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Category: Interference

What is a Slipped Disk?

What is a Slipped Disk?

lower-back-pain-200-300A slipped disc is the common term for a prolapsed or herniated spinal disc. These discs are set in position between the vertebrae and do not “slip”. Instead, the disc’s outer, fibrous ring tears, thereby allowing the soft, inner portion to extrude through the tear and press against the spinal nerves. Inflammatory chemicals may also be released as a result of the tear and may cause significant, long-term pain.

Depending on the location of the slipped disc, the individual may experience numbness and tingling sensations in the extremities, sciatica and even erectile dysfunction, in addition to the localized pain.

Diagnosis can be performed using a number of methods (X-rays, computed tomography, discography), but a magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI) is usually the most effective, as it can provide highly detailed three-dimensional images of the affected area. These methods, however, are generally reserved for those cases where natural recovery has failed to improve the symptoms.

A physical examination is commonly performed prior to imaging tests and can include the testing of reflexes, sensations and muscle strength in the extremities and the patient’s ability to walk. These tests may include the straight-leg raising test where the patient slowly raises each of his or her legs individually while lying down. A slipped disc usually induces pain and/or numbness in patients as they raise their legs beyond two-thirds of their normal range.

Treatment for the majority of slipped discs generally consists of the patient practicing gentle exercises and taking prescribed painkillers (if there is significant pain) while the disc shrinks of its own accord. Your chiropractor may also perform spinal adjustments to correct the subluxations that are causing the herniated disc.

Lifting, reaching and sitting for long periods of time during recovery are to be avoided as they often aggravate the condition. However, exercise is important since movement encourages blood flow to the affected area.  Swimming is one of the best methods for exercising during recovery because it releases the compression forces on the spine while promoting blood flow, thereby encouraging the torn disc to repair itself.

Natural recovery can usually be achieved within 4 to 6 weeks, but if the symptoms persist past this point then the imaging tests (i.e., MRI) mentioned above can be applied. Depending on the severity of the tear, the physician may recommend physiotherapy or surgery. Approximately 1 in 10 cases of herniated discs will require surgery due to severe nerve compression, difficulty in walking and standing, symptom severity and/or lack of improvement.

Surgery may consist of open discectomy (where all or a portion of the disc is removed), prosthetic disc replacement (where an artificial disc is inserted to replace the damaged disc), or endoscopic laser discectomy (where the compressed nerve causing the pain is released and part of the disc is removed using a laser and endoscope). Recovery from this type of surgery usually takes 2 to 6 weeks although in some cases, further surgery may be necessary.
As with most conditions, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Regular visits to your chiropractor can help nip any subluxation in the bud so that it does not lead to a slipped disc. Engage in regular exercise, avoid sitting for prolonged periods of time, maintain good posture, lift using the proper technique and drink plenty of water (so your discs stay well-hydrated). If you look after your general health and fitness, you will significantly reduce the likelihood of a slipped disc.

Look Who Else Uses Chiropractic: Professional Golfers

Look Who Else Uses Chiropractic: Professional Golfers

golf-collage-200-300Both amateur golfers and professionals alike find that chiropractic care helps keep them at their best both on and off the golf course. Many golfers who belong to the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) insist upon chiropractic care during a tournament. The PGA has contracted Dr. Tom LaFountain and his team of chiropractors since 1997 to provide chiropractic services at all PGA tours and Championship tours throughout the U.S.
Chiropractor Dale Richardson, who treats championship golfer Padraig Harrington, says, “The most common injuries are strains and sprains in the lower back and neck, and tendonitis affecting the wrists and forearms due to the repetitive action and overuse syndromes typical of golf. These injuries can be prevented by taking precautionary measures, such as conditioning and proactive healthcare, both of which are key to optimizing performance for anyone who plays golf.”

Harrington, winner of two British Open championships and a PGA championship, is a big supporter of chiropractic.  He says, “One thing I know through experience is that I need to keep seeing my chiropractor, even when I have a few weeks off from golf. Getting on-going chiropractic care helps me to stay injury-free. It also helps me to deal with symptoms when they begin, so that they don’t turn into bigger injuries down the road.”
In 1995, at the tender age of 17, when Tiger Woods was still an amateur golfer, he appeared as an advocate for chiropractic on the Chiropractic Centennial Foundation’s (CCF) Tournament of Roses Parade Float. Woods said, “Being a chiropractic patient has really helped me a lot. When I was in a growth spurt, my back became very sore and I was weak. My chiropractor really helped me. Not only did he adjust my spine, he also gave me strengthening exercises to do. If you are tall and gangly, like I am, or play sports, I would recommend chiropractic. It’s as important to my game as practicing my swing!”

Fred Funk, one of the oldest players to feature in the top 50 of Official World Golf Rankings, said, “I do believe chiropractic has really benefited my game.  Over the last three years, I feel I have become more exposed to, and knowledgeable about, the benefits of chiropractic for me and my game.  I realize how your body can get out of balance, and chiropractic care helps me. So many guys on the tour wanted chiropractic care that the tour had to supply a regular chiropractor that travels with us two weeks out of the month!”

Dr. Richardson added, “Golfers who access treatment by a chiropractor with multidisciplinary experience will experience fewer injuries, perform better, and achieve greater results. Restoring and improving skeletal and joint mobility with associated skeletal and joint stability is a focus of chiropractic treatment.”

How Does Chiropractic Work?

How Does Chiropractic Work?

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I find it interesting when I hear people ask if subluxations can really affect a person’s health. Sometimes I have to bite my tongue because to me it seems so obvious. After all, when a spinal cord is severed….is the ability of the individual with that spinal cord still able to move and function like it did previous to the injury? I obtained the following information from www.mdguidelines.com:

If the spinal cord is damaged, additional complications from paraplegia or quadriplegia include pneumonia, recurring urinary infections, decubitus ulcers, nephrolithiasis, and osteoporosis.

Think about it! If an individual receives injury to their spine in the neck area – why would urinary infections, etc be affected? Because the spine is home to the body’s nervous system and impairment to ANY area of the nervous system has the ability to affect any area of the body that that nervous system supplies information to.

Millions of instructions flow from your brain, down the spinal cord, and out to every organ and tissue. Signals sent back to the brain confirm whether your body is working as it should. Improper motion or position of the moving bones of the spine may interfere with this vital exchange by irritating nearby nerves and the tissues they control.

Nerve interferences are most common along the spine.  Chiropractic adjustments (manipulation) are designed to help correct or reduce those interferences. Research confirms that interferences to the nervous system change the way the body functions. Therefore, when interferences are allowed to continue without correction – health issues can develop over time which might have otherwise been avoided if they had been corrected with timely chiropractic adjustments.

Since it is possible to have subluxations and not know it (like the early stages of tooth decay or even cancer) chiropractors believe it is a good idea to be checked regularly for subluxations and to have those subluxations corrected.

Chiropractors are trained to find the subluxations you are experiencing. They then can use various adjusting methods to correct the subluxations. Some doctors only use one method – I personally like to be treated by a chiropractor with more than one tool (adjusting method) in his doctor’s bag. Here, at Oblander Chiropractic, I love that Dr. Oblander uses a variety of adjusting techniques which is often determined by both the desires of the patient and what is seen by Dr. Oblander as the best way to correct the subluxations.

Chiropractic is a science, art and philosophy. It’s a scientific fact that your brain and nervous system control every cell, tissue and organ of your body.

Chiropractic works by reducing or eliminating subluxations (interferences). The methods employed by chiropractic work because the body is a self-healing organism that is controlled and regulated by your nervous system. Utilizing adjustments to remove interferences the nervous system is experiencing is like taking a 1930’s home electrical system and replacing it with a state of the art electrical system. The shorts and faulty wiring from the old system are remedied and “whole” home (body) runs better, is more solid! A healthy nervous system is key to optimum health!