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Chiropractic Treatment Serves As a Pain Management Alternative

The term “pain management” calls up different images to different people. Some envision recurring trips to the pharmacy for painkillers, while others think of corrective surgery. Fortunately, however, there is another method that requires neither — chiropractic care and associated natural therapies, as offered by our team at Priority Health. Let us look at how these therapeutic modalities work to reduce or even eliminate pain and inflammation while encouraging the body’s natural healing powers.

Acute Pain – If you have suffered an injury, you may be dealing with pain caused by pinched nerves, torn muscles and inflammation at the injury site. In many such cases a spinal misalignment is either a cause or a contributing factor, pushing discs against nerves or subjecting the muscles to excessive stress. By relieving the impingements or tissue strain, we can relieve the source of your pain and allow healing to begin. Massage therapy is another useful technique for reducing soft tissue pain and inflammation without drugs.
Chronic pain – Some conditions such as osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia have no ready cure, leaving sufferers to cope with chronic pain. In these situations our goal shifts to getting the pain under control while improving function as much as possible. Since impaired nerve function plays a major role in pain sensitivity and sensation, spinal adjustments can often make a big difference in the level of perceived pain. At the same time, massage therapy can loosen and relax muscles that tend to go into spasm from these abnormal nerve signals; certain massage techniques can also relieve the painful knots caused by fibromyalgia.

Pain Relief from Our Yorkville Chiropractors
If you are looking for a pain management solution that does not require invasive surgery or constant painkillers, talk to our Yorkville Chiropractor. Once we locate the specific cause of your pain, we can employ natural techniques to correct that underlying problem. Whether you have chronic pain or acute pain associated with an injury, we know how to help.

When did your current pain issue first occur? Tell us your story!

We also have a medical team on board as well to provide further treatment if needed.

Call today 630.553.7737

Yorkville Chiropractor shares ankle exercises for beginners.

Here is a simple exercise that you can do at home with no equipment.
It works the peroneus longus/brevis, tibialis anterior, tibialis posterior, gastrocnemius, soleus muscles.
The purpose of this exercise is to improve muscular endurance, ankle strength, and proprioception.
By doing this exercise you can have the benefits of Improved stability, functional strength and injury prevention.

Begin seated in a chair with good posture.
Extend leg.
Attempt to write alphabet from A through Z with toes, moving ankle in all directions.
Repeat for prescribed sets.

Chiropractors – Helping Alleviate Back Pain, One Treatment at a Time

Back pain is a problem that affects 15-20% of all Americans every year. From the general rigors of every day work to the excess weight many carry around on their body, back pain gets to us all. However, there is an easy and non-invasive way to that very pain. Chiropractors have worked for over a hundred years, perfecting their art and liberate people from their back pain.

Causes of Back Pain

For most people, back pain is usually moderate to severe. For most, the cause of pain is simply the rigors of a busy life. For others, it is a consequence of obesity. However, depending on the weight of the person and the extent of their current back pain, the pain can naturally vanish or may become worse.

Techniques

Most chiropractors use a range of techniques such as spinal manipulation and mobilization to help the joints in the spinal column enjoy a greater degree of freedom, alleviating back pain. For example, many spinal manipulation techniques help realign the spinal column and bring it back into its original form. However, this requires multiple treatments. Then again, spinal mobilization is a gentler technique many chiropractors use to treat patients.

Reasons for Preference

Possibly the most important reason why over 40 million Americans prefer their chiropractors to regular physicians is the fact that they use non-invasive techniques to alleviate pain. Without using drugs and surgery, the risk of side effects and infection is virtually zero.

Another reason why most people prefer chiropractors to regular physicians is due to the fear of pain. Regular medication may prove to be discomforting or painful, as in the case of surgery. Fortunately, the alternative is not.

Chiropractors use their hands at certain points to help your body not only relax but adjust itself to a better spinal position. By combining adjunctive therapy with spinal mobilization, not only are they able to ‘work out the kinks’ but ensure that the pain does not happen again, at least for a while. You need to remember that most long-lasting effects are obtained through constant periodic treatment.

Chiropractors have spent over a century trying to perfect their art and help people without ever having to make an incision or provide harmful drugs. Using their hands and the body itself, they are able to not only help alleviate back pain but also prevent it – one treatment at a time.

Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Chiropractor by doctorwonder

Medical Knee Pain Pain Treatment Yorkville IL

What is it with knee pain? You can be having a great time walking, biking, or running, when all of a sudden your knee starts to hurt. Well, as it is with many injuries, knee pain is often due to a build-up of stresses with the actual pain being the final signal that something is wrong. Imbalances between muscle, tendon, and bone interplay are often the culprits. Conditions such as osteoarthritis, meniscus or ligament injuries are other causes of knee pain and will be addressed in a future post. But for now, here are three common knee conditions we see and treat in our chiropractic clinic in Guelph.

1. Patello-Femoral Syndrome

Patello-Femoral syndrome usually involves knee pain that is felt under the knee cap or around the knee. It is described as aching or stiffness in the knee and is aggravated with going up or down stairs, sitting for prolonged periods, and crouching down. The condition refers to misalignment or maltracking of the knee cap (patella) on the femur and can be caused by tight muscles on the outer portion of the knee, weak muscles on the inner portion of the knee, or poor biomechanical factors either higher or lower along the mechanical chain (i.e. foot, hip dysfunction).

2. Iliotibial band syndrome (ITB)

The iliotibial band (ITB) is a section of thickened fascia that runs along from the hip down to the outside of the knee. ITB Syndrome may be due to repetitive flexion-extension of the knee. It may also be a product of muscular imbalance. In either case the area on the outside of the knee may undergo inflammation or irritation from the band rubbing along the femoral condyle (knobby outcropping of bone). Symptoms of ITB Syndrome include pain localized to the lateral aspect of the knee or it can travel up towards the outside of the hip. Although it is commonly associated with running and cycling athletes it is also present in the general population.

3. Jumper’s Knee (Patellar Tendinopathy)

Jumper’s knee or Patellar Tendinopathy is often seen as an overuse injury from repetitive loading of the extensor muscles (quadriceps) in the knee. It is common in sports that involve jumping and quick movements such as volleyball, basketball or soccer. Symptoms include a dull ache in the front of the knee often accompanied by stiffness and swelling.

Treatment for these common conditions of knee pain respond well to conservative care which may include both self-directed and in-clinic chiropractic components.

Self-directed care:

Taking a break to rest inflamed tissue is important in many knee conditions. It’s necessary to know when to return to normal activities or athletic training and when to back off and take a break or switch activities. For example, an activity like biking or running may need to be temporarily stopped and swimming encouraged instead.

Icing inflamed joints and tendons helps to, you guessed it, reduce the inflammation.

Stretch out tight muscles to allow more ease of movement and efficiency in patellar tracking. Relieving tightness of the gluteus and hamstring muscles is also important and can often help with restoring proper balance to the lower limb chain.

Strengthen the inner muscle groups of the knee (quadriceps, adductors). Squats can be an excellent exercise for this but proper care must be taken to ensure correct form – talk with a chiropractor.

In-clinic chiropractic treatment:

TENS to decrease inflammation and pain.

Myofascial release therapy or joint mobilizations to reduce muscle and joint pain and dysfunction.

Strengthening of weak muscles and stretching of tight muscle antagonists to restore balance.

Addressing other muscle or joint imbalances above or below the knee to ensure the mechanical chain is working well.

Hyalgan may also be used to relieve knee pain due to osteoarthritis. It is used for patients who do not get adequate relief from simple painkillers or from exercise and physical therapy.

For more information on these conditions or other sources of knee pain, contact Priority Health Dr. Paula Weihler

(630) 553-7737

Ergonomics and Employee Productivity

Ergonomics has become a very popular field, which deals with designing suitable furniture, which is comfortable for individuals, both at home and in the office environment. The absence of ergonomically fit furniture and surroundings, results in different muscular problems in individuals like back pain, neck ache, strains, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Chiropractors provide treatment for alleviating the pain caused because of engaging in strenuous activities throughout the day.

How Is Employee Productivity Linked To Ergonomics?

Ergonomics or human factors, focuses on designing furniture and workplaces, so as to ensure convenience and ease for individuals, both at home and at the office. An ergonomically fit work environment is designed to ensure, that the working stations and the furniture used, are in accordance with the industry standards. It facilitates the functioning and activity of employees, engaged in work at the computer or at the factory floor.

Employees working in an environment, in which the work spaces and the computer equipment are stationed within easy reach, and do not cause any strain, will remain fit and healthy, resulting in efficient productivity. A considerable percentage of employees, contract different muscular pains and strains, which affects their work efficiency. In cases of extreme pain, sometimes individuals have to take time off from work in order to regain enough fitness to resume work.

Benefits of Ergonomically Fit Surroundings

An office having a work station and space, specifically designed keeping in mind the ergonomic standards prevalent in the industry, facilitates the factory workers and office employees in performing their duties efficiently and on time. This improves the overall productivity, resulting in increasing profits for the business.

By designing a safe and ergonomically fit factory production site, companies can ensure minimum accidents and absences of workers. The suitably designed production lines, with the appropriate equipment, increase productivity and worker efficiency, and reduce the wastes to a minimum.

The correct usage of lights and space in the workplace improves productivity and minimizes errors, which results in high job satisfaction.

An ergonomically fit work place is not only convenient for the employees and workers, but it also benefits the business by improving the productivity levels of the company. The improved morale and work efficiency of the employees, increases job satisfaction, and also minimizes the risk of accidents and muscular strains, caused because of inconveniently and unsuitably designed work places. Chiropractors provide treatment to employees suffering from various muscular strains and pains, contracted while working in an office.

Image Used under Creative Commons license. Photo Credit: US Navy 020614-N-0552D-001 SPAWAR award winning employee.jpg

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