Many of the older (over 40) patients in my San Diego chiropractic clinic deal with the sins of their past on a daily basis. All of the running, jumping, falls and various sports injuries combined with little or no remediating therapy takes its toll on us as we age.

These activities first become noticeable as little aches and pains that are easy to ignore or mask with pain killers. At some point, we simply start to eliminate the activities that cause discomfort. Everyday my patients indicate that knee pain, ankle pain or back pain have caused them to avoid activities like tennis, running, basketball and a whole list of other sports or leisure activities.

As we start to eliminate activities that cause discomfort we begin to suffer from lost range of motion, atrophy of various muscle groups and generalized deconditioning.

Maintaining joint health takes effort. Poor exercise techniques can cause joint stress and body balancing issues that cause joint pain. Poor nutrition can cause weight gain and an acidic pH balance which leads to joint stress secondary to the weight gain as well as inflammatory issues due to the acidic pH in the body. Finally, ignoring signs of pain and avoiding treatment will only help the painful joint condition to progress.

The good news is that you can help yourself. Help starts with seeing a chiropractor who can adjust the joints to break down scar tissue that has formed from past injuries. Breaking down the scar tissue will improve your range of motion and help relieve joint pain. You will also need nutritional support specifically for the joints. The right supplements can help reduce inflammation and repair damaged joint surfaces. Proper nutrition is a must. Foods and drinks loaded with preservatives, sugar, artificial sweeteners and coloring agents work against joint health. Eating a diet that mostly consists of fresh fruits, vegetables and fresh organic protein sources such as deep sea fish and free range chicken will aid in weight loss and reduce inflammation mediators that are found in “unhealthy” foods. Finally, a proper exercise program will help you find balance for your body which will reduce stress and prevent future injury.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com

Recently a powerful congressman, John Murtha, underwent a surgical procedure to remove his gallbladder and ended up dying from complications due to massive infection. While this is a common procedure that is performed with only rare complications, Murtha’s death should serve as a warning that “routine” medical procedures can have life changing or even life ending complications.

Eating a healthy with a good balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates combined with frequent exercise and effective stress reduction can help you avoid many different illnesses and diseases like the gallbladder issue that took Murtha’s life.

Eating a healthy diet can even help with common complaints of neck pain, lower back pain and headaches. Many people consume caffeine, sugar and nicotine unaware that all of these “foods” make you more pain sensitive.

Just as important to our health maintenance is exercise. Exercise keeps the muscles strong and flexible which helps them support your spine and other joints. Joints that are supported by strong, flexible muscles are less likely to suffer from painful joint conditions involving specific injuries or general wear and tear.

Finally, keeping a handle on stress can also help reduce your chances of developing neck pain and back pain. Stress often expresses itself as muscle tension. All of those tight muscles are attached to bones and joints. Muscles that are chronically tight will cause pain in the joints that they work upon.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com

As with most things in life, what is good for me may not be so good for you and visa-versa. As a general rule, the firmer the sleeping surfaces the better. That being said, a mattress should be comfortable. Remember however that comfort can be a fleeting thing – we can feel comfortable as we fall asleep but awake with back pain, stiff necks, sore shoulders or hip pain. A comfortable mattress should allow you get a full nights sleep and awake feeling pain free and rested. Some stores offer a comfort exchange plan that will allow you to exchange the mattress after a month or two if it is not a good fit for you.

A mattress should also offer the right amount of support for your lower back, shoulders and hips. The mattress should have enough give for your hips and shoulders so that when you are lying on your side your spinal column remains straight.

Another thing to consider is the cost of a new bed. This is an issue that I have with my patients that drives me absolutely crazy! If we get the recommended 8 hours of sleep each night, that equates to one third of the hours of each day that we spend in our beds. I have patients and friends who are so cheap when it comes to buying a new mattress while at the same time they spend $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 or more on cars that they drive for less than an hour each day.

Over the years, I have had patients buy mattresses from all the major brands. The Tempurpedic mattress or one made of memory foam are always popular as are the air support beds like the Select Comfort.

The bed that my patients have had the most satisfaction with is the Select Comfort. The idea of being able to change the firmness of the sleeping surface is a nice feature. I like to recommend this mattress because it can change as your comfort needs change.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com

I have always known that spending time watching TV was bad for me so years ago I made some decisions about how I was spending my time at home. Typically, I would come home from work and plop myself on the couch and watch TV. It doesn’t take a genius to know that there are several things wrong with this picture. More importantly, I KNOW BETTER THAN THIS!

Sitting in front of the TV is OK for planned entertainment – but not what I was doing. I was turning on the TV without knowing what I wanted to watch – I would “flip” until I found something I liked and then I would “veg” until I would fall asleep or get tired enough to go to bed.

I moved back in 2005 and decided that I would not subscribe to cable or any other TV service. I figured that while I was watching TV I was watching other people do active things and advance their careers. While watching TV I also get peppered with commercials designed to coax me out of my hard earned money. After being parked on the couch I would feel lethargic and sometimes my back or shoulders would get stiff or sore depending on how I was positioned. No good for my career or my health (mental or physical).

I see people in my San Diego chiropractic clinic all the time who are in pain because they spend too much time watching TV. Watching TV deconditions the muscles that move and support the spine. We also tend to eat more when we watch TV which obviously leads to weight gain. Weight gain combined with weakened back muscles is a perfect recipe for sprain / strain injuries that are the root of back pain and neck pain.

Do yourself a favor this year and watch less TV. Watching less TV is better for both your mind and body.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com

If so, you are part of a large group of people. Statistics tell us that about 80% of us will suffer with low back pain over the course of our lives.

Low back pain is a common complaint for the patients that I treat in my San Diego Chiropractic clinic. Chiropractors have the reputation of being the “back doctors”. I can’t tell you how many times I have had a patient tell me about a friend with either elbow pain or knee pain or shoulder pain who wouldn’t come into my office for care because they think that all chiropractors treat is back pain.

A recent episode of back pain that I experienced just renewed my level empathy for my patients with low back pain. Not that I had lost my empathy for my patients, but a little personal experience always helps with my focus.

Despite the reputation of being back doctors, chiropractors are trained to deal with all of the joints whether they are part of the spine or not.

The process that affects the joints in the low back is the same process that affects other joints in the body. They are irritated by a fall or some other injury. The irritation causes inflammation and the inflammation causes pain, swelling and scar tissue formation. The scar tissue limits the joints range of motion and can become a source of pain itself.

Treatment can be a simple as a few joint adjustments and a few sessions of therapy.

The next time you have a joint that aches, try chiropractic treatment. Most joint problems that cause lower back pain respond well to chiropractic care.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com

Regardless of the lack of damage to my patients’ vehicle, he knew immediately that there was something wrong with his lower back and his right leg. He told me that when his car was hit, he felt the metal framework of his seat apply a significant amount of force through his lower back. As he got out of his vehicle, he felt weakness and a little pain in his right leg.

I have patients that I treat for certain conditions that are later aggravated by car accidents but this case wasn’t one of those. This patient had no prior history of low back pain or sciatic pain – this current pain was all new.

After four weeks of chiropractic care for his injuries, both the patient and I were frustrated by his lack of progress. I sent him for an MRI of his low back which clearly showed 2 herniated discs in his low back – no doubt these were from his accident.

This patients’ options for care at this point were to go to an orthopedic surgeon or continue with chiropractic care at my office. He elected to continue with chiropractic care with the understanding that if his condition either failed to improve or worsened that he would consider an orthopedic consult.

In this case, this patient made significant improvement with chiropractic care and made a complete recovery. The odd things about this case was how little damage was done to the car by the accident and the fact that the patient experienced no neck pain while suffering significant low back injuries.

The bottom line is that even light impact accidents can create enough force to create a significant injury.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com

By far the most common injury that our patients suffer when hit by another car from behind is neck pain. Neck pain as a result of a car accident is usually caused by muscles and ligaments being stretched and torn from the force of the accident. I treat many people injured in car accidents in my San Diego Chiropractic office because chiropractic care is perfect for the types of injuries found in car accidents.

When you are in your vehicle and hit from behind, the first thing that happens is that your neck straightens and your head is whipped backward. As your head whips backward, the muscles in the front of your neck are stretched to their limit and sometimes beyond. The stretch placed on these muscles pulls and tears some of the muscle fibers causing a painful, strained or bruised feeling.

After your head is whipped backward, the muscles that were stretched in the front of your neck experience a forceful, reflexive contraction that whips your head forward and stretches or tears the muscles in the back of your neck which also causes a painful strained feeling in the neck.

Your neck is more likely to be injured in a car accident than other parts of your back because it has the smallest muscles, it has the least protection from the vehicle and it has to balance and control the weight of your head. All these factors lead to easy injury on the neck in a rear end type motor vehicle.

Chiropractic care is ideal for treatment injuries like whiplash. Chiropractic care reduces your pain, improves your mobility and helps you heal faster.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com

Arthritis, regardless of the type, typically results in permanent damage to the joint. There are many types of arthritis, some are the autoimmune type like rheumatoid or psoriatic.

With these types of arthritis, your immune system actually attacks the joints causing erosion of the joint surfaces as well as inflammation, pain and in severe cases disfigurement of the joint.

Other types of arthritis are the more typical wear and tear types. Usually these types of arthritis fall under the category of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative joint disease, DJD, OA and spondylosis. Other factors affecting the onset of osteoarthritis include genetics, metabolic and developmental issues – all of which can cause a loss of the joints cartilage which provides the cushioning for the joint.

Symptoms of arthritis, regardless of the types include joint pain, tenderness, creaking noises, stiffness, locking of the joint and swelling as a result of inflammation.

So now I am back at the original question. Can I cure arthritis with chiropractic care?

The “no” part of the answer is that chiropractic care cannot reverse joint damage or “cure” a patient from autoimmune types of arthritis or reverse the effects of osteoarthritis.

The yes part of that answer follows the logic of chiropractic care. Chiropractic adjustments break down scar tissue and adhesions that restrict joint motion and are a source of pain. Scar tissue and adhesions are common with arthritis and do restrict motion and cause pain. Chiropractic care helps reduce the pain of arthritis and restore a portion of the lost range of motion that accompanies arthritis by controlling the formation of scar tissue.

In general, chiropractic care can help control the pain of arthritis and help restore joint motion.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com

Joint pain from either cold or rainy weather is typically due to pre-arthritis or arthritis of the joints. The reason that joints ache when the weather shifts is debatable. Many experts feel as though scar tissue is at the source of this pain.

As it turns out, scar tissue is believed to be very sensitive to the changes in barometric pressure that come with rain as well as extreme changes in temperature.

Once one of our joints has been injured in a fall, motor vehicle accident, work injury, etc., the process of joint degeneration begins. The initial injury causes irritation of the joint. The irritation leads to inflammation which later cause scar tissue formation. Scar tissue not only limits joint motion but can be a source of pain itself. This is why some long lasting chronic joint problems are associated with both pain and stiffness.

Chiropractic care helps control joint pain by stretching and breaking down the scar tissue that is limiting joint motion and causing pain.

Through chiropractic manipulations, scar tissue that is responsible for neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, etc, can be reorganized and less of a burden to normal joint motion. Like anything mechanical in this world, if the parts (in this case the parts of the joint) are moving like they are supposed to with minimal restrictions, they will last longer and provide more years of reliable use.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com

After becoming a chiropractor and seeing x-rays of my neck, I have to conclude that had I received regular chiropractic care early on I would not have the issues that I have today.

My first set of chiropractic x-rays from 1991 showed mild arthritis in the joints of my neck. I was only 27 years old – and I had arthritis in my neck! Arthritis is usually thought of as an old persons condition. In reality, arthritis is more time related than age related.

In my case, a car accident in my teens led to chronic neck pain and stiffness. I did get some chiropractic care to relieve my pain but I quit treatment way to soon and didn’t make chiropractic care a priority in my budget until many years later. By that time, the damage had been done. The arthritis had started and I was well on my way to chronic neck pain.

Chiropractic care following car accidents helps restore normal movements of the joints in your back. It also helps reduce muscle spasms and break down scar tissue which can also be a source of pain and muscle spasm.

Since scar tissue build up and abnormal joint motion leads to arthritis, and chiropractic care helps break down scar tissue and improve joint motion, I can only conclude that had I received the chiropractic care that I needed that I would not be dealing with as many neck problems as I currently have.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com