Dr. Marco Antonio Lopez, D.C.

Yes. There are various types of stretching techniques and myofascial release techniques that help tight muscles

Summary of neurophysiologic effects of manual therapy:
Peripheral mechanisms
• Significant reduction in blood and serum level cytokines in joint-biased manual therapy
• Changes of blood levels of b-endorphin, anandamide, N-palmitoylethanolamide, serotonin
• Endogenous cannabinoids increases
Spinal mechanisms
• Joint-biased manual therapy is speculated to bombard the central nervous system with sensory input from the muscle proprioceptors
• Hypoalgesia
• Afferent discharge
• Motoneuron pool activity
• Changes in muscle activity
Supraspinal mechanisms
• Joint-biased manual therapy to the lower extremity of rats after capsaicin injection. Functional MRI of the supraspinal region quantified the response of the hind paw to light touch after the injection. A trend was noted toward decreased activation of the supraspinal regions responsible for central pain processing.
• Autonomic responses
• Opioid responses
• Expectation of effectiveness of manual therapy is associated with functional outcomes
• Joint-biased manual therapy is associated with improved psychological outcomes
• Dopamine production
• Central nervous system

Yes. But what some chiropractors a pinched nerve is not. You need a good orthopedic-neurologic assessment to determine a pinched nerve from a disc herniation

The body likes motion, even with a "pinched nerve." Also, the body heals based on use, so if you are an active person, you should remain so to tolerance. Use the red light-green light method. Try the activity and continue provided it causes no discomfort. If so, stop for a few minutes and retry. If the pain resumes, stop again and try one last time. If the pain continues, try something different and retry the aggravating exercise in a couple of days. This advice depends on what exactly you are doing and what is causing the "pinched nerve". If in doubt, see a professional.

It depends what caused it and if it's a pinched nerve. Evaluations are helpful in determining the cause and type of injury you have. In the meantime, you alternate ice and heat 10min each with a 30min rest in between. If that does not help you, find someone to try myofascial release.

Generally speaking, you stretch a muscle by moving in an equal and opposite direction from its intended action. For Lats, you can reach up and lean to the opposite side of the side you want to stretch. Continue the reaching motion for a greater stretch.

You would need a physical exam and possibly an X-ray to make an accurate determination.

Hip pain will cause difficulty getting in/out of a seated or hip flexed position. Sciatica is latin for leg pain. If you have shooting pain that stays above the knee it may be joint related. If it travels below the knee it may stem from lumbar disc or nerve. At your age, I would think its probably the lumbar spine or SI joint. True hip pain is not common at your age.

As a general rule, no. Scoliosis is not cured, it's managed. That is people with scoliosis may have pain that is chronic or episodic more so than someone without scoliosis. This responds very well to chiropractic care. I generally, treat until it feels better and then as needed for recurrences or flare ups.

That depends on the cause of the shoulder pain. If its purely muscular, than massage could be helpful. If you have tried massage without benefit you should have an evaluation to determine the cause of your symptoms. Some chiropractors evaluate and treat shoulders others don't.

Depends who you ask. I leave it up to my patients when they do not have any pressing issues that require treatment. Why? No one know your body better than you. For routine care, I direct people to pay attention to how they feel in terms of tension, stiffness, discomfort, or pain after an adjustment and use that to guide frequency of adjustments. It will be different for everyone.

If the numbness is caused by disc, nerve, joint or muscle, then yes.

This is complex question that requires an evaluation because doctors should treat people and not imaging findings. That is, if this herniation has corresponding clinical evidence of nerve injury the answer would be different if on exam you are neurologically intact. Sometimes, disc herniations are present and cause no pain but some physicians focus on this rather than the physical exam. What happens also depends on whether the disc herniation is the pain generator.

Most definitely. It's usually an easy fix as this responds well to manipulation.

Not generally. However, you could have muscle spasm that could give the appearance of scoliosis if the spasm was sufficiently strong and long enough to move the spine.

That is tough to answer in isolation without any historical context or a physical exam to provide clues as to the origin of your symptoms. Tightness is a generic symptom like headache that has many causes some of which are treatable by chiropractors and others not so much.

It could be muscle spasm or trigger points, but I would need a closer look. The conditions you listed shouldn't give you the symptoms you describe, but it's possible there could be some relation to your meds. You should follow up with the prescribing doctor to review just in case.

This needs an evaluation to determine exactly what you have and how to treat.

That depends on what is causing anxiety. If it's related to a condition that is causing pain and emotional distress and treatment manages those symptoms, your anxiety may decrease. If you have general anxiety disorder, it's hit or miss depending on who you ask.

Possibly, depending on the length and extent of symptoms.