Conditions
Neck Pain:
Your neck is the most vulnerable part of your spine. Not only does it support your 10 to 12 pound head, maintain a gentle forward curve, and permit head rotation, but it must also allow the free flow of nerve impulses to the head, face, hands and rest of your body. Besides discomfort and annoyance, chronic neck pain is a sign that something is wrong.
Improper telephone use is but one of many causes of neck pain. A thorough examination can reveal its likely cause or causes and suggest the best approach for optimum results.
Many everyday things can cause neck pain, such as watching TV, using your computer, reading a book or falling asleep in a chair or on an airplane. The temporary pain that results can resolve on its own, especially when the offending activity is discontinued.
When it doesn’t, a more serious underlying problem may be indicated.
Your cervical spine (neck), consists of seven small interlocking bones. Neck pain can be associated with a loss of forward curve.
A thorough examination can determine if you are a good candidate for chiropractic care. These tests may involve your ability to turn and bend. Muscle tone of the supporting muscles in the neck may be tested. Diagnostic imaging to reveal the underlying structure of the spine may be requested. These and other tests are designed to identify the cause and location of your neck pain.
The most common cause of neck pain is functional distortions in the spine resulting from vertebral subluxations. These subluxations are seen in cases of reverse cervical curve, whiplash and joint instability. The body responds by tightening muscles in the neck, "splinting" the joint to protect it from further insult. Chiropractic care can help!
Most of the pain-sensing nerves in the neck are located in the pairs of facet joints on the back side of each vertebra. These smooth, interlocking surfaces allow you to rotate your head and bend your head up and down. If these joints become locked or fixated, neck pain can result. Chiropractic care can help restore proper joint motion.
A more difficult problem to correct is the degenerative changes that result from neglect. Years of uncorrected spinal problems can cause bone spurs, disc thinning and other forms of spinal decay. These types of problems respond more slowly, and some type of on-going supportive chiropractic care may be necessary.
Our response to stress is another common cause of neck pain. Deadlines. Rush-hour traffic. Overcommitments. Work pressures. Family obligations, etc
Ever meet someone who was a "pain in the neck?" Each of us is susceptible to our body’s unconscious response to people and circumstances. These perceptions can show up as episodes of neck pain.
If the weakest link in our bodies is our neck, stress shows up there. While chiropractic care cannot reduce the stress of your bust life, it can help improve your ability to handle and tolerate it. Without drugs or surgery!
Like a turtle that retracts its head in stressful situations, many people with neck pain attempt to protect their neck by involving their shoulders.
Q: Why did the chiropractor take pictures of my lower back?
Many patients are surprised when their chiropractic examination involves other areas of their body besides the local site of their symptom(s). Some neck pain cases can be a compensation to problems in the feet, knees, hips and lower back. Your chiropractor sees you as a whole person, not just a collection of "parts."
Q: Will I have to have neck adjustments?
If your problem is the result of abnormal motion or position of spinal bones in the neck, cervical adjustments can be effective. There are many ways to adjust the neck, and your chiropractor has become an experienced master. Years of practice make these spinal adjustments safe and effective. Much safer than common aspirin or muscle relaxers!
Q: How long will I need chiropractic care?
Some patients see quick improvement and then immediately discontinue their care. They often suffer a relapse since muscles and soft tissue have not had time to fully heal. Others discover that degenerative changes to their spines make periodic checkups a worthwhile investment. We’ll make recommendations, but how long you benefit from chiropractic care is up to you.
Rib Pain:
If there is no reported direct trauma or injury to the mid back, then pain or stiffness can be caused by a spinal condition above or below the area in question. For example, if someone receives a blunt force to the mid back region, the cause would be obvious. However, many patients enter the office not knowing what caused their pain. They just know that when they twist their back or move in certain directions, the region between their shoulder blades hurt.
Upon examination it is very common to find a lower back misalignment, or in some cases, a lower neck misalignment that has helped cause the mid back pain. Remember, the spine works as a unit. In the majority of cases, patients will complain about neck or lower back pain specifically. However, mid back pain is a reality for some patients, and that situation can be addressed using chiropractic treatment.
Another cause of mid back pain is rib involvement (rib misalignment). Anatomically, the thoracic spine (middle back) attaches to the ribs (see pictures above). If a blunt force affects the ribs, even if the force occurred in the front part of the body, a mid back symptom may be felt because the muscles between the ribs were irritated. These muscles extend from the front part of the ribs to the area that attaches to the spine of the middle back. Sometimes this can occur when the patient has twisted and bent sideways while lifting, pulling, or pushing something. Sometimes patients will remark that they have difficulty with full breaths.
Rib misalignments can occur due to actions such as weightlifting, exercising, coughing, and sneezing.
Treatment consists of gentle adjustments of the ribs and spine. Ice can be used to help reduce the swelling associated with this injury.
Shingles:
What is shingles, and who can get it?
Shingles is another name for a condition called "herpes zoster." It causes a painful rash. You can only get shingles if you had chickenpox in the past or if you have had the chickenpox vaccine ("shot").
After you have chickenpox (usually as a child), the virus that causes it stays in your body in certain nerve cells. Most of the time your immune system keeps the chickenpox virus in these cells. As you get older, or if your immune system gets weak, the chickenpox virus may escape from the nerve cells and cause shingles.
Most people who get shingles are more than 50 years old or have a weak immune system. For example, you might get shingles if you have cancer, take medicines that weaken your immune system or have the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
What are the symptoms of shingles?
Shingles causes a painful, blistering rash. Sometimes the pain starts a few days before the rash appears.
The rash begins with reddish bumps. In a few days, these bumps turn into blisters. You might feel a stinging or burning pain. The rash may wrap around your back and chest, or it may be on one side of your face.
The blisters usually crust over and fall off after 7 to 10 days. You may see changes in the color of your skin when the scabs fall off. In bad cases of shingles, these color changes last forever.
Even though the rash gets better or goes away in a few weeks, the pain may last longer. In most people, the pain goes away in 1 to 3 months.
Shingles can also affect your eyes, causing swollen eyelids, redness and pain. Shingles of the eye can cause scars that affect your vision. It can also lead to glaucoma later in life. Glaucoma is an eye disease that can cause blindness. People who have shingles of the eye should see an eye doctor right away.
How is shingles treated?
Shingles is often treated with acyclovir (brand name: Zovirax), famciclovir (brand name: Famvir) or valacyclovir (brand name: Valtrex). Your doctor will decide which of these medicines might work for you.
These medicines work better if you start taking them in the first 3 days after you get the rash.
Your doctor might also have you take a steroid medicine to reduce your pain and swelling.
Shingles of the eye is treated with antiviral medicines and steroids.
What can I do about the pain?
To help with the pain of shingles, your doctor might have you take an over-the-counter pain medicine like acetaminophen (one brand name: Tylenol) or ibuprofen (one brand name: Motrin). Aspirin is not recommended because using it might cause a liver problem called Reye's syndrome.
Putting a medicated lotion (two brand names: Benadryl, Caladryl) on the blisters might reduce the pain and itching. Putting cool compresses soaked in an astringent liquid (two brand names: Bluboro, Domeboro) on the blisters and sores might make them hurt or itch less.
If shingles causes severe pain, your doctor might have you take a prescription pain medicine.
Can I give shingles to others?
No one can catch shingles from you, but they can catch chickenpox if they haven't already had chickenpox or had the chickenpox vaccine. The chickenpox virus lives in the blisters from shingles, and the virus can be spread until the blisters are completely healed. If you have shingles, you should stay away from babies younger than 12 months and pregnant women.
