San Diego Chiropractic Blog

As a chiropractor, I am always asked “Does chiropractic really work?” This is an unfair and a loaded question. Chiropractic care is a very effective form of treatment for some things and not for others.

Being a Chiropractor in San Diego, I see sports related injuries all year round. Running injuries, falls from bicycles or rollerblades, golf injuries, basketball injuries - you name it and most likely we have seen it. More often than not these injuries result in typical sprain / strains that result in neck pain, back pain, sciatica etc.

The types of injuries that I just listed are a few of many joint injuries / symptoms that chiropractic care is very effective in treating. You might say that chiropractic care was made for such injuries. The reason that I say this is because of the nature of these types of injuries.

The typical sprain / strain injury usually results when a fall or an accident forces a joint through an excessive or abnormal range of motion. This type of injury stretches the ligaments and muscles that move and support the spine. The result of this type of injury is irritation and inflammation of the joint and scar tissue formation.

Without chiropractic treatment, the scar tissue from sprain / strain injuries restricts and or alters normal joint motion which can cause pain and stiffness. Chiropractic manipulations help to restore full, normal joint motion by breaking down scar tissue that would otherwise cause stiffness and pain.

Chiropractic care is an excellent form of therapy for reducing the effects of postural stress from sitting at a computer, poor lifting habits, poor posture and a variety of other stresses that we expose ourselves to on a daily basis.

So, does chiropractic work? The only way to know is go visit one and see. Chiropractors want their treatment to work and are reluctant to take on cases that may not properly respond to their therapy. No doctor that I know wants to have unsuccessful treatment sessions during the course of their work day. A good chiropractor can look at your history, perform an examination and make a sound determination on how well you will respond to care.

Yours In Good Health

Dr. Jones

San Diego Chiropractic Care
Chiropractor San Diego Blog
Pain Relief San Diego Chiropractor
Car Accident Whiplash Injuries Pain Relief
Back Pain Relief & Treatment
Work Injury & Workplace Safety Advice
Web Design Hillcrest - San Diego - California
Prenatal Health & Pain Relief

The study of workstation ergonomics tells us that the objects that we use most often should be located closest to your body and accessed easily, without awkward body positions or movements. Repeated reaching or prolonged fixed postures that involve leaning forward from your chair are stressful and fatiguing.

Some people are aware of computer ergonomics and have purchased various ergonomic devices. These devices, such as keyboard trays, gel mouse pads, and ergonomic keyboards rarely provide solutions to the big picture of computer ergonomics. These items must work with each other in order to produce a significant reduction in postural stress. For example, an ergonomic mouse is of little use if it is positioned in an area that requires reaching and stretching in order to operate it. Limiting reaching and stretching for desk items is essential to maintaining a healthy ergonomic environment.

The most frequent complaint that I have seen in my office is due to computer work is the combination of mousing and reaching to the desk for the mouse.

Most computer stations are designed in a way that involves the worker operating the computer mouse on a pad on the desk. Reaching to the desk for the mouse places direct stress on the joints and soft tissues of the neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand. Additionally, reaching forward for the mouse stresses the lower and middle back.

So How Does Reaching for the Mouse Set the Stage for Injury?

Reaching for the mouse causes you to lean forward in your chair, extend your arm and support the weight of your body through your extended arm.

The stresses placed on the human frame when reaching for the mouse are easily identified. Contrary to popular belief, sitting, which most people believe is relaxing, is hard on the back. Sitting for long periods of time can cause increased pressure on the discs of the spine.

In recent years, studies on postural stress have indicated that we should be sitting upright with our hips flexed at 90 degrees. As it turns out, the most up to date studies show that a slightly reclined sitting posture with the hips flexed at 100 to 115 degrees is ideal if you have to sit at a desk. If your mouse is not positioned close enough to your body, you will have to reach for it. Reaching for your mouse stresses your back by reducing the angle of your hips.

Next, we have to look at the effects of reaching on the neck and shoulder. When the mouse is being operated at a distance that makes the operator reach, the shoulder extends forward and the shoulder blade abducts (rotates forward). This position stretches the muscle groups that connect the medial portion of your shoulder blade to your spine and the superior portion of your shoulder blade to your neck. In the short term, this stretch aggravates the affected muscle groups causing spasm, fatigue, headaches and stiffness in the neck and shoulder. In the long term, this position creates a condition called a “stretch weakness” resulting in muscular imbalance, trigger points and chronic variations of the conditions listed in the prior sentence.

Lastly, placing the mouse too far away, too low, or too much on one side can cause shoulder, wrist, elbow, and forearm discomfort. When the operator is forced to reach for the mouse, his / her body weight shifts forward and ultimately results in weight bearing stress on the extended arm. Spending prolonged periods of time leaning on an extended arm is an unnatural and destructive posture that will eventually lead to the development of a repetitive stress syndrome; likely resulting disorders would include tendonitis of the wrist, elbow or shoulder.

Yours In Good Health

Dr. Jones

San Diego Chiropractic Care
Chiropractor San Diego Blog
Pain Relief San Diego Chiropractor
Car Accident Whiplash Injuries Pain Relief
Back Pain Relief & Treatment
Work Injury & Workplace Safety Advice
Web Design Hillcrest - San Diego - California
Prenatal Health & Pain Relief

In addition to neck pain, back pain and headaches, my San Diego chiropractic office provides treatment for many patients with various types of repetitive stress injuries. This post will continue from where the last one left off and will describe what repetitive stress injuries are.

A Repetitive Stress Injury is a kind of catch all phrase for many conditions. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tenosynovitis / DeQuervain’s Syndrome, Tendonitis, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Trigger Finger, Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Chronic Sprain / Strain are some of the actual diagnosis that are rendered in my office. All of these conditions are serious and in many cases can cause great pain, permanent disability and sometimes loss of employment.

Repetitive Stress Injuries occur from repetitive movements involving a specific set of muscles and joints. RSI injuries are the result of an accumulation of stress and strain that causes irritation, inflammation, and eventually pain or other disability. A good analogy used to characterize the onset of RSI would be the “straws on the camels back” saying.
Initially, RSI affects the soft tissues of the involved joint(s). Soft tissues include muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons. However, if left untreated for long periods of time, the involved joint can become arthritic and form bone spurs resulting in permanent damage to the joint.

While various occupations ranging from meat cutters to construction workers develop RSIs that result from the typical duties of their professions, the most frequent cause of these injuries involve computer work. The constant muscular demands of keyboarding and mousing combined with the postural stress of confinement in an office chair with one’s neck and back held in prolonged fixed positions has resulted in an epidemic of injuries that includes hand pain, wrist pain, arm pain, neck pain, back pain and shoulder pain.

I hope that you are finding this information helpful. My next post will continue this series and will describe the basics of workstation ergonomic set-ups.

Yours In Good Health

Dr. Jones

San Diego Chiropractic Care
Chiropractor San Diego Blog
Pain Relief San Diego Chiropractor
Car Accident Whiplash Injuries Pain Relief
Back Pain Relief & Treatment
Work Injury & Workplace Safety Advice
Web Design Hillcrest - San Diego - California
Prenatal Health & Pain Relief

I believe we all want to be healthy. The question is, however, what is health? And, how do we “get” healthy?

In my San Diego chiropractic office, I always try to encourage health beyond the obvious treatment for neck pain, back pain and headaches that represent the bulk of my patients concerns. Most of my patients at least entertain the idea of making lifestyle changes for the sake of better health. Some want nothing to do with it. In their mindset, being out of pain is good enough for them.

I always explain to my patients that in the absence of some catastrophic injury, most cases of neck pain and back pain begin as a slight irritation that we are totally unaware of. With time and additional stresses, these slight irritations can become magnified to the point where they become symptomatic.

Our diets act the same way. A few poor meal choices won’t destroy your health by themselves, but frequent poor meal choices over longer periods of time can have a significant negative impact on your health. You only have to look at a McDonalds or Burger King drive-through to see the long lines of people making poor food choices. These people who make frequent poor food choices (fast foods in this example) probably won’t suffer anything more than a little indigestion as a result of each meal. However, the accumulation of the effects of all of these poor food choices will do damage down the road.

Unfortunately, this all becomes more apparent as we age. We pay for our poor eating habits as we age for a couple of reasons. First of all, poor eating choices become habitual. Like any bad habit, changing poor eating habits is difficult. Secondly, with normal aging, our metabolism slows making our poor eating habits more detrimental than they were when we were younger and more active.

Regaining your health takes work on several fronts. Some of these things you can accomplish yourself and other things you need help with.

Patients that come to my San Diego chiropractic office for treatment for their neck pain or back pain often find this task one of the easy parts of getting healthy. In order to get help with pain, all the patients have to do is come to the office for their treatment.

Part of restoring health is complicated with the bad habits that result in unhealthy diets, smoking, drinking and the like. Overcoming bad habits takes an exceptionally motivated person. Focus and you can overcome them and have a healthier body to show for it.

Your’s In Good Health

Dr. Jones

Your

Chiropractor in San Diego