Chiropractic- How Can It Help Me?

Chiropractic works because you are a self-healing, self-regulating organism controlled by your nervous system. Millions of “instructions” flow from your brain, down your spinal cord, and out to every organ, tissue, and cell of your body.

Aches and pains are signs that your body isn’t working right. Spinal damage or injury at any age can misalign bones and shift your head off center. This produces a defensive posture. Muscles contract and spasm, locking spinal joints in a misaligned position, which then compresses or pinches the nearby nerves. This improper motion in your spine, which houses your spinal cord and nerves, can interfere with the vital information exchange between your brain and body. This condition, known as “subluxation”, seriously compromises the function of your organs, tissues, and cells.

A thorough examination will help Dr. Epper find the levels of subluxation in your spine. By applying a precise, gentle force to the fixed joints, proper spinal motion, and function can be restored. In time, the nervous system revives, the injured area heals and health to your body returns.

However, there’s more to Chiropractic than pain relief. Chiropractic adjustments help improve the function and structure of your spine, reducing nervous system compromise. The result? Even non-spinal related health problems can show improvement. Without drugs or surgery. Regardless of age. Since 1895. Naturally.

HEADACHES AND CHIROPRACTIC CARE

Nearly everyone has experienced some type of headache in their life. Headaches are common, but that does not make them normal. Occasional mild headaches, such as 1-2 times a year, can be due to numerous causes and are usually not considered serious. Any frequency of occurrence (even once per month due to menstruation) is due to significant imbalances and if not dealt with properly can lead to more severe and debilitating symptoms.

An estimated 17.6 percent of women and 6 percent of men in the United States experience headaches on more than an occasional basis, and some 20 million regularly experience cluster and migraine headaches. The history of the headache can give clues to overcoming the cause of the problem.

Common causes of headaches include:

• Tension headaches: These are the most common type of headache and generally get worse during the day. This is due to gravitational stress, poor biomechanics and poor posture throughout the day creating spinal misalignments called SUBLUXATIONS. There is constant pain, tightness, stiffness, trigger points, and sore muscles found throughout the neck and shoulders.
• Headaches prior to eating: these can be due to low blood sugar.
• Headaches during a woman’s menstrual cycle: these can be due to imbalances of hormones and nutrients.
• Headaches caused by hidden food allergies.
• Headaches caused by exertion such as running, sexual intercourse and even coughing or sneezing.
• Headaches over the temporal area of the head, facial pain, or pain above the ear that is worse in the morning upon awakening: these are usually due to grinding of teeth during the night.

Many headache sufferers are led to believe that medication and invasive treatments from pain clinics are their only hope. For many using traditional medical treatments, relief is minimal and the number of side effects from long-term usage of drugs and pain medication does not offer a good solution.

Although a particular stressor may be associated with the onset or a headache, the initiation seems to be more dependent on the accumulation of stress over time. The categories of stress are: 1. PHYSICAL, 2. CHEMICAL, 3. EMOTIONAL. The nervous system is affected by each of these and many times in chronic health issues more than one category can be creating disease or dysfunction.

All 3 areas of stress can create SUBLUXATIONS and cause your nervous system to become compromised. SUBLUXATIONS are misalignments in the vertebrae that impair proper nerve function to and from the muscles, joint receptors, tendons, and ligaments. Subluxations also affect the autonomic nervous system and every function you are not consciously aware of such as constriction and dilation of blood vessels for proper blood flow, management of pain receptors, regulating heart rate and breathing and proper immune function and on and on. Subluxations also impair the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) throughout the spinal column and skull. The CSF flow carries vital nutrients to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and takes away waste products. If this process is hindered, even slightly, it will have global effects on a person’s entire health.

If you’re ready to rid your body and spine of the SUBLUXATIONS that may be causing your headaches, give us a call at 775.360.6046.

PIRIFORMIS SYNDROME, CHIROPRACTIC CARE & LOW-LEVEL LASER THERAPY

The piriformis muscle is found in your buttocks region and is a major stabilizer muscle of the sacrum in your pelvis. Piriformis Syndrome is due to irritation of the sciatic nerve as it courses through or underneath the piriformis muscle. In 20% of the population, the sciatic nerve passes through the piriformis muscle while in the remaining 80% the nerve passes underneath. When the pelvis is stable and all the muscles are working properly, anatomical positioning will not affect the nerve. However, when the pelvis becomes misaligned and rotated, the muscles attached to it do not respond properly – they either become spasmed or weakened. This can lead to significant pain.

Piriformis Syndrome may occur with no other degenerative changes to the area.  Therefore, diagnostic imaging, such as X-rays or MRI, is rarely helpful in the diagnosis but is still useful for ruling out hard tissue pathology. The pain associated with Piriformis Syndrome may be similar to sciatica.

The signs and symptoms of Piriformis Syndrome are:

• Cramping or aching pain in the buttock.
• The sensation of tight hamstrings and limited mobility on the affected side of the pelvis.
• Severe point tenderness to deep palpation over any part of the piriformis muscle/buttock.
• There is an increase in pain when the hip rotates outward.
• Trauma to the gluteal region is seen in 50% of cases.
• Sitting on hard surfaces, such as bleachers, exacerbates the pain.
• Sitting on a wallet that is carried in your back pants pocket stretches and irritates the piriformis muscle.
• If the pain goes below the knee the piriformis muscle may be involved. However, other factors such as a disc herniation at the L5/S1 level, may be affecting the sciatic nerve root as well.

In addition to proper Chiropractic Care, Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT or Photobiomodulation Therapy) can be used to increase the speed, quality and tensile strength of tissue repair, resolve inflammation, and give pain relief. LLLT has been found to offer superior healing and pain-relieving effects when compared to other electrotherapeutic modalities. The results are most beneficial for early stages of acute injuries but can also help chronic conditions.

Our office can help! Give us a call for your appointment: 775.360-6046.