Most people associate chiropractic care with back pain. Yet, your chiropractor can help in other ways too. Take chiropractic for joint pain.
It might make sense that a chiropractic adjustment to your spine can relieve shoulder pain, but you might not think about it helping your knees or ankles, or even wrists. But it’s possible.
The reason why is your entire body is connected. You know this, of course, and if you think back to that old song about the hip bone connected to the thigh bone, that’s a good reminder.
With each bone connected to the next and the nerves acting as the messengers for your brain’s communication system, your body operates as a whole (even if we don’t always treat it as such.)
An Ankle Joint Injury Can Affect Your Body
Take an ankle injury on the left side of your body. It’s likely that the right side will find ways to compensate by adjusting your stride or stance for example. Yet, even micro-adjustments make a difference and you may find yourself with an eventual knee injury on your right side because you “favored” one side. However, a chiropractor may be able to help prevent the second joint injury by helping your body maintain it’s balance and symmetry.
The chiropractic approach is to assess your overall health and where your joint pain is located. Here at McQuaite Chiropractic, we run an x-ray of all new patients so we can see what’s going on. For example, your treatment could incorporate gentle manipulation or short sharp bursts of spinal manipulation.
We have a range of specific tools to relieve pain and improve your mobility including the special chiropractic table, TENS treatment, and a small rubber hammer. You can find out more about our treatments here.
Of course, whether chiropractic can help your joint pain depends on your body.
For example, arthritis can cause joint pain but not all arthritis can be safely treated by chiropractic care. So, we want to know if you have arthritis and if so, what type. Assuming you’re a good candidate for chiropractic care for your joint pain, you’ll probably be pleased with the benefits.
The Benefits of Chiropractic for Joint Pain Include:
Each of these can lead to more motivation to exercise or participate in other activities that you might have declined before due to pain. After all, if your joint pain is keeping you from participating in your favorite activities, wouldn’t you want to change that situation?
If you’re in the Doylestown, Pa, area, we’d love to offer you a consultation. That way we can see if chiropractic may be able to relieve your joint pain.
There’s nothing quite like being hunched over your computer on your sofa for hours on end to quickly dispel the work from home dream.
Sure, it’s nice to skip the commute but without an ergonomically friendly work area, you’ll likely find yourself in pain after a while. You may find yourself wondering how to create an ergonomic home office.
Fortunately, there are several ways you can do it. Even if you’re making small improvements by using towels from your linen closet. But first, here’s why working from the couch isn’t a good long-term plan.
Why Working from Your Couch Is Hard on Your Body
In a word, lack of structure. When you sit on your couch bent over your computer, you slump. Your rounded head and shoulders put a strain on your neck and upper body. If you’re already prone to neck or shoulder pain, this tends to make it worse. Same with sciatica.
It’s not much better if you’re at your dining table either by the way. The table height can be a little too high (or too low) for your height and few dining chairs are meant for hours of sitting. You can make it a little better by putting a rolled-up towel or cushion behind your back for lumbar support and raising your computer monitor to eye level.
The Ergonomic Home Office Set-Up That Supports Your Back and Neck
You don’t even need to have a true office with a door. You can carve out a corner of an extra bedroom or your dining room if needed. An ergonomic office starts with a computer monitor at eye level.
The ideal height because it helps your neck stay in one long line from your spine. That’s why you see so many desks with a separate level to raise the monitor. If you work on a laptop without a separate monitor, then you can still raise it and get a separate keyboard and mouse.
You can raise it on a stack of books or get an official “laptop raising” tool like a roost or nextstand. These fold up when you’re not using them and you can adjust up and down as needed.
As for mice and keyboards, there are ones designed to be ergonomically friendly. Before you buy something, notice your typing habits. Do you tend to bend your wrists or keep them stable? To minimize wrist pain, it’s best to keep them in a straight position.
You’ll also need a good chair. A supportive chair will allow your feet to rest on the floor and will support your back. If a new chair isn’t in the cards for you right now, use a cushion or rolled-up towel to give you lumbar support and keep your feet flat on the floor.
This article from PC Magazine, shares more insight into how (and why) you’ll want to customize your home office set up.
Practice Relieving Tension
Take stretch breaks. Even just 2-3 minutes at a time can help. Stretch from side to side with your arms in the air or on your hips. Rotate your hips and tilt your pelvis. You can also bend forward and hang for a few seconds. It all helps to loosen your back.
An ergonomic home office set up can help prevent chronic back, shoulder, and neck pain because it keeps your spine aligned.
Regular chiropractic treatment can also help keep your spine aligned. If you’re Bucks County, PA, and want to see how we can help with back pain, contact us at 267-247-7000. We’d love to help you feel better.
Have you ever turned your head and heard your neck crack? Sometimes it feels great and other times, maybe not so good. Either way, you might wonder about that sound. What’s with it? It turns out there’s a special word for it.
That word is “crepitus” which applies to any snap, crackle, pop of the joints.
On its own, it’s nothing to worry about. Sometimes, you might even gently turn your head side to side to try to find that relief of “ah.” Essentially, it’s trapped gas bubbles so when you release them by turning your neck, you feel relief.
But if your neck cracking is also painful, that requires professional assistance to discover the reason why.
Let’s talk about the neck cracking.
Imagine those joints in the back of the neck. They’re called facet joints and if you feel the back of your neck, you can feel the knobby texture. Inside these joints is the synovial fluid which keeps your joints lubricated. Then, between each joint is smooth cartilage and an intervertebral disc.
In other words, your neck is designed to be flexible. That way you can turn your head from side to side. But why does it make that weird noise?
Here’s Why You Hear Your Neck Crack
Essentially, there are three main reasons why you hear neck cracking sounds.
1- Pressure Changes – Gas bubbles within the synovial fluid in your joints make a popping noise when they explode. You might also feel a sense of relief and a greater range of motion when this happens. This is normal.
2- Ligament or tendons moving – These are attached to bones and they move around the bone in your body. Sometimes they make a sound as they move.
3- Grinding– Osteoarthritis is caused by the loss of cartilage in the neck and other parts of the body. As you age, losing this cartilage is common and can lead to the bone grinding on bone. Ouch! That is usually painful. If you’re wondering why your neck cracks and hurts, this could be related. You’ll usually be able to see this on an x-ray.
These all apply to your knees, ankles, and other joints too by the way.
Other reasons why your neck could crack and hurt? An accident or post-surgical surgery could affect your neck. If you’re having swelling, please get yourself to a medical professional right away. Also, if your neck always cracks in the same way, that could be a sign that’s something’s amiss.
Is it Safe to Crack Your Neck?
When everyday activities like stretching cause your neck to crack, that’s fine. But you don’t want to seek out opportunities to crack your neck on your own. The reason is that your neck houses plenty of blood vessels and nerves. Improper or forceful neck cracking can lead topinched nerves or even punctured blood vessels both of which are problems and can lead to more pain.
So if you’re one of those people who likes to enlist help from family or friends in cracking your neck, please don’t. You could do some damage. Instead, find a reputable chiropractor if you haven’t already.
When Does it Make Sense to Visit a Chiropractor for Your Neck?
Regular chiropractic care boosts your immune system and can even reduce your stress. What’s “regular?” We interpret it as at least once a month. That way, your body stays in alignment.
A chiropractor is trained in joint manipulation to help your spine (including your neck) stay flexible which is important for your overall health and the way you feel. For most people, the occasional neck crack is perfectly normal. Neck “crepitus” is nothing to worry about.
However, if you’re in pain, then you definitely want to seek medical treatment and if you feel like you’re constantly trying to crack your neck to find relief or if you have any kind of unusual swelling, then you’ll want tomake an appointment right away.
If you’re someone who doesn’t like the idea of a chiropractic adjustment, Dr. Mcquaite also offers a non-cracking adjustment. It offers pain relief without the cracking sound.
stop People are creatures of routines. We crave stability and knowing what to expect.
Photo by Ravi Pinisetti on Unsplash
Knowing what to expect gives us a sense of control. Feeling out of control is part of the reason the current COVID crisis is so difficult. All of our routines are disrupted.
We don’t know what’s going to happen next.
We don’t know how to plan for the next few weeks (or months.)
We don’t know how to protect ourselves and our families.
And not the knowing messes with our brains and emotions. It stresses us out.
You may not even want to think about stress management, yet, if you’re willing to be proactive, you can reduce your stress. Even in times of unknowing.
For example, you can choose to get up early every day and watch the sunrise. Listen to the birds sing and appreciate the quiet. Maybe you’ll even make a list of things you’re grateful for. And if you’re struggling to feel gratitude, that’s ok too. Here’s an article from Psychology Today that explains how it’s important to drop the “shoulds” and feel your feelings.
Besides gratitude here are five other ways you can include stress management in your day.
5 Stress Management Techniques for Finding Strength
1- Be Kind to Yourself – If you’re feeling anxious because you want to be more productive than you’re being, give yourself permission to be kind and accepting of yourself. Everyone is going through a traumatic experience and it’s ok to admit that you’re not ok about it. Take a bath, read a book, go to bed early. Try to incorporate more nurturing activities into your day.
2- Exercise – When you move your body, you boost circulation and release “feel good” chemicals in your brain. Dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins will flood your body and help you recalibrate. These chemicals give your brain something tangible to focus on so you break any pattern of worry. Giving yourself that mental space is essential for your health.
Many gyms have moved their classes online and YouTube is full of exercise routines suitable for anyone. Even 10 minutes can help.
3- Get Fresh Air – Spring is here in Bucks County, Pa. If you can get outside in the sunshine and fresh air, it’s bound to lift your spirits. If you can take a walk (in an uncrowded area), then you can combine fresh air with exercise.
4- Eat Healthy – Healthy meals nourish your mind, body, and spirit. For instance, baked salmon with a side of fresh asparagus or a spring veggie medley are good choices to help you feel better mentally and physically.
5- Stop the Scroll – If you’re feeling stressed and anxious, the endless scroll of news and social media will only make it worse. So, step away from your phone. Take a walk, exercise, or find something else positive to do. Limit your news and social media consumption to 10-15 minutes/day.
While we’ve experienced a crisis before, this one feels different, mainly because there’s no defined endpoint. That means we can only take this one day at a time. Or even a moment at a time. If you can breathe deeply and focus on your breath throughout the day, you’ll experience some of the benefits of yogi breathing and that will help with stress management.
If you need a qualified therapist to help you, there are many offering online sessions now so please, get that help if you need it.
Pandemic life is strange. All of our routines are disrupted and even simple things like going to the grocery store can feel like an epic undertaking.
It’s even stranger now that Spring is finally here. In Doylestown, Pa, the flowers are blooming and the weather is calling you to come out for a walk. Walking in the fresh air is a good idea. It gets you out in the fresh air and sunshine and can lift your mood.
Building a strong immune system is a blend of healthy mental and physical habits. You know, the standard, get enough rest and eat your veggies type of habits.
Often, people blame their busy schedules for not prioritizing healthy habits like eating real food and exercising. If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably found your life on “pause” right now. It’s a scary time, full of uncertainty, and you may want to subsist on pasta and chips.
However, if you can make a choice to take a short walk and eat some vegetables and fruits, it’ll help.
Let’s consider your immune system. Designed to fight off disease naturally, it can keep you healthy. In fact, part of what natural health care like chiropractic and acupuncture do is help your body heal itself.
It’s possible to boost your immune system with healthy lifestyle choices. That doesn’t mean you won’t ever get sick, but it can mean you may be less at risk for illnesses.
The Healthy Lifestyle Habits That Build a Strong Immune System
There’s nothing radical in these habits. They’re pretty simple actually. Yet, simple doesn’t mean easy.
Get your rest
Eat a variety of fruits, veggies, and lean protein
Get outside during the day for sunshine. Sunshine is a natural mood booster
Don’t smoke
Maintain a healthy weight
Which of these do you already have as part of your daily life? Which can you add?
Some people find cooking therapeutic. Maybe you like making (and eating) all kinds of comfort food. No doubt, you deserve some comfort right now. And, can you work some healthy foods into your rotation?
Foods like asparagus and berries taste great and they’re even stress reducers. Check out this list of stress reducing foods. Because while it’s tempting to eat all the carbs, it’s not going to help you feel better later tonight or tomorrow.
The foods you choose to eat can also help you reduce inflammation. As you may know, chronic inflammation is linked to heart disease and other dangers, so include some anti-inflammatory foods like berries and garlic (not together!) in your meals.
What about exercise? It’s a proven mood booster and also helps reduce inflammation. If you’re looking for an at-home routine you can do during quarantine, check out our Facebook page where we’ve shared some workouts.
Or go to Youtube and type in an activity you enjoy. For example, “At home Zumba” will pull up thousands of videos.
Take it slow though. If you’re not used to exercising, don’t go full tilt and risk hurting yourself. Better to start with some gentle stretches and a short walk than overdo it.
None of these are rocket science, and that’s the good news. They’ll help you feel better now and later by building a healthy immune system. How can you incorporate them in your day today?
