Areas Of The Body Treated By Chiropractic

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Areas Of The Body Treated By Chiropractic

Jeffrey Spencer (Sports Chiropractor) gives expert video advice on: Which areas of the body do chiropractors treat?; What causes back pain?; How can a chiropractor help me with my back pain? and more...

Which areas of the body do chiropractors treat?

Chiropractors are specialists in treating all conditions of the neuromuscular skeletal system. If a person has a sprained ankle, they're a candidate for chiropractoral care. If they have shoulder impinchment or bursitis they're a candidate for chiropractic care. If they have a strained back, if they have a sprained knee, if they got planterfascitous, a problem with the foot, the fingers, the neck - those are all reasons to see a chiropractor.

What causes back pain?

Back pain has many causes and we need to make sure that we understand the nature of the pain, otherwise we may not be able to match the right chiropractic therapy with the right presentation. The causes of back pain include strain of the low back muscles, a pinched nerve, an injured disc, cancer, a joint out of place, muscle tightness, etc. What is most important is that the right diagnosis be created by doing the correct examination, so that the treatment plan can get the patient well as quickly as possible with the least amount of time, effort and resources utilized.

How can a chiropractor help me with my back pain?

There are many reasons for back pain, and the most important thing is that the chiropractor understands why you have your back pain with the correct diagnosis. Once that's been determined, the chiropractor creates an individualized program for you that may include chiropractic adjusting, the use of ultrasound co-laser or the trashing of infraracial current. There may be the recommendation for home exercise to help your back pain, such as stretching, etc. It's all based upon the diagnosis to make sure that the right treatment plan is created and selected for your personalized needs.

Are there back problems a chiropractor should not treat?

Chiropractors are back specialist and equipped to deal with most every back condition. However, there are conditions that the chiropractor would work with the medical specialists such as cancer in the back. That's the domain of the medical specialist. The chiropractor can work with the patient to decrease the pain and increase their level of comfort. But, chiropractive is not used to treat cancer.

Which types of neck problems do chiropractors treat?

Chiropractors are well trained to be able to treat neck problems including disc-related problems, those seen with motor vehicle accidents, that include whiplash, that include injury to the muscles, strains to the ligaments. They're able to deal with nerve compression and disc problems. They're able to deal with numbness, they're able to deal with headaches, they're able to deal with muscle strength imbalances from postural strain. They can basically deal with every one of those conditions.

Are there different types of chiropractic adjustments?

There's a variety of different chiropractic techniques that are available. Each chiropractor tends to gravitate towards those that fit his practice style. Each of them are equally effective when matched with the patient's particular presentation. There are classic chiropractic adjustings, where the hands are gently put on the back and the manipulation is done through gentle pressure. There are also what are called non-forced techniques that don't use that type of methodology. There are either manual chiropractic techniques, or instruments where the body is gently put into position and there is no movement or gentle thrust applied to the body.

Are there neck problems a chiropractor should not treat?

The most important thing that has to happen between a chiropractor and patient is that a thorough history and examination be done. There are certain examination findings that suggest that further workup is required. Certain imaging, other tests, etc. If certain findings come back which suggest that another health care provider is more qualified than a chiropractor to deal with a specific aspect of this - for example if a patient has evidence of cancer - certainly they'd need to see the appropriate medical professional for that. If there is plaquing of the vertebral arteries, like in the neck, that suggests certain movements may be contraindicated, then they need to see the appropriate medical professional for that. The chiropractor can work along with the medical doctor to make sure that they get the level of care that they need for other aspects of their treatment, while these other areas are appropriately addressed.

Which types of rib problems do chiropractors treat?

Chiropractors treat all manners of rib conditions. Most of the ribs in the body are actually attached to the vertebrae, so when the vertebrae are out of place, so are the ribs. Sometimes the ribs can be out of place and the vertebrae aren't, and if that's the case they both need to be correctly adjusted so that breathing takes place normally. There are also incidences where a person has a bruised rib; there are different procedures that the chiropractor can use to dramatically lessen the pain of those and speed the healing, and make the patient more comfortable during their recovery.

How can a chiropractor help me with arm or hand numbness?

A chiropractor can help a person with hand and arm numbness in a variety of different ways. Firstly, the correct examination needs to be done to determine the nature of the numbness. In most cases numbness is the result of either subluxations or misalignments in the skeleton. Numbness can also be from muscles that happen to be a little bit too tight that are pinching on the nerves. It can also be from muscles that are a little bit too overactive: they have too much tension that can then compress nerves. Once those locations have been identified, the chiropractor can go in there with natural methods and adjust the spine to be able to relax the muscles and elongate the muscles that are overactive. The chiropractor can give the nerves the breathing room they need to be able to do their job correctly, and then the numbness goes away.

Which types of hand pain can a chiropractor help me with?

The most important thing to do with any hand condition is to make sure that the proper diagnosis and physical examination has taken place with a chiropractor. Once that has been determined, generally, most hand conditions that create pain are the result of arthritis, muscle strength imbalances, too many tight muscles in the hand or maybe muscles that are a little bit over active. The chiropractor normally usually uses the natural healing methods of adjusting the hand joints, relaxing the muscles that are a little bit overactive and stretching out the muscles that are a little bit too tight. Once normal motion has been restored to the hand area usually the pain diminishes very quickly.

Which types of pelvis problems do chiropractors treat?

Chiropractors treat a variety of different pelvic ailments, from sachrumiliac joint strains, a little bit too much strain on the ligaments there, it could be a sachrum thats tilted out of place, it needs to be put back in position. There's Osteoarthritis in the joints, in the spine. There can be muscle strength inbalances created from short leg lenghts on one side versus the other. There can be muscles that are too tight, clamping down on nerves, creating leg pain and numbness. There's a variety of conditions that a chiropractors is very capable of dealing with, extremely effectively.

How can a chiropractor help me with leg pain?

A chiropractor is very well educated and skilled in dealing with a variety of different leg pain phenomena. Common causes of leg pain can be osteoarthritis, muscle strength imbalances, injuries that have not healed properly, access scar tissue and strains to muscles or ligaments. A chiropractor, once he does the correct historical diagnosis, can select the treatments of choice to be able to address those issues. Leg pains respond very well to chiropractors.

Which types of knee problems do chiropractors treat?

Chiropractors treat a variety of different knee problems with their natural methods.There can be ligament strains that are very, very common. There can be tendonitis, that is also extremely common. There are forms of tears to the cartilage and trauma to the cartilage, that the doctor--chiropractor--can deal with quite effectively. There can be soft tissue injuries from bumps and bruises that the chiropractor can deal with extremely effectively to get the patient back to full function as quickly as possible.

Which types of ankle problems do chiropractors treat?

A Chiropractic deals very, very effectively with a variety of different ankle conditions: sprained ankles, dealing with tendonitis, Achilles tendonitis, planta fasciitis of the foot, jammed toes, arthritis of the ankle, and many other bruises and bumps that chiropractic very, very efficiently deals with.

Which types of foot problems do chiropractors treat?

Chiropractors efficiently deal with a variety of different foot problems, including plantar fascistic, tarsal tunnel syndrome and flat feet through the use of orthotics and shoe supports, Other foot problems treatable by chiropractors include jammed toes, heel spurs and sprains to the arch of the foot. Thee are the most common conditions that a chiropractic deals with, with regard to the foot.