Address
7887 Cooley Lake Rd,
West Bloomfield, Michigan 48324
Conditions
Conditions
Visceral Complaints
When asked what chiropractic helps with, most people say it helps posture and spine health. This is correct, but chiropractic also helps with many aches and pains not commonly associated with back pain. These are called visceral complaints or visceral disorders. Most people are pleasantly surprised that many of these ailments can be healed naturally without medication.
Examples of myofascial/visceral complaints chiropractic helps are:
Chiropractic for Migraines & Headaches
Because of the direct relationship that the upper cervical spine and/or occiput (the back portion of the skull) have on the brain stem. The brain stem sits down into the 1st and 2nd cervical vertebrae and has 12 cranial nerves. These nerves go back into the head and control everything in our head, including the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. They also directly affect whether the capillaries in our head are dilated (open) or constricted (closed), thus affecting the blood flow. Adjusting the spine decreases pressure on these nerves, and the signal to the affected vessels is improved, causing vaso dilation and improved blood flow. In simple terms, less throbbing/pounding in your head.
Another aspect of headaches is what is called the cranio/sacral pump. This means the relationship between the head and sacrum (end of the spine) that creates the movement of our spinal fluid. If there are restrictions in other areas of the spine between the head and butt, the fluid does not move as it should, thus contributing to a person’s headaches.
Finally, many people’s headaches are simply because they have so many muscular/skeletal restrictions in their back. Their life creates physical or emotional stress that, over time, leads to so much muscle spasm (tense musculature) in their neck and upper back that the result is a headache.
Headaches have been successfully treated with chiropractic for over 100 years. Whether the cause is believed to be stress, hormone, work-related, and/or considered inherited, properly applied chiropractic care has tremendous success rates.
Neck / mid back and lower back pain
Pain in these spine areas can and will be due to five factors
- The way your spine has developed. Many congenital conditions, inherited and/or traumatic, can affect the structure of your spine.
- Ergonomic. What do you do for a living? Do you sit in front of a computer, lift, play sports, etc.?
- Nutrition. Do you fuel your body with healthy foods?
- Weight. Is your weight within normal limits?
- Exercise and Stretching. Do you exercise properly, and do you stretch regularly? The answers to these questions will help you understand why you have the pain. Adjustments help take whatever your spinal situation is and very mildly manipulate it, so the pressure is removed from your nervous system, helping you feel good despite not having good answers to our five questions.
Sciatica & Shooting Leg Pain
Sciatica
Pain radiating down your leg – or possibly both legs – is Sciatica.
Lumbar spine pain may also be a part. The pain can radiate as low as your foot or toes but typically stops around the knee. Sciatica comes from nervous pressure applied on one or all three of the lowest lumbar nerve roots that comprise the sciatic nerve. Sometimes there can be just pain or numbness and tingling with the pain.
Successful chiropractic treatment of sciatica can be simply adjusting the cause of sciatica, the lower back, pelvis, and sacrum. Pain and symptom relief can be felt as early as the first visit. Most people get sciatica after or during heavy lifting of things or people (children). Many pregnant women experience sciatica during pregnancy because of the changes to their pelvis. Chiropractic care can help them throughout their pregnancy.
Herniated Disc
This is a common term and can also be described as a bulging disc, slipped disc, or swollen disc.
They all mean the same thing. A disc comprises a tough outer layer (annular fiber) with a liquid center (nucleus). When the interior fibers closest to the liquid start to tear or create fissure, the liquid will start to follow that path of least resistance toward the outside. At a certain point, the remaining fibers will no longer be able to maintain the shape of the disc, and therefore a swelling or herniation will occur. The swollen or herniated disc puts pressure on the nerve root coming off the spinal cord.
This causes mild to severe pain. And that pain can cause a person not to be able to stand up straight or to stand in a leaned position to one side (antalgic lean). The medical treatment is an x-ray and/or MRI followed by medication (anti-inflammatory, pain killer, muscle relaxer). These are usually very ineffective, and the person ends up in physical therapy and surgery.
Chiropractic can treat a herniated disc more effectively and faster in most cases. By simply using an adjustment, a herniated disc can be relaxed. Sometimes treatment includes that adjustment combined with traction and possible spinal decompression. The person feels better, gets back to work faster, and has a stronger back with less chance of recurring.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a painful syndrome affecting the hands and wrists. This syndrome can strike anyone who uses his or her hands in a repetitive motion.
But massage therapy can help to diminish the devastating effects of this syndrome. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a median nerve compression as it passes under the transverse carpal tunnel ligament. Some symptoms of CTS are pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness in the affected hand. Muscle and connective tissue can shorten, and swelling can occur.
Workers who use their hands in repetitive movements are the most at risk. Typing, knitting, and factory work are some activities that can produce Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Other causes of CTS include, but are not limited to: fracture of the wrist, endocrine gland disorders such as diabetes, menopause, and tumors. Pregnancy can also trigger Carpal Tunnel Syndrome due to increased fluid retention.
It is important to realize that surgery is not always a permanent fix for those who suffer from CTS, especially if you have returned to the kind of work that caused the CTS.
If surgery has been performed, massage therapy can prevent re-entrapment of the nerve and manage scar tissue.
Brachial Neuritis
Pain radiating into one or both of your arms and/or hands is described as Brachial Neuritis.
There can be neck pain as well. It may radiate into your arm or to the fingers. And it has been mistaken for a heart attack when the pain happens on the left side. A trip to the ER shows the pain to be a nerve impingement resulting from pressure on the nerves in the base of the neck.
As with Sciatica, symptoms can be relieved quickly with chiropractic care. People at high risk of this condition include those that use their phones and computer a lot. Hairdressers and waiters are also at risk because of the strain their jobs cause on the base of the neck.
Sinus, Allergies, Ear Infection & Vertigo
Sinus, allergy, ear infection, and vertigo are all conditions that chiropractic treatment can potentially help.
Coming down through the base of the skull is the brain stem. The Atlas (C1) and Axis (C2) vertebrae can affect the brain stem. The brain stem has 12 cranial nerves that control all the functions in the head, including the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, tongue, facial movement, taste, etc. Pressure on the brain stem can eventually cause these symptoms. Chiropractic adjustments relieve the pressure on the brain stem, which helps relieve many patients of their symptoms or, at the minimum, reduce their symptoms to a more manageable level.
Symptoms During Pregnancy
Many women experience symptoms they have never had before during pregnancy – sciatica, headaches, congestion, neck pain, etc.
Mothers should be able to enjoy their pregnancy without the most pain or headaches. Chiropractic care is extremely SAFE and EFFECTIVE during pregnancy to help relieve these symptoms. And chiropractic care will be much safer for their baby than any over-the-counter or prescription medications full of foreign substances that always have the potential to create harm. We do not take any x-rays on a pregnant patient unless necessary.
If x-rays are needed, they are performed by a hospital.