Dr. Brian Wilmovsky explains that recent studies show that medication or acupuncture are actually less effective than chiropractic.
Contact us for a free exam and consultation 360-786-6322.
Dr. Brian Wilmovsky explains that recent studies show that medication or acupuncture are actually less effective than chiropractic.
Contact us for a free exam and consultation 360-786-6322.
What is Non Specific Neck Pain?
Everyone feels a certain amount of pain in the neck at some point in their life. There might be a sudden onset of sharp pain where you find yourself massaging your neck and wondering what exactly caused the sudden stinging neck pain. Mostly the underlying cause is not a disease or a degenerative story; rather it is either bad posture or prolonged strain to the neck.
Symptoms of Non-Specific Neck Pain
Always remember that your neck supplies nerves to the shoulders, arms and hands. This means that any disruption in the neck can cause an equal amount of disruption in the areas that it transfers messages to. Analogically, when a route becomes dysfunctional on the road, it affects every trade that takes place via that route.
With stiffness in the neck, the pain is carried along to the aforementioned parts and can cause weakness, numbness and the like. These symptoms can hamper your everyday functioning. When the passageway for nerves is irritated, the messages carried forward to other parts of the body are distorted with painful signals. Hence, even though non-specific in nature, neck pain requires special attention.
Dealing with the Issue
Wondering why you should visit a chiropractic practitioner for a condition that is harmless? Well. The answer is that such sudden onset of pain can be dealt with under this practice. Under chiropractics, the purpose is not alleviation of neck pain but also providing guidance for preventing neck pain in future. The fact that posture and pain in neck are well connected in nature, your doctor can guide you to maintaining a good posture which will protect you against non specific neck pain.
Without the use of medicine, you can quickly be on the road to recovery with this method. Utilizing the techniques of spine manipulation, a chiropractic practitioner will first locate the area of concern followed by a careful application of force on the spinal joints.
Why a Chiropractic Practitioner?
Several people believe that chiropractic is a pseudoscience and does not result in successful healing of your neck pain. On the contrary these doctors, if they feel you need attention from doctor with a different medical background, will recommend you further to another professional for proper treatment. Additionally, these doctors make you undergo thorough examinations before application of any spine related techniques.
Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: sore neck? by Aidan Jones
Low back pain has become a very common occurrence nowadays with over 12 million Americans visiting their doctors with complaints of chronic back pain every year; while over a 100 million visit a chiropractor.
Problems with the spinal column can cause devastating effects on a person’s life. It deprives them of their mobility and flexibility. Even everyday activities become a challenge in some cases. With so many of such cases and the advancements in medical science, it is ironic to see a huge number of people being misdiagnosed and prescribed spinal surgery as the only treatment.
Spinal surgery itself carries around a 20% risk of a failure. Failed spinal surgeries often result in no improvement, worsened pain, and sometimes, even death.
General Physicians, spine specialists and orthopedic surgeons have proven in many cases that they have no clue as to the root causes of back problems. In a review of low back-pain causes, Andrew Frank, a physician in Rheumatology and Rehabilitation concluded ‘Up to 85% of patients with low back pain cannot be given a definitive diagnosis because of the poor associations between symptoms, signs, imaging results and pathological findings’ (BMJ, 3 April 1993).
Risks Associated with Specific Surgical Procedures
Apart from incorrect diagnoses, each type of spinal surgery procedure carries its own set of risks:
Laminectomy
A laminectomy requires removal of parts of a bone, bone spurs and ligaments from the back with the aim of relieving pressure on spine nerves. This procedure can result in a less stable spine, leading to another surgery.
Spinal Fusion
A spinal fusion procedure is the most common type of surgery carried out for back pains. A surgeon joins the vertebrae together to restrict movement between the spinal bones. This in turn limits the stretching of spine nerves.
An incomplete fusion requires the patient to undergo another surgery. Smoking on the other hand, increases the chances of an incomplete fusion to occur.
Foraminotomy
Foraminotomy requires a surgeon to remove a bone from the sides of the vertebrae in an attempt to widen the space for spine nerves.
This surgery can also cause the spine to lose stability.
Disc Replacement Surgery
A damaged spinal disc is removed and replaced by inserting an artificial disk. The introduction of a foreign object into the body always carries a risk of dislocation or breaking, leading to a hardware fracture.
Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Flickr – Official U.S. Navy Imagery – A doctor performs surgery.jpg
Chiropractic Care gives great importance to a healthy and balanced diet. A lot of ailments and diseases can be avoided just by adhering to a proper diet. A good diet can help a person to lead a long, healthy life, control weight, blood pressure and heart rate.
It is a fact that Americans are overfed, while being undernourished. Scores of fast food chains have made unhealthy eating habits a part of the American lifestyle. Such high cholesterol foods coupled with a sedentary lifestyle can lead to obesity. With obesity come a lot of complications including heart diseases and blood pressure problems.
There is no doubt that a well-balanced diet consists of a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, a reduction in caffeine intake and saturated fats.
A chiropractor may recommend one of the following diets based on your body’s needs:
High Protein Diet
A high protein diet is recommended for those who aim to build muscles without accumulating too much fat. High protein foods include:
Heart-Healthy Diet
A heart healthy diet usually consists of a lot of vegetables and fruits along with large intakes of whole grains. It may also contain low-fat meats, including fish and poultry. Special emphasis should be given to fish as it is a very healthy source of protein, Omega 3 and little fat.
Following combination of fruits and vegetables are extremely nutritious and a healthy choice for heart-healthy dieters:
Vegetarian Diet
A vegetarian diet can be recommended for those who prefer to lead a meat-free lifestyle, for whatever the reason. Several types of diets are based on vegetarianism:
Lacto-Vegetarian: These diets include no meat of any kind or eggs. However they do include dairy products like butter, milk, cheese and yogurt.
Ovo -Vegetarian: This diet contains no red meat, seafood, poultry or even dairy products, however it does include eggs.
Vegan: The strictest of all, excludes all meats, fish, eggs and dairy products.
Flexitarian: As its name implies, this diet is flexible. It mainly consists of vegetables and fruits, with occasional consumption of meat, fish or poultry.
No matter which diet is recommended by a chiropractor or dietician, a balanced lifestyle that includes plenty of activities can go a long way in extending the life of a person.
Image Used under Creative Commons license. Photo Credit: Blueberry Maple Quinoa by SweetonVeg