Health In Balance Center - Chiropractic Center - Common Conditions - Chiropractic Care in South Elgin Illinois

Most people think that disc herniations only occur after some major injury or accident. This is not entirely true. Years of "microtrauma" can cause multiple tears in the disc causing the disc to fatigue and wear. Many times this progression is accompanied with back pain and stiffness, worse in the morning, and sitting for long periods aggravate it. A simple action such as bending over to pick up a pen can cause the disc to herniate. Symptoms of a herniated disc are pain that may or may not radiate down one extremity as far as your foot or hand, extremely painful in the morning, worsened while sitting or in a bent over or flexed position. The reason it hurts so much in the morning is because the disc re-hydrates while you are resting at night and becomes fuller. The pain you are feeling is not necessarily the disc putting pressure on the nerve. The body perceives the disc material that has exited as foreign and attacks it with inflammatory properties that in turn aggravate the nerve. The more inflammation and aggravation of the nerve the further the pain will travel down your extremity ("peripheralization"). Chiropractic care is proven to be beneficial in helping with disc herniations without the need of surgery. Chiropractic care and nutritional supplementation aid in decreasing the inflammation and pain allowing the body to heal itself. History and physical exam will most likely reveal if you have a disc herniation, however a MRI maybe required to depict the severity of the herniation. So how do you know if it is getting better? The pain will "centralize" or not extend as far down your extremity.

Tension type, migraine, menstrual, sinus, cluster, cervicogenic, and the list goes on. Headaches are an annoying occurence that many turn to Over The Counter meds to gain relief. These meds will most likely give you the relief you need but can lead to rebound headaches. The meds cause the blood vessels to dilate giving you the relief you crave. The continual use of these meds will cause your blood vessels to become dependent upon them. The blood vessels will constrict once the meds wear off and the headache will begin again causing you to search for another serving. This is also the case for those caffeine withdrawl headaches.

The best solution is to find the problem and resolve it. Chiropractic manipulation alone can aid in the anatomic and physiologic answers to the cause of the headaches. Manipulation will benefit your spinal biomechanics and aid in the relaxation of the semispinalis capitis muscle that is the usual culprit putting pressure upon the greater occipital nerve that supplies the majority of the head. Exercise, a healthy diet, adequate water intake, a good multivitamin, herbal supplements, and postural correction will also aid in the resolution of headaches.

“Cervical spine manipulation was associated with significant improvement in headache outcomes in trials involving patients with neck pain and/or neck dysfunction and headache.”

-- Duke Evidence Report, McCrory et al. (2001)

“The results of this study show that spinal manipulative therapy is an effective treatment for tension headaches. . . Four weeks after cessation of treatment . . . the patients who received spinal manipulative therapy experienced a sustained therapeutic benefit in all major outcomes in contrast to the patients that received amitriptyline therapy, who reverted to baseline values.”

-- Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Boline et al. (1995)

Muscle-tension headaches can often be avoided by maintaining proper posture and neck movements while performing your normal activities. You should:

Avoid slouching
Avoid reading with your neck bent forward
Keep your computer monitor at eye level
Take frequent breaks from reading and working on the computer.
Try a low-fat, high-complex carbohydrate diet. A recent study demonstrated that such a diet can dramatically lower the frequency, intensity, and\duration of migraine headaches.

Do you know anybody with Plantar Fasciitis (PF)? PF is a painful disorder that effects the bottoms of our feet mainly at the heel. Common symptoms are excruciating foot pain getting out of bed upon that first step, pain in the heel after sitting or working for a long period of time, and the pain decreases slightly upon warming up and walking around.

We have been receiving amazing results with Infrared Light Therapy with our patients. It is an exciting therapy that uses infrared light to help heal the plantar fascia that stretches from the heel to the toes. It not only decreases the pain but heals the tissue. Many patients receive dramatic relief after only 2 treatments. Do you have 5 minutes to change what has been making you suffer for months or perhaps years that you thought you might have to live with?

Light Therapy is also beneficial for carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, knee pain, muscle pain, and even FDA approved for decreasing pain and stiffness associated with arthritis.

The two most common soft tissue injuries to the elbow are medial and lateral epicondylitis, aka Golfers and Tennis Elbow respectively. Are these the only injuries to the elbow? No, but the majority of cases fall into these categories and that is why we will discuss them in this article. Both of these conditions can be acute or chronic in nature, resulting in a few weeks of pain or years of nagging frustration. Patients normally maintain full elbow range of motion, X-rays are normal, and have less pain in the morning and at rest. Symptoms include pain with grasping, stiffness, mild weakness, and can affect daily functions like using utensils, opening doors and jars, shaking hands, and playing sports. Some people will even have to change job roles due to inability to function at full capacity.

Medial epicondylitis is pain over the INSIDE elbow that usually occurs due to repetitive micro trauma such as excessive twisting and straining of the forearm. The muscles that flex the wrist and hand attach to the inner (medial) elbow are the tissues that become injured, inflamed or even torn. This condition is also called Golfers elbow, Pitchers elbow, or Little League elbow due to stress that these sports put on the medial elbow. Other common activities that create this condition are climbing, racquet sports, and weight lifters (especially bench press and biceps curls). If problematic enough this condition can create some numbness and tingling into the pinky and ring fingers by compressing the ulnar nerve.

Lateral epicondylitis is pain over the OUTSIDE elbow that is injured similarly. The muscles that extend the wrist and hand attach to the outer (lateral) elbow and these are the tissues that are compromised. This condition is also called Tennis elbow and is 5 times more common then medial epicondylitis. It is common in manual workers such as builders, mechanics, waiters, painters, those in an assembly line, and even desk workers. A long day of landscaping, shoveling, typing, vacuuming, and many more can flare this condition.

Here at Health in Balance our approach is to reduce, restore, and relearn. Reduce the pain and inflammation through Laser therapy, e-stim, home utilization of ice and Traumeel (homeopathic ointment). Restore normal soft tissue function by incorporating Graston Technique to correct scar tissue and myofascial restrictions followed by simple rehab that can be done at home. Finally relearn how to prevent this from occurring or to at least reduce frequency of events. This is established by assessing your biomechanics in your daily life and at play. Fix your form, have your clubs or racquet sized to fit you, warm up, cool down, stretch, and learn when to stop and rest. At work your station needs to be assessed for proper ergonomics, maintain proper posture of your spine, elbow and wrist, and proper desk height.

Medial and lateral epicondylitis are very responsive to conservative management, set up a time to regain your health. And yes, tennis players can get Golfer’s elbow and golfers can get Tennis elbow. Thank you very much for your time and stay healthy.

"Arthritis of the bones" is what the words break down to. Years of hard work, poor posture, repetitive stress, and inflammation can and usually will lead to the body finding a way to stabilize itself. It does this by laying excessive bone causing degenerative changesand leads to loss of cartilage. Common places are the knees, hips, low back, and spine. Osteoarthritis sufferers describe their pain as chronic, stiff, achy, and nagging. The pain is due to the loss of cushioning from the cartilage, the increase bony spurs, and inflammation. Therefore, the treatment is to increase the cushion, decrease the bony spurs, and decrease the inflammation. Supplements such as Glucosamine Sulfate, Vitamin C, EPA/DHA, and others can lead to healthy collagen synthesis and promote healthy synovial fluid levels to enhance joint lubrication and mobility. Decreasing inflammation can be done through our very effective Laser Therapy, Graston, Rehab, ice, analgesics such as Zeel, Traumeel and/or Medic Ice. It is impossible to decrease bony spurs without surgery, therefore the next goal is to limit increased growth of bony spurs and also to further halt the loss of cartilage. This can be done by losing weight (if necessary), watching your nutritional intake, and analyzing your biomechanics at work and play.