If you’ve never been to a chiropractor you might be surprised to find we treat more than just back pain.
We treat almost all musculoskeletal issues in almost every area of the body. Below is a list of the most common conditions we see at The Human Body Shop.
If you don’t see your condition listed, shoot us a message about it and we’ll let you know if it’s something we can help you with.
ATHLETIC INJURIES
Athletes are prone to injury due to the physical demand on the body and the nature of their sport. It’s also important for an athlete to have a short recovery time to return to competition. The doctors have worked with hundreds of youth, amateur, and professional athletes to help accelerate their healing process and enhance their performance. As the former team doctor for a semi-pro football team, Dr. Dan understands the importance of returning to competition.
ANKLE INJURIES
Ankle injuries are quite common. Although not life-threatening, these injuries can be nagging and slow to heal. It’s important to regain 100% of your motion back or you may be prone to more issues down the road. The doctors use a specific soft tissue protocol on ankle injuries to relieve the pain, reduce swelling, and regain motion.
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME (CTS)
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is one of the most common chronic and debilitating conditions in the workplace, affecting those who perform repetitive tasks with improper rest or breaks. The most common patients include desk workers, manufacturing line workers, cashiers, pregnant women and mothers, electricians, hair stylists, and landscapers. With an increase of computer use, the problem is affecting a greater percentage of the population. The signs of CTS include tingling, numbness, weakness and pain in the wrist and hands. The main cause is pressure to the median nerve as it passes beneath the wrist. The pain can obstruct sleep, work and daily routine. The purpose of treatment is to rehabilitate the wrist and help you stay working at your job. Treatment involves specific joint manipulation, soft tissue release, and rehab exercises.
DISC PAIN / HERNIATION
Discs are the stabilizers, connectors and shock absorbers for the spine. They’re constructed of soft, fibrous tissue with a jelly-like center. Disc conditions can vary from a mild bulge or tear of the disc material to a severe rupture that will require surgery. The onset of pain is often sudden and severe, or you may just notice increased pain with prolonged sitting. Most frequently disc problems exist in the lower back or lumbar spine. They could also present in the neck area. Bad cases are associated with arm or leg pain. Sometimes patients are practically carried into our office, as the pain and muscle spasm prevents them from standing erect.
We have tremendous experience with disc problems at our office. Unfortunately, these cases don’t respond as quickly as other common back problems. The reason is because discs have a poor blood flow and heal slowly. Research indicates that the mixture of exercise and restored mobility through light spinal manipulation can enhance fluid transfer to the injured disc, permitting them to heal. Disc problems are finnicky and require lifestyle management through conservative care to avoid surgery.
FIBROMYALGIA
Fibromyalgia affects from 3-6 million Americans, most commonly 25-50 year old women. Although in-depth studies have yielded few answers, it’s believed that victims have reduced circulation to their muscle cells, which damages the cells’ energy producing mechanism. Their bodies also breakdown muscle protein at an unusually high rate, which may be one of the main reasons for the typical pain, aching and fatigue within these conditions. Proper diagnosis of fibromyalgia is based on 18 trigger points throughout one’s body which are nearly all painful or tender. Most traditional pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs have proven to be ineffective in the treatment of fibromyalgia, although proper dieting and nutritional supplementation has been promising. Due to the association with reduced circulation to muscle cells, chiropractic concentrates on improving circulation, restoring proper skeletal alignment and nervous system function. Severe cases respond to combining chiropractic, massage, acupuncture and light medication to re-establish sleep patterns.
LOW BACK PAIN
80% of Americans have episodes of back pain in their lives. Common treatment used to be to take medicine and rest for two weeks. However, today’s recommended treatment involves immediate treatment with manipulation, soft tissue release, and therapeutic exercises. Treatment and prognosis are based upon the kind of tissue involved and the mechanism of pain. Many cases including disc, muscle spasm, or simple joint fixation respond to care well. A conservative approach is vital to healing and preventing on-going back pain.
NECK PAIN AND HEADACHES
Everybody has been troubled with neck pain and headaches at one time or another. Pain is a distress signal. Something is wrong. Many times headaches are caused when spinal bones in your neck aren’t moving properly causing the muscles to tighten. This can affect the nerves, ligaments and blood flow to the head and shoulder region. We concentrate on treating the underlying cause of neck pain and headaches. Re-aligning the vertebrae in the neck and shoulder area help restore proper functioning of the vertebra, removing muscle spasm, and easing headaches. Soft tissue therapy and exercises help prevent re-occurrence of the problem.
PATELLOFEMORAL SYNDROME (GRINDING KNEECAPS / RUNNERS KNEE)
Patellofemoral Syndrome afflicts many people, especially women. The condition is characterized by knee pain around the knee cap, and “creaking” of the knees. Often times it’s brought on by improper tracking of the knee cap along with the knee itself. As the tracking slips off course, the cartilage behind the knee degenerates and knee pain occurs. There are particular manual therapy protocols and exercises that will help this condition.
PLANTAR FASCIITIS
Plantar fasciitis is a condition in which the thin layer of tissue on the bottom of the foot (fascia) becomes inflamed or irritated. Symptoms include heel pain on walking, especially the first steps out of bed each morning. Swelling and numbness occasionally accompany the problem. Causes often include muscle tightness, ankle joint fixation, and poor running biomechanics. We have had great success alleviating this pain using manual therapies to help restore proper biomechanics.
PREGNANCY RELATED BACK, HIP, and PUBIC PAIN
Pregnancy causes the body to stretch and shift weight as the baby grows. Mom experiences this as back, hip, belly, rib, pubic, and leg pain. Chiropractic care can help by balancing the skeletal frame and strengthening the supporting muscles. Hands-on care is gentle yet effective at alleviating aches and pains. Exercise and stretching recommendations are given to help prolong the treatment effects and prevent future recurrences.
REHABILITATION
Rehabilitation is the keystone of sustained spinal health. Since most patients come to our office for treatment of “pain”, our primary goal is to have you feeling better. The spine and contiguous structures, muscles, tendons and ligaments need to be taught to aid the corrections in spinal alignment, which will prevent a relapse of your original problem. This is often carried out by individualized exercises that isolate and strengthen specific muscles or muscle groups. The doctors will prescribe simple exercises that you can do easily in your own home. Stretching, resistance training, and improvement of muscle tone are critical to your complete course of care. The doctors are dedicated to not just correcting the condition, but, preventing future occurrences.
SCIATICA
Sciatica is an extreme pain shooting down one or both of your legs. The sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in your body. It begins in the lower back and courses through the buttocks, down the thigh and leg to the foot. Pressure to the nerve from any source creates pain down the nerve generally known as sciatica. The pain might be intense and burning in the entire leg. Some instances are less intense with achiness into the buttocks. Common causes of sciatica include, joint inflammation, disc bulge, muscle spasm and arthritis. Fortunately, most cases of sciatica respond favorably to chiropractic care. The more severe and extended sciatica, the more time that it typically takes to treat.
SCOLIOSIS
Scoliosis is condition of spinal deformity. The spine grows sideways, bent and twisted rather than straight. The condition may predispose to back pain, premature arthritis, and perhaps respiratory and other internal problems if severe enough. Spinal curvature most often affects girls between the ages of 8 and 18. In some instances kids are born with scoliosis. All children ought to be checked for scoliosis, especially if a parent has this spinal problem. Our goal is early detection and treatment with spinal manipulation and structural strengthening exercises. Severe cases with rapidly advancing curvature might have to be referred for an orthopedic consult. We treat many adults with scoliosis. Care improves function and provides relief to their back pain, but cannot correct the curvature. Chiropractic offers hope for a healthy pain free life for the people affected by scoliosis.
SHOULDER INJURIES / ROTATOR CUFF INJURIES
Shoulder injuries are characterized by pain and tenderness within the shoulder, arm, back or neck region. These injuries/conditions can include the rotator cuff, tendonitis, arthritis, bursitis, frozen shoulder, or specific muscular involvement. Causes vary from trauma to overuse injuries of the muscle, ligaments, and tendons that surround the shoulder and neck regions. We have been very successful in identifying and treating these kinds of injuries through manipulation, soft tissue work, and exercise rehabilitation. The doctors use innovative techniques that have saved many from unnecessary surgeries.
TENNIS ELBOW / PITCHER’S ELBOW
Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) and Pitcher’s elbow (Medial Epicondylitis) are overuse conditions in the muscles and tendons of the forearm. Causes are often from an injury or a repetitive motion activity. Activities such as lifting a coffee cup can elicit mild to intense pain in the elbow. There might be associated muscle weakness and inability to perform tasks. Through specific adjusting, soft tissue work, and exercises, you’ll be able to go back to full activity quickly.
TMJ AND JAW PAIN
The temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) is the responsible for chewing and movement of your jaw. Dysfunction of the muscles or joint movement can lead to pain and headaches. Common triggers of TMJ pain include grinding your teeth, clenching teeth, trigger points in the muscles, poor chewing biomechanics. We use various soft tissue techniques on the musculature surrounding the jaw to ease the tension and help restore pain-free motion.
WHIPLASH
Whiplash is understood to be a neck injury brought on by over-extending or flexing the neck. This may happen during a car accident, sports injury, roller coasters, or perhaps a fall. Symptoms usually include neck pain, headache, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, shoulder and low back pain. More severe manifestations are difficulty swallowing, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, nausea and weakness. Although most people start to notice symptoms immediately following a trauma, they can be slow to develop and begin several weeks after the injury. If left untreated, whiplash can result in chronic and recurring problems, such as arthritis, headache, and stiffness. We use a combination of adjustments, soft tissue work, and therapeutic exercises with stretching to eliminate whiplash symptoms and minimize lasting effects from an accident.