Can Your Symptoms Be Treated With Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic care is useful for so much more than people often assume. We’ve summarized some of the top symptoms that our patients experience below. Each situation is different, so it’s important to realize that none of the information on this page is meant to be a diagnosis. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, schedule an appointment with one of our chiropractors so that you can get a professional diagnosis.
I have avoided going to the chiropractor for my entire life primarily due to disbelief that it works. Well in the last year or so I have lost a lot of weight and my back has been really fighting me and caused a serious lack in my ability to sleep. I maybe slept 4-5 hours max at a time and in complete discomfort. For my initial appointment I was seen by Josh, who was visibly able to see the kinks in my spine and felt fairly confident that he could work out my issues. I hate to say I laughed and in my mind thought "yea, right" because i've lived with them my entire life. In the first hour Josh cured my headaches, my tight shoulders, my lower back tension, and told me if we stay consistent with it that more than likely he will be able to have me at 100% again. So far I have gone to four appointments, and not only do I feel absolutely A M A Z I N G, but people I work with, family members, and even strangers have complimented my posture. From the biggest skeptic in the world to you, I highly suggest you give The Ridge the opportunity to help make your every day life easier and more comfortable.
-Allen Shapiro, Google My Business Review
Symptoms that can be treated with chiropractic care
Headaches
When you come to the Ridge Chiropractic with a headache, we’ll work on identifying the type of headache, which will help us determine the root cause of your headache. Different types of headaches require different types of chiropractic care.
Tension headaches often wrap around the head and behind the eyes and temples. In order to identify the tension point, your chiropractor will palpate your neck muscles in order to reproduce the pain. If they can recreate the headache with these palpations, then they will know exactly where to apply care.
Cervicogenic headaches stem from the position of the joints within the neck. In order to diagnose this, we’ll again work to palpate the neck to identify the exact point that is triggering the pain. This type of headache responds best to adjustment of the neck - either by diversified technique, or use of an arthrostim or activator device.
Some types of migraines can be treated with chiropractic care. Treatment of migraines starts with a treatment regimen to see if the migraines reduce with care. If they do, then we know that they are caused by a mechanical issue in the body. If the migraines don’t respond to chiropractic care, then we’ll start digging deeper to find other triggers, such as food allergens, environmental toxins, or other sensitivities. If we still can’t help you determine the cause of your migraines, we’ll work to refer you to a headache specialist.
Treatment of these and all other types of headaches starts with diagnosing the exact location that is causing the headache and then working to find the underlying issue. It could be posture, environment, or other triggers - determining this with your chiropractor will be the key to long term relief.
Neck Pain
Neck pain can be caused by any number of things - poor posture, trauma, sleeping position, arthritis, facet syndrome, or upper cross syndrome. If the cause is due to tight muscles, then movement of your neck is being restricted, causing pain. If there are chronic posture issues, there will often be pain and soreness at extreme ranges of motion, such as checking a blind spot while driving. On the other hand, facet syndrome can appear as a stiff neck with incredibly limited motion and mobility.
For all types of neck pain, we’ll take you through our x step process in order to treat both the immediate pain issue as well as the long term issue that is causing the pain. This will include myofascial release, adjusting, and strengthening and stretching exercises.
Jaw Pain/TMJ
Jaw issues can cause pain or stiffness in the jaw when opening and closing your mouth. It might also cause a clicking noise or cause your bite to get out of alignment. These issues are sometimes caused by muscles that aren’t tracking correctly, which can lead to not only jaw issues, but headaches as well. In order to treat jaw pain or TMJ, we utilize intra oral massage in addition to muscle work and adjustment to the neck region.
Upper Back Pain
Other than a sudden trauma or injury, the two main types of upper back pain come from poor posture and from rib dysfunction. The pain from poor posture will generally appear around the area of your upper back between your shoulders and down to your ribcage. Correction of these injuries requires adjustment in order to correct the pain, but to make a lasting change, a lifestyle fix of posture is also generally required.
If you’re experiencing pain on your side or pain when sneezing or reaching above your head, the issue could be rib dysfunction. Your chiropractor will begin with palpation to find the painful location, and will then use manual adjustments to the ribs to correct the dysfunction.
Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain can be caused by a larger list than upper back pain. In addition to injury or posture problems, the pain inducing issue could be muscle spasms, sciatica, disc related issues, facet syndrome, SI joint, loss of core strength, immobility, or sleeping posture degenerative disc issues, stenosis, arthritis. After examination, your chiropractor might use one of many types of techniques to relieve your pain - myofascial release, traction and flexion distraction, drop table, diversified technique, arthrostim, and strengthening exercises. Our treatment process is customized for every patient and will guide you through pain relief, adjustment, and rehabilitation.
Muscle Spasm
Spasms can occur all of the body - spine, shoulder, neck, hamstrings, calves, etc. If you’re experiencing a muscle spasm, we’ll begin by understanding your history and using palpation to diagnose the issue. Your chiropractor will use some combination of myofascial release, electronic stimulation, and adjustment in order to correct the issue and stop the spasming.
Tension Headache FAQs
What is a tension headache?
A tension headache is when tight muscles in your neck cause perceived pain in the head.
How to get rid of a tension headache??
Curing a tension headache usually requires manual therapy, massage, and adjustment. To stop the headache from returning, you’ll need to figure out what’s causing the headache and fix the underlying issue.
How long can a tension headache last?
It can last a couple of days to a week. They can clear up on their own but will resolve faster with treatment.
What are the symptoms of a tension headache?
Tension headaches generally present with pain in the upper back and neck. It can also present as a tight band around the top of the head and pressure behind the eyes.
What is the difference between a migraine and a tension headache?
Many underlying issues can cause migraines, but tension head headaches come from the muscles around the neck. With tension headaches, you can often feel them starting at the base of the neck and working around to the front of your head. Migraines tend to start behind the eye, like an ice pick. Tension headaches develop and can get progressively worse throughout the day, while migraines develop suddenly and are terrible.
Cervicogenic Headache FAQs
What is a Cervicogenic headache?
Cervicogenic headaches are caused by the joints in the neck.
How to get rid of a Cervicogenic headache?
Cervicogenic headaches generally respond well to chiropractic care because these are brought on by joints in the neck.
How long can a Cervicogenic headache last?
Cervicogenic headaches can show up off and on till you address the underlying issues. You might feel it less on some days and more on others, but it generally will continue until you seek treatment.
What are the symptoms of a Cervicogenic headache?
These headaches are usually positional, which means that the headaches will get worse when you put your neck in certain positions.
What is the difference between a migraine and a Cervicogenic headache?
Cervicogenic will be worse with changing position in the head and neck, while migraines are consistently bad. With migraines, you’ll experience sensitivity to light and sound. Cervicogenic headaches, like tension headaches, generally start at the base of the skull and progress into the head.
Migraine FAQs
What is a migraine headache?
Migraines are a severe pain in the head that can be caused by many different factors. Migraines can sometimes be mechanical, stemming from the muscles and joints in the neck and upper back, and respond well to chiropractic care. When migraines have triggers outside of chiropractic the results are less consistent.
How to get rid of a migraine headache?
To cure migraines, you have to start by figuring out what is causing them. You can start journaling to track migraine events in order to look for patterns in actions and diet. A course of chiropractic care can show if the triggers are mechanical and stem from the muscles or joints.
How long can a migraine headache last?
Migraines are generally self limiting, resolve on their own, and can last anywhere from a few hours to 3 days.
What are the symptoms of a migraine headache?
Migraines can present with all or one of the following symptoms; sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and vomiting. Migraines can come with an aura (flickering of lights and visual changes) that generally immediately preceded the migraine headaches.
Jaw Pain / TMJ / TMD FAQs
What is TMJ?
TMJ stands for temporomandibular joint - the joint that moves your jaw up and down. When you are experiencing pain in the TMJ joint it is referred to as TMD, temporomandibular dysfunction.
What causes TMJ?
There are three main causes of TMD (dysfunction or pain of the TMJ). The first is a muscular issue, such as overuse from talking, chewing, or grinding teeth, which creates a muscular imbalance. The second is an issue inside the joint issue where the disc gets pinched during the opening and closing of the joint . This can cause the joint to “clunk” when opening our closing the mouth, or in extreme cases, causing the jaw to be stuck in the open or closed position. The third issue is arthritic, or degenerative, changes to the joint itself.
How to cure TMJ permanently?
TMD (the pain within the TMJ) will only be permanently fixed when the root cause of the issue is fixed. This might require adjustment, massage, or even a referral to get a neck brace made if that’s what’s causing the pain.
Why does my jaw hurt?
Jaw pain can come from overuse, trauma or degenerative changes within the joint. Chiropractic care can be effective in treating overuse issues and certain traumas as well as muscle imbalances that could be caused by degenerative changes.
Why does my jaw pop?
When you experience a continuous popping in the jaw, it could be caused when the disc within the joint is not moving correctly, creating a popping sound when opening or closing. It could also be a muscle imbalance creating an abnormal pull side to side,or arthritic changes.
What is lockjaw?
Lockjaw is when you can’t open or close your mouth due to an issue with your jaw. Chiropractic can help with lockjaw, however it is best to get it evaluated by a dentist or your PCP to rule out underlying causes that are outside the scope of chiropractic.
How long does TMJ last?
The amount of time that you may be experiencing pain depends on what is causing the pain in the first place. For example, trigger points in the muscle may resolve in a few days to weeks, however, pain due to arthritic changes may never fully resolve.
How does a chiropractor treat TMJ?
Chiropractors will work on the muscles that move the jaw as well as the TMJ joint itself. Muscle work can be done from inside the mouth, intraoral massage, or from the outside on the temples and cheeks.
How does chiropractor jaw adjustment work?
There are multiple ways to adjust the jaw. The specific adjustment will depend on the restriction in the joint that is found upon examination.
How to fix a misaligned jaw with a chiropractor?
A misalignment of the jaw can vary from mild, muscle imbalances, to severe, fracture of dislocation. An evaluation will determine if chiropractic care is warranted. If chiropractic care is not warranted a referral will be made to the appropriate provider.
Back Pain FAQs
What do chiropractors do for back pain?
The first step to treating back pain is to determine the root cause of the pain. Treatment will consist of, first, symptom relief and, second, resolving the root cause of the pain. A variety of treatments will be used throughout treatment including, manual therapy, chiropractic adjustments, and therapeutic exercises.
When should I see a chiropractor for back pain?
If your pain is limiting function and/or interfering with activities of daily living, you should schedule an appointment to see a chiropractor.
How can a chiropractor help with back pain?
Chiropractors are able to help with back pain using a number of different methods - postural changes, adjustments and various methods of soft tissue work.
Upper Back Pain FAQs
How to get rid of upper back pain?
Determining what is causing the upper back pain in the first step to treating the pain. Treatment will first consist of symptom relief with a combination of manual therapies and adjustments, followed by therapeutic exercises to address the root cause.
Why do I have upper back pain when breathing?
You might be experiencing this pain due to rib dysfunction. If you have increased back pain with deep breaths, oftentimes it’s due to rib dysfunction causing spasms in the musculature surrounding the rib cage. This is something that will usually respond favorably to chiropractic care.
Why do I have upper back pain when lying down?
You may be experiencing joint dysfunctions in the thoracic spine or in the rib cage.
Why do I have upper back pain when coughing?
Coughing increases the pressure within the thoracic and abdominal cavity. This can place a stretch on the rib cage and surrounding musculature further irritating the spasm or joint dysfunction.
Why do I have upper back pain when sitting?
Pain while sitting is often due to poor posture. Stretching and addressing your posture can help to reduce the pain.
Why do I have upper back pain when sneezing?
Like coughing, sneezing increases the pressure within the thoracic and abdominal cavity and will further irritate injury or dysfunction in the muscles and joints.
Why do I have upper back pain when standing?
Pain with standing can be caused by a number of issues, but most commonly is due to poor posture and the muscle imbalances that accompany poor posture.
Why do I have upper back pain when turning my head?
Pain when turning your head is often due to joint dysfunction in the cervical spine or injury to the surrounding muscles.
Why do I have upper back pain when reaching behind my back?
Pain when reaching behind the back can be caused by restriction in the thoracic spine, shoulder or injury/spasm in the muscles that surround the shoulder blade.
Why do I have upper back pain when looking down?
Pain when looking down is often due to joint dysfunction in the cervical spine or injury/spasm to the surrounding muscles.
Why do I have shoulder pain when reaching back?
Shoulders are so intricately connected to the upper back and neck an examination will need to be performed to determine the best way to treat the pain in the shoulder.
When should I see a chiropractor for upper back pain?
Pain is not normal and is the result of an imbalance in the body. Treatment with a chiropractor can help to treat the pain as well as identify and fix the cause of the pain.
Muscle Spasm FAQs
What is a muscle spasm?
A muscle spasm happens when the muscle is involuntarily contracted. Spasms can be continuous or intermittent and happen either to protect the surrounding joints. However, some muscle spasms can be caused by electrolyte imbalances in the body.
What does a muscle spasm feel like?
A popular way to describe a spasm in the back is that it feels like their back “bit” them. Spasm pain generally is worse with movement and in turn can limit range of motion.
What causes muscle spasms?
Muscle spasms are often caused by an injury that causes the joints to get out of place. The muscle spasms in order to stabilize the joint and protect against the injury. Muscle spasms can also occur due to electrolyte imbalances in the body.
How can I stop a muscle spasm?
The spasm will eventually give up on its own but treatment can prevent it from recurring.
How do I relieve a muscle spasm in my neck?
Manual therapy and chiropractic adjustments can help to relieve a muscle spasm in the neck.
What do chiropractors do for muscle spasms in the upper back?
Manual therapy and chiropractic adjustments can help to relieve a muscle spasm in the upper back.
What’s the difference between cramp and spasm?
Spasms and cramps are both involuntary muscle contractions. However, it is thought that cramps are usually due to electrolyte imbalance. . Spasms can sometimes be a protective mechanism for the spine.