Breaking Bad Posture with Chiropractic Care

 

Breaking Bad Posture with Chiropractic Care

Do you ever get home after a long day with neck pain, back pain, or a headache? The good news is that the great majority of back and neck pain is not due to serious disease, but instead is mechanical in nature. In other words, something in the spine is not physically functioning right and it is causing your pain. In chiropractic practice, patients often ask “why does it hurt?” or “why does that vertebra keep slipping out of alignment?” This is because gravity is constantly acting on you, and if your posture is not up to snuff, it will get the best of you. Let’s look at an average daily routine to see what you are up against.  

The alarm goes off at 6:30 and you roll out of bed with a stiff back. If you look back at your mattress and there is a you-shaped divot, this is the first place to look to improve your posture. Although it never seems like you get enough sleep, you spend enough time in that bed to do some damage to your neck and back if they aren’t getting the support you need while you catch your Z’s. 

After you get ready, it’s off to work. The national average for commute time is about 26 minutes. How does the average person spend that time? Sitting. You sit in your car, the bus, the train, perhaps even your bike for 26 minutes to and from work. Next time you are commuting, take note of how you are holding yourself.  Are your shoulders hiked up next to your ears? Are you slouching? Is your seat pushed too far back for you to sit up straight? Car seats very commonly exacerbate low back pain.

You finally arrive at work only to go and sit at your desk the rest of the day. Even if you don’t sit, you most likely will be standing all day. Either way your back and neck will not like it. You spend a tremendous amount of time at work and gravity is acting on you and your spine the entire time. Are you fighting back?

Five o’clock hits and you head home to eat dinner and curl up on your overstuffed sofa to watch your favorite shows. Couches are very deceiving because they are so big and fluffy and inviting. The problem is that most couches provide zero support for your back and neck. They practically swallow you whole, and your posture with you. 

Repeat this cycle 5 days a week and it becomes easier to see where the back pain, neck pain, and headaches come from. What you need is a good therapeutic intervention and some good self-care advice. Enter chiropractic. Your local chiropractor is highly skilled at identifying postural faults, vertebral misalignments, and muscular imbalances that are causing your pain. In addition, they can identify stressors in your life such as those mentioned above that are contributing to the problem and give you recommendations to improve your posture and ergonomics as well as stretches and exercises to strengthen your postural muscles. As you can see above, poor posture is a vicious cycle. Break the cycle with a trip to your chiropractor and start feeling better today.

About the Author

Beaverton, OR Chiropractor, Dr. Kip Thompson is pleased to bring you this article on “Breaking Bad Posture with Chiropractic Care”. If you are interested, feel free to check out Dr. Thompson’s website at http://www.catalystchiroandrehab.com/. 

AND IF YOU ARE IN THE LAS VEGAS AREA: 

SCHEDULE TO SEE DR. TED FOR A FREE SPINAL CONSULTATION

THE NECK AND BACK CLINIC 
825 S. 7th STREET
LAS VEGAS, NV 89101
(702)-256-8080

TMJ- Living and Dealing with it.

Avoid biting into hard foods, such as whole apples, with your front teeth.

Living and Dealing with TMJ

Are you tired of feeling helpless when it comes to TMJ? Is it disrupting your quality of life? Let’s change that.

Around 35 million people in the US alone suffer from TMJ at any given time. Unfortunately, more women seem to suffer from TMJ than men. And, with limited research and resources, it’s sometimes hard to be pro-active about this condition.

As chiropractors, we see many people come to us looking for relief from TMJ. There are also a few things you can do to help minimize pain.

First, What Exactly is TMJ?

What it is. Temporomandibular joint disorder or TMJ is inflammation of your temporomandibular joint (connects your skull to your lower jaw).
What it feels like. TMJ causes great pain in your jaw joint as well as limitations in your jaw movements. Depending on how severe the condition, it can cause extreme pain and discomfort, headaches, migraines and shoulder and neck pain. TMJ is also known for limiting your movements making speaking, eating, swallowing and sometimes even breathing difficult.
What it sounds like. Commonly, TMJ often makes clicking, crunching or grinding noises when you open and close your mouth.
Let’s face it, it’s extremely frustrating and it’s time to do something about it.

How We Can Help You

Confirm. We’re here because we want to help you, naturally. We can run through a few quick movement tests to confirm TMJ is the cause of your pain. And, by taking a look at your lifestyle, diet, family history and routines, we can get a better look at if you really have TMJ and what could be making it worse. Then, we can come up with some solutions. Sometimes an X-ray or an MRI might be required to confirm TMJ is the issue.
Adjust. A chiropractic adjustment may help align your spine and body, relax your muscles around your jaw, and with trigger points you can even re-position your jaw as it should be.
Benefit. Adjustments can greatly relieve the tension around these joints (inside and outside of your mouth). This type of care may help you find relief and also help minimize your pain and occur less frequently.

How You Can Help You

Here are a few things we can talk about for you to practice to help relieve your pain and also protect yourself from pain in the future.

• Eat softer foods so that it’s easier on your mouth.
• Apply ice or moist heat.
• Avoid extreme jaw movements (such as yawning, loud singing, and gum chewing)
• Wear a mouth guard when you sleep for protection and stabilization.
• Stretching or strengthening exercises. Ask me how!
• If your TMJ is caused by stress, we’ll discuss ways you can reduce stressors in your life.

Ready to learn more about TMJ and how I can help? Contact me today and let’s find a way to get you the relief you deserve.

SCHEDULE TO SEE DR. TED FOR A FREE SPINAL CONSULTATION

THE NECK AND BACK CLINIC 
825 S. 7th STREET
LAS VEGAS, NV 89101
(702)-256-8080

HOW CHIROPRACTIC CAN HELP YOU AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT

Even car crashes at extremely low speeds can cause a serious amount of damage to your body. Studies show that many injuries take place in accidents under 20 miles per hour. Image what could happen if you are involved in a car crash at a high speed! Even if you don’t experience immediate pain, it is very wise and highly recommended to visit a chiropractor after a car accident to make sure that you spine hasn’t become misaligned and that your body has not sustained any other injuries that are perhaps, at this point in time, unknown to you.

There are dozens of wrecks every day in Las Vegas—some major, some minor—and many leave their victims injured, sometimes for the rest of their lives. Many that are involved in a car accident think that they are fine because they don’t experience any initial pain. Remember, just because you are not experiencing any pain does not mean that you are not hurt! This is a common misconception made by many, but almost all car crashes jolt the body to some degree. Many experience shock since their bodies are in fight-or-flight mode, which blocks the pain from being felt. Some people experience pain the next day, while it can takes weeks or months for some to experience their injuries.

Problems such as whiplash can typically be felt within the first few days. Whiplash is a result of a jolt to the spine and is felt in the neck or back region. Some cases of whiplash just cause mild pain because the muscles tense up, but more severe cases can cause excruciating pain and can misalign vertebrae in some individuals. There are also many more injuries that can occur, such as herniated discs or bone fractures. These types of accidents can cause chronic problems if not taken care of immediately, which is why it is important to be seen by a chiropractor as soon as possible. Here is what you can expect:

Chiropractors specialize in complementary and alternative medicine. They diagnose, treat, and prevent disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system. A chiropractor will use manual techniques to manipulate the positions of vertebrae to alleviate pain and maintain correct positions.

When visiting a chiropractor after a car crash, it is important to tell them as much as possible about the car crash so they can recreate the scenario and inspect all areas that may be affected. If possible, it’s a good idea to write down and bring a summary of everything you remember about the accident, including the area of your car that was impacted, as well as the position in which you were seated, the position you ended up in after the accident, and any symptoms that you may feel.

The chiropractor may want to conduct an X-ray to check for fractures and will probably conduct a full inspection of your neck and back. After their examination and diagnosis, they will form a plan of treatment to get you on your way to a full recovery. There are several methods of reducing muscle stiffness and pain and they will probably do an adjustment to correct anything that may be out of place.

Chiropractors are relatively cheap and often cost much less for the diagnosis and treatment than a medical doctor. Medical doctors aren’t as familiar with the specifics of the neck and back so they often order MRI’s and other expensive scans when a chiropractor can identify the issues immediately, without all the extra expenses. Most chiropractors accept health insurance as well.

With all of the high-traffic areas in Las Vegas, it is likely that you may find yourself the unlucky victim of a car accident at some point. If you are involved in a car accident, don’t make the common mistake that so many do and avoid seeking medical attention. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Ted Sim as soon as possible.