Stephens Pain Recovery Center, Streetsboro, OH

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Almost everyone will experience some form of back pain, ranging from slightly irritating to completely crippling, in their lifetime.

 Whatever the degree of pain you are experiencing and whether it is acute or has become chronic, at the very least you would probably rather live without it. 

The back is a broad term that covers a large area of the body. It is made up of many tendons, ligaments, discs, muscles, and bones. Without a solid understanding of the musculoskeletal system, it can complicated to locate and address the source of pain. 

Disc bulges and herniations are conditions in which the outer edges of the discs, located between the vertebrae, are damaged. This causes the jelly-like center to bulge or be pushed out. This is a surprisingly common issue and it is often, but not always, very painful. Many people who have this condition feel nothing at all. The quality and intensity of it, for those who experience pain, depends on the type and position of the herniation. If the damaged disc is irritating a surrounding nerve, shooting or stabbing pain along with weakness in the legs is often severe.

It is important that this issue is properly identified and promptly treated to avoid further damage. Dr. Stephens will thoroughly assess your back to determine the extent of the issue and the appropriate treatment to prevent worsening of the herniation, and provide relief from the associated pain. 

Subluxation is a medical term describing a misalignment in the vertebral column. There are a wide variety of causes, including physical stress, trauma, and toxins. Subluxations are often quite painful and can disrupt normal movement. Subluxations are one of the most commonly overlooked contributors to back pain. Chiropractors are trained to identify and correct this issue using non-invasive adjustment techniques..

 Strains and sprains most typically occur when we engage in tasks that our body is not accustomed to, or when we are involved in an accident. Lifting while twisting, or stretching past one's limits are common causes to strains and sprains of the back. These can be extremely painful, and are often accompanied by swelling and bruising of the surrounding area. Strains and sprains in the back tend to involve changes to the alignment of the spine and typically respond well to chiropractic care. 

 Chronic stress wreaks havoc on the body, and can eventually lead to hyper-tension and chronic back pain. The back pain is a result of tension and muscle spasms that occur when stress hormones are released. The tension will often accumulate in what are referred to as trigger points. These trigger points can be extremely painful and need professional attention to resolve. Chiropractors have the knowledge and tools to relieve stress from trigger points and to deal with underlying nervous system imbalances that may be keeping your body locked in patterns of stress and pain. 

 Conditions such as obesity, arthritis, kidney stones, and urinary tract infections have been shown to cause symptoms of lower back pain. These are all serious issues that need to be identified and treated immediately to avoid long-term health issues. Many of these issues can have their source in spinal misalignments  and respond well to chiropractic adjustments. Your chiropractor will identify these issues and support you in getting the appropriate treatment. 

 Headaches are not fun, and migraines are another level of awful. Living with either of these issues can make you feel grumpy, and in the worst-case scenario, leave you unable to function. Medication can help in the short term, but when the problem is ongoing or re-occurring, pills are not enough. Oftentimes, the source of your headaches and migraines is structural, and therefore with proper treatment it is possible to permanently overcome this debilitating issue. 

Whether you are dealing with a persistent ache in your head, or the worst symptoms associated with migraines, including light and noise intolerance, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, depression, and irritation, the cause may be structural. When the spine moves out of position because of developmental issues, trauma, repetitive stress, and other incidents, it can put pressure on the surrounding nerves. When the nerves are compressed or irritated, they send a message to the muscles of the back, neck, and jaw to tighten.

This tightness can lead directly to an acute headache or migraine. Over time the tightness can also pull your bones out of alignment leading to more persistent headaches and migraines. A headache or migraine can be a sign that there are deeper problems arising in your spinal column, and because every other system in your body is impacted by your spinal health, it is very important to deal with these issues when the signs begin to arise.

Chiropractic Treatment for Headaches and Migraines

Chiropractic care has a long history of successfully treating headaches and migraines. Chiropractors have an extensive understanding of subtle issues occurring in the spine which, due to its connection with the nervous system, is very often the source of pain. A chiropractic treatment starts with a thorough evaluation that will rule out other possible causes of your headache and examine your spine for issues of misalignment.

The assessment will determine the exact type of treatment necessary for the specific issue at the root of the pain. Using gentle and non-invasive techniques, a chiropractor is able to achieve adjustments to the spine that, although they may seem subtle, can provide almost instant relief and restore your long-term health. Unlike medications which treat the problem on the surface level and provide only short-term relief, a chiropractic adjustment will address the cause of your headache or migraine and provide lasting results that will improve your quality of life.

You know the old saying, “It's a pain in the neck”? Neck pain can make even the simplest of movements involving the neck, head, arms, shoulders, and back excruciatingly difficult. It can lead to headaches and difficulty using your body. Immobility resulting from neck pain can cause the muscles to become weak and to degenerate over time.

Understanding the root of your neck pain is a necessary step towards acquiring the treatment that will be effective in both short and long-term recovery. The following article looks at the causes of neck pain and explains how  chiropractic care can be a useful alternative to conventional treatments.

Although the neck is a relatively small area of the body, it is comprised of some complicated structures which do the important job of holding your head up. The small size of the vertebrae of the neck allows for a lot of mobility, but can also make the neck more vulnerable to injury and pain. 

Some of the causes of neck pain include:

• Trauma, such as whiplash
• Sleeping position
• Poor posture
• Repetitive stress
• Abnormalities in the bone structure
• Joint issues
• Muscle strains and pulls

Most of these issues are either caused by, or impact the alignment of the spine. When muscles in the neck go into spasm, the spine gets pulled out of alignment. When the spine is misaligned, the nerves become irritated and cause further tension and other systemic problems. Because every nerve in the body has its root in the spinal column, issues that have their source at the neck can have a major impact throughout every other system.

Many people let spinal problems go uncorrected. They hope that if they wait long enough the pain will simply go away. In some cases it will go away, but the misalignment that caused the problem is usually still there. Over time, that area can become aggravated, and the pain can return. If the problem is not corrected it can become much more serious. Some patients let things go to the point where surgery may be the only option.

Conventional vs. Holistic Treatments

Most commonly, people try to deal with their neck pain using prescription or over-the-counter medications. This may help to relieve the symptoms in the short-term, but not only are patients dealing with side effects, the underlying issue goes unaddressed. Massage Therapy has become more popular over the years and this can help to relieve some muscle tightness. If the issue is in the bones or joints, the problem will remain.

Chiropractic treatment is a holistic practice that addresses the structural cause that leads to the majority neck pain. Following a thorough chiropractic assessment aimed at ruling out other issues and finding the exact source of the problem, a personalized recovery plan is developed. Gentle adjustments to the spine can bring instant relief and restore long term health to the neck and the entire body. 

If you are experiencing pain that radiates from the back or buttocks all the way down the legs, you may have a common condition called sciatica. An untreated sciatic condition can continue to worsen and make the daily tasks of living go from difficult to impossible. 

Sciatica can make sitting and standing for long periods of time difficult and can lead to weakness, tingling, and numbness in the leg and foot. It will often come and go throughout a person's lifetime, causing periods of varying degrees of pain and discomfort. If left unchecked, sciatic pain will generally grow worse and the nerve can become permanently injured.

The reason why the pain travels so far, seems to radiate up and down the legs and back, is because it is caused by the compression of the sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in the body. This nerve originates in the lumbar spine and extends into the buttocks before traveling down the leg to the ankle and foot. When the vertebrae in the low back are compressed, the roots of the sciatic nerve can become pinched and irritated which is what causes the pain and injury.

How Do You Develop Sciatica?

There are a number of factors that can lead to sciatica. It is most commonly caused by disc injuries and bulges. In this occurrence, the disc presses against the nerve root causing the issue. Disc Injuries can occur because of poor posture, repetitive use injuries, and accidents. Sciatica is also common when there are subluxations (misalignments) in the spine due to postural issues, pregnancy, or trauma. Some patients say they simply bent over to pick up a piece of paper and they were hit with extreme pain. The reality is that the spinal condition was probably developing for quite some time before the triggering 

incident occurred.

Chiropractic Treatment for Sciatica

Chiropractors are highly trained to zero in on the source of the sciatica and to work with the patient in determining the most suitable approach to treatment. After a thorough assessment of the individual's unique issue, gentle adjustments are made that will allow the body to recover its natural alignment.

Some people respond very quickly while others take more time to recover. It really depends on the condition of the disc or the joints that the chiropractor has to correct. In most cases, the longer the issue persists, the longer it will take to achieve correction. The great news is that it typically takes less time to fix an issue like this than it took to create it. Once the position of the spine and discs are improved, patients often report improvements to their overall health.