Author: hyftechnologies

Discs do not actually “slip”. Rather, they may herniate or bulge outward. A herniation is a displaced fragment of the center part of the disc.

You may have heard the term “slipped disc” used to describe a low back injury. Discs do not actually “slip.” Rather, they may herniate or bulge out from between the bones. A herniation is a displaced fragment of the center part or nucleus of the disc that is pushed through a tear in the outer layer or annulus of the disc. Pain results when irritating substances are released from this tear and also if the fragment touches or compresses a nearby nerve. Disc herniation has some similarities to degenerative disc disease and discs that herniate are often in an early stage of degeneration. Herniated discs are common in the low back or lumbar spine.

What Causes Discs to Herniate?

Many factors decrease the strength and resiliency of the disc and increase the risk of disc herniation. Life style choices such as smoking, lack of regular exercise, and inadequate nutrition contribute to poor disc health. Poor posture, daily wear and tear, injury or trauma, and incorrect lifting or twisting further stress the disc. If the disc is already weakened, it may herniate with a single movement or strain such as coughing or bending to pick up a pencil.

How do I Know if I Have a Disc Herniation?

Herniated discs are most likely to affect people between the ages of 30 and 40. Disc herniations may be present without causing pain. The most common symptom will be pain in the area of the herniation that may radiate across the hips or into the buttocks. You may also experience numbness or pain radiating down your leg to the ankle or foot. If the herniation is large enough, you may notice weakness with extension of your big toe and you may be unable to walk on your toes or heels. In severe cases of lumbar disc herniation, you may experience changes in your bowel or bladder function and may have difficulty with sexual function.

How is a disc herniation treated?

Mild to moderate disc herniations can usually be treated conservatively with stretching, exercise therapy and chiropractic care. More advanced cases will often require some form of spinal decompression, such as traction or mechanical decompression, in conjunction with chiropractic care.

Occasionally, a herniation may be severe enough to warrant surgical intervention. These cases are usually reserved as a last resort when other forms of therapy have failed to relieve pain, or if there is significant compression of the spinal cord or nerves.

Pain that radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg is the hallmark of sciatica. Occasionally, sciatic pain in men is caused by sitting on a wallet.

The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It runs from your pelvis, through your hip area and buttocks and down each leg. The sciatic nerve branches into smaller nerves as it travels down the legs providing feeling to your thighs, legs, and feet as well as controlling many of the muscles in your lower legs. The term sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of this nerve.

What Causes Sciatica?

Sciatica is actually a sign that you have an underlying problem putting pressure on a nerve in your lower back. The most common cause of this nerve compression is a bulging or herniated lumbar disc. Piriformis syndrome is another common cause of sciatica. The piriformis is a muscle that lies directly over the sciatic nerve. If this muscle becomes tight or if you have a spasm in this muscle, it puts pressure directly on the sciatic nerve. Occasionally, sciatic pain in men is caused by sitting on a wallet.

How do I Know if I Have Sciatica?

Pain that radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg is the hallmark of sciatica. Sciatica may be accompanied by numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness in the affected leg. This pain can vary widely, from a mild ache to a sharp, burning sensation or excruciating discomfort. Sometimes it may feel like a jolt or electric shock. Sciatic pain often starts gradually and intensifies over time. It’s likely to be worse when you sit, cough or sneeze.

How is Sciatica Treated?

The vast majority of the time, sciatic pain can be relieved through a combination of stretches, deep tissue massage of the piriformis muscle and chiropractic care. Occasionally, in cases where chronic spasm of the low back or piriformis muscles is causing the sciatic pain, it may be necessary to do a procedure called a trigger point injection, where a medical pain specialist injects a small amount of anesthetic directly into a spasmed muscle to break the spasm cycle. However, this is typically not necessary.

Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine that causes stiffness and pain. People with scoliosis have a sideways curve in their spine that makes an “S” or “C” shape. Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine that causes stiffness and pain. It is called an idiopathic disease because the cause of it is unknown. Scoliosis is more common in females and begins in childhood. However, merely two percent of the population is afflicted. If it is detected early, scoliosis treatment will prevent it from worsening over time.

Scoliosis is derived from the Greek term meaning curvature. People with scoliosis have a sideways curve in their spine that makes an “S” or “C” shape. The vertebrae can rotate at the thoracic level of the spine causing this curve and resulting in a hump near the rib cage. If the curve is more than 60 degrees it is considered serious. Usually this curve makes the waist or shoulders uneven. And unlike the normal curvature of the spine, adjusting your posture will not correct the problem.

In some instances, the degenerative diseases of the spine can cause scoliosis. Osteoporosis is when the bones soften and usually occurs in older people. This softening can cause the vertebrae to bend and shape the curve causing scoliosis or kyphosis (round back). If not treated properly, severe back pain, deformity, and difficulty breathing can be some symptoms that will arise.

Chiropractic care can help improve this condition. We look at your overall health examining your spine as well as other factors of your lifestyle. To help identify the problem’s cause, we will discuss symptoms and previous injuries, your family’s health history, and recreational and work-related activities.

Most exams for scoliosis include the Adam’s Forward Bending Test and have been adopted by many schools, whereas they test for this in physical education classes. It requires the person to bend at the waist as someone views the spinal alignment. If there is an abnormal prominence or hump we can help you. We will measure the length of the legs to determine unevenness. We also perform a range of motion test that measures the degree to which the patient has mobility at the waist. If needed, we will refer you to a specialist for further scoliosis treatment.

An orthopedic brace can be used to prevent the curve from worsening and does not limit physical activity. Moist heat will help alleviate some pain. In extreme cases surgery may be required but only after the continuous observation has shown that a brace is not helping. Spinal fusion and instrumentation is a surgery specialized for people with scoliosis whereas rods and hooks are inserted to help align your spine and prevent further curving.

Regular visits to observe the progression of scoliosis, are an integral part of living a full and happy life. Scoliosis can be treated in various ways to help alleviate pain and restore normal functionality. Regardless of the treatment used, physical therapy may be added to scoliosis treatment to increase muscle strength and mobility. If you have any questions about your physical limitations, please contact us.

Although most chiropractors don’t directly treat Osteoporosis, chiropractic care directly addresses spinal misalignments, which in turn directly impact proper functioning of the nerve system..

Osteoporosis is a metabolic disease involving loss of bone tissue and the disorganization of bone structure. Osteoporosis affects more than 200 million people worldwide and more than 10 million Americans. In the United States an additional 18 million persons have low bone mass. The total of 28 million individuals represents almost 10% of all Americans, characterizing the pandemic nature of these disorders of bone.

A long list of other diseases may cause bone loss (osteopenia), including many varieties of malignant cancer, hyperthyroidism, and malabsorption syndrome. Osteoporosis is bone loss specifically related to metabolic factors. These factors include calcium levels, vitamin D levels, and the activity of osteoblasts – bone cells which produce bone matrix. Bone matrix is a mix of organic components such as collagen and inorganic materials such as phosphate and calcium. Loss of bone mass describes loss of the components of the bone matrix.

Many conditions, circumstances, and deficiencies may be implicated in the development of osteoporosis. Menopause is strongly correlated with the presence of osteoporosis. Age greater than 50 and smoking are strongly correlated, as well. Calcium deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, inadequate dietary protein, and certain gastrointestinal syndromes are all causes of loss of bone mass and osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis primarily affects weight-bearing bones, including the pelvis, femur (thigh bone), and lumbar vertebras. Bone loss in these critical structures may directly result in hip fractures and fractures of the lumbar spine, which are some of the potentially debilitating and devastating outcomes of osteoporosis. Importantly, the development of osteoporosis is often associated with lack of exercise.

In consequence, consistent weight-bearing exercise is a key lifestyle choice in helping to prevent loss of bone mass. When we exercise, particularly when we do gravity-resisting activities such as walking, running, and bicycling or various types of strength-training exercises, our bodies respond not only by building new muscle. but also by building new bone. This physiologic response is known as Wolff’s law, which states that bone remodels along lines of physiologic stress. In other words, bone responds to mechanical challenges by building more bone. The result is stronger, denser bones which are much less likely to fracture.

Where does chiropractic care come in? Chiropractic care directly addresses spinal misalignments, which in turn directly impact proper functioning of the nerve system. Spinal misalignments are associated with tight and inflamed spinal ligaments and muscles and restricted mobility in the neck, lower back, and/or mid-back. These factors result in deficient flow of information between the nerve system and the rest of your body. When your cells and tissues aren’t receiving the correct information they need, symptoms and disease are the likely result.

In terms of osteoporosis, regular, vigorous exercise and proper nutrition provide the right setting and the right ingredients for maintaining healthy bones. Regular chiropractic care, by correcting spinal misalignments and optimizing nerve system functioning, makes it possible for your body to properly use your exercise and nutrition to keep your bones healthy and strong.

Tension headaches are the most common type of headache. The pain usually spreads throughout the head so that sufferers feel like they’re wearing a tight band.

Doctors divide tension headaches into two types — episodic and chronic. The episodic variety lasts from half an hour to a week, and recurs for up to two weeks each month. Chronic tension headaches may be continuous and last for hours. If you have the band-around-your-head feeling for more than 15 days a month, for at least three months in a row, you may suffer from chronic tension headaches.

Tension headaches usually correlate with depression, anxiety and emotional suffering. Alternatively, the cause could be physical, such as muscle strain due to a neck injury or abnormality in the cervical vertebrae. Some children develop tension headaches due to eye strain.

Symptoms

Tension headache symptoms include:

• Persistent dull ache in the head
• Tender shoulder and neck muscles
• Sensitive scalp
• Tightness around forehead, sides and back of head
• Worsening as the day goes on

Treatment

Treatment focuses on preventing tension headaches and on decreasing pain once they strike. You can take prescription-strength or over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers. For non-drug pain relief, try altering temperature. A heating pad or an ice pack might help. You can also try acupuncture or massage.

Some doctors prescribe preventive medicines, including antidepressants, muscle relaxants and anticonvulsants. These help some sufferers, but have side effects.

Given that tension headaches often go hand in hand with anxiety and stress, some sufferers try calming activities, such as yoga, meditation or spending time in nature. Regular aerobic exercise can ease depression and possibly decrease headache pain.

Chiropractic Care and Tension Headaches

Improving your posture might keep your neck muscles more relaxed. A chiropractor can assess your spinal alignment and make manual adjustments as needed. Because many tension headaches start in the neck, your chiropractic doctor might focus on adjusting your cervical vertebrae. He or she might also advise you on ergonomics, relaxation techniques and helpful exercises.

Chiropractic care offers pain relief without the side effects of medications. If you suffer from tension headaches, call our clinic today so we can help alleviate your symptoms.

About 36 million Americans suffer from the debilitating headaches known as migraines, according to the Migraine Research Foundation. Women between the ages of 25 and 55 are the likeliest victims. Migraine headaches can last anywhere from a few hours to three days, drastically compromising individuals’ work, social and family lives and often landing them in emergency rooms. Other issues may accompany the migraine, such as nausea, visual disturbances, dizziness, tingling and sensitivity to light, sound, smell and touch.

Symptoms

Migraines often start on one side of the head, but may spread to both sides. Typically, the worst pain is around the sides of the forehead. Many sufferers experience what’s called an aura. This visual disturbance may manifest itself as a temporary blind spot, blurred vision, zigzag lines or flashing lights. When a migraine occurs, sufferers likely feel irritable, depressed and simply want to lie down in a dark and quiet room.

Causes

Why do some people get migraines and others don’t? Researchers aren’t sure. Genetics seem to play a part. When the migraine starts, blood vessels constrict, which can cause the changes in vision. Then the vessels dilate, flooding the brain with blood and ramping up the headache.

Triggers vary between individuals. Alcohol and certain foods, such as chocolate, aged cheeses or meals containing nitrates or MSG, launch many a headache. For other people, crying, stress, odors, hormonal fluctuation or loud noises can trigger migraines.

Treatment

Unfortunately, researchers haven’t yet figured out how to cure migraines. Treatment focuses on two fronts: preventing migraines and decreasing pain once a headache is underway.

If you suffer from migraines, keep a headache journal. Recording the events in the 24 hours preceding your migraine can help you identify triggers. If your headaches coincide with eating certain foods, prevention may require a change in diet. If stress triggers migraines, learning relaxation techniques could be helpful.

Many doctors prescribe medications for preventing migraines, including beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, antidepressants, anticonvulsants and even Botox. Sufferers can also take drugs that constrict blood vessels in the brain as soon as they feel a headache coming on. These approaches work for some people, but most medications have side effects.

Alternative therapies for preventing migraine headaches include massage, herbs, nutritional supplements and acupuncture. Sufferers and researchers have experimented with many vitamins, herbs and minerals. According to the Mayo Clinic, some evidence suggests that the herbs butterbur and feverfew may prevent migraine headaches, or at least decrease their severity. Coenzyme Q10 and high doses of vitamin B2 might also help prevent or reduce the frequency of migraines. Don’t experiment with these supplements if you’re pregnant.

Chiropractic Care and Migraines

Some migraine sufferers turn to chiropractors for relief from their headaches. Spinal manipulations lessened the severity and frequency of attacks in some clinical trial participants, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

If you suffer from migraines, call our clinic. A spinal adjustment could help your condition without the side effects of medications.

Headaches affect just about everyone at some point and they can present themselves in many different ways. Some people only experience pain in one part of their head or behind their eyes, some people experience a pounding sensation inside their whole head, and some people even experience nausea, while others do not. The pain itself may be dull or sharp and may last for anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Fortunately, very few headaches have serious underlying causes, but those that do require urgent medical attention.

Although headaches can be due to a wide variety of causes, such as drug reactions, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), tightness in the neck muscles, low blood sugar, high blood pressure, stress and fatigue, the majority of recurrent headaches are of two types: tension headaches (also called cervicogenic headaches) and migraine headaches. There is a third, less common, type of headaches called a cluster headache that is a cousin to the migraine.

Chiropractic Care for Headaches

Numerous research studies have shown that chiropractic adjustments are very effective for treating tension headaches, especially headaches that originate in the neck.

A report released in 2001 by researchers at the Duke University Evidence-Based Practice Center in Durham, NC, found that “spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of tension-type headache than commonly prescribed medications.” These findings support an earlier study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics that found spinal manipulative therapy to be very effective for treating tension headaches. This study also found that those who stopped chiropractic treatment after four weeks continued to experience a sustained benefit in contrast to those patients who received pain medication.

Each individual’s case is different and requires a thorough evaluation before a proper course of chiropractic care can be determined. However, in most cases of tension headaches, significant improvement is accomplished through manipulation of the upper two cervical vertebrae, coupled with adjustments to the junction between the cervical and thoracic spine. This is also helpful in most cases of migraine headaches, as long as food and lifestyle triggers are avoided as well.

Headache Trigger Points

Trigger point therapy for headaches tends to involve four muscles: the Splenius muscles, the Suboccipitals, the Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and the Trapezius. The Splenius muscles are comprised of two individual muscles – the Splenius Capitis and the Splenius Cervicis. Both of these muscles run from the upper back to either the base of the skull (splenius capitis) or the upper cervical vertebrae (splenius cervicis). Trigger points in the Splenius muscles are a common cause of headache pain that travels through the head to the back of the eye, as well as to the top of the head.

The Suboccipitals are actually a group of four small muscles that are responsible for maintaining the proper movement and positioning between the first cervical vertebra and the base of the skull. Trigger points in these muscles will cause pain that feels like it’s inside the head, extending from the back of the head to the eye and forehead. Often times it will feel like the whole side of the head hurts, a pain pattern similar to that experienced with a migraine.

The Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle runs from the base of the skull, just behind the ear, down the side of the neck to attach to the top of the sternum (breastbone). Although most people are not aware of the SCM trigger points, their effects are widespread, including referred pain, balance problems and visual disturbances. Referred pain patterns tend to be deep eye pain, headaches over the eye and can even cause earaches. Another unusual characteristic of SCM trigger points is that they can cause dizziness, nausea and unbalance.

The trapezius muscle is the very large, flat muscle in the upper and mid back. A common trigger point located in the very top of the Trapezius muscle refers pain to the temple and back of the head and is sometimes responsible for headache pain. This trigger point is capable of producing satellite trigger points in the muscles in the temple or jaw, which can lead to jaw or tooth pain.

Avoid Headache Triggers

• Stress may be a trigger, but certain foods, odors, menstrual periods, and changes in weather are among many factors that may also trigger headache.
• Emotional factors such as depression, anxiety, frustration, letdown, and even pleasant excitement may be associated with developing a headache.
• Keeping a headache diary will help you determine whether factors such as food, change in weather, and/or mood have any relationship to your headache pattern.
• Repeated exposure to nitrite compounds can result in a dull, pounding headache that may be accompanied by a flushed face. Nitrite, which dilates blood vessels, is found in such products as heart medicine and dynamite, but is also used as a chemical to preserve meat. Hot dogs and other processed meats containing sodium nitrite can cause headaches.
• Eating foods prepared with monosodium glutamate (MSG) can result in headache. Soy sauce, meat tenderizer, and a variety of packaged foods contain this chemical which is touted as a flavor enhancer.
• Headache can also result from exposure to poisons, even common household varieties like insecticides, carbon tetrachloride, and lead. Children who ingest flakes of lead paint may develop headaches. So may anyone who has contact with lead batteries or lead-glazed pottery.
• Foods that are high in the amino acid tyramine should also be avoided, such as ripened cheeses (cheddar, brie), chocolate, as well as any food pickled or fermented foods.

While no headache is pleasant, cluster headaches can be particularly uncomfortable. Sufferers liken the sensation to a hot poker being stuck in their eyes, and may even feel like their eyes are being shoved out of their sockets.

Cluster headaches get their name because they occur in a cyclical pattern. The cluster of headaches may last for weeks or months, with remission periods in between. They are also called “suicide headaches,” because they can drive sufferers to despair.

Symptoms

Cluster headaches attack quickly, often painfully awakening people in the middle of the night. Usually the pain focuses around one eye, but can radiate to the face, neck, head or shoulders. Symptoms include drooping eyelids, facial swelling, excessive tearing and a runny nose, usually on one side of the face. The pain and discomfort makes sufferers irritable. Often they pace back and forth. Lying down tends to increase the pain.

The duration of a cluster period varies. During a period of cluster headaches, the sufferer usually gets at least one headache per day, lasting between 15 minutes and three hours. Some sufferers have predictable cluster headaches, which present at the same time every day, or even during a certain season. Often they strike an hour or two after going to bed.

Risk Factors

Men are likelier victims than women, and usually develop this headache disorder between the age of 20 and 50. Smoking and drinking seem to exacerbate the problem. Genetics may also play a role. Researchers do not know the cause of cluster headaches, but suspect it could be linked to an abnormality in the hypothalamus. This part of the brain controls body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue and many other bodily functions.

Treatment

Several medications help people with cluster headaches. A doctor can inject the sufferer with drugs called triptans, which ease both cluster headaches and migraines, or with a synthetic hormone called octreotide. Local anesthetics can numb parts of the face. Inhaling pure oxygen often dramatically decreases the grip of cluster headaches within 15 minutes.

The doctor may prescribe a preventive treatment, such as regularly taking calcium channel blockers, lithium carbonate or corticosteroids, which suppress inflammation. However, these medications all have side effects. Taking 10 milligrams of melatonin nightly is a relatively safe intervention that helps some sufferers.

In rare cases, surgeons try to damage nerve pathways around the eyes. Newer treatments involve implanting electrodes in sufferers’ heads to block pain signals.

Because cluster headaches are so intense, the afflicted may feel desperate. Talking to a therapist or joining a support group may provide coping mechanisms.

Chiropractic Treatment for Cluster Headaches

Chiropractors restore necks to their proper alignment. A misaligned cervical vertebra can put pressure on the trigeminal nerve, which carries pain signals during a cluster headache. Sufferers might find help from an upper cervical chiropractic adjustment.

You chiropractor might prescribe exercises or make suggestions to improve your work station’s ergonomics. This assistance might also cut down on misalignments that could aggravate your cluster headaches.

If you suffer from cluster headaches, call our office today. We may be able to help you without the side effects of medications.

Chiropractic care can help the spine and pelvis cope with the effects of pregnancy by restoring a state of balance.

During pregnancy, a woman’s center of gravity shifts forward to the front of her pelvis. This additional weight in front, causes stress to the joints of the pelvis and low back. As the baby grows in size, the added weight causes the curvature of her lower back to increase, placing extra stress on the fragile facet joints on the back side of the spine. Any pre-existing problems in a woman’s spine tend to be exacerbated as the spine and pelvis become overtaxed, often leading to pain and difficulty performing normal daily activities.

Studies have found that about half of all expectant mothers develop low-back pain at some point during their pregnancies. This is especially true during the third trimester when the baby’s body gains the most weight. Chiropractic care throughout pregnancy can relieve and even prevent the pain and discomfort frequently experienced in pregnancy, and creates an environment for an easier, safer delivery. It is one safe and effective way to help the spine and pelvis cope with the rapid increase in physical stress by restoring a state of balance. In fact, most women have found that chiropractic care helped them avoid the use of pain medications during their pregnancy, and studies have shown that chiropractic adjustments help to reduce time in labor. Your chiropractor should be your partner for a healthy pregnancy. They can provide adjustments, as well as offer nutritional, ergonomic and exercise advice to help address your special needs.

Chiropractic Tips for Pregnant Women:

• Be sure to get adjusted regularly. Chiropractic care is important to help maintain a healthy skeletal structure and nervous system function throughout a pregnancy and childbirth.
• Do some gentle exercise each day. Walking, swimming, or stationary cycling are relatively safe cardiovascular exercises for pregnant women. Avoid any activities that involve jerking or bouncing movements. Stop exercise immediately if you notice any unusual symptom, such as nausea, dizziness or weakness.
• Wear flat shoes with arch supports. Your feet become more susceptible to injury during pregnancy, partially due to a rapidly increasing body weight, but also because the ligaments that support the feet become more lax.
• When picking up children, bend from the knees, not the waist. Your low back is much more prone to injury during pregnancy.
• When sleeping, lay on your side with a pillow between your knees to take pressure off your lower back. Full-length “body pillows” or “pregnancy wedges” are very popular and can be helpful.
• Eat several small meals or snacks every few hours, rather than three large meals per day. This will help alleviate nausea, stabilize blood sugar and allow your body to extract the maximum amount of nutrients from the foods that you eat.
• Take a prenatal vitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid every day; 800 micrograms is even better. Folic acid has been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of neural tube defects in a developing fetus. Be sure to check with your doctor before taking any vitamin or herbal supplement to make sure it’s safe for you and the baby.

The term frozen shoulder encompasses a wide variety of restrictive shoulder disorders and can also be referred to as adherent bursitis, pericapsulitis, obliterative bursitis and periarthritis. Regardless of what it is called, manipulation of the joint and neuro-muscular-skeletal rehabilitation are needed to resolve the lack of mobility.

Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a malady that affects two to three percent of the population. Often the main indicator is initial pain in the joint and decreased mobility. Frozen shoulder can affect people of any age from children to adulthood, but is most commonly diagnosed in people ranging from 40 – 70 years of age, predominantly women.

The shoulder joint itself is called a ball and socket joint. Ligaments, tendons and muscles work together to provide support, strength and the wide range of motion that enables us to move our arms and hands in a variety of positions in order to complete tasks. All the functions of the shoulder can be compromised by underlying inflammatory diseases and misuse. The specific causes of frozen shoulder perplex are varied and largely still unknown, but onset begins with initial pain, followed by restriction in mobility and finally recovery.

Frozen shoulder can often be referred to as insidious in nature. The symptoms and development of the disorder are slow and can take up to a year or two to set in. Often patients will experience pain that will increase over time. As chemical changes take place in the shoulder joint, thick strands of tissue called adhesions form and begin to restrict mobility. The lubricating synovial capsule in the shoulder joint thickens and provides less lubrication. By the time the sufferer begins to notice a significant issue in lack of mobility, the disorder has set in and requires treatment.

The good news is that although the causes of frozen shoulder are varied, treatment is straight forward and the disorder can be resolved. Often clinicians, including our experienced and caring staff, can provide the correct manipulation and physiotherapy to help you regain mobility and resolve the disorder. Contact our office so we can address your condition immediately.

Causes of Frozen Shoulder

Adhesive capsulitis (Frozen Shoulder) can be attributed to misuse and injury, myocardial infarction, upper torso surgery, such as arm and shoulder surgery or mastectomy, and even lack of use. When the shoulder joint goes unused and remains in the same position for long periods of time, such as when a patient is placed in a sling or unable to use their arm, the joint tightens and mobility is decreased. An autoimmune response in the area may cause the joint to stiffen and restrict the joint causing the initial pain. When the initial pain is not addressed, the inflammatory nature of the disorder will progress and adhesions form in the joint further restricting mobility and increasing the level of pain.

Frozen Shoulder Due to Systemic Disorders

A large population of patients who suffer from systemic diseases may be more likely to develop frozen shoulder. These systemic diseases include those who suffer from thyroid disorders such as hyperthyroid and hypothyroid, both overactive and underactive thyroid function. Other diseases include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis and Parkinson’s Disease. Frozen shoulder treatment related to these diseases is paramount and the importance of early diagnosis followed by early manipulation and treatment are necessary, because more drastic treatments are often times not an option. Our chiropractic staff are experts in diagnosing and treating the issue to help resolve your pain and regain your range of motion, so you may return to a normal routine.

Frozen Shoulder in Surgical Patients

Patients who have recently gone through shoulder surgery such as rotator cuff repair or repair to the labrum, one of the many tendons in the shoulder, may experience frozen shoulder. Patients who have had recent mastectomy or cardiovascular surgery are at risk, as well. The reason they are more susceptible to the disorder is lack of use of the shoulder. When the shoulder remains in the same position for a prolonged period of time, the joint stiffens and the pain sets in.

Once the surgical site heals sufficiently, neuro-muscular-skeletal rehabilitation and chiropractic manipulation are highly recommended to help return range of motion to the joint and reduce pain. Our office can develop a program for you that will reduce the pain and increase the range of motion over a healthy period so you can return to a normal schedule in you life.

Chiropractic Treatment of Frozen Shoulder

Chiropractic therapy for frozen shoulder can produce the results you need and resolve your frozen shoulder. Our staff will evaluate your baseline range of motion and pain level to develop a plan tailored to you. In-office neuro-muscular-skeletal rehabilitation coupled with exercise you may do at home will address and increase your range of motion. It will also build the muscle to prevent muscular atrophy or the shrinkage of important muscles in the shoulder. Coupled with treatment for inflammation in the joint space, patients can see improvement over a period of time and resolution of the disorder.

Hard work is the key. Failure to work on stretching in the office as well as at home can delay the recovery process. Trust our staff to direct you along the path to recovery.

Sources:
http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/related-conditions/frozen-shoulder.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/frozen-shoulder/DS00416/DSECTION=risk-factors http://www.aafp.org/afp/990401ap/1843.html http://www.healthgrouponline.com/frozenshoulder.html