Do nerves really get “pinched”? Actual pinching is quite rare. What is much more common is what chiropractors call the vertebral subluxation complex or subluxations. Other terms for this are nerve impingement, nerve irritation, nerve lesion, spinal stress and meningeal tension.

Even though there may be no actual pinching, people like the word because it is so descriptive. It can really feel like something is being pinched in there. Some health professionals even use it.

How do nerves get pinched? Your skeletal system, especially your spinal column, protects your spinal cord and other nerves. If your spinal bones (vertebrae) are misaligned even slightly they may “pinch”, impinge, irritate, compress or stretch the nerves they are supposed to protect. This in turn can affect other structures in the area including blood vessels, disc, ligaments, joints, muscles, fascia, tendons, and meninges. As mentioned earlier, this is referred to as a subluxation.

Correct your pinched nerves. Pinched nerves do not go away by themselves. No amount of painkillers or muscle relaxants can fix them.

Only doctors of chiropractic are able to analyze your spinal column for pinched nerve or vertebral subluxations and use spinal adjustment techniques to gently realign your spine, release your internal stress and free you from your pinched nerves. Only a chiropractic spinal analysis and spinal adjustment from the charlotte chiropractic clinic can relieve your body of vertebral subluxations- nothing else will do!

The vast majorities of people who experience sciatica get better with time (usually a few weeks or months) and find pain relief with non-surgical sciatica treatment. For others, however, sciatica can be severe and debilitating.

The clinical diagnosis of sciatica is referred to as “radiculopathy”, which means simply that a disc has protruded from its normal position in the vertebral column and is putting pressure on the radicular nerve (nerve root) in the lower back, which forms part of the sciatic nerve.

An important thing to understand is that sciatica is a symptom of a problem- of something compressing or irritating the nerve roots that comprise the sciatic nerve – rather than a medical diagnosis or medical disorder in and of itself. This is an important distinction because it is the underlying diagnosis (vs. the symptom of sciatica) that often needs to be treated in order to relieve sciatic nerve pain.

Sciatica occurs most frequently in people between 30 and 50 years of age. Often a particular event or injury does not cause sciatica, but rather it tends to develop as a result of general wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine.

As said above, sciatica pain usually goes away, especially with chiropractic treatment. If you are experiencing sciatica pain, please visit Dr. Wells at Wells Chiropractic in Charlotte, North Carolina…where we’ve got your back!

Unlike many other items of furniture, mattresses don’t last forever and need to be replaced periodically. It is estimated that currently there are 80 million Americans sleeping on beds that passed their maximum lifespan 8-10 years.

If your mattress is approaching this age you may want to be on the lookout for signs of quality such as fine tailoring, superior fabrics and surfaces that look and feel plush. Today’s better quality mattresses feature extra layers of cushioning for comfort.

The next thing to consider is the size; if there is any doubt, go for the bigger size.

You need freedom of motion while you sleep and also to help you relax while getting to sleep. Sleep studies have shown that we all turn 40 to 60 times a night, including some full dozen body turns, and that we require room to move about freely so that we don’t awaken. If you sleep with a partner don’t settle for anything smaller than a queen size. You may even be happier with a king, especially if you are tall.     

Comfort is another key factor. Make sure you try out each new mattress you are thinking about buying. One that’s too hard may only put your shoulders and hips to sleep. One that is too soft may not give you enough support. Modern cushioning material and extra surface treatments held together are designed to create a feeling of being cradled.

Finally, support is the most important part of mattress design. A good mattress and foundation will gently support your body at all points and keep your spine in the same shape as a person with standing posture. Pay special attention to your shoulders, hips and lower back. Theses are the heaviest parts of your body and there is not enough support, the spine will sag, placing stress on the muscles and ligaments, resulting in back pain. It can also result in possible misalignments of the vertebrae. On the other hand a mattress that is rigid can result in uncomfortable pressure. It can force the spine to arch or bow instead of relax as the body relaxes. It can also create painful pressure at the shoulder and hips where body weight concentrates during sleep.

Look for a combination of superior upholstery materials with a top quality innerspring system. The number of coils and the thickness, or gauge of the wire, in each of these coils will have an effect. For example, firmer coils concentrated in the center of the mattress should have more than 450 coils; likewise, a queen size should have 375 and a full or double should have 300 coils.

Also, to preserve the life of your new mattress, make sure you don’t put it an old foundation. It’s important to choose the proper matching foundation for your mattress, because both parts are designed to work together as a sleep set. The foundation is crucial because it acts like a giant shock absorber and takes much of the nightly wear and tear.    

Millions of adults visit chiropractors regularly – but what about children? Their developing spines and bodies cope with the bumps and bruises of learning to walk, playing sports and just being a kid. It begs the question: Have you taken your child to the chiropractor yet?

Our children are perhaps the most precious things we have in this world. It is a miracle how they are created, and we as parents, family members and friends watch these little humans grow up from infancy into adulthood.

Of the many choices we make for our children’s welfare nearly everyday, decisions regarding their healthcare are likely at the forefront. For example, there have been times when your child has had a temperature that was high enough to be of concern. How long did you sit there by yourself or with your spouse, wondering if you should take them to the pediatrician? As parents, it’s only natural to agonize over some of these decisions. Fortunately, most things work out for the best.

Chiropractic is a facet of pediatric health care that is more popular today than it has ever been. I’m amazed by the many reactions I get from parents when they are presented with the idea of having their child adjusted. Some adults have a look of shock, disbelief and even fear, while others nod their heads and relate stories of how they’ve been adjusted since childhood. No matter what camp you come from, I hope to enlighten you as to why chiropractic is so positive and powerful for children’s health.

Chiropractic is a health discipline that offers an alternative to taking drugs and medication. We work with the body’s inborn healing abilities and essentially allow the body to repair itself. By using our hands to gently move or realign various bones of the body, we address the source of many problems that can lead to pain. People have asked me why a child would possibly need to see a chiropractor. They think children are too young to have any structural problems. Remember, children can have the same types of injuries, problems and pain as adults. The key is to identify potential health issues early and intervene, so those problems don’t follow them into adulthood.

Children are amazing in that their bodies are constantly changing and growing. At birth, a child has 350 bones. By adulthood, their bones fuse together to form a total of 206 bones. From the day they are born to around age 25, all of their bones continue to lengthen and harden. That’s a lot of growing. Their organs and tissues also are growing and learning to perform bodily processes more efficiently. Their muscles, tendons and ligaments start to work as they go from crawling to standing to walking and running. Imagine the amount of work the body is going through to develop and coordinate all of these parts in your growing child. For the most part, the body does a great job keeping things going, but just like adults, kids will fall down or perform activities during the day that place abnormal stresses and strains on their little bodies.

For the ease of your mind, and for yours Childs health, we recommend you to bring them to the charlotte chiropractic clinic to get a pain free adjustment.

-To your health/chiroweb

In July, the British Medical Journal published a study that evaluated the effectiveness of an exercise program for dealing with back pain.

One hundred and eighty seven patients with low back pain of 1-6 months duration were divided into an exercise group or a control group. The exercise group participated in eight one-hour classes that included muscle strengthening, stretching, relaxation techniques, and a brief education on back care. The control group continued under the care of their doctor.

Questionnaires completed six months and one year after the program revealed that patients in the exercise group reported less back pain and associated disability than the control group. The exercise group also took less days off work than the control group in the 12 month follow up period (378 days by the exercise group vs 607 days by the control group).

As these results suggest, something can be done about back pain. In fact exercise is just one of the many potential options available to back pain sufferers. A doctor of chiropractic can evaluate you and outline the most appropriate course of rehabilitation for you condition.

-To your Health/Chiroweb

The ache in headache does not come from your brain-your brain cannot feel pain. During brain surgery a patient is often wide awake feeling nothing, even talking to the surgeons and nurses while his/her brain is being operated on ( a local anesthetic numbs the scalp. So what puts the “ache” in headache? It’s the non-brain structures: blood vessels, membranes and cranial nerves in the brain and skull. When these structures are stretched, compressed, irritated, inflamed, or infected, headaches often result. To find out more on this topic, come visit us in Charlotte, NC.

THE CHIROPRATIC APPORACH

Why do millions of headache sufferers turn to the natural, drug-free chiropractic approach to health?

That’s because chiropractic has a unique healing approach-chiropractors are the only health professionals trained to analyze your body for a serious and often ignored condition that can damage your nerves, cause tissue inflammation, cause muscles to tighten and knot, weaken your body, cause fatigue and set the stage for sickness and disease. This condition is called the vertebal sublaxation complex (VSX).

Just as you may have a cavity in your tooth and be unaware of the damage it’s causing, so the VSC (or subluxation ) may be causing serious harm to your body-sometimes for years-without your knowledge.

What exactly is VSC? It is a tiny distortion or misalignment in your spine that stresses your nervous system, the system that controls your body. What causes the VSC? Any physical or emotional stress that your body cannot withstand can cause your spine to develop VSC.

Please call Charlotte’s Chiropractic Accident Recovery Center to schedule a visit! We are in University area in Charlotte, NC!

Low Back Pain:

Low back pain is very, very common. About 85% of the population will experience disabling low back pain at least once during their lives! That’s almost all of us. The problem is so bad that, according to one researcher, at any given time 6.8 % of the US adult population is suffering from an episode of back pain lasting more than two weeks. That’s a lot of bad backs. The estimated cost of the problem in the US is over $50 billion a year.

The Chiropractic Approach:

Chiropractors have helped millions of people with low back problem, often saving them from pain, disability, drugs and surgery. The chiropractor’s purpose is to gently and painlessly rebalance and realign your spine to relieve pressure on your nerves, disc and muscles. Chiropractors have a special term for an area of your spine that is not properly aligned and is causing nerve stress: a vertebral subluxation.

Anyone suffering from a back problem from a back problem should see a chiropractor to have their spine checked for vertebral subluxations. If present, the chiropractor will gently and painlessly correct the subluxation and release stress on the spinal nerves, menings, discs and vertebrae.

If subluxation exist in your body it must be corrected. This could make the difference between a life of ease, health and comfort and a life of disease, disability and pain. Major government studies from the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, have reaffirmed what chiropractic patients have been telling their friends with back pain for years. Here at the charlotte chiropractic clinic, a lot of our business is from word of mouth. We have treated hundreds, even thousands in the past few years for low back pain. Please come visit us in the university area and let us help you with your low back pain.

However, what many people fail to realize is, problems also develop when these tissues aren’t exposed to the sufficient levels of stress, needed to maintain functional health. The levels are placed on the following scale:

Paralysis: Where muscles and ligaments are not used at all and their ability to function has been diminished.

Immobilization: Where use is temporarily put on hold and muscle strength and size diminishes over time.

Sedentarism: This is when muscles and ligaments are only minimally used, which leads to obesity, deconditioning, hypertension, and poor fitness, common in all age groups.

Normal Use: Which varies widely. In this level, all of the muscles and ligaments are used for daily activities.

Strenuous Use: Which includes regular exercise, participating in recreational sports and leading an active lifestyle?

Progressive Overload: Which consist of people, such as athletes, who continually push their bodies to the limit to improve performance and build strength.

Overuse and damage can occur in any of the above groups, at varying degrees. When muscles and ligaments are stressed, they respond by repairing and strengthening; but if the overload is frequent, damage may result. Trauma, or sudden stress, to a ligament begins with pain, swelling, and results in a total degree loss function.

Injuries and damage need proper treatment in order to heal rapidly. Rest is important; which includes days of immobilization of the damaged area, followed by reintroduction of movement and activity. Reactivation is also necessary- which consists of exercise and guidance, which we can provide here at the charlotte chiropractor!

Inadequate amounts of sleep affects memory, according to a recent study conducted at Harvard University. Without enough sleep, newly acquired skills and information are not properly coded in the brain, making it difficult to remember.

Sleep deprivation also decreases the ability of the immune system to fight of illness and disease. Reports show that just losing three hours of sleep causes a 30% decrease to immune system response. This lack of response suppresses melatonin, which contributes to breast cancer; a growth hormone produced during sleep is impaired, which contributes to osteoporosis; insulin resistance and impaired glucose processing, can lead to diabetes and excess insulin and stored fat, leads to obesity.

While some people choose to give up some of the necessary hours of sleep, others are simply unable to sleep.

Factors that contribute to insomnia are lack of exercise, poor diet, excessive alcohol or caffeine; medical conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression, hypothyroidism, and over-active bladders; medications, such as anti-depressants, pain killers, allergy drugs and various hormones; natural conditions, such as PMS and menopause; and various health disorders.

Many of these factors can be treated with chiropractic here at the university chiropractor. If you suffer from any of the above conditions or are having difficulty sleeping, come see us at the Charlotte Chiropractic Clinic.

Patricia Brennan, Ph.D., dean of research at National College of Chiropractic supervised the research team responsible for the project.

The major funding for the pilot study came from the National College of Chiropractic, with support by a grant from the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER), and tertiary support from the Practice Consultants Clinical Research Center, which was established by the (FCER) through a grant from William Harris, D.C., to help foster scientific research in the profession.

While more testing is called for, the charlotte chiropractic center found that women, who received chiropractic treatment consisting of spinal manipulation, reported significant reductions in back pain and menstrual distress. A measurable reduction in the substance believed to be responsible for menstrual pain was also noted.

Each year, and estimated fifty percent of all women are affected by primary dysmennorrhea, or the presence of painful menstruation not attributed to an organic pelvic pathology. 100 million work hours are lost because of primary dysmenorrhea per year. This translates into a loss of more than $1 billion annually for employers.

Standard medical treatment relieves symptoms in 80 percent of all cases, but side effects can lead to more debilitating complaints that range from dizziness and stomach distress to abdominal bleeding and stomach ulcers.

Primary dysmenorrhea is believed to be caused by prostaglandins, a group of naturally occurring fatty acids found in various tissues that induce muscle contractions. Abnormally high levels of prostaglandin found in dysmenorrheic women during the first 48 hours of their menstrual cycle are thought to cause uterine contractions that result in pain. For this reason, both perceived pain and blood levels of prostaglandins were tested in this study.

On the first day of their period, the 38 women participating in the trial received either spinal manipulation or a “sham” adjustment that did not have a therapeutic effect on the spine. The women were asked to fill out a menstrual distress questionnaire and rate their pain on a visual analogue scale, and blood was drawn and tested both 5 minutes before treatment and 60 minutes after treatment.

The results of the questionnaires showed the greatest reduction in perceived pain among the women receiving spinal manipulation when compared to the women who received sham adjustments. Visual analogue scale scores indicated that both abdominal and back pain decreased almost twice as much in the spine manipulated group that will require further investigation. Whether or not these differences are scientifically significant can only be established through additional testing.

Come give the accident recovery center a try and see we can reduce your back pain and menstrual pain, I’m sure we can!