Patient Questions

If you are seeking relief from back pain that you have had for 2 weeks, a Chiropractor would be a good place to start. Your Chiropractor will do a thorough exam and history in order to decide if chiropractic treatment is the best course of treatment for you. If your Chiropractor deems the adjustment and possibly therapy to be your treatment, then odds are you will have a successful treatment and feel better. The first step is making an appointment!

This is a very interesting question. My answer is at what ever age the parent feels comfortable bringing their child in. There are plenty of chiropractors that specialize in infants and pediatrics. Seeing the chiropractor helps to monitor the child's growth and muscular/skeletal development. The chiropractor can also help assess for scoliosis, which is helpful when caught early to determine the best course of care, either chiropractic, physical therapy or orthopedics.

Yes, I believe chiropractic is necessary for children to help monitor there growth, development and posture. Just as a child should have a well check, annual chiropractic check-ups can help to assess children for scoliosis and especially in this day and age postural abnormalities due to rounded backs and extended necks as they spend hours on their cell phones!!!

The simple answer is Don't! You can stretch the muscles that can relieve tension around your lower back such as Hamstrings and Glutes. It is never a good idea to try and do your own adjustments. In doing so you may create a worse injury.

There are many sub-specialties within Chiropractic, however to define two groups of practitioners in the profession they would be divided into straight practitioners and mixers. The straight chiropractor is concerned with adjusting the spinal joints only, where as the mixer would incorporate therapies, extremity adjustments and spinal adjustments. Hope this answers your question.

In the scope of a chiropractic practice, your chiropractic doctor is trained to assess, diagnose and treat muscular, joint, ligament, tendon and nerve complaints. Your chiropractor is also trained to refer you to another health care professional if your complaint is outside the scope of their practice. Conditions treated can be sprains/strains, tendonitis, numbness (depending on the cause), tension headaches to name a few broad conditions. If you are considering seeing a chiropractor you likely have a specific complaint. Best to call and speak to the doctor. Hope this helps in making your decision to seek chiropractic care.

A consultation is always needed preceding any treatment. It would be a disservice to you to treat without an examination and to address the cause of the injury.

It sounds like you have continued regular activities and exercise even with the lower back stiffness. From what you have described it sounds muscular in nature. You could try 3 things. 1: March in place 1-2 minutes to warm up you Sacral Iliac (SI joints). 2: Stretch your Hamstrings with a hold for 10 seconds three times on each side. 3: Stretch your Glutes (sitting down ankle over knee, push down on knee and pull up on foot) 10 seconds, tree times on each side. Ice lower back 10 minutes wait 1 hour and repeat. Other than that massage therapy can be helpful and Chiropractic adjustment can help to reduce the stiffness in the Sacral/Lumbar area.

Chiropractic works! How fantastic it is that you responded to your chiropractic treatments so quickly. I am sure your Doctor has shown you how to stretch and improve your daily activities to prevent an acute situation again. As for stopping chiropractic treatments, I would use your chiropractor as you need. If pain or stiffness lasts longer that 36 hours you should get a check up before it gets worse. Many patients I see at my office get a maintenance adjustment every couple of months depending on their activity/work level. Stopping for now does not mean stopping forever!

Speaking from my experience at my clinic with respect to massage therapy, I would recommend a Chiropractic clinic if you are looking for a therapeutic massage and/or deep tissue work. The therapists at my clinic are trained and certified in a variety of therapeutic techniques. This does not mean that a massage therapist in a massage studio is not up to the task to do deep tissue work, but you chances for a therapeutic massage are higher in a clinical setting. It is also helpful when the doctor and the massage therapist work together to give you a proper evaluation before you begin the massage!

Sciatica should not be a lifelong condition. Hopefully you are improving with PT. When dealing with a patient that has one-sided leg pain we first want to rule out a disc problem. Making sure there is no weakness in the limb, next is to see how far the pain moves down the leg (ends in behind, knee, ankle or toes). If it's a true sciatica, improving flexibility in the Glutes and Hamstrings daily can help reduce the Sciatic pain, making sure pain does not become an ongoing issue. Improving flexibility and then incorporating core-strengthening exercises is a formula for continued success. Chiropractic adjustments can be an intricate part of your treatment to keep the joint spaces open in the Lumbar and Sacral areas, as the origin of the Sciatic nerve begins in that area.

First it is important to get a patient history and the mechanism of injury that caused your father's back pain. If all checks out and he is considered a good candidate for a manual adjustment he should get some relief. Following the adjustment it would be important for the practitioner to give your father home instruction regarding moist heat, stretching, exercise and use of ice if needed. Likely a follow-up in 2 days to see if his pain is reduced.