Over the years, we've seen just about every ache and pain known to mankind. Some result from injury, others from strains or stress... but often times we simply hear "I woke up with it". Our bodies are exposed to stress each and every day. Whether it's physical or mental stress, it will take its toll on our bodies. You don't need an injury to be in pain! Many folks don't realize that there is a solution available for many of these problems. If you're "dealing" with pain, or taking medication to mask the symptoms, maybe you should check out what chiropractic has to offer!

Although some of our patients require surgery, most respond to conservative measures like chiropractic care and physical therapies. The vast majority of conditions come from tense or injured muscles, strains and injuries, but sometimes it just "happens".

If you have muscle tension, headaches, an old injury, back pain, stiff muscles & joints, or nerve problems...chances are good that we can provide you relief. A sore muscle may last a day or two, but if you have ongoing discomfort, the problem may be affecting your mobility.

A fixation is a mechanical impairment of a joint. This can occur anywhere, but happens easily in the spine. Simply stated, it is restricted mobility of the normally-movable joints. Even more simply put, it's like a machine with moving parts that aren't all moving properly. When it occurs, it produces inefficient movement patterns that ultimately result in painful conditions. In fact, most people have a spinal fixation or two at any given time. It is the reason why the majority of people will experience back or neck pain during their life.

Your spine consists of 24 movable segments (vertebrae). These bones are separated by flexible cartilage discs and connected on all sides by elastic bands (ligaments). Muscle attachments on the bones (tendons) make the joints move. Under ideal conditions, the spinal joints are flexible in several directions, and the combined movement of all these joints produces the overall movement of your trunk.

Frequently, however, spinal movement becomes impaired, the result of tight muscles, strains or cumulative wear and tear to which the spine is exposed. Muscles get tighter, ligaments lose their elasticity, and individual joints or groups lose some or all of their mobility. A joint may have partial mobility, skidding or sticking on the adjacent joint because of adhesion formation. This is often noticed in the neck area by "clicking" or "grinding" noises.

The result of all this is that when movement occurs, it is a compromised movement, with some joints participating fully, and others moving little or not at all. The muscles that are attempting to move the restricted joints are placed under increased stress because the joints are not giving. The joints that are moving are also put under increased stress as they try to compensate for the non-moving joints. The result is increased muscle tension and straining of the normally-moving joints.

Unfortunately, because of the direct relationship with the nerve roots, irritation by swelling, stretching, or pinching of the nerves is very common. This results in referred pain. Headaches, leg and arm pain, and numbness are very common symptoms associated with fixation problems.

Pain medication will not correct the problem, nor will stretching or exercising. Flexibility exercises are important in the effort to prevent fixations, but will not eliminate them once they happen. The reason for this is that you cannot selectively exercise a specific spinal joint... they all move en masse. In fact, exercising before fixations are corrected usually leads to more strain and more fixations. Healing may occur, but it will be without the normal mobility and function that should be there. This is how arthritis begins in the spine.

Spinal fixations also pose a more serious threat: disc injury. The discs are like little sponges between the bones, and exist in part to provide flexibility and shock-absorbing protection. Like sponges, they rely on the imbibition of fluids to keep them healthy. In other words, they rely on movement of the joints to allow fluids to squeeze in and out with nutrients. When a spinal joint lacks mobility, the disc is deprived of it's nutrition. The disc becomes like a dried-up sponge: brittle and thin. At this point, it is very easy to tear or slip (herniate) a disc. We all know of people who have suffered a "ruptured" or "slipped" disc as a result of performing some simple movement such as bending forward. It is easy to assume the disc injury just "attacks" its victim. The truth is, the stage had been set in every case for the injury to occur! Research has proven that spinal mobilization can prevent disc injury.

Our office also provides physical therapies to assist in the complete restoration of your joint function. Correcting spinal fixations means you are correcting the cause of your condition, which serves you so much better than merely covering up the symptoms. If you aren't finding relief with the approach you're currently using...why not give us a call at 952-934-4498.