Posts Tagged ‘Headaches’
Friday, February 19th, 2010
At my San Diego Chiropractic clinic we stress the basics of good health. Diet, exercise and stress reduction go a long ways towards not only helping you feel better today but also toward helping prevent diseases such as gallbladder disease.
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
Tags: Back Pain, Diet, Exercise, Headaches, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic, stress reduction
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Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Did you know that in addition to putting your brain to sleep that watching television actually has considerable negative physical side effects? Watching TV is linked to weight gain, back pain, neck pain and headaches. Some recent studies even link too much TV watching to an early death!
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
Tags: Back Pain, Headaches, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic, sprain, TV
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Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Have you been involved in a whiplash accident? Do you have neck pain and headaches?
We treat patients who have been in whiplash accidents on a daily basis. One of the more common complaints that our whiplash patients have is headaches. In fact, I would say that headaches are the most common complaint that car accident victims have next to neck pain.
Usually headaches from car accidents are caused by damage to the neck muscles and the muscle tension from the accident. In my practice, almost everyone that I see with headache issues from a car accident also has neck pain. That is not to say that everyone with neck pain has headaches although at least 50% of them do.
Car accidents generate a lot of force through the neck and upper back. Under circumstances like those found during car accidents, the weight of your head is simply too much for the smaller muscles in the neck and at the base of the skull. When those muscles get stretched and torn, the other surrounding muscles tighten up as a protective mechanism. It is those tight muscles that trigger the muscle tension headaches that are so common after car accidents.
Chiropractic care safely and effectively helps you recover from both neck pain and headaches. Chiropractic manipulations ease muscle tension, improve your range of motion and reduce your pain. This care combined with at home therapies including ice packs, light stretching, light exercise and rest can help you regain your health.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Auto Accidents, car accident, Chiropractic, Headaches, Neck Pain, Whiplash
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Friday, October 30th, 2009
Back pain, neck pain and headaches are typical symptoms that people experience after a car accident. When we are involved in car accidents muscles get strained, ligaments get sprained and inflammation starts to settle in around the injured joints.
As it turns out, inflammation plays a big role in our health following a motor vehicle accident. Inflammation causes the muscles to tighten or spasm in an effort to protect the joint. Inflammation also causes us to feel pain. If the inflammation lasts for more than a few days it will cause scar tissue to form around the joints which also causes pain and decreased range of motion.
Since chiropractic care is so effective in treating the injuries associated with car accidents, I see many of these patients in my San Diego Chiropractic Center. Many of these patients had never been to a chiropractor prior to the care that they will receive because of their accident.
Chiropractic care for auto injuries should involve three separate phases of care.
The first phase of care should be directed toward to relieving pain. Ice packs, electrical stimulation, ultrasound and spinal manipulations all help to reduce pain and tension.
The second phase of care is directed toward improving the range of motion of the injured joints. It is important to “remodel” as much as the scar tissue as possible to help you maintain your full range of motion in the future.
The third phase of care is directed towards building strength and flexibility in and around the injured joints. Strong, flexible muscles that work to move joints that have full range of motion will help you maintain your spinal health in the future.
We would be happy to consult with you regarding care for your auto accident injuries.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, car accident, Chiropractic, Chiropractor, Headaches, Inflammation, Neck Pain
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Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Statistics indicate that every seven years you will be involved in an automobile accident. Before you panic you should know that in my San Diego based Chiropractic Clinic we provide treatment for those patients involved in auto accidents on a regular basis. I have treated patients in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s who have never been in a car accident and I have treated people who are in their 20’s and 30’s who have been in half a dozen. Some people just have enough accidents to cover all of us!
The most common injury resulting from car accidents is whiplash. Whiplash is a non-medical term that describes an injury that involves straining, spraining and sometimes tearing of the muscles and ligaments that move and support our joints, especially the joints of our spines.
Whiplash is most often associated with rear-end type auto accidents in which the heads and necks of those in the car being hit are suddenly snapped violently backward and forward by the force of the impact.
Whiplash can occur at almost any speed, even in low force auto accident at speeds as low or less than 5mph. Whiplash can also be related to other incidents or mishaps in which the head is pushed or jerked beyond its normal range of motion.
Common outcomes of auto accident injuries include serious and chronic neck pain, as well as back pain, headaches, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, nausea, numbness and dizziness. More serious injuries such as bruising of the brain can sometimes occur in auto accidents resulting in concussion.
If you were injured in an auto accident it is important to get evaluated by a chiropractor who is trained to deal with injuries related to auto accidents.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Auto Accident Injury, Back Pain, Chiropractic, Chiropractor, Headaches, injuries, Neck Pain, Whiplash
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Friday, October 2nd, 2009
The other day I was talking to one of my patients about the negative effects of stress on our bodies and the impact of a hormone called cortisol. She had seen that commercial for that weight loss product that they plug on TV that links belly fat to excessive levels of cortisol.
I explained to her that cortisol is a hormone that is produce by the adrenal glands when we are stressed. Cortisol is a good hormone that is secreted for specific situations in order to help your body respond to stress. The problems that we run into with cortisol are due to prolonged exposure to this hormone. Long-term high levels of cortisol are found in many people today because of the pressures of work, family and other stresses.
Long term cortisol exposure can produce the following negative effects on your body:
·
sluggish immune system
·
high blood pressure
·
insulin resistance which can lead to diabetes
·
fatigue
·
headaches
·
increase in belly fat
Cortisol has been shown to increase belly fat. It is that connection that we are concerned with in this post. Belly fat has been linked to many serious diseases including:
·
heart disease
·
gall bladder disease
·
certain cancers
·
osteoarthritis
·
diabetes
·
asthma
Belly fat is loaded with cortisol receptors, in fact it has four times more cortisol receptors than other type of body fat. When we get stressed, we secret cortisol which causes our bodies to store fat. Since belly fat has a high percentage of cortisol receptors, it is mobilized for fat storage.
Putting an end to this cycle involves a lifestyle change. At my San Diego Chiropractic Clinic we encourage stress reduction through exercise and stretching (yoga), nutritional support and chiropractic care to relax muscles, restore full range of motion of your joints and restore your health. Reducing stress will reduce your cortisol levels leading to less belly fat and a healthier lifestyle.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: belly fat, cortisol, fatigue, Headaches, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, stress, weight loss
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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Recently I have had an awakening regarding the importance of a healthy diet. I have always exercised and always watched my diet. That being said I would occasionally give in to cravings and didn’t always watch the sodium and preservative content of the foods I was consuming.
Until about two years ago I used to run three or four times a week and lift weights three times a week all while being “pretty good” with my diet. Despite all of this exercise, my body didn’t make any substantial changes. Sure, exercise kept my cardiovascular system in good shape and I was toned – to a point – but my abs continued hide under a thin layer of “stuff”.
I always suspected that the flaws in my diet, regardless of how insignificant that they seemed were what was holding me back from making the changes that I desired. Mind you, I am not a superficial person but I was aware that the same dietary faults that were preventing me from seeing my abs were also contributing to the stuffed, tired and bloated feeling that I was experiencing after most of my meals. I guess that when I see a fit person with defined abs I assume that they feel good versus feeling the way I did.
Aside from these personal revelations, Sandra Blackie, fitness guru and friend of my office once told me that the way we appear physically is about 75% diet and 25% exercise. Over the last few months I have made the effort to implement this idea.
I began a purification diet that involved Standard Process Supplements combined with a complete cleaning of my diet. I eliminated all foods that contained preservatives, dairy (which I knew for years made me ill), processed sugars and starches. What a dramatic change! I have leaned out considerably, I don’t get sick after meals anymore and I have more energy to do my exercise.
I look at all those years of running and lifting weights and think how most of that effort was wasted by my poor diet. I guess I learned that I should listen to authority figures regarding my conditioning much like I expect my chiropractic patients to listen to my recommendations regarding my treatment for their neck pain, back pain, headaches, etc.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, bloated, Diet, Exercise, Headaches, Neck Pain, tired
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Friday, August 14th, 2009
Turning forty-five has been a wake up call for this chiropractor. While I don’t think that I have let my health slide, I spend most of my energy trying to relieve my patients neck pain, back pain and headaches. With the hours of my day spent on others health care, I was not exactly setting the example that I wanted my patients to see.
A few months ago I changed my life with healthy eating and whole food supplements. I also began looking for more information on direct results that arise from bad diet choices. I found the following article on Yahoo’s health page and found it interesting.
If you think that the only consequence of eating fatty foods is weight gain in the long run, read on – you will be surprised!
Fatty foods have an almost immediate negative effect on short-term memory and exercise performance, British researchers say.
The study included rats that were fed a low-fat diet and trained to complete a challenging maze and to run on a treadmill. Half the rats were then switched to a high-fat diet. In subsequent maze and treadmill tests, the rats on the high-fat diet had poorer memory and muscle performance than the rats that kept eating a low-fat diet, The New York Times reported.
“We expected to see changes, but maybe not so dramatic and not in such a short space of time,” study lead author Andrew Murray, a lecturer in physiology at Cambridge University, told the Times. “It was really striking how quickly these effects happened.”
The findings appear in The Faseb Journal, published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
Murray and his colleagues found that high-fat diets had similar effects in humans, but those findings haven’t yet been published.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, Chiropractor, Headaches, health care, Neck Pain
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Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
In our San Diego Chiropractic clinic we provide treatment for patients with neck pain, back pain, headaches, etc. on a daily basis. On a superficial level, you could easily assume that we only care for the spine. This assumption would not be accurate. We provide treatment for many conditions, not only with traditional chiropractic care but also with nutritional recommendations, exercise, stretches, natural remedies and ergonomic recommendations. With that in mind, I came across this article regarding natural remedies for bug bites that is worth passing on.
It’s the summer season, bringing with it a bounty of banquets and outdoor gatherings-and itchy discomfort from the elements. When the bugs bite, the sun burns, or the poison ivy comes creeping, simply use these all-natural remedies for sweet relief from nature’s sting.
Take the Itch Out of Bug Bites
Summer’s unwelcome guests include: fleas, mosquitoes, gnats, fire ants, wasps, bees, and ticks. It’s humans versus bugs and, unfortunately, most of the time we lose. Though the bug bite itself is usually not painful, the body’s inflammatory reaction may cause pain, itching, redness, and swelling.
Try these all-natural remedies for a quick anti-itch fix:
o First things first: Remove stinger, if any, and clean the area with water. If it’s a tick, you must safely remove the tick with a pair of fine-tipped tweezers, grasp as close to your skin as possible, and pull straight out without twisting. It’s not a bad idea to keep the tick in a jar of rubbing alcohol; if you feel ill, this may help your doctor identify the illness and treat more effectively. Wash the bite with soap and water. An ice pack can provide temporary relief of pain and swelling. If you begin to feel achy, nauseous, fatigued, or otherwise ill seek a doctor’s care.
o Apply honey to a bug bite to bring relief and prevent infections. Honey has long been known for its antibiotic properties; in fact, honey-soaked gauze bandages were once used to heal burns and wounds.
o Be as cool as a cucumber. Place cucumber skins on top of the bites to soothe the itching irritation. You can also cut round slices from a fresh eggplant and place on top of the bite to draw out toxins and appease irritation.
o Apply tea tree oil to bites every 2 to 3 hours to relieve itching and aid healing. Tea tree oil possesses antiseptic, antifungal, and antibacterial actions and has been recognized by recent studies as playing a supportive role in skin care.
o For flea bites, soaking in a warm bath of Epsom salts and baking soda can ease itching.
In some cases, a serious allergic reaction called anaphylactic shock occurs, which can involve breathing difficulties and requires immediate medical attention.
I hope you find the ways to take the sting out of summer! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.
May you live long, live strong, and live happy!
-Dr. Mao
I hope that you find Dr. Mao’s natural remedies for bug bites helpful.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
Pain Relief Blog
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, Chiropractor, ergonomic, Headaches, Insect Bites, Low Back Pain
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Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
In my San Diego chiropractic office, I try to encourage health betterment beyond the obvious treatment that we provide for neck pain, back pain and headaches that represent the bulk of my patients’ concerns.
As that old saying goes; “Simply not being sick does not equate to being well.”
I always explain to my patients that in the absence of some catastrophic injury, most cases of neck pain and back pain begin as a slight irritation that we are totally unaware of. With time and additional stresses, these slight irritations can become magnified to the point where they become symptomatic.
Our diets act the same way. A few poor meal choices won’t destroy your health by themselves, but frequent poor meal choices over longer periods of time can have a significant negative impact on your health. You only have to look at a McDonalds or Burger King drive-through to see the long lines of people making poor food choices. These people who make frequent poor food choices (fast foods in this example) probably won’t suffer anything more than a little indigestion as a result of each meal. However, the accumulation of the effects of all of these poor food choices will do damage down the road.
Unfortunately, this all becomes more apparent as we age. We pay for our poor eating habits as we age for a couple of reasons. First of all, poor eating choices become habitual. Like any bad habit, changing poor eating habits is difficult. Secondly, with normal aging, our metabolism slows making our poor eating habits more detrimental than they were when we were younger and more active.
Regaining your health takes work on several fronts. Some of these things you can accomplish yourself and other things you need help with.
Patients that come to my chiropractic office for treatment for their neck pain or back pain often find this task one of the easy parts of getting healthy. In order to get help with pain, all the patients have to do is come to the office for their treatment.
The difficult part of restoring health is dealing with the bad habits that result in unhealthy diets, smoking, drinking and the like. Overcoming bad habits takes an exceptionally motivated person. Focus and you can overcome them and have a healthier body to show for it.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/?p=47
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, Chiropractic Treatment, Diet, Eating Habits, Headaches, indigestion, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic, Self Control, stress
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Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008
Chiropractic care is often thought of as treatment just for the back. While chiropractic care is extremely effective for neck pain, back pain, headaches, etc., chiropractors are also concerned with the overall health of our patients.
Nutritional concerns play a very important role in our general health. One of the common supplements that our patients take is fish oil.
We always stress the importance of fish oil for the heart and the digestive tract, but you probably haven’t heard that people who eat the most fish have the fewest eye problems.
The impact of fish oil on vision was a topic at this week’s meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. They reviewed evidense that showed that fish oil consumption extended to two very serious eye problems.
The first of these problems helped by fish oil is age-related macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is the disruption of the center of the retina where the fine nerve complex at the back of the eye essential for all fine visual tasks rests. Macular degereration is the leading cause of age-related blindness.
Fish oil protects the eyes from age-related macular degeneration because of a component of fish oil called docosahexaenoic acid also known as DHA. DHA is one of the omega-3 fatty acids linked to other health benefits. DHA helps vision by building up in the eye near light-sensing nerve cells.
“National Eye Institute researcher John Paul SanGiovanni, ScD, and colleagues analyzed dietary data from 4,513 60- to 80-year-old participants in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. Those who ate fish more than twice a week were half as likely to get macular degeneration as those who ate no fish at all. More than one weekly portion of broiled/baked fish or tuna lowered the risk by a third.
“The risk for [age-related macular degeneration] was significantly decreased for the highest versus the lowest quintiles of total [omega-3 fatty acids] intake,” SanGiovanni and colleagues write in their abstract.”
In another study, fish oil was found to protect the eyes from dry eye syndrome. Dry eye syndrome is a condition in which a person’s eyes don’t make enough tears. Dry eyes can lead to scarring of the cornea and vision loss.
A study of 32,470 female health professionals found that women whose diets had the most omega-3 fatty acids were far less likely to have dry eye syndrome.
Women who ate two to four servings of tuna a week had an 18% lower risk of dry eye syndrome than those who ate less tuna. Eating five or six four-ounce servings of tuna every week lowered this risk by 66%.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/?p=47
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, Chiropractic Treatment, DHA, fish oil, Headaches, Heart Health, Neck Pain, Nutrition, San Diego Chiropractic
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Monday, December 1st, 2008
When was the last time that you felt pain?
I treat people with back pain, neck pain and various other pains on a daily basis.
Pain is a very complex sensation. The body’s interpretation of pain involves both nerve and chemical processes that are relayed to the brain for interpretation. In my San Diego Chiropractic office, I hear my patients complain of neck pain, back pain, headaches, sciatic pain etc. Some of these patients suffer from acute pain while others who are less fortunate complain of chronic long lasting pain.
A study completed recently in Chicago revealed some very interesting things about brain activity in people suffering with chronic pain.
Brain scans taken of people in chronic pain show a constant activity in areas of the brain that are at rest in those who don’t suffer with chronic pain. Researchers said that this finding could help explain why chronic pain patients have higher rates of depression, anxiety and other disorders.
Apparently they found that chronic pain seems to alter the way people process information that is unrelated to pain. They found that enduring long periods of pain affects brain function even with tasks that demand minimal attention.
Studies have shown that in healthy people, certain regions of the brain take over during a resting state, something known as a default mode network. “It takes care of your brain when your brain is at rest,” Dr. Chialvo said.
When a person performs a task, this default mode network quiets down, but not in people with chronic pain.
Instead of quieting down, a front region of the cortex of the brain associated with emotion is constantly active. This constant activity disrupts the brains’ normal equilibrium.
To study this specific brain activity, Dr. Chialvo did a type of brain scan on 15 people with chronic back pain and on 15 healthy people.
In this study, volunteers were given a simple attention task — tracking a moving bar on a computer screen – in order to observe the brain shifting out of default mode to handle the task.
Both groups performed the task well but when they measured areas of the brain that were activated, the differences emerged.
“Where we were surprised is the difference in how much brain they used to do the task compared with the healthy group. It was 50 times larger,” Chialvo said.
They said disruptions in this brain activity could explain why pain patients have problems with attention, sleep disturbances and even depression.
So there you have it. If you feel a little off or if someone you work with or care about has trouble focusing or staying on task because of pain, your observations are correct. Give yourself and others a break.
Here’s To Your Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: acute pain, Back Pain, Chiropractic, chronic pain, Headaches, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic, sciatic pain
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Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
As a chiropractor, I am always asked “Does chiropractic really work?” This is an unfair and a loaded question. Chiropractic care is a very effective form of treatment for some things and not for others.
Being a Chiropractor in San Diego, I see sports related injuries all year round. Running injuries, falls from bicycles or rollerblades, golf injuries, basketball injuries – you name it and most likely we have seen it. More often than not these injuries result in typical sprain / strains that result in neck pain, back pain, sciatica etc.
The types of injuries that I just listed are a few of many joint injuries / symptoms that chiropractic care is very effective in treating. You might say that chiropractic care was made for such injuries. The reason that I say this is because of the nature of these types of injuries.
The typical sprain / strain injury usually results when a fall or an accident forces a joint through an excessive or abnormal range of motion. This type of injury stretches the ligaments and muscles that move and support the spine. The result of this type of injury is irritation and inflammation of the joint and scar tissue formation.
Without chiropractic treatment, the scar tissue from sprain / strain injuries restricts and or alters normal joint motion which can cause pain and stiffness. Chiropractic manipulations help to restore full, normal joint motion by breaking down scar tissue that would otherwise cause stiffness and pain.
Chiropractic care is an excellent form of therapy for reducing the effects of postural stress from sitting at a computer, poor lifting habits, poor posture and a variety of other stresses that we expose ourselves to on a daily basis.
So, does chiropractic work? The only way to know is go visit one and see. Chiropractors want their treatment to work and are reluctant to take on cases that may not properly respond to their therapy. No doctor that I know wants to have unsuccessful treatment sessions during the course of their work day. A good chiropractor can look at your history, perform an examination and make a sound determination on how well you will respond to care.
Here’s To Your Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, Chiropractic Treatment, golf injuries, Headaches, Neck, Neck Pain, Poor Posture, postural, running injuries, San Diego Chiropractic, Sciatica, Sports Injuries, sprain, strain, Work Injuries
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Saturday, November 15th, 2008
Being a Chiropractor in San Diego brings special challenges. In addition to our population leading more active and physically demanding lifestyles, they also are more likely to seek out alternative health care.
Neck pain, back pain, headaches and sciatica rule the symptoms that instigate new patient and returning patient visits.
What do they all want? Chiropractic adjustments of course!
Most of my patients consider themselves to be purveyors of natural health care. However, when asked about nutrition, most of them don’t have a good handle on it. Hence the topic of this blog post.
I thought that I would do a very brief overview of vitamins.
Vitamins are essential for us to maintain a healthy body. They regulate metabolism and assist the processes that release energy from digested food. The body needs vitamins in much smaller amounts than it needs carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water. Vitamins are considered MICRONUTRIENTS.
Vitamins act as coenzymes that work with enzymes that are the foundation of all humane bodily functions. They are the catalysts or activators in all of our chemical reactions.
Vitamins exist in two categories; water soluble and oil soluble. Water soluble vitamins must be taken into the body daily. Water soluble vitamins cannot be stored in the body and are usually utilized and excreted within 24 hours. Vitamin C and the B vitamins are examples of water soluble vitamins.
Oil soluble vitamins are stored for longer periods of time in our fatty tissues and in the liver. Examples of oil soluble vitamins include A, D, E, and K.
Both types of vitamins are necessary for maintaining health and fitness.
Vitamins are a small piece of nutrition. Just as important as taking vitamins is the ability to resist the urge to eat junk.
Soda, deep fried foods, tobacco, alcohol, refined sugar and many others steal our health.
True health maintenance has to include examining our nutrition.
Here’s To Your Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: alternative health care, Back Pain, Chiropractic, Headaches, Neck Pain, Nutrition
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Monday, November 10th, 2008
In addition to neck pain, back pain and headaches, my San Diego chiropractic office provides treatment for many patients with various types of repetitive stress injuries. This post will continue from where the last one left off and will describe what repetitive stress injuries are.
A Repetitive Stress Injury is a kind of catch all phrase for many conditions. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tenosynovitis / DeQuervain’s Syndrome, Tendonitis, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Trigger Finger, Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Chronic Sprain / Strain are some of the actual diagnosis that are rendered in my office. All of these conditions are serious and in many cases can cause great pain, permanent disability and sometimes loss of employment.
Repetitive Stress Injuries occur from repetitive movements involving a specific set of muscles and joints. RSI injuries are the result of an accumulation of stress and strain that causes irritation, inflammation, and eventually pain or other disability. A good analogy used to characterize the onset of RSI would be the “straws on the camels back” saying.
Initially, RSI affects the soft tissues of the involved joint(s). Soft tissues include muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons. However, if left untreated for long periods of time, the involved joint can become arthritic and form bone spurs resulting in permanent damage to the joint.
While various occupations ranging from meat cutters to construction workers develop RSIs that result from the typical duties of their professions, the most frequent cause of these injuries involve computer work. The constant muscular demands of keyboarding and mousing combined with the postural stress of confinement in an office chair with one’s neck and back held in prolonged fixed positions has resulted in an epidemic of injuries that includes hand pain, wrist pain, arm pain, neck pain, back pain and shoulder pain.
I hope that you are finding this information helpful. My next post will continue this series and will describe the basics of workstation ergonomic set-ups.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: arm pain, Back Pain, carpal tunnel, Cumulative Trauma, hand pain, Headaches, Neck Pain, Repetitive stress, San Diego Chiropractic, shoulder pain, wrist pain
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Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Arthritis is a scary word to most people. It is also a condition that most of think we will never be afflicted with.
In my San Diego Chiropractic clinic, I see people every day who suffer from the effects of arthritis. Besides the fact that arthritis slows you down and limits your physical abilities, it also causes pain. Neck pain, back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain and even headaches (secondary to the neck pain) are common complaints from people with arthritis.
Most of the patients that we provide chiropractic treatment for are suffering from a type of arthritis know as osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative joint disease, degenerative arthritis and wear & tear arthritis. The term osteoarthritis describes a type of arthritis that occurs because of a wearing down of the joint. Other types of arthritis such as rheumatoid are due to a more aggressive auto immune response that destroys the joints much faster than osteoarthritis.
In some cases, osteoarthritis is the result of some injury to the joint that resulted in unnatural or awkward movements of that joint. In the medical community we refer to these abnormal movements as “biomechanical abnormalities” In many cases, a joint has to be exposed to biomechanical abnormalities for years before the joint becomes laden with arthritis.
In my chiropractic office, we treat many patients for automobile accidents. I always tell these patients that while I am not trying to minimize the pain that they are currently suffering from, the most important aspect of their entire treatment program is to help restore normal biomechanics of the spine. This is because eliminating the pain associated with car accident injuries is important but the initial pain that comes with a car accident is only a fraction of the long-term discomfort that comes with biomechanical abnormalities (arthritis).
Of course I am referring to a process that involves whiplash of a joint leading to scar tissue formation causing abnormal biomechanics that results in arthritic joints.
We do provide effective treatment for the PAIN of arthritis but there is no treatment that CURES it.
The bottom line is this: If you have neck pain or back pain now, get treatment for it before it becomes an incurable disorder like arthritis.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Arthritis, automobile accident, Back Pain, Headaches, knee pain, Neck Pain, osteoarthritis, pain, San Diego Chiropractic, shoulder pain, Whiplash
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Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a healthy spine?
Being a Chiropractor in San Diego, I see many types of injuries. These injuries result in symptoms such as neck pain, back pain, chronic headaches, etc. The cause of these injuries ranges from car accidents and work or sports injuries to injuries caused by more domestic duties that result from around the house chores and sometimes things as simple as sleeping in an awkward position.
Of these injured patients, I would say that at least for the moment, while they are in pain, at least 75% of them ask “what can I do for myself to make sure that this doesn’t happen again?” This question served as the inspiration for this article and I will address in this post.
To begin with, pain is a great motivator. When people are in pain they take a proactive approach to their health. People often inquire about what kind of stretch or exercising that they can start right away. Unfortunately, the best thing that you can do while your injury is new is to apply ice packs to the injured area and rest. More often than not, over my 15 plus years in practice I have seen enthusiastic patients ignore this advice and end up giving their conditions major set backs. The time to start exercising and stretching your back for most of us is when it is out of its acute stage of pain.
My biggest struggles in practice have been dealing with my patients exercise and diet habits. Exercise is one of the few things that a patient can do at home, outside of chiropractic care, to help prevent or diminish the chances of developing back pain.
After an injury, you should approach exercise cautiously – almost to a point where the exercise that you are performing feels like it is doing nothing. If you can get through a few low intensity exercise sessions like this without aggravating your condition, you should slowly add resistance which allows you to build confidence and strength at the same time.
This is a sensible approach to exercising after a back injury. Slow and cautious – and under the advise of a health care professional. Strong muscles add strength and support to your spine and can only serve you in a beneficial way.
More Coming Soon
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Injury, Back Pain, Chiropractic, chiropractor in San Diego, Exercise, Headaches, Health, Neck Pain, Sports Injuries
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Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Have you ever had an episode of low back pain? How about low back pain with sciatica? Neither of these is good.
Many patients are seeking back pain relief when they visit my San Diego based chiropractic clinic.
That is not unusual since most people consider chiropractors as back pain specialists. That being said, we treat patients for a variety of ailments including neck pain, headaches, sciatic pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc. While all of these conditions sound like very different conditions, they are actually very similar.
Most of my patients that suffer with headaches also complain of neck pain or stiffness. In fact, many headaches are related to muscle tension that originates in the neck. The muscle tension or spasm in the neck triggers the headache. Therefore, by treating the neck with a combination of chiropractic adjustments, hot packs, ice packs, muscle stimulation and ultrasound; the muscle tension in the neck can be resolved preventing the headache.
This is just an example of how one problem in a specific region of the body can be responsible for symptoms in a separate area. Likewise, sciatica is most often related to irritation of joints and muscle spasms in the lower back. Similarly, carpal tunnel syndrome results from a process involving joints in the wrist and the surrounding muscles and ligaments.
All of the conditions that I listed above as well as many unlisted conditions follow the same path to becoming symptomatic. Either through some specific injury or ongoing trauma (such as keyboarding, mousing or improper lifting techniques), the joint becomes irritated and inflamed causing pain and muscle spasm. If the pain and spasm affects a specific nerve, the patient may experience additional symptoms such as sciatica or arm / hand pain.
Any pain that travels from the back or down down an arm or leg is an indication of a more advanced problem that requires immediate evaluation and treatment.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, Chiropractic, Chiropractor, hand pain, Headaches, muscle tension, San Diego, San Diego Chiropractic, Sciatica
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Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
Have you ever had chiropractic care for injuries from an auto accident?
At my San Diego based Chiropractic Clinic I provide treatment for many patients with neck pain, back pain and headaches. In many cases, the cause of these aches and pains are related to auto accidents or other types of personal injury.
More often than not, the accident in question occurred years earlier and the initial symptoms were not taken seriously by the patient. Most people don’t take the time to seek treatment for themselves yet they scramble to get their cars fixed. This thought process extends into other injury / treatment scenarios as well. I once had an acquaintance who smoked but proudly proclaimed that she didn’t smoke inside her car because she didn’t want to ruin the interior!
I don’t know why so many of us carry these kinds of thought processes. In the case of auto accident injuries, the little bit of neck pain or the slight headache or the lower back pain is often overlooked or dismissed and minimized as being un-important. This is flawed thinking. Imagine if we treated other health conditions with such disregard.
The injury mechanisms in whiplash type accidents are complex. Muscles are stretched and torn, ligaments can sometimes partially tear or rupture, intervertebral discs can become herniated and spinal fractures can occur. These injuries can lead to a vast number of symptoms that can cause anything from slight irritation all the way to severe disability.
While the mechanism of injury in whiplash cases is complex, the typical resulting spinal injuries follow a well established path. Initially, the muscles and ligaments in the injured area are irritated. This irritation leads to inflammation. Inflammation is not only responsible for many of the initial symptoms that you experience but it is also responsible for scar tissue formation which can make your symptoms permanent or chronic.
Statistically, 25% of all auto accident / injury victims will suffer from some ongoing symptom related to their accident. Chiropractors are experts in dealing with the types of injuries that occur as a result of auto accidents. The best way to insure that you are not a member of this group of 25% is to get an examination and possibly treatment, if recommended by your chiropractor.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Auto Accidents, Back Pain, Chiropractic, Chiropractor, Headaches, Neck Pain, personal injury, San Diego Chiropractic
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Monday, October 27th, 2008
I believe we all want to be healthy. The question is, however, what is health? And, how do we “get” healthy?
In my San Diego chiropractic office, I always try to encourage health beyond the obvious treatment for neck pain, back pain and headaches that represent the bulk of my patients concerns. Most of my patients at least entertain the idea of making lifestyle changes for the sake of better health. Some want nothing to do with it. In their mindset, being out of pain is good enough for them.
I always explain to my patients that in the absence of some catastrophic injury, most cases of neck pain and back pain begin as a slight irritation that we are totally unaware of. With time and additional stresses, these slight irritations can become magnified to the point where they become symptomatic.
Our diets act the same way. A few poor meal choices won’t destroy your health by themselves, but frequent poor meal choices over longer periods of time can have a significant negative impact on your health. You only have to look at a McDonalds or Burger King drive-through to see the long lines of people making poor food choices. These people who make frequent poor food choices (fast foods in this example) probably won’t suffer anything more than a little indigestion as a result of each meal. However, the accumulation of the effects of all of these poor food choices will do damage down the road.
Unfortunately, this all becomes more apparent as we age. We pay for our poor eating habits as we age for a couple of reasons. First of all, poor eating choices become habitual. Like any bad habit, changing poor eating habits is difficult. Secondly, with normal aging, our metabolism slows making our poor eating habits more detrimental than they were when we were younger and more active.
Regaining your health takes work on several fronts. Some of these things you can accomplish yourself and other things you need help with.
Patients that come to my San Diego chiropractic office for treatment for their neck pain or back pain often find this task one of the easy parts of getting healthy. In order to get help with pain, all the patients have to do is come to the office for their treatment.
Part of restoring health is complicated with the bad habits that result in unhealthy diets, smoking, drinking and the like. Overcoming bad habits takes an exceptionally motivated person. Focus and you can overcome them and have a healthier body to show for it.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
http://www.jonespainrelief.com/blog1/
www.sdchiropracticcare.com
Tags: Back Pain, bad habits, Diet, Fitness, Headaches, Health, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic
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