circumstances it takes the ligaments, tendons and muscle tissues involved about 90 days to fully heal. This 90 day window is important because it is during this initial period that the most gains or losses can be made in healing.

As a chiropractor I treat sprain and strain injuries to the spine and extremities every day so I am very familiar with the time it takes to heal these injuries and what can cause the healing time to be longer or shorter. The most important thing is to being treatment as soon as possible even if its only icing the injured area and avoiding using it for several days.

You need to allow the body the time it needs to adequately heal the injured tissues without causing further injury by continuing to use the injured area. By far the most common mistake I see is people rushing the healing process and overusing the injured area before it has healed prolonging the healing time of the injury and in some cases causing further damage.

If you injure yourself take it seriously and make sure to allow your body time to heal and seek professional help if needed. If the injury is to the spine I recommend adding chiropractic adjusting into your treatment so that the areas affected heal properly and do not put pressure on the nerves in the spine.

If you are struggling with a sprain or strain injury and would like to set up an appointment you can reach my offices at 715-246-7500 for the 4 Corners or 715-265-7500 for Glenwood City.

If you regularly experience migraine headaches you know how painful, debilitating and life altering they can be. They are no ordinary headache and a number of factors including life style, stress levels, physical factors, emotions and more can affect how often you have them.

Because of the numerous factors influencing how often and how intense your migraine headaches are looking at and modifying your entire lifestyle is important when going about reducing the frequency and intensity naturally. I have personally helped treat hundreds of patients who suffered from migraine headaches and these are my top 3 tips for reducing both the frequency and intensity of these headaches.

1) Get Regular Chiropractic Adjustments- In my experience nothings makes a bigger, more longer lasting impact on migraine headaches than getting adjusted. When the joints in the neck are not in their proper position it puts pressure on the nerves in the neck which supply both the muscles in the neck, head and face and the blood vessels in the head. Since the muscles and blood vessels are both heavily involved with migraines relieving these through a course of chiropractic care can often significantly reduce both frequency and intensity of migraines.

2) Take an Epsom Salt Bath- The magnesium found in Epsom salt will naturally absorb through the skin and replenish magnesium levels in the body which encourages relaxation and stress reduction. Try adding 10-15 drops of lavender essential oil to the water to further enhance this effect.

3) Get Enough Sleep- This one might seem too easy but its hands down the most the most common lifestyle factor I see my migraine patients neglecting. Sleep is so valuable to the body. It is when it regenerates tissue, regulates hormone levels and reduces stress. All things your body needs to reduce migraine frequency and intensity. Adults need at least 8 hours of solid sleep a night. Adolescents may need up to 12 to fully recover from a busy day. Getting enough sleep is essential for good health in general, not just getting rid of migraines.

There you have it. My top 3 tried and true tips to have less migraine headaches. Try these out for natural relief and if you know people who suffer from migraine headaches share this article with them.

Have you ever noticed there a million different things advertised as the secret to good health? How many of them do you suppose work? All of them? None of them?

There is one thing you can do to make all of this hype totally irrelevant in your own life. Develop the habit of consistency. All to often people start some new health trend only to stop it a month or two later when they haven’t seen the miraculous results promised by whatever fad they tried out.

Consistency is so much more important that WHAT you try. You see the human body just does not do instant results. If you want to build muscle it takes time. If you want to lose weight it takes time. Think of it this way… if a world class athlete sprains an ankle it takes 4-6 weeks to fully heal. Even the healthiest, most athletic people on the planet take 4-6 weeks to recover from a sprained ankle.

In order to see results we must be consistent. Day in, day out. Weeks, to months to years of commitment to being healthier. Does this mean we will have to give up unhealthy habits? Yes, if we truly want to be healthier. You cannot gain amazing health without paying the price and the price is paid in consistency.

I’m not saying you can never eat a burger again. Far from it. A huge piece of consistency is recognizing you will never eat the perfect diet, exercise perfectly or always get the perfects night sleep. It simply cannot happen and because of this consistency becomes even more important.

This means consistency with our food choices, our workouts, our sleep, our chiropractic adjustments… anything we do to enrich our health. Nothing is accomplished with fad diets, exotic workouts or crummy medications that cover up symptoms but fail to address underlying causes.

Develop consistency and over time watch your level of health soar.

Headaches are a very common complaint that many Americans suffer from. Some people only get them periodically while others suffer from daily headaches. They can be labeled as tension headaches, migraine headaches, cluster headaches, stress headaches, etc… but almost all headaches have 1 common cause.

Joints in the neck being out of alignment.

That’s right. Simple misalignment of bones in the neck. The reason this very common and easily corrected condition is the #1 cause of headaches is that when a bone is out of place in the neck it creates two problems.

1) It puts extra strain on neck muscles which causes the muscles to become tight and achy. This causes tension headaches, stress headaches and can worsen migraine headaches.

2) It puts stress on the nerves exiting the neck. This flares up migraine headaches and slows the healing of the muscles in the neck affected by bones being out of alignment.

As you can see a bone in the neck being misaligned creates stress in the neck that leads to all the major types of headaches. If you suffer from regular headaches chiropractic care can very likely fix your problem.

Call 715-246-7500 (4 Corners) or 715-265-7500 (Glenwood City) to schedule your appointment today. We will evaluate your neck for misaligned joints and recommend a treatment schedule to correct any underlying issues.

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Parents bring children into my office for a variety of reasons. The most common are headaches, difficulty sleeping, bed wetting and trouble focusing at school. However these are just a few of the great benefits of chiropractic for young children. Below are in my opinion the best 3 benefits of chiropractic for kids.

1) Better Sleep- Young children have problems sleeping for many reasons, however most, if not all of them are at least improved with chiropractic care. I have seen newborns who would not sleep for more than 2 hours at a time sleep for 8 hours a night after just 2 adjustments. I have also seen older children go from light sleepers waking up several times a night to deep sleepers getting a solid 9 hours after a handful of adjustments.

2) Better Focus- Think about how well you focus when you have a headache or a stiff neck. It is estimated that 8 out of 10 kids have subluxated (bones out of place) necks from the birthing process. In many of these cases this is left unaddressed until they are older. Once this issue is fixed many kids suddenly can concentrate much better! It’s amazing to see a kid who was having behavior issues at school suddenly become a model student. It can be that profound.

3) Improved Digestion- another very common reason parents bring in their kids is problems with stomach aches, poor digestion, or in the case of babies spitting up frequently. The nerves that supply the stomach and intestines exit the spinal cord in the lower mid back. This area is put under stress very often as a child’s spine grows and digestive problems are a common issue addressed with chiropractic care.

All kids (and adults) need to have regular spinal check ups to make sure the nerves are not being pinched by vertebra out if place. Call our office today (715-265-7500 for Glenwood City, 715-246-7500 for 4 Corners) to schedule your appointment today!

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Tendonitis is an extremely common condition caused primarily by the over use of a certain muscle or muscle group. When the tendons involved are not able to fully heal before being injured again the chronic condition known as tendonitis is often diagnosed.

Tendonitis is a form of repetitive stress injury.

Remember that tendons are the where the muscles actually attach to bone. As such if a bone, such as a spinal vertebra, is not moving properly it will directly affect the function of that muscle and increase the odds of tendonitis occurring.

While chiropractic frequently addresses the spine joints in the elbow, wrist, shoulders, knees, hips and ankles can also be adjusted. I have seen many cases of tendonitis resolve with a few adjustments and some simple soft tissue massage because this allows the proper movement of joints and removes enough stress from the tendons to allow them to heal.

Tendonitis can be treated with adjustments and muscle massage techniques.

If you have acute or chronic tendonitis call our offices today to schedule an appointment. Consultations are always free and I know we can help make a positive change in your condition.

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One of the interesting things about being a chiropractor is that people are always surprised to learn different conditions that I treat other than back and neck pain. Treating a frozen shoulder is one of the many things I do on a weekly basis that is really quite simple and that I typically see excellent results with.

A frozen shoulder is when the muscles of the upper mid back and shoulder area are essentially so tight and knotted up that they prevent the normal range of motion. In some cases this restriction is severe and results in the name “frozen shoulder” since there is so little motion.

Chiropractic works to correct this condition on several levels. First the adjustment itself gets joints in the spine that are not moving moving again. This relieves muscle tension and removes pressure on the nerves in the area and allows the muscles to begin to heal on their own. Second, as the muscles begin to heal they naturally re-gain the lost range of motion and hurt less, if pain was a secondary complaint related to the shoulder problem.

Many of the cases I have treated have seen instant improvement and this problem typically resolves with chiropractic care in 2-4 weeks. If you are struggling with a frozen shoulder call me today at 715-246-7500 (4 Corners) or 715-265-7500 (Glenwood City). We can get you in for a free consultation and see what we can do to help you.

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Lets say you slipped and fell. Following this you had low back pain and neck pain which caused you go to your chiropractor. He or she recommended a 2X/week for 2 weeks then 1X/week for 2 weeks plan that covered the 4 weeks it takes the body to heal from sprain/strain injuries. At the end of the 4 weeks you feel great!

Now what should you do?

I learned the hard way (8+ years of only getting adjusted when it hurts) that if you don’t keep up your spinal health it will never change much, just like your overall health. You can’t exercise for a week and call it good just like you can’t eat a months worth of food in one sitting and not eat the rest of the month.

To really get the most out of chiropractic it needs to be a regular part of your life. Consultations are always FREE at Arvold Chiropractic so if you have never been adjusted now is the time to start.

How regular is largely based on 3 factor. The first is your age and general health. The younger you are and the better overall health you are in decrease the amount of chiropractic you need to maintain a high level of spinal health.

The second is do you have a history of injury? Did you have a bad car accident? A sports injury? Any other type of major injury? If so your body has accumulated more wear and tear than someone who has not had such an injury. This will increase the amount of chiropractic care you require.

The third factor is how much stress do you put on your spine in an average week? If it’s a lot of stress, guess what? You need more adjustments per month than someone who does very little to stress their spine. What if you are not sure how much you stress your spine? An easy way to assess this is to ask yourself “do I have achy pain in my back more than 3 nights a week?” If the answer is yes you likely place a fair amount of stress on your spine and need more regular chiropractic care.

Everyone needs chiropractic and can benefit from it by being adjusted regularly. The question is simply how often. See your chiropractor today and they can help you determine how much care you need.

Remember that consultations at Arvold Chiropractic are always FREE. Call me today at 715-246-7500 to schedule your appointment. If you liked this article or know someone who would benefit from the information please share it.

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