San Diego Chiropractic Blog

Many problems with the neck and upper back affect the shoulder and visa versa. There is a good reason for why this happens and I will use this post to explain it.

There is that old saying regarding the human body that goes something like “everything is connected”, of course in this instance we are talking about anatomy - specifically a kinematic chain.

In a kinematic chain, the function / health of adjacent joints are dependant on each other. A simple example of a breakdown among joints in a kinematic chain and the resulting consequences would be a person who sprains their ankle, limps on that ankle for several days and then develops knee pain secondary to the limp caused by the injured ankle. If the limping or gait impairment continues for any period of time, the irritation can involve the hip and eventually the low back. The ankle, knee, hip, sacroiliac joints and the joints of low back all form a kinematic chain.

In a similar yet more complicated arrangement, the vertebra of the cervical and thoracic spine are intertwined with the shoulder joints. The shoulder is made up of a series joints that allows for a tremendous amount of movement in a number of planes. Compared to the knee, for example, that only allows for about 120 degrees of flexion and very little rotation and translation, the shoulder is incredibly mobile. While, like the shoulder joint has ligaments and a joint capsule that tie the humorous to the scapula and the clavicle, the primary source of stability of the shoulder joint is the muscles, many of which attach into the cervical and thoracic vertebra.

Regarding the spine - in particular the cervical and thoracic spine - the joints found in the spinal column have considerably less motion than do most other joints in the body. That being said, the cervical spine displays the greatest amount of motion found in the spine while the thoracic spine is the most limited in its flexibility. Many of the big muscles of the neck and upper back insert onto the scapula and the clavicle links these two joint complexes together.

In many cases, shoulder pain or dysfunction can result in spasms of the larger muscles that help stabilize the shoulder - most of these muscles originate from the vertebra of the neck and upper back. The stress of this spasm can cause pain or dysfunction in the neck and upper back. Because of the shared muscles between the neck, upper back and shoulder girdle, the exact opposite scenario can occur with a primary spinal problem causing muscle spasms that have a negative effect on the shoulder.

Both the shoulder and the neck joints display complex, compound movements. Adjacent joint complexes like these that share major muscle groups make for an increased likelihood of pain / dysfunction spreading to include the second joint or in this case, joints.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

www.JonesPainRelief.com

Migrain headaches are a common complaint in my San Diego Chiropractic Clinic. Researchers and medical professionals have developed many different theories regarding the cause of migrains.

Many chiropractors, my peers, believe that in some instances migrains are caused by misaligned vertebra that pinch certain nerves in the upper cervical portion of the spine. I see patients’ migrain headaches respond favorably to chiropractic care in my clinic on a regular basis. That being said, misalignments of the upper cervical vertebra don’t explain all cases of mirgain headaches because all of my patients don’t get better.

Other different theories about the cause of migraines include:

Vascular pressure changes in your brain; from initial blood vessel constriction and a drop in blood flow, followed by dilation and stretching of blood vessels, which activates pain-signaling neurons. These dialations and constrictions can include blood flow increases of up to 300%.

Changes in your serotonin levels; when levels drop, blood vessels including those in your brain become swollen and inflamed, which can lead to migraine pain.

Neurological disorders; related to nerve cell activity that crosses your brain, causing pain. In this case, it is thought that the release of neurotransmitters across the cortex of your brain can directly stimulate the trigeminal nerves found in your brain stem, setting off a chain reaction that ends in the pain signals of a migraine.

A nervous system disorder involving your brain stem. Your brain stem is your control center for alertness, perception of light, noise and smell, cerebral blood flow, cardiovascular function and pain sensitivity — many, if not most, of which are part of the symptoms of a migraine attack.

Typically a person who experiences migrains often can identify a “trigger” that they can point to as the culprit of their headaches. If you have migrains and have not attempted to identify your triggers you should. The following is list of some common migraine triggers.

Allergies: Including food allergies / sensitivities and chemical sensitivities.

Dehydration and / or hunger

Changes in sleeping patterns: Both missing sleep and oversleeping can trigger a migraine.

Stress: Emotional stress or trauma can trigger a migraine.

Physical exertion: Intense exercise has been known to bring on migraines.

Hormones: Some women experience migraines before, or during their periods, during pregnancy, or during menopause.

Other factors: Bright lights, fluorescent lights, loud noises and strong smells (even pleasant ones) can trigger a migraine. Weather changes, seasonal changes, and changes in altitude can also act as a trigger for a migraine.

All of the above causes of migraines are significant and some are downright scary. New research studies, however, point to a few potential cures of migraines that just may work for you. A recent study found that vitamin supplementation of vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid has the potential to reduce the frequency and severity of migrains.

Recent studies have also found that 42% of those suffering from migraine headaches are also suffering from a vitamin D deficiency.

It follows that supplimentation of B6, B12, folic acid and vitamin D may provide significant migraine relief for a portion of you reading this post.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

www.JonesPainRelief.com

Have you ever noticed how tight your neck, upper back and shoulders are after a long day of sitting at the computer?

There are a number of factors that contribute to this tightness. Simply the stress of deadlines, an overbearing boss or an annoying co-worker can make your shoulders rise up and your head push forward. And this stress is the result of just the emotional stress of work. When you add the real physical strains of a poorly designed work station on top of the emotional stresses that already exist you have a perfect recipe for a repetitive stress injury.

A large part of designing an ergonomically friendly workstation revolves around limiting the “reach” for items that are frequently accessed.

The distance that you have to reach for any object in your workspace can have major implications on your health. In general, workers should have the items that they use on a regular basis through the day such as the mouse and keyboard for computer users or the telephone for a receptionist or a sales person, positioned close to their bodies so as to avoid awkward or overreaching.

As a general rule, the best positioning for your keyboard and mouse allows you to operate them while your shoulders hang straight down at your sides and elbows are slightly extended. This position reduces the stress of overreaching and allows for completion of your tasks with less muscular effort.

There are many ergonomic apparatus that allow for proper placement of your computer input devices. Pull out keyboard trays, split keyboards, mouse platforms and even foot controls help reduce the ongoing stresses of computer input.

Even with these devices, it takes awareness to maintain an ergonomically friendly work environment.

For a nice selection of high quality ergonomic office products you can visit www.comfortkeyboard.com.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

www.JonesPainRelief.com

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Why do I have back pain?

Being a chiropractor in San Diego, I hear this question all the time. Back pain and neck pain are the two most common complaints that my patients experience. The fact that my practice is in San Diego probably decreases the frequency of these complaints compared to what doctors in other parts of the country deal with. People in San Diego tend to be more active which actually lowers the incidence of low back and neck pain.

Over fifteen years ago when I first started practicing chiropractic care in San Diego, most of my low back pain patients and neck pain patients for that matter were not related to office work. Most of the cases that I had when I first started practicing were do to injuries like car accidents and falls or heavy work.

In the mid to late nineteen nineties, I started to see a trend in injury mechanisms among my patients. They were starting to attribute their pain to long hours of sitting at the computer.

Sitting all day at the computer not only causes back pain but it also causes neck pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, pinched nerves and various arm problems.

Lower back pain is primarily due to poor sitting posture. When we are standing up with good posture, our lower backs have a sweeping forward bowing curve that resembles a stretched out letter “c”. This shape distributes our bodies weight evenly throughout the spine. When we sit, this curve reverses, greatly increasing the stress on the joints and discs in the spine.

With time, this postural stress results in irritation and inflammation resulting in pain and muscle spasms.

Once the low back has reached a point of pain and spasms, chiropractic care is necessary to relieve the pain, improve the biomechanics of the spine and relax the muscles.

In addition to chiropractic care for back pain, the patient must seek out an ergonomic chair and have it adjusted properly for their body. In many cases, I suggest a complete workstation analysis to help prevent future problems with other computer related stresses.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

www.JonesPainRelief.com

Approximately 25% of all people injured in whiplash accidents never make a complete recovery. Residual problems such as headaches, neck pain, back pain, numbness and tingling sensations are common ongoing complaints.

My Chiropractic office in San Diego treats patients for whiplash injuries throughout the year. During the rainy season, however, these injuries are much more common.

Whiplash injuries primarily do damage to the soft tissues that move and support the spine. During the whiplash accident, muscles and ligaments are stretched and torn. Muscles and ligaments that are damaged by whiplash accidents go through a process that involves irritation, inflammation and scar tissue formation. Our bodies tend to over produce scar tissue which causes problems in the future. Excessive scar tissue formation causes restrictions in range of motion, impingement of nerves and pain with cold weather.

Because of the nature of this healing process, chiropractic treatment is especially effective in treating whiplash injuries. Scar tissue builds up in a disorganized web of fibers and often hampers the range of motion of the joints of the spine. Chiropractic adjustments improve range of motion by breaking down scar tissue that is not needed and would only serve to limit normal motions of the spine.

The spine is like any other mechanical structure in that the closer that it moves to the way it was designed to move the fewer problems you will encounter with it. For us, this means a reduced chance of experiencing the symptoms that I referred to in the opening paragraph of this post.

The bottom line is that residual symptoms are common after whiplash injuries and they can range from being a slight annoyance to a source of significant disability.

Chiropractic adjustments combined with therapies such as electrical muscle stimulation, hot packs and ultrasound are very effective in treating those suffering from whiplash injuries.

If you have been involved in an auto accident be sure to have your injuries evaluated and treated by a chiropractor. You will experience the immediate benefit of pain relief and the long range benefits of a healthy spine.

Here’s To Your Health

Dr. Jones

www.JonesPainRelief.com

In my San Diego Chiropractic clinic, I provide treatment for many types of injuries. Typical injuries that result in neck pain, back pain, chronic headaches, sciatica etc., include auto accidents, work related injuries, injuries caused by domestic chores and sometimes things as simple as sleeping in an awkward position.

Of these patients suffering from neck pain, back pain and other injuries, I would say that at least 50% of them ask, “what can I do for myself to make sure that this doesn’t happen again?” This question served as the inspiration for this article and I will address it in this post.

To begin with, neck pain and back pain are great motivators.

When people are in pain they take a proactive approach to their health. People often inquire about what kind of stretch or exercising that they can start right away. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm has to be placed on hold because the best thing that you can do while your injury is new is to apply ice packs to the injured area and rest.

Over my 15 plus years in practice I have seen a large percentage of enthusiastic patients ignore this advice and end up giving their conditions a major set back. The time to start exercising and stretching your back for most of us is when it is out of its acute stage of pain.

My biggest struggles in practice have been dealing with my patients exercise and diet habits. Exercise is one of the few things that a patient can do at home, outside of chiropractic care, to help prevent or diminish the chances of developing back pain.

After an injury, you should approach exercise cautiously - almost to a point where the exercise that you are performing feels like it is doing nothing. If you can get through a few low intensity exercise sessions like this without aggravating your condition, you should slowly add resistance, time or distance allowing you to build confidence and strength at the same time.

You have to remember to incorporate a sensible approach to exercising after a back injury. Be sure to exercise and stretch under the advise of a health care professional. Strong and flexible muscles add strength and support to your spine and will provide much needed stability.

I have always tried to help the patients of my San Diego Chiropractic office with their neck pain and back with stretches and exercises. The combination of chiropractic care with stretches and exercise allows for quicker, more complete healing.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

www.JonesPainRelief.com

Do you pay attention to your nutritional intake?

While most of us think that what we eat and the supplements that we take are important, most of us are hit and miss at best. I know that personally I have to dig deep within myself to avoid fattening and sugary foods. I also have to keep my supplements in plain sight or I will forget to take them.

Supplements are important for those who suffer from neck pain, back pain or any other type of joint pain. They are especially important for those who are recovering from injuries such as car accidents, work injuries and sports injuries. Nutritional support for injured muscles and ligaments is important during the various healing stages.

The following recommendations cover nutritional support for bone and joint health as it relates to sprain / strain injuries. That being said, these recommendations will also help you maintain your spinal health.

Nutritional support is a valuable asset to your chiropractic care.

The following supplements are considered very important.

Chondroitin Sulfate: 500 - 1000 mg daily - Nutritional support for strengthening joints, ligaments and tendons

Glucosamine Sulfate: Take as directed. - Very important for the formation of bone, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and synovial (joint) fluid

MSM: 500 - 1000 mg 3 X daily - This is a sulfer compound that reduces pain and inflammation. MSM is also important for joint and tissue repair

Calcium: 1500 - 2000 mg daily - Needed for repair of connective tissue. You should use two forms of calcium - calcium chelate and calcium gluconate. Very important for skeletal strength (especially for women but men should supplement as well.)

Magnesium: 750 - 1000 mg daily - Works in conjunction with calcium

Essential Fatty Acids: Take as directed - Promotes cardiovascular and cellular health.

Grape Seed Extract: Take as directed - A powerful anti-inflammatory

Manganese: 15 mg daily - Strengthens wounded ligaments and tendons

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

www.JonesPainRelief.com

For the most part, San Diego is a city of fairly fit and active people. Since I am a chiropractor in San Diego, I can’t help but notice that a fairly large portion of my patients are trying to lose weight.

Losing weight is not only a noble endeavor but a difficult one.

Losing weight is not only good for your cardiovascular health but also for your health in general. Losing extra weight is very important to your skeletal health as well. Every extra pound that you carry puts a little more stress through your spinal joints causing excessive wear and tear.

Excessive wear and tear results in arthritis, neck pain, back pain, headaches, sciatic pain, hip pain, knee pain etc. I am of the opinion that less pain is better.

Chiropractic care is an important part of your efforts to maintain your spinal health. That being said, you should not dismiss the importance of keeping fit as it directly relates to your spines’ ability to withstand the stresses of a long life.

Since I am sure that at least some of my patients’ problems are due to the fact that they carry excess weight, I thought I would give a few suggestions for successful weight loss.

1) Remember that weight control is your responsibility. Having a weight loss partner who agrees to “watch out for you” will only inspire you to cheat while they are not watching.

2) Don’t let a single failure in your diet degrade into a whole day of poor diet choices. If you blow a part of your diet, don’t view your entire day of eating as a failure and consume junk all day. Pick up your good diet choices the next time you have a meal.

3) Don’t start dieting prior to holidays or vacations where you will be tempted by overindulging making it difficult to lose weight.

4) Don’t weigh your self more than a few times each month. Losing weight takes time which isn’t compatible with Americans desire for instant results.

5) Cut back on salts, caffeinated drinks and soda. Even diet soda!

6) Drink plenty of water and try eating soup before meals to help reduce the number of calories you consume.

These are just a few simple ways to start trimming those extra pounds.

Both you and your spine will be better for it.

Yours In Good Health

Dr. Jones

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Which is worse - neck pain or back pain?

I hear this question often in my San Diego chiropractic office. Of course the answer is easy - if you have back pain, back pain is definitely worse than neck pain. If you have neck pain, neck pain is definitely worse than back pain.

Another common question that I hear regarding low back pain is why sitting makes it hurt more than standing.

This is a good question, which can be answered through physics. I remember seeing a diagram in one of my office ergonomic books that exposed the different stress levels on the spinal disks with various body positions.

The diagram had drawings of a person standing, lying down, sitting and then sitting while hunched forward with very poor posture. The disk pressure differences with these different postures was given as follows:

1) Standing upright 100%

2) Lying down 24%

3) Sitting upright 140%

4) Sitting hunched 190%

The explanation of the much higher disk pressures while sitting is explained by examining the structural changes that occur when we change from a standing to a seated position.

Our spines are supposed to have curves when viewed from the side. The neck should have a nice sweeping forward curve, the mid-back should carry a backward curve and the low back should have a sweeping forward curve. When these curves are present, the weight of your body is carried evenly across several different structures of the spine. These curves help provide stability for your spine.

Once we assume a seated position, the natural forward curve in our low backs reverses which increases the pressure on the disks and either increases back pain or causes back pain. If we stay in that seated position but flex our bodies forward at the waist (think bad posture - slumping over your keyboard or desk) the pressure in the disks elevates causing more damage and more pain.

Limiting the time that you sit will help your back pain in most instances. This is advice that I hand out to my San Diego chiropractic patients everyday of the week. I hope that it helps you as well.

Yours In Good Health

Dr. Jones

San Diego Chiropractic Care
Chiropractor San Diego Blog
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