If you’re one of the 4 million people suffering from fibromyalgia, you know how it commands your life. From debilitating pain to constant fatigue, fibromyalgia is a mysterious disease because there’s no clear cause.
What IS known is it can cause headaches, sleep problems, stiffness, and many other unpleasant conditions. It often accompanies other health concerns like Irritable Bowel Syndrom (IBS) and chronic myofascial pain.
It turns out, that some people are affected by trigger points for fibromyalgia, and chiropractic care helps them. Other fibro treatments include exercise, stress reduction, medication, and acupuncture.
What are Fibromyalgia Trigger Points?
Trigger points for fibromyalgia are small spots mostly around the joints. For example, you can find common trigger points in the hips, upper chest, upper back, back of the head, and other areas of the body. Trigger points are associated with chronic myofascial pain which is another mysterious disease that affects the muscles. Doctors call these trigger points referral pain because the pain radiates out.
Imagine having a knot in your shoulder and you have myofascial pain in addition to fibro. In such a case, that shoulder knot can radiate pain across your shoulder if someone touched it. That’s not the same type of pain as tender points.
What’s the Difference: Trigger Points vs Tender Points?
You’ll hear people use the words trigger points and tender points sometimes interchangeably but they’re not the same thing.
As mentioned above, trigger points occur from chronic myofascial pain and they can cause pain in other parts of the body. Doctors call this “referred pain.”
Tender points are different. Living up to their name, they’re “tender” areas on your body that can hurt even if someone gently touches you in the area but they don’t tend to radiate pain. These 18 tender points include:
Lower neck in front
Knee
Back of the neck and shoulders
Hip bone
Base of the skull
Back of the neck
Other areas
In the past, doctors relied on testing the tender points as a diagnosis for fibromyalgia but now they realize they are unreliable indicators. Fibromyalgia symptoms change from day to day and no two patients have identical symptoms.
Ways Chiropractic Care Can Help Fibromyalgia
Chiro care can help fibromyalgia patients because chiropractic care helps your central nervous system. The adjustments reduce localized pain because they realign your spine. If you imagine the 33 spinal bones along with the interspersed discs, tendons, muscles, and nerves that all connect in your spine, you can why chiropractors say, “the spine is your lifeline.” Everything connects there.
Everyone’s body gets out of alignment through daily habits. Whether it’s repetitive tasks, hours hunched over a computer, or an accident, a muscle or nerve can shift a millimeter and find itself pressing on a ligament or spinal disc.
Regular chiropractic adjustments “put everything back.” When your body is in correct alignment, blood flows easier and pumps oxygen into every corner of your body. This helps your brain communicate easier with the cells in your body.
Your chiropractor can handle adjustments in a sensitive way. They’ll talk you through your most painful systems and devise a plan for managing the pain. If you’re suffering from tender points or trigger points from fibromyalgia, Dr. McQuaite is a Doylestown, Pa. chiropractor who can help.
Do you find yourself wincing in pain after a long workday? Hunching over the computer will do that to you.
What about playing golf or tennis? Practicing yoga? Is your favorite recreational activity straining your muscles?
Finding upper back pain relief may be at the top of your list for your quality of life. After all, chronic pain can slow you down in all kinds of ways.
In fact, upper back pain affects every age is the leading contributor to disability worldwide.
If your pain is affecting your quality of life, i.e., is severe and unrelenting, it may be time to seek upper back pain relief through a chiropractor.
Let’s break down what upper back pain is and how chiropractic care can give you relief, naturally.
What Is Upper Back Pain?
You may feel upper back pain anywhere between the base of your neck to the bottom of your ribcage.
It can originate in several areas in the thoracic spine such as the 12 bones attached to the ribcage, the discs separating each vertebra, and the muscles surrounding the joints.
It’s different for everyone. Whether dull and achy or sharp and burning. Everyone’s upper back pain is unique to their body and circumstances. Your chiropractor will work with you to create a personalized treatment.
Here are some typical causes of upper back pain.
Common Upper Back Pain Causes
Poor posture — “Stand up straight” is more than a parental admonishment. It turns out slumping when you sit or stand puts stress on your vertebrae because it’s unnatural. Your spine is designed a certain way and when you adopt habits like slumping over a computer for hours every day, your head juts out funny and puts unneeded stress on your neck, shoulders, and upper back muscles.
Injury — Slip and falls, car accidents and other injuries can lead to fractures, nerve damage, and other pain.
Overuse — Such repetitive motions are usually work-related. Typing, dog grooming, massage, and other jobs can lead to chronic pain.
35 million Americans seek chiropractic care every year because it’s simple and effective!
In fact, research shows combining chiropractic care with traditional medicine alleviates pain faster than medical care alone.
Ready to add your name to the list?
Natural Pain Relief
A chiropractor will look at your musculoskeletal system as a whole, treating the cause of your upper back pain at the source.
By focusing on the body’s natural ability to heal itself, chiropractors use their hands to apply force to joints in the spine, moving them for better alignment and alleviating pain.
This is a great alternative for those who are looking to abstain from addicting pain medications and costly surgical procedures.
How to Treat Upper Back Pain
Chiropractic care doesn’t hurt. It is safe, non-invasive, and with regular sessions, your muscles will adjust.
Dr. McQuaite in Doylestown, Pa. uses an x-ray to assess your upper back pain. He discusses your medical history with you and creates a treatment plan that takes into account any underlying conditions or past injuries that may impact your recovery.
Standard techniques for upper back pain relief are:
Spinal adjustments — chiropractors use their hands to apply force to joints in the upper back to correct misalignment, release stress, and improve range of motion.
Soft tissue therapy — a massage that promotes blood circulation and relaxes the muscles in the upper back to reduce inflammation and pain. Massage combined with chiropractic care is an excellent one/two punch.
Strength training — is important because it builds strength and improves flexibility. This can help prevent upper back pain.
Upper Back Pain Doesn’t Have To Be Permanent
Regular chiropractic adjustments will alleviate your upper back pain and improve your quality of life for years to come.
If you’re in the Doylestown area, schedule an appointment with Bucks County’s best chiropractor to receive exceptional chiropractic care and relieve your pain, naturally.
A chiropractic adjustment is a procedure in which chiropractors use their hands and other objects to apply sudden force to the spinal joint.
Your chiropractor knows exactly where to apply the pressure so you feel maximum pain relief.
The purpose of a chiropractic adjustment is to correct the body’s alignment. When your spine is in correct alignment, you stand up straighter, feel less pain, have experience greater mobility.
Everyday life creates plenty of opportunities for your spine to be out of alignment. The way you stand, sit, carry things, past injuries, all of it contributes toward one foot turning out more than another, or a hip jutting out slightly. These are common and aren’t noticeable to most people.
However, a chiropractor knows what to look for and how these subtle body movements can impact the way you feel.
For example, imagine you have chronic neck and shoulder pain. After a few questions, it’s clear you need a better workspace and awareness of your posture while working at the computer. An ergonomic desk setup can work wonders for your pain relief.
A chiropractor’s goal is to gently realign your joints. By doing so, you experience a better range of motion. Adjustments are painless and many patients feel immediate pain relief.
A Chiropractic Adjustment Can Help:
Relieve chronic back pain
Headaches
Carpal Tunnel symptoms
Sciatica
Neck pain
Even Allergies
Are chiropractic adjustments safe?
Licensed and experienced professionals perform chiropractic adjustments. Adjustments are considered safe when performed in the right setting and performed by a properly trained professional.
Research shows that serious events following a chiropractic adjustment are rare. Of course, while chiropractic adjustments are considered safe, they’re not recommended for patients with osteoporosis, spine cancer, spine deformities, and other serious conditions that require the patient to undergo surgery. If you are a patient who has any of the mentioned conditions, it is suggested that you consult with your general practitioner before scheduling your first chiropractic visit.
What does a chiropractic adjustment feel like?
If you are worried about pain—don’t worry, it won’t hurt. A safe and effective chiropractic adjustment is painless and quick. Depending on your level of tension there might be some level of discomfort, but the temporary discomfort will be worth the after. The minute tension you feel momentarily is worth it, especially for patients who come in with excruciating pain. You will feel an almost immediate sense of relief and a boost of mobility.
You may hear cracking and popping sounds as the chiropractor makes adjustments—don’t get nervous this is normal. If you have ever wondered why this popping or cracking occurs, the answer is simple. A suctioning force between two joints causes pressure, and once the air stuck between them is released, it causes the popping or cracking noise.
Think about the release of tension you feel when your back or neck unexpectedly crack. Now imagine how great it feels when a professional releases this unwanted tension from all over your body.
How long does a chiropractic adjustment last?
A typical chiropractic adjustment lasts 15-30 minutes. Your first visit will be a bit longer to cover your medical history and x-ray. Once Dr. Jeff assesses your body, he’ll suggest a treatment plan.
Many patients even choose to schedule adjustments during their lunch breaks as they are brief and refreshing. Be prepared to schedule multiple sessions. Although you will feel great after each session; for long-term results, you will need to schedule multiple visits.
If you’d like to see how a chiropractic adjustment can help you feel better and reduce chronic pain, please visit us in Doylestown, Pa. You can even take an office tour here.
Have you ever felt an unusual pain or stiffness in your thighs or groin? Sometimes people who suffer from hip impingement feel a pain deep in the glutes or feel their hips pop when bending over or moving forward.
Unfortunately, not much is known about the cause of hip impingement. But what’s certain is you want to find pain relief.
What is Hip Impingement?
Imagine a cup with a small ball inside. Got that image in your head? Now apply that picture to your hip socket. Doctors refer to the ball of your hip as a “femoral head.” Your hip curves into a “cup” shape called an acetabulum. The acetabulum is surrounded by cartilage. Sometimes the cartilage gets pinched. Hence, hip impingement or what the medical establishment calls, femoroacetabular impingement (FAI.)
According to Hopkins Medicine, there are two types of Hip Impingements (FAI). One occurs due to a deformity in the femoral head and the other type is due to an abnormal shape of the acetabulum (the cup.) Imagine if the cup is misshapen and covers too much of the femoral head. That can lead to painful friction. It’s one example of how a hip impingement can present to your medical professional. It’s also possible to have a combination of the two.
Hip impingement can be an early sign of osteoarthritis.
Symptoms of a Hip Impingement
The symptoms can vary from person to person, but these are common issues:
Pain after sitting for long periods
Pain as you rotate your hip
Pain while and/or after running
Stiffness of the hip, groin, or thigh
You’ll know the difference between pain from an overzealous exercise class and chronic hip pain.
Diagnosis
A physical examination and imaging tests can help your medical professional assess hip impingement. For example:
X-ray
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
CT Scan
Many chiropractors offer X-rays and can make further referrals if you’re seeking a natural pain relief solution. Yet, other things can also cause hip pain. For example, a pinched nerve or sciatica can both be painful (and chiro care can help them too.)
Seeking Non-surgical Relief? A Chiropractor Can Help!
Firstly, your chiropractor may diagnose your hip impingement and offer you exercises to strengthen your core and lower back. In some cases, better posture and an ergonomic work area will help. What won’t help is ignoring the pain. You can take an over-the-counter pain killer like Ibuprofen but it only masks the systems so you’ll want to dig deeper.
When you take a proactive, surgical-free approach to pain relief, you know you need the right chiropractor or other medical professional and strength training. For example, an exercise program focusing on mobility and strength is core to natural pain relief and aging gracefully. You may find a therapeutic yoga class helps or a combination of massage therapy and chiropractic care with gentle yoga.
There’s no doubt, everyone’s body is different. Yet, in Doylestown, Pa, Dr. Jeff Mcquaite can help you feel your best through traditional chiropractic care. McQuaite chiropractic takes most insurance and offers a free consultation.
If you’ve ever said (or thought), “you’re getting on my nerves,” you might be onto something. In all seriousness, when something presses on your nerve, it does hurt. And, while your relatives can’t actually press your nerves, another body part can.
That’s what causes a pinched nerve. Usually brought on by repetition, people suffer with pinched nerves because bones, tendons, or cartilage is out of place. These other body parts press on the nerve and compress it. It causes tingling and pain. You might even find yourself wincing as you hit the tennis ball or the letters on the keyboard.
The Raw Facts of a Pinched Nerve
When you think about it makes sense. Just as a pinch of your skin can hurt, pinched nerves are really quite similar. However, instead of fingers compressing skin together, it’s cartilage, tendons, bone, or muscles that cause the pinching. Something is out of alignment. They’re usually found in your upper or lower back or your neck. However, you can also have a pinched nerve in your leg or buttock.
Then again, it may not be painful, but exhibit other symptoms.
4 Symptoms of Pinched Nerves
Tingling (like when your foot falls asleep)
Numbness
Shooting pain when you exercise or engage in the activity that’s causing it (such as typing)
Muscle weakness (loss of grip strength for example.)
Sometimes, rest and over-the-counter remedies eliminate the pain. Regular stretches can help too. For computer warriors, ergonomically friendly desks and chairs will help keep you from hunching over. Also, being aware of your posture and standing (or sitting) up straight can help because slouching and hunching over knocks your body out of alignment which can make pinched nerve pain worse.
The causes of a pinched nerve usually stem from things like an accident, repetitive stress injury, being overweight, or rheumatoid arthritis. While the causes can be different, the pain is the same and you deserve to feel better.
Why Surgery Isn’t Always the Answer
If you are in pain with your pinched nerve you’re not alone. One statistic says 31 days a year of work are lost to pain around pinched nerves and carpal tunnel. That’s a lot of time in pain! Besides the recovery time and general anxiety of surgery for a pinched nerve, it’s not always effective. In fact, many patients find themselves undergoing surgery more than once to try to alleviate their pain. You probably don’t want to do that and there’s no requirement to do it.
Massage therapy, chiropractic care, and yoga can help you be pain-free without surgery. Better yet, unlike surgery and pills, chiropractic care can help your body to heal itself! Because these methods help your body return to its natural state of health.
In Doylestown, Pa. Dr. Jeff McQuaite can help you reduce your pinched nerve pain. He’ll start with an x-ray to see inside your body and then talk with you about your options. It’s wonderful to skip the surgery and relieve your pain! Schedule your appointment today and get on the path to feeling your best.
Just like Newton’s apple, fell to gravity, so can your body. Ok, we all know things start to sag as we get older, even your spine. 33 bones make up your spine. Add in the discs, tendons, nerves, and gravity compressing everything together and it’s no wonder it can take a while to find the source of your back pain.
Perhaps you have sciatica or degenerative disc disease. Sometimes the medical establishment recommends surgery for such back pain. Yet, surgery is not a magic bullet, it has a long recovery time, and it might not work.
Wouldn’t you prefer surgery-free relief? Spinal decompression can offer you back pain relief without the surgery.
Just as it sounds, nonsurgical spinal decompression is an alternative to surgery. It uses a special table to elongate your spine. Since compression can be the source of your back pain, this is a way to reverse time and gravity. This table relieves pressure on herniated discs and other spine problems so you feel relief.
Imagine lying on the decompression table and having it resist your muscles and slowly help stretch them. It relieves the pressure on your discs and so you feel relief. After a few sessions, you may find your back pain gone.
Of course, each treatment plan is customized to your medical history. As a chiropractor, Dr. Jeff will run an x-ray to better understand your spine and what’s going on in your body. From there, he can make recommendations.
What to Expect:
Fully clothed, you lie on a computer-controlled table. The doctor straps you in and operates the computer according to your needs. You may get hot and cold therapy, electrical stimulation (this causes the muscles to contract), or ultrasound (sound therapy that generates heat).
You can also try a few simple exercises for back pain relief now and in between your decompression sessions.
Three Exercises for Back Pain Relief
Use an exercise ball – lie back on it and roll around gently. This helps open your shoulders and upper back which often are hunched over after hours at the computer. If you have mild back pain, this may be enough for you.
Do “wall dog” – if you ever played sports, this will probably look familiar. Put your hands on the wall, step back about 3 feet and bend over until you’re parallel to the wall. Keep your back flat as you stretch out your shoulders and back.
Walk – Walking on a regular basis can help strengthen your back and relieve some back pain.
Spinal Decompression Can Help You If:
You’ve had failed back surgery
You want to avoid surgery but are told you need it
Have tried other options (massage therapy, acupuncture, traditional chiropractic care) without the results you want
However, if you have fused discs, have osteoporosis, or a recent spinal fracture, spinal decompression is not for you.
If you’d like to learn more about surgery-free spinal decompression in Doylestown PA and if it can help you find that needed back pain relief, call us today at 267-247-7000. You deserve to feel your best!
