What Happens When You Have a Concussion? - Clifford Robbins

Each year in the United States, players of sports and recreational activities receive between 2.5 and 4 million concussions. How dangerous are all those concussions? The answer is complicated and lies in how the brain responds when something strikes it. Clifford Robbins explains the science behind concussions.

Lesson by Clifford Robbins, animation by Boniato Studio.

Chiropractic For Treating Neck Pain - How Effective Is It?

The techniques used in chiropractic and neck pain have been associated for over 2,000 years. Long before this field of conservative medicine has been recognized by the mainstream medical community in the United States, chiropractic was being widely used in the early civilizations of Greece, India, and China to alleviate neck pain and other forms of pain.

A spinal adjustment to treat neck pain?

A common misrepresentation of chiropractic care is that chiropractors work merely by snapping the neck into different directions until something luckily closes into place. While chiropractors are widely credited for their spinal adjustment techniques (In the case of the neck, it is called cervical adjustment.), they also use a wide range of gentle non-force and soft-tissue therapeutic tools, such as massage therapy, lifestyle suggestions, and an exercise program to supplement the primary spinal adjustment.

How effective is chiropractic for neck pain?

Chiropractors believe that slight maladjustment in the alignment of the spine causes tremendous setbacks in the functioning of the nervous system. Enter neck and back pain, and other body pain which is the result of these setbacks. Through hands-on spinal adjustment, chiropractors can fix the spine and allow the body room to heal itself more quickly. Chiropractic care usually requires more than one session of spinal adjustments and the supplementary therapeutic solutions to fully alleviate the pain and bring back the body's health condition.

Does chiropractic work on all neck issues?

Chiropractic and neck pains do not always go together, but they often do. In cases where the pain is induced by postural strain (the kind caused by sitting in a bad posture in front of the computer the entire day), traumatic injury (caused by whiplash or other injuries from automobile accidents, herniated and ruptured discs, and osteoarthritis and other degenerative processes reminiscent of aging, chiropractic can be a viable solution. It is important, though, that the chiropractor employ all diagnostic tools to thoroughly examine other factors that may be causing the pain. When the practitioner detects a fracture or an organic disease, he may have to refer the patient to another specialist who can administer the appropriate drugs and other treatments for the specific conditions.

Who can receive spinal adjustments to treat the neck?

Practically everybody may receive chiropractic care for pain, but it is imperative that a chiropractor implements a physical and neurological checkup first before devising a chiropractic program for his patient. Posture is one of the first things to be examined. If the chiropractor detects an abnormal curvature of the spine or if one of the shoulders or hips is lower than the other, there must be a reason to believe that something is wrong. However, posture is not the only important thing and does not completely indicate the need for chiropractic care. The practitioner also examines the extremity joints, muscle tone, and strength in the middle and upper back, and the range of motion of the bones.

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Back Pain Meets Relief With Chiropractic Services

All too often people suffer from back pain. It seems that a large majority of people the world over have experienced some sort of back pain at least once in their lives. For some, this seems to be an inherited problem. For others, it develops over time due to poor posture, bone loss, exercise injury, working, or an accident. Some, still, develop problems in their back with no good explanation. However, no matter what the case, chiropractic services can help to ease back pain.

Chiropractors offer a wide range of services for those who experience back pain. They realize that the health of the back can affect the entire body. It the back is out of alignment, it can offset the hips, legs, shoulders, and neck. That is why chiropractors focus on healing the back as part of the whole. Since back pain is located in the core of the body, seeking help from chiropractic services can help to alleviate the need for other special treatments.

Chiropractors provide a wide range of skills in order to help determine the cause of back pain, correct it, and then ensure that the problem will not occur again. These are the three main phases of chiropractic services. Since they use methods that do not involve drugs and rarely surgeries, the goal of the chiropractor is to find the underlying cause of the pain. Their techniques seek to cure the pain at its source instead of merely masking it with prescriptions. Chiropractic services use gentle and natural methods in order to help back pain. These methods range in technique from massage to electric stimuli. Surgery may be required from time to time, but is largely avoided with chiropractic services.

There are numerous benefits that are offered by chiropractic services in order to help those who suffer from back pain. One of those benefits is the price. Since chiropractors prefer to avoid the use of prescription drugs, the cost is greatly decreased. The cost of an office visit is also usually much less than the typical cost of a traditional doctor's visit. However, some insurance plans do not cover the cost of chiropractic services. Due to this, many offices have lower costs and even payment plans that make affording these services more affordable.

Many people who receive chiropractic services to help with back pain find that the treatments are far more successful than with traditional medicine. The treatments help to alleviate their pain in a way that is comfortable and lasting. Since the techniques are gentle, patients can look forward to progressively more relaxing treatments and time goes on. Once the original problem that was causing pain is taken care of, the number of office visits can be decreased over time. This means that ultimately, a person who suffers from pain can discontinue visits. This option is not nearly as common with traditional medicine.

Chiropractic services cater to those who suffer from back pain, although their skills allow them to help those with other problems as well. Since the back is such a pivotal part of the body, chiropractic services may help to determine if something in the back is causing problems elsewhere in the body as well.

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Chiropractic Treatment for Hand Pain - Things to Know

Millions of people around the world have benefitted from chiropractic care. Contrary to what most think, chiropractic treatment is not about just back pain. Chiropractors help patients with all kinds of pains, including hand pain. In this post, we will talk about visiting a chiropractor specifically for hand pain, along with tips and suggestions for finding the right clinic.

Do You Need Chiropractic Treatment for Hand Pain?

Chiropractors use a hands-on approach for treating pain, injuries and nerve issues. Their treatments can help in relieving pressure on the nerves, which can be caused by many different factors. There are many symptoms of chronic hand pain, including numbness, tingling, weakness, neck pain, shoulder stiffness, and general dysfunction. You may also have decreased range of motion in the neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and fingers. One may also have other kinds of issues, such as headaches, facial pain, and other painful areas, depending on the cause of the actual pain. Patients dealing with chronic hand pain may have sleepless nights, as the pain might increase at night. In most cases, people believe that relying on painkillers is enough, which isn't recommended over a long period of time and that strategy is only masking the problem.

Chiropractic care can help in reducing the symptoms and may offer instant relief. Chiropractors may use other alternative forms of treatment, such as soft tissue techniques to reduce the pain, in addition to using manual adjustments to make sure the joints are moving and functioning properly. Additionally, after the chiropractor has performed an orthopedic and neurological evaluation, might determine there are pinched nerves in your neck causing this issue, spinal decompression might be recommended. In many cases, these collective treatments can be adequate in reducing your dependency on drugs, medicines, and surgery. However, if the chiropractor finds that the pain is related to other things, they might suggest you see a hand surgeon.

Finding a Clinic

If you are looking for a hand pain chiropractor, be sure to ask questions specific to your hand complaints and find out what approach they plan to take. It's important that you select one of the known and experienced wellness chiropractic clinics for your condition. Check online to know what other patients have to say about their services, and most clinics have their own website, where you can find a lot of other details.

On your first visit, your chiropractor will perform a thorough orthopedic and neurological evaluation. They might perform or refer you for certain diagnostics, such as x-ray, MRI, CT, ultrasound or electrodiagnostics. All of this is done to better understand the underlying causes of hand pain and how to best treat your condition. If the condition can be treated with chiropractic and alternative therapies, this will be discussed with you so that treatment expectations can be set. Also, they might suggest exercises or restrict certain activities, until your hand is more functional. Have a question? As a patient, you have the right to know the pros and cons of receiving chiropractic care, so that you can make an informed decision.

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A Quick Look at Chiropractic Sports Medicine

The whole idea of healing the body without relying on surgery or medicine is quite practical and worth considering. One of the most used forms of treatment today is chiropractic. Sadly, most people believe that chiropractic care is limited to the treatment of back and neck pain. In this post, we will explain the benefits of chiropractic sports medicine.

What's Chiropractic Sports Medicine?

Sports Chiropractic, also known as chiropractic sports medicine, is an evolving and budding branch of chiropractic, which aims at improving the performance of athletes of different sports. This particular branch of chiropractic expertise is a great boon for athletes and others who are or want to be physically fit. Besides healing and preventing musculoskeletal injuries, sports chiropractic helps in improving overall performance, endurance, agility, and strength. Chiropractic care has been around for hundreds of years, but it was in 1980 that a chiropractor started working with the United States Olympic medical team. Ever since then, the use of chiropractic care and healing in sports has only increased. Today, most of the professional teams have an in-house chiropractor that their athletes have at their disposal.

Understanding The Role of Sports Chiropractors

The job of a sports chiropractor is a specialized one. They often rely on specialized healing techniques along with other forms of non-invasive treatments for their clients, including cold laser therapy and spinal decompression. Sports chiropractors are expected to have in-depth knowledge and understanding of different common sports-related injuries. For athletes, chiropractors use a 'hands-on' approach for every injury to the best possible extent, without using drugs or medicines. In extreme cases, an athlete may need both therapeutic treatments and chiropractic healing, and for such situations, a sports chiropractor may suggest other forms of healing and care, as well. If you are physically active, visiting a sports chiropractor can be beneficial in many ways.

What Else Is There to Know?

Before you visit a chiropractor, you should know their areas of expertise. As mentioned, sports chiropractors are known for their understanding of injuries and common issues related to various sports. On your first visit, the concerned staff will ask a few questions and other aspects related to training, thoroughly examine you and possibly obtain diagnostics before rendering or suggesting a treatment plan. Look for clinics that are known for their treatment and can offer other forms of alternative treatment. Usually, sports teams do hire their chiropractors separately, but if you are an athlete and need more than just general care, you can consult an expert independently.

Finally, on your first visit, it is best to ask questions as for how chiropractic care can help you in particular. An experienced chiropractor should be able to discuss and explain these aspects in detail.

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Purpose of a Chiropractic Adjustment

This may seem like a self-evident topic. Well, it's not. The Chiropractic profession cannot even agree on the purpose of an adjustment. There is the fundamental, basic purpose that has been around since 1895 (the inception of Chiropractic) which has not changed, deviated or strayed from its first day. Then there are the fads, the misconceptions, and the attempts to fit nicely into the Medical model.

The most common misconception is that a Chiropractic adjustment is solely for the elimination of symptoms; such as neck pain, back pain, headaches, etc... Although Chiropractic is highly effective at helping to relieve these symptoms, this misconception usually stems from the fact that much of the population does not understand the Nervous System. They believe that nerves only carry messages of pain to the brain. That is obviously not the case. If it was, then there would have to be something other than the brain controlling all of your organs and chemical reactions going on within the body. Simply not so!

The second misconception was perpetuated by early Chiropractors themselves. They actually believed that a Chiropractic adjustment was the cure-all for all diseases. This was in part due to the overwhelming number of "conditions" that seemed to get better under Chiropractic care; and in part due to the frustration directed towards much of the Medical community and their treatment of symptoms, neglecting the "entire person" in many cases. This is obviously just as wrong as the belief that Chiropractic is only for neck and back pain because many times other things are needed as well to get sick people well. Such as proper nutrition, exercise, rest, and even Medical intervention. Other times, however, a person may have been "sick" for too long for even the body's inborn healing ability to overcome the damage done by years of disease or neglect. Or even for medicine to undo the damage. (i.e.. terminal cancer, people that have had multiple heart attacks, etc).

So what is an adjustment for? Well, when you remove all of the misconceptions and the fads, you are left with one simple fact. A bone in your spine out of place (Vertebral Subluxation), will always have a detrimental effect somewhere in the body due to interference in the Nervous System. This is because structure ALWAYS affects function. Example: If you change the structure of a boat in the water by putting one oar in, the boat will go around in circles. If you put a spoiler on a car, it makes the car more aerodynamic. If you tie a string around your aorta (the largest artery in your body), blood flow will lessen or stop completely. Structure always changes function. If a vertebral bone is out of place - then it will restrict the communication between the brain and some distant part of the body. ALWAYS! If you remove the interference by removing the bone (vertebrae) from the nerve or spinal cord (this is a Chiropractic adjustment), you once again change the function - in this case improving it. The body's inborn intelligence is once again allowed to control and coordinate all bodily functions so that the body can adapt itself to the external and internal environments; survive and prosper.

It comes down to one simple fact; the body will ALWAYS function better without a vertebral subluxation than with a vertebral subluxation. That goes for any and every person with a spine and a Nervous System. Everyone knows that if you do not brush your teeth and get them checked regularly your chances of good oral hygiene are not good. What is more important - your teeth or your spine? When was the last time you had your spine checked?

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Chronic Headaches May Be Alleviated Without Drugs

Dr. Pazdel shows how headaches, which is the cause of millions of doctor office visits every year may be alleviated by adjusting the body which may often be the direct cause of those debilitating headaches.

Learn more at http://www.pazdelchiropractic.com