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More Than a Chiropractor: Services for Health and Wellness

When people hear the term “chiropractor,” they tend to think of a healthcare professional who adjusts the back. Despite the growing awareness of the role chiropractic can play in the overall health and wellness of patients, this unfortunate generalization persists today. In truth, chiropractors do a lot more than just adjust the spine, though that is the core of the health and wellness services they provide. Your spine is the center of your body’s function. It is the conduit through which your brain communicates with the rest of your body, all the way to your fingers and toes, through your circulatory system, your digestive system and to other parts of your body. By keeping your spine in proper alignment, a chiropractor allows your body to function at peak performance levels. Chiropractic wellness services , then, take a “whole body” approach to holistic health and healing. By making the right choices, removing toxins from your body and, of course, correcting spinal subluxations...
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Health Goals for 2019

It’s the very end of 2018, another year behind us, and we’re almost through two decades of the twenty-first century. Time flies, and society seems to be changing faster than ever. We live in a fast-paced world full of stress and pressure, and nobody seems to have time to relax and enjoy life. This unfortunately leads to people living lives that aren’t as healthy as they should be. In fact, the United States is one of the unhealthiest nations in the world, despite having leading medical science. A recent report from the New York Post even declared that people have written off being healthy in 2018, and determined to simply wait till 2019 to try to get healthier. They’re eating more sweets and gaining weight. Of course, when people talk about waiting, they’re usually talking about New Year resolutions, but just making a resolution isn’t the solution. To get healthy in 2019, you need to actually make a plan and stick to it. Just swearing to lose weight or get healthy next ye...

What Does a Chiropractor Treat?

Chiropractors are focused on attending to a wide variety of chronic pain and even medical conditions that result from misalignments in the spine, which are called subluxations. When your spine is out of alignment, it can result in all manner of pain and health issues, from back and neck pain to problems in the extremities – as far as your fingers and toes. Many medical conditions are often related to spine problems. These include issues like hernias, carpal tunnel syndrome, TMJ, and even ear infections, among others. Your chiropractor can be an important part of your overall health and wellness routine. They allow your body to engage in its best natural healing, working like a finely tuned machine to maintain itself. Let’s take a look at a few of the more common conditions a chiropractor improves, as well as some of the other benefits you get from chiropractic care. Table of Contents: How Can a Chiropractor Treat Chronic Pain? Back Pain Lower Back Pain Neck Pain W...

Vertebrae of the Week: Coccyx

As the bottom bone in your spine, the coccyx is more commonly known as the tailbone. It’s a triangular bone arrangement and consists of anywhere from three to five fused or semi-fused bones. One interesting thing about the coccyx is that it represents a vestigial tail. That is, once many hundreds of thousands of years ago, we had a tail, and this bone arrangement represents what’s left of it after evolution! Function While we no longer have need of a tail, the coccyx still does have a function. It helps to support you when you’re sitting down, distributing your weight evenly to provide for stability and balance. It’s also the connecting point for many of the muscles in your pelvic area. These muscles support many bodily functions as well as help you move your legs, walk and run. Injuries Coccydynia is a term that refers to persistent tailbone pain. It’s a very common injury and manifests as localized pain which tends to worsen when you sit or perform activities that put pressur...

Vertebrae of the Week: Sacrum

One of the lowest bones in your back, the Sacrum is a large, triangular bone that connects to the base of your spine. It forms when you reach between 18 and 30 years old when your S1-S5 sacral vertebrae fuse together. It’s located at the back of your pelvic cavity, between its wings, and forms important joints with your other bones. The sacrum is a very complex bone that helps to provide support for the spine and protection for the spinal nerves, as well as articulates with your hip bones. Among the most common injuries suffered in the sacrum region is a sprain to the sacroiliac joint that articulates at the ala, or side-base projections, of the sacrum. Sacrum Articulations The sacrum articulates (forms joints) with four different bones. The first is the lowest lumbar vertebra. The second is the tailbone, which is directly below the sacrum, and the third is the hip bone at the ilium region. In humans, the sacrum is able to move slightly on its own along the sagittal plate to b...

The Unique Relationship Between Pain and Stress

Stress and pain share a deep connection. Many people who suffer from unexplained chronic pain find that the source is that they’re under a lot of pressure in their lives. Whether it’s family troubles, money problems, work issues or any other reason, the more stressed out you are, the more your body gets out of sync and the more likely you are to suffer pain. The problem with stress-related pain is that if you don’t know what you’re looking for, it can be very hard to identify it. The truth is, stress can be at the root of headaches, back pain, neck pain, shoulder and muscle aches, stomach pain and all manner of problems. Discover the unique relationship between stress and pain, tips to lower your stress, and how a chiropractor in Woodbridge, VA can help manage the pain. Stress and Pain Stress causes our body to tense up, which can lead to the pain you experience in your neck, shoulders, back, muscles, stomach and head. It can also cause your body’s hormone responses to be off,...

Vertebrae of the Week: Review of Your Lumbar Region Vertebrae

Over the past few weeks we’ve explored the lumbar, or lower back, vertebrae. While these don’t protect root nerve bundles like your upper and middle spine, they do bear the weight of almost your entire back above them. They also do protect the largest nerve in your body, the sciatic nerve. They are, as such, particularly vulnerable to compression injuries and various conditions related to age, wear and tear. Let’s take a look at each of the lumbar region vertebrae, from the top L1 vertebra through the lowest L5 vertebra, see what function each has, and the dangers of injury for each. L1 Vertebra The L1 vertebra is the highest bone in your lumbar region. It is what is known as a “transitional” vertebra, serving as the point where your thoracic region becomes the lumbar. Injuries to the L1 region are most often related to compression issues, with one of the most common being spondylolisthesis. L2 Vertebra Next down in your spine is the L2 vertebra. At this level, we see in...