Posts Tagged ‘Neck Pain’
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, February 17th, 2010
One of the more frequent questions that the patients of my San Diego Chiropractic practice have asked me over the years is “What is the best bed to get?”
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
Tags: Back Pain, Chiropractic, Hip Pain, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic, shoulder pain, stiff neck
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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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Monday, January 4th, 2010
Years ago I had a patient who sustained a serious low back injury in what seemed to be a simple, low impact rear-end accident. My patient was stopped at a red light and was hit from behind by a car that was maybe going 10 mph. The impact wasn’t severe enough to require any repairs to either vehicle.
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
Tags: Back Pain, car accident, chiropractic care, leg pain, lower back, Neck Pain, Sciatica
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Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Have you ever felt the neck pain associated with a whiplash accident?
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
Tags: Chiropractic, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic, Whiplash
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Monday, December 14th, 2009
Are you one of those people who knows when it is going to rain because your joints hurt? Are your joints sensitive to cold weather? If so, you are not alone.
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
Tags: Arthritis, Back Pain, Chiropractor, chronic joint pain, degeneration, Inflammation, joints ache, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic, shoulder pain
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Friday, December 11th, 2009
If you suffer with neck pain, I feel your pain. Ever since I was a kid I have struggled with neck pain and stiffness.
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
Tags: Chiropractic, chiropractic care, chronic neck pain, Neck Pain, San Diego, stiffness, Whiplash
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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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Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Do you believe the concept of junk in equals junk out concerning your health?
I have seen and heard some strange things regarding health and habits out of my patients of my San Diego Chiropractic practice over the years.
One of the stories that I like to tell regarding a friend of mine involved her smoking habits. This girl would not smoke in her car because she didn’t want to ruin the interior! What is worse yet is that she had a condition called Raynaud’s Syndrome which is a narrowing of the blood vessels that feed the fingers. This condition is found in smokers, it is painful and can lead to the lose of your fingers. All this, yet she smoked, but not in her car because she was concerned about The Car’s interior!
Smoking affects your chiropractic care because it restricts blood flow which makes you more pain sensitive and makes healing a slower process. Smoking can produce or prolong painful sensations for many conditions ranging from neck pain and back pain to sciatica and headaches.
Two other very common items that we consume that have a negative impact on our bodies is caffeine and sugar. Both caffeine and sugar increase our metabolic rate which make us more pain sensitive.
I have the nicotine, sugar and caffeine talk with all of my patients yet at some point during treatment, a fairly large percentage of them will come to my office with either a soda pop or a cup of coffee – once in awhile a few will smoke the last of a cigarette right outside our front door. All these indulgences are completely counterproductive to the goals of their treatment.
A final mention for this blog post is the prevalence and effect of wheat allergies. Wheat allergies not only cause dietary distress but they also can cause muscle aches and joint pain. Identifying a wheat allergy can go along way toward restoring your health.
Regarding dietary supplements, there are many support joint and muscle health, reduce inflammation and speed healing. I recommend these to the patients in my San Diego chiropractic practice on a regular basis.
If we treat our bodies with respect by limiting the intake of harmful substances while supplementing a few critical nutrients we can take some long strides towards supporting a healthier lifestyle.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, caffiene, Chiropractic San Diego, Headache, Neck Pain, Nicotine, Sciatica, wheat allergies
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Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Have you ever been to a chiropractor? Do you know what to expect on your first visit?
I see new patients every week in my San Diego Chiropractic office that seem to have no idea what to expect from their chiropractic care.
Most new patients are aware that the benefits of chiropractic care come from a treatment plan consisting of a combination of office visits and at home support with icing, stretching, exercising and good nutrition.
Some patients who are new to chiropractic care have the understanding that they have back pain because something is “OUT” and by having the chiropractor “crack it” back into place will fix all that ails them. While it would be nice if physical problems would repair this easily, it just is not the case. Usually pain involving a joint is the end result of years of stress and strain during which time muscle tension changes, scar tissue forms to support the joints and the actual movement of the joint has been altered. These things take time and patience to fully correct.
It is a fact that in some cases all or a significant amount of pain can be relieved with a single chiropractic adjustment, however, most of the time a treatment plan is necessary in order to truly correct the underlying problem that was responsible for the pain.
Neck pain, back pain, headaches and many other pains respond well to chiropractic care but as a patient you must keep reasonable expectations with your care. Following treatment recommendations including office visits and at home recommendations will give you your best chance not only to relieve your pain but to experience a higher level of health than you have had in past years.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, chiropractic care, head, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic
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Monday, November 16th, 2009
People are often confused by office work related injuries. Patients of my San Diego based Chiropractic Clinic often think of sedentary office work as safe and heavy manual labor as potentially hazardous.
While it is a fact that I see patients with neck pain or back pain that is related to heavy manual labor, it is also a fact that at least 80% of my patients who complain of neck pain, back pain, etc., were injured doing sedentary office work.
How does this happen?
Work in an office environment tends to be sedentary and repetitive. This type of work results in both mental and physical fatigue. Many office tasks involve scenarios that call for static positions of joints that are adjacent to joints that are required to endure repetitive movements. A good example of this would be keyboarding where the wrist is held in a relatively fixed position while your fingers peck away at the keys. This situation sets the stage for injury.
Our bodies were designed to move joints through full range compound movements. These kinds of movements encourage lubrication of joints and adequate blood flow. Without a good blood supply and joint lubrication, our bodies break down resulting in neck pain, back pain and a host of other issues involving the joints.
The question is, ‘If you work in a sedentary office environment, how do you prevent injury?’
The following guidelines will help you minimize fatigue and injury.
1) Maintain good posture
2) Limit repetitive reaching outside of your normal work space
3) Alternate work activities when possible
4) Take frequent rest, stretch and exercise breaks.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, Chiropractic, Ergonomics, Neck Pain, San Diego, Work Injuries
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Of all the symptoms that people suffer as a result of a whiplash injury, neck pain is the most common. Over the last 20 years, my San Diego Chiropractic Center has successfully provided treatment for hundreds of patients who have been injured in automobile accidents. Most of those patients indicate that their worst injury as a result of the accident involves their necks.
Whiplash accidents have a magnified effect on our necks because the muscles that support our necks are relatively week compared to the weight of our heads that they have to support. When we are in a rear-end type of accident that is known for producing neck injuries, the impact produces a wave of energy that travels up our spines and snaps our heads and necks sort of like when you crack a whip. The result is neck pain.
The muscles that move and support the neck and head simply become overwhelmed by the “whipping” motion of the spine and they end up getting stretched, strained, torn and sometimes even their attachment points are torn from the bone. Sounds painful doesn’t it? I have been unfortunate enough to experience this type of injury on a few occasions and I can confirm that it can be quite painful.
I have explained in blog posts in the past that joint injuries, like whiplash, follow a predictable path. In cases of whiplash, the joint is irritated / injured by the accident. The joint then becomes inflamed and the muscles around the injured joint spasm in order to limit movement of the injured joint. The inflammation causes pain and the muscle spasm causes stiffness and tightness. If the inflammation lasts for a long enough period of time, like more than 7 to 10 days, scar tissue and adhesions begin to form which further limit joint motion and also become a source of pain.
It is because of this process that a seemingly simple car accident injury can cause a lifetime of pain if it is not treated properly and in a timely manner.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: automobile accident, muscle spasms, Neck Pain, San Diego Chiropractic, Whiplash
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Saturday, November 7th, 2009
People are often confused by office work related injuries. Patients of my San Diego based Chiropractic Clinic often think of sedentary office work as safe and heavy manual labor as potentially hazardous.
While it is a fact that I see patients with neck pain or back pain that is related to heavy manual labor, it is also a fact that at least 80% of my patients who complain of neck pain, back pain, etc. were injured doing sedentary office work.
How does this happen?
Work in an office environment tends to be sedentary and repetitive. This type of work results in both mental and physical fatigue. Many office tasks involve scenarios that call for static positions of joints that are adjacent to joints that are required to endure repetitive movements. A good example of this would be keyboarding where the wrist is held in a relatively fixed position while your fingers peck away at the keys. This situation sets the stage for injury.
Our bodies were designed to move joints through full range compound movements. These kinds of movements encourage lubrication of joints and adequate blood flow. Without a good blood supply and joint lubrication, our bodies break down resulting in neck pain, back pain and a host of other issues involving the joints.
The question is, ‘If you work in a sedentary office environment, how do you prevent injury?’
The following guidelines will help you minimize fatigue and injury.
1) Maintain good posture
2) Limit repetitive reaching outside of your normal work space
3) Alternate work activities when possible
4) Take frequent rest, stretch and exercise breaks.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, Chiropractic, Neck Pain, work, Work Injuries
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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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Monday, October 26th, 2009
Most of the whiplash patients that I see in my San Diego Chiropractic Clinic complain of the same basic group of symptoms. Whiplash usually refers to neck pain that results from a sudden “whipping” of the neck and head that follows such things as motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, accidental falls and other injuries.
If you have ever been in a car accident and experienced pain in your neck, you have most likely had suffered a whiplash. Whiplash, also commonly referred to as a soft tissue injury, is an injury that involves the joints, muscles and ligaments of the neck and back.
The typical whiplash injury that we see in my chiropractic office is from a rear-end type of an accident. When you get hit from behind, your head is thrown backward which stretches the muscles and ligaments in the front of your neck. The second phase of this type of accident involves your head being thrown forward which can stretch the muscles and ligaments in the back of your neck. In severe cases of whiplash the damage can include the joints, discs and nerve roots.
Symptoms of Whiplash
Most people experience neck pain or stiffness either right after the accident / injury or within the next few days. Other common symptoms of whiplash include:
·
Neck stiffness
·
Muscle spasms
·
Headaches
·
Difficulty with swallowing and hoarseness
·
Abnormal sensations such as burning numbness or tingling
·
Pain between the shoulders
·
Back pain
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, Neck Pain, symptoms of whiplash, Whiplash
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Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
Being a San Diego based chiropractor, I talk to my patients all the time about the ill effects of bad posture. Poor posture can lie at the root cause of headache problems, neck pain, back pain, etc.
Oddly enough, whenever I think about my posture I find that I need to correct something. I will either find my upper back slumped forward, my head extended out in front of my body, my lower back rounded forward or my shoulders rolled forward.
Posture is difficult to maintain. I would guess that probably half of my patients end up in my office because of some injury, old or new, that is further aggravated by postural stress. Eliminate postural stress and many cases of neck pain and back pain would be eliminated as well.
One of the problems that we encounter with posture is that our awareness of our posture declines as we focus on other duties. Posture is especially difficult to maintain when we are seated in front of our computers. Our natural response toward any type of work that we perform is to lean into it. Getting close to our work helps us focus. Unfortunately, getting close to our work in this way instigates poor posture and the resulting stress can cause a number of different aches and pains.
Poor posture has become habit among most of us. The only way to improve your posture is to become aware of your bad posture and practice maintaining good posture. Sounds simple but it takes self awareness and plenty of dedication.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, bad posture, Chiropractor, Headache, Neck Pain, posture
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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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Friday, August 7th, 2009
In my last post regarding ergonomics, I reviewed five of the ten principles of ergonomics.
In this post I will review the rest of the ten principles of ergonomics. Remember that it is easy to think of ergonomic principles only being applied to your work duties but it is just as important to apply them to your at home and recreational activities as well.
Ergonomics should be taken into consideration when driving or working on cars, while playing musical instruments, during your workouts / exercise, walking the dog, etc.
So, picking up where I left off…
Principle 6 – Design workstations to allow for change of posture if at all possible. Sit / stand work stations with a higher seating surface allows you to significantly reduce postural stress by giving you the option to change positions and keep movement.
Principle 7 – Work stations should be spacious. Work should not be confined by cramped environments. The area should be large enough to allow for adequate room to complete the task yet contained enough to allow easy access to tools or other items necessary to complete the task.
Principle 8 – Make sure that your work is located at the proper height. You should be able to reach your work without overextending your arms and without straining your back or neck. In general, work should be done at elbow height. Heavy work should be done lower than elbow height and very light delicate work can be done at a level higher than elbow height to allow for better visual reference.
Principle 9 – Try to avoid fatigue – especially static loads. Static load on a muscle group is a continuous contraction over a long period of time. When static loads are combined with awkward postures or excessive force injuries are sure to follow.
Principle 10 – Minimize contact stress / pressure. Contact stress such as leaning on an elbow or having to apply sustained pressure on a lever, switch or tool can inhibit blood flow and interfere with nerve function.
These are the ten basic principles of ergonomics. Look for violations of these principles in your work / home and you will be serving yourself well! Identifying and eliminating a few ergonomic stressors can help you prevent or decrease neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, wrist pain and so on. It is definitely worth your effort.
Your’s In Good Health
Dr. Jones
(619) 280-0554
www.JonesPainRelief.com
Tags: Back Pain, cramped, Ergonomics, fatigue, Neck Pain, postural stress, shoulder pain, strained back, wrist pain
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