Neck Pain and Lower Back Pain
The first thing to keep in mind, is that "neck pain" and "lower back pain" are not diagnoses. There are dozens of spinal problems that can cause "simple" neck and lower back pain. However, in clinical studies, chiropractic care has been found to be helpful for patients with neck and lower back pain.
Neck pain may be caused by poor body mechanics, stress and nervous tension, or whiplash injuries. In all of these conditions, a spinal subluxation is caused by forces applied to the spinal joints. Chiropractic adjustments correct spinal subluxations.
Lower back pain may be caused by leg length inequality, spondylolisthesis, or pelvic unleveling. Muscle imbalances or excessive work with deconditioned muscles may also contribute. In all these cases, spinal subluxations may result. Chiropractic adjustments correct spinal subluxations.
At Whole Health Clinic, we take an analytical approach to figuring out the source of your pain. Examination and X-rays, if necessary, may be augmented by MRI scans and/or blood tests. Some conditions may be beyond the scope of chiropractic treatment, and in these cases we refer promptly to the appropriate specialist.
Migraine Headaches
Migraines are a very specific type of headache. Some people will say "I have a migraine," when in fact they only mean that they have a very severe headache. Classical migraines consist of an aura, meaning visual halos or sparkles, developing into a severe headache accompanied by nausea and a sense that light is too bright and sounds are too loud. There are variants of migraine headaches, but they usually have some component involving visual changes and/or nausea. Some people only have the visual changes without a headache; these "ocular migraines" can be mistaken for strokes or hallucinations.
The word for migraines is "multifactorial". Migraine triggers can be compared to piling up rocks in a pond. The surface of the pond represents the threshhold of triggering a migraine. One rock might be caffiene withdrawal; the next one might be lack of sleep; the next, muscle tension from teeth grinding, and the next, a bone subluxated in the neck. All these rocks may be piled up on top of each other, but the rocks still have not broken the surface of the pond. Then, you drink a glass or two of wine, and the alcohol is the final rock that breaks the surface of the pond and sends you rippling into a migraine. Our goal at Whole Health is to remove the factors of muscle tension and spinal subluxation, along with recommendations for supplements, diet, and sleep habits to help minimize or eliminate the other factors.
Tension Headaches
Tension headaches, also known as muscle contraction headaches, may come from the muscles at the base of the skull, the muscles of the jaw, or the muscles of the neck. Some tension headaches are not really muscle tension headaches at all, but rather, pain referred from the joints of the neck. These are known as "cervicogenic headaches".
Chiropractic adjustments, heat and electrical modalities, massage therapy, acupuncture, and sometimes special pillows and braces can address these headache sources and allow you to be headache-free.
Whiplash:
Chiropractic care is the most clinically effective method for relieving whiplash pain. Additional research shows that exercises and acupuncture, and massage therapy, have beneficial effects on the pain of whiplash.
At Whole Health, we first make a comprehensive diagnosis of your injuries. Many people with neck injuries also have shoulder injuries, mild concussions, jaw (TMJ) injuries, and other types of injuries which may be masked by the severe burning pain of whiplash. Our expertise includes postgraduate training in diagnosing and documenting these injuries. If you have a surgical or dental problem, we will always refer you for co-management with one of the professionals we work with. After 23 years in Tallahassee, we have a good list of doctors, therapists, and other professionals who know how to treat the problems we see every day.
Next at Whole Health, we apply the safe, drug-free modalities that have been shown to help the pain of whiplash.
At every step of the way, we work with your attorney and your insurance company to document the extent of your injuries and make it clear where you are making a good recovery, or if you are not.
Stress
Stress is one of the worst problems for most of us who live in the modern world. The relentless pace of change, theloss of control of one's work and personal time, the breakdown of marital and family bonds, the confusion of conflicting demands, and the prevalence of rudeness and aggression all conspire to produce a syndrome caused by the hormones and nerve changes of stress. Jaws clench and muscles tighten. It becomes difficult to multitask. Blood pressure and blood sugar go up. Gradually, this stress syndrome shifts to irritability, lack of focus, and a desire to sleep excessively, and can eventually lead to full-blown depression.
Of course, the best cure for stress is to change your life: reduce work hours, eliminate vexatious people from your sphere, spend more time meditating and exercising, simplify your home, get help with your responsibilities. But sometime we find ourselves boxed in to a situation where this is not possible, or we have priorities that make us willing to sacrifice our health. In those cases, we can temporarily mitigate the effects of stress with massage therapy, acupuncture, and herbs and nutriitional supplements.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a poorly-understood condition, but those who have it can tell you about the fatigue, pain, and mental confusion that result from it. Many people with fibromyalgia find that the symptoms are reduced by acupuncture and massage therapy or chiropractic adjustments.
Menopausal Symptoms
Women have been going through menopause for hundreds of thousands of years. The ancient Chinese healing system which includes acupuncture has been helping them for the last 5,000. Stimulating the acupuncture meridians that energize the reproductive organs, liver, and nervous system can help with the symptoms, and there are a number of herbal formulas which specifically address metabolic imbalances that menopause aggravates.
Your initial consultation with Dr. Dwyer or Dr. Patides is always FREE.
