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Supreet Shah

Lower-back-pain

Back Pain | Causes, Symptoms, Prevention & Treatment

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Home » Archives for Supreet Shah » Page 3

Your back is out of your line of sight most of the time. So you may not think about it much — until it hurts. But your back is central to your ability to work, play, relax, be intimate, and generally live a high-quality life. When back pain steals that from you, you need a plan to stop the pain and reclaim your life.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Everyone is different, so in this complete guide to back pain, we’ll take a deep dive into it. First, what is back pain? Then…

  • Back pain causes
  • Back pain symptoms
  • Home remedies that work
  • Effective ways to prevent back pain
  • Back pain treatments. We’ll include both holistic and conventional medical treatments.

What Is Back Pain?

Back pain usually refers to generalized pain in the back. It’s one of the main reasons people seek medical treatment. It’s also the most common cause of disability not just in San Francisco, not just in the United States, but around the world.

The causes of back pain are many. And we’ll take an in-depth look at each of them. But regardless, back pain affects the muscles, bones, joints, discs, and ligaments. Back pain is always a symptom of dysfunction within these structures. 

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Localized vs. Radiating Back Pain

Some people experience back pain in one area, and always that area. We call this localized back pain. For example, you may have:

  • Lower back pain
  • Back pain middle
  • Back pain lower left side
  • Back pain lower right side
  • Back pain upper middle
  • Back pain in the middle of the back

But it can also radiate from a source (or root cause) of the pain. This radiating back pain (also called traveling pain) can move around, so you may be unsure what you’ve done to cause it.

It can even make its way down your legs and into your feet. In fact, a lot of people experience stress first in their lower back.

What happens is the pain causes the joints and the muscles to stiffen up. Then inflammation forms around it. And that constant inflammation irritates the body. This is actually what causes low back pain—most of the time. 

Ultimately, back pain is more mechanical that anything else. It starts with misalignments in joints and muscles. Fortunately, this is what chiropractors help with, and with excellent results. 

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

Back Pain Symptoms

What does back pain feel like? It may seem like a silly question since you may be experiencing it right now.

But back pain can feel like a lot of things:

  • Soreness
  • Sharp pain
  • Dull achy pain
  • Stiffness
  • Sharp shooting pain

Take our Back Pain Quiz to see which treatment works best for your kind of pain.

What Is Back Pain?
What Is Back Pain?

Back Pain Causes in San Francisco

What is back pain caused by here in San Francisco? Back pain has several causes that impact people across the nation and the world, but they tend to be interrelated. In San Francisco, a lot of us work desk jobs with long hours and often struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

But more generally, it could be related to age, activity levels, weight, and other physiological conditions. You might be surprised to learn that psychological factors can also cause back pain. 

If you’re in your 20s or 30s, you’re more likely to have a disc issue while those 60s, 70s & older could be at a higher risk for things like degenerative disease or osteoporosis. Below, we’ve created an extensive list of common back pain causes.

Dysfunction/Misalignment in the Musculoskeletal System

Back pain is caused by dysfunction in the musculoskeletal system (muscles, tendons, ligaments, discs, and bones) and the nervous system (particularly the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system). Of these, the joints contribute the most because they direct how the other tissues move. 

Spinal Subluxation

A commonly overlooked back pain cause, a subluxation occurs when one or more of your vertebrae shift out of place. Physical trauma, chronic stress, and a prolonged poor diet can lead to this condition. Untreated, subluxations cause a domino effect on the body— back pain, bulging discs, herniated discs, and loss of mobility, just for starters. 

Bulging or Ruptured Disc

Your discs are gel-liquid-filled cushions found between the individual bones in your back. Their job is to prevent bone-on-bone contact and to avoid pinched or irritated spinal nerves/ This allows you to achieve a full range of motion without pain.

However, when a disc bulges, it can push against the nerve instead of protecting it, causing irritation. If that bulging goes untreated, the disc can burst, leaking that gel-like substance. We call this a ruptured or herniated disc. 

Your nerves do not like this gel. It’s very irritating.

Repetitive Stress

Poor posture, prolonged sitting, and unsafe lifting can weaken components and sections of your musculoskeletal system, causing uneven stress. In the end, you develop the dysfunction experienced as back pain.

Weight-Related Factors

We would do you a disservice if we ignored the fact that excess weight can cause back pain. Weight gain definitely plays a crucial role in back pain and how the back works in general. 

If you have more weight to lift, move, and carry, this can take a toll on the body in so many ways. That extra weight puts more stress on the structures of the spine such as the discs, the joints, and the nerves.

Inflammatory Diet

A study of over 3000 participants by the University of Pittsburgh found those eating inflammatory foods were 42% more likely to suffer from lower back pain.

Degenerative Disc Disease

Degenerative disc disease is a decaying spine. As the spine wastes away, it causes more pressure down on the discs, irritating the nerves. 

Arthritis or Osteoporosis

In the older community, degenerative conditions like these may cause back pain. The medical industry considers back pain an “age-related” wear-and-tear disease, and somewhat unavoidable. 

Even here, back pain treatments do exist. However, prevention and slowing the process are certainly better options, which we will discuss in depth.

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

Psychological Back Pain Causes

Poor stress response, depression, and anxiety can contribute to back pain and make it seem worse. Several studies have demonstrated that people with overwhelming mental stress conditions have more back pain and experience it more severely. In fact, mental stress at least plays a role in most low back pain cases.

This may be due to practical reasons. For example, feeling depressed may cause you to spend more time in bed, exercise less, or not eat a nutritious diet.

Any and all of these would lead to weakness and dysfunction in the musculoskeletal system over time. But researchers also believe people with certain mental health conditions feel pain more intensely, primarily because pain-relieving neurotransmitters like serotonin are less present.

Spinal Stenosis

A less common cause of back pain, spinal stenosis involves a narrowing of the spinal canal through which the spinal cord travels. If this condition is caused by dysfunction of large structures, such as muscles, tendons, and ligaments, a chiropractor can help.

Take our Pain Quiz to see whether chiropractic, acupuncture or both might help.

Co-morbidities

Humans are complex and all of our systems are connected.

For this reason, all—or several—of these back pain causes can be at play at the same time. Because of the interconnectedness of back pain causes, you need a holistic back pain treatment.

For back pain, exercises, nutrition, chiropractic, back pain stretches, and conventional medical care may be needed to address all the back pain causes and help you finally feel back pain relief.

Keep learning. We think you’ll love these posts as well:

Back Pain Home Remedies

Back pain, especially very new back pain, can self-resolve with rest, stretching, and even some exercise. Yoga poses and back pain relief exercises specifically target soft tissues. They reduce inflammation, release tension, and help the body naturally re-align itself. As long as there is no traumatic injury, these are generally the first interventions people try. And they work!

But if your back pain lasts more than two weeks, we very highly recommended that you seek out professional care, especially if it’s interfering with your daily activities. It’s important to see your family doctor or chiropractor. 

Schedule an Initial Evaluation.

How to Prevent Back Pain from Coming Back

We’re of the mindset of “Prevention First”. If your back pain is currently occasional and generally mild, these preventive measures may stop it from progressing to a more severe condition.

Exercises

A good exercise regimen prevents most back pain causes. But if you’ve already developed back pain, you need a personalized exercise regimen that specifically targets the tissues that experienced dysfunction, as well as, promotes whole body strength and function, since it’s all connected.

That may mean having your toolbox of exercises and stretches that you feel are having an impact, a positive impact on your back. 

Exercises may include a core strengthening regimen and stretch. These can tone, strengthen, and enhance function between musculoskeletal components. They can decompress the spine, allowing it to move more freely and naturally.

Two good ones are the Cat-Cow and Child’s Pose yoga stretch. So those would be important stretches to possibly include in a back pain scenario. 

With that said, you want to build whole-body strength as well. So weight training is an important aspect of preventing back pain. Putting weights on yourself tells your body to turn on muscles, which could help to keep your core nice and strong. 

Using a more structured approach with a trainer can also be very beneficial to keeping your back nice and strong. And of course, maintaining a healthy diet and a healthy weight enhances exercise’s ability to prevent the recurrence of back pain. 

Nutrition

Like any health issue, what you eat matters. Your body needs proper nutrition to function at its best. For back pain treatment and prevention specifically, eat more anti-inflammatory food like vegetables, nuts, beans, and seeds. And eliminate inflammatory foods, most importantly sugar and processed foods. 

Other Preventive Lifestyle Changes

Additionally, consider some other lifestyle changes to prevent back pain:

  • Move more
  • Avoid prolonged sitting
  • Quit smoking
  • Set up a good sleep regimen
  • Commit to good sleep ergonomics
  • Work on your sitting posture, especially at your workstation
  • Alternate between standing and sitting 
  • Limit couch time

Replacement is always a better strategy than focusing on what you’re trying not to do. So, as an example, instead of saying, “don’t spend too much time on the couch”, replace it with more active hobbies. Even daily walks can help.

And we encourage you to Take our Pain Quiz.

All of the above are important, but by far, bad posture tops the list of back pain causes, so we’ll dig into this topic more deeply to really get at the core of back pain treatment and prevention.

Good Posture for Prevention and Relief

So, there are 3 scenarios where you can make the biggest difference with good posture. Stand, sit and sleep ergonomics are very important. 

One of the most important elements of good posture is your pelvic position. Always keep the pelvis neutral, especially when sitting. Making sure you’re ergonomically set up at the workstation, makes this easier.

If you find yourself resting on one hip or sitting awkwardly at the tip of your seat, ask why?

A neutral pelvis is one in which the base of the spine and pubic bone is on the same plane. At the same time, the left and right hips are in the same plane. In other words, your body isn’t twisted. You’re not under more pressure on one side or other, front or back. The pressure is applied neutrally. When in this position, the spine curves slightly.

Good Sleeping Posture

Sleep posture is critical because you spend a significant amount of time in one or a few positions. 

What are the best sleep positions for back pain?

  1. Back
  2. Side

In that order. The worst position is on your stomach, which puts stress on the spine.

But even if you are a back or side sleeper, there are some right and wrong ways of back/side sleeping that can cause or worsen back pain. And note, even if you were able to sleep in a certain position when you were younger, that doesn’t mean that position will work for you now.

Back Sleeping

If you’re a back sleeper, it’s important to have a pillow underneath your knees. This is to help keep the pelvis nice and level. A low pillow or no pillow under your head is best.

Side Sleeping

If you’re a side sleeper, then place a pillow between the knees while keeping the knees on one plane, which can also keep the pelvis level.

If you sleep on your side with one knee raised, you likely wake up with back pain because your pelvis is not neutral. The spine is twisted. But the simple act of putting a pillow under your knee can return your pelvis to neutral. 

Side Sleep Posture
Side Sleep Posture

Good Posture When Sitting

Similarly, back pain when sitting occurs when the pelvis is not neutral. Your desk setup should encourage a neutral pelvis and good posture as a whole.

And simple things like adjusting your monitor height to eye level can do this. Keep your keyboard and mouse pretty close to you. This will help you maintain your hip-torso angle above 90 degrees more naturally. 

You also want to choose a seat that’s going to be very ergonomic for your body type. Sometimes, you might have to experiment a little bit to find the right one. 

And it goes without saying, if you’re sitting for 8 hours a day, that will be way too long for most people. Build in breaks to get up and move more.

Good Standing Posture

Another thing that could be pretty important is standing posture. Keeping your legs evenly apart so that way we’re not standing on undistributed weight as well as taking breaks, that’s important. But you shouldn’t remain in one standing position for too long. Dynamic standing and moving around keeps your body from resting into a bad standing posture.

Dynamic Posture

Ideally, you shouldn’t stay in one rigid position for extended periods whether sitting or standing. Set up your workspace so that it encourages you to move around to reach things.

Sit-stand routines are great. But you don’t want to sit for 4 hours and then stand for 4 hours. Ideally, you’ll alternate every 1-2 hours. 

If you have to sit to work, make sure that you’re getting up every 45 minutes to an hour, moving around, walking, taking stretch breaks or water breaks and then coming back into sitting again. 

Lifting Posture

Avoid heavy lifting if possible. Team lift or use lifting support devices when you must lift something heavy. If you want to prevent back pain, set your ego aside and prioritize your health.

If you must, it’s important to know what proper lift posture is. Everyone says, “lift with your knees”. But they rarely explain what this means. 

  1. Make sure you’re centered with the heavy object in front of you. Keep the heavy items close to your body to keep them close to the center of gravity. Never try to lift from the side.
  2. Bend your knees. Simultaneously, allow the hips to go back and the chest to come forward. 
  3. Test the object weight. If it’s extra heavy but doable, spread your legs slightly and to either side. This can reduce strain. 
  4. Grasp the object firmly. Unbend your legs, using them to lift the weight off the ground. As you do your torso will naturally move back and your hips forward until your back is in a vertical position and legs straight. 
Lifting with Knees to Prevent Back Pain
Heaving Lifting Posture

But you’re using your back, aren’t you? Well, yes. The difference is that when lifting with your back you use your back as a lever. When you lift with your legs, your back still comes up, but it is supported by your much stronger leg muscles.

Prepare for Heavy Lifting

If you know that you’re going to have a day of heavy lifting, say to move to a new apartment, it’s important to have a good routine or a toolbox of stretches and exercises that you can do before and after that difficult task to reduce the risk of injury. Joints, muscles, everything works best when you warm it up first. The after exercises can cool inflammation and allow the back to recover.

Ergonomic Products to Prevent Back Pain

This is definitely important, especially because we are in San Francisco Silicon Valley. Most of us are sitting in front of our computers for long hours on end. It’s important to set yourself up so that way we’re not adding to the damage. 

A few products that are just essential:

  • Lumbar Support – Something behind your lower back to help keep that nice lumbar curve 
  • Seating Cushion – It can reduce pressure points so you’re less likely to move into a poor posture to compensate for pressure-sore points on the body.
  • Seating Disc – You can get them on Amazon. It almost looks like a half-a-ball you can sit on top of. It encourages you to engage your core more often. It’s like you’re sitting on one of those nice big fitness balls without it being too distracting for you or your co-workers.
  • Ergonomic keyboard and mouse – Properly positioning these can reduce strain on the upper back and wrists.
  • Foam roller – I have a nice 36-inch foam roller at home and at the workplace. When you take breaks you can use it on the floor or wall.

How to Diagnose Back Pain

Of course, the first part of diagnosis involves listening to what your problems are and testing how well you can perform daily tasks.  But sometimes imaging is called for. This can identify issues that are hard to spot and confirm our original diagnosis through objective means.

X-ray is going to be looking at the bone structure to look at the alignment and disc spacing. An MRI will look more at the soft tissue and the liquid. So that will be like the discs and the nerves. Each has its place in showing us what we’re looking for.

We’ll get an X-ray if we’re suspecting a bone or joint issue, an alignment issue. An MRI might be taken more if we’re maybe assuming there might be a disc or a nerve irritation going on. 

If your back pain is paired with nerve pain, then a nerve conduction velocity test or an NCV test might be done by your primary care doctor as well. Other things could be a CT scan and blood work if there are other suspecting causes for your back pain.

Best Treatments for Back Pain

Now, I always get the question of what are the best treatments for back pain and there are many different types of treatments out there. But there are some clear winners. 

Of course, we encourage you to Take our Back Pain Quiz to see which might be best for you.

Chiropractic Care 

Chiropractic Care seems to be at the very top of that. Most types of back pain respond well to chiropractic care over a long time window. Most back pain is due to misalignment of the bones and other connected structures—something chiropractic care can fix over a series of sessions.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture helps by addressing muscles and nerves. In combination with chiropractic care, they address the whole musculoskeletal system.

Dry Needling

Dry needling is similar to acupuncture but works differently by targeting trigger points that work as reset buttons for your body.

Complementary Back Pain Treatment

It’s important to note that neither chiropractic nor acupuncture is a quick fix. They take longer than your traditional or conventional forms of care but offer a more long-term solution because you’re treating the cause.

For this reason, if back pain is severe and causing significant disability, some people choose to receive back pain injections or oral medication while working on the root cause. 

Combining holistic treatment with conventional back pain treatment can be very effective. This is called Complementary Medicine or Complementary Treatment.  If this is the route you want to go, you’d need to also talk to your primary care doctor.  

TENS

A (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) or TENS unit is one holistic method that can provide some more immediate relief. Although IT IS temporary, so it’s important to also work on correcting what’s behind your back pain symptoms. 

Soft Tissue Work

Hands on soft tissue work, such as Active Release Technique and Graston, is also very complementary to both Chiropractic and Acupuncture Care. It can loosen up physical tension and reduce the impact of psychological stress so that your body is in a better state to heal. 

Over-the-Counter Medicine

If you choose not to request pain injections or prescription medications from your primary care physician, you still have some options for instant relief. Temporarily, you can take OTC pain medications when you need them. 

But even OTC medications shouldn’t be taken long-term. That’s because they can cause hearing and liver damage among other concerns, so it’s important to keep your chiropractic appointments. That way, you’ll not need those medications long.

OTC back pain medications include Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, etc. These are also anti-inflammatory, which can support the healing process. You may choose to pair them with a prescription muscle relaxer. 

Steroid Injection

If your back pain is very severe, your doctor may even suggest getting a back pain injection, such as a steroid injection (corticosteroid injection). Back pain medication can be very effective at taking care of the immediate problem, so you can work on fixing it long-term. 

Injections can be very beneficial. In fact, they really give you pinpoint relief in the area where you’re feeling the most amount of pain.  However, again, long-term use can cause known medical side effects.

Other Back Pain Treatment Options

Sometimes it’s necessary to get surgery. 

We want to do everything possible to avoid that. And that’s why I do what we do as a holistic health clinic. I don’t want you to feel like you have to take your last resort and have surgery. Often back surgeries work by limiting how your back can move, which can cause a lot of discomforts, disability, and the need for lifelong pain medication, so this is not something you don’t want if you don’t have to. 

I work with patients who are trying to avoid surgery. Together, in most cases, we can keep you from getting to that point. 

Schedule an Initial Evaluation.

What to Expect at a Back Pain Appointment

Preparing for a back pain appointment

To prepare for a low back pain consultation at our clinic follow this back pain appointment checklist:

  • List out any medications you’re taking, including over-the-counter and herbal or homeopathic remedies.
  • Write down any solutions you’ve tried and how they worked. How often were you doing these things and for how long did you try this?  Did you experience some relief, temporary or partially? 
  • Do you have an idea what caused your back pain? Did it start suddenly or has this been gradual? 
  • How does it affect your daily life? Are you struggling at work or sleeping? Maybe you can’t pick your child or grandchild up anymore? Or you had to give up a hobby you love. If you’ve lost something due to back pain, one of my goals is to help you get back what you’ve lost.
  • Wear loose-fitting clothes. So avoid jeans or a thick sweater, because we want to make sure that we have access to different parts of your body, especially if it’s your back. We want to make sure we have access to your back. But, also, we want to make sure that you’re comfortable as we’re having you move around during your session. 

We’ll ask for some information ahead of time so the visit goes smoothly. Your appointment may last 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the severity of your back pain.

Possible Imaging

We may want to take imaging. So, we will refer you for maybe either an X-ray or an MRI, as discussed earlier, depending on what we may think your back pain is due to or what your cause might be. 

Now, if imaging is necessary, that doesn’t mean that we cannot start treatment right away. It just really is on a case-by-case basis. 

Consultation and Orthopedic Exam

So, at your appointment, we’ll do the consultation and an orthopedic examination. So, muscle testing. This involves pushing in the areas that you feel are painful, so we can get a better idea of the severity of your pain and where it is precisely.

Range of Motion and Ability

We’re going to have you moving around to test your range of motion. Can you bend forward? Can you extend backward? Are you able to pick an item off the ground? Are you able to get on our chiropractic table easily? 

Treatment Plan & Possible First Treatment

If we do feel like you’re a good candidate for our therapy, we’ll discuss a personalized treatment plan.

At our clinic, we have several tools and techniques that work well for different types of back pain. 

  • Chiropractic adjustments
  • Dry needling to soften up muscles and soft tissues
  • Acupuncture to reduce soft tissue dysfunction and restore balance in the musculoskeletal system
  • Nutritional intervention
  • Home exercise
  • Shockwave Therapy, to reduce inflammation
  • Laser Therapy, to reduce inflammation or quickly alleviate more severe pain
  • Soft tissue work, such as Active Release Technique and Graston

If more cutting-edge technologies like laser and shockwave therapies are warranted for your back pain, we will definitely let you know on your first visit.

In most cases, we’ll be able to begin your first chiropractic treatment during your initial appointment. 

And by the end of your visit, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to take to get your type of back pain better and what that looks like in terms of a care plan.

Getting Back Pain Relief

We look forward to seeing you at our San Francisco clinic soon. Look out for Truspine. Schedule your first consultation including your first treatment.

dry-needling-vs-acupuncture-

Dry Needling Vs Acupuncture: How to Choose?

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Dry Needling Vs Acupuncture
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Are Dry Needling and Acupuncture the Same? If you’ve ever seen a picture of someone performing dry needling vs acupuncture, no one would blame you if you confused the two. After all, they both involve the placement of super-thin needles shallowly into the skin. Both can be used to manage pain — albeit different kinds.

But that’s the end of the similarities.

If you’d like to skip the explanations, go straight to the quiz.

What Is Dry Needling Vs Acupuncture?

What Is Dry Needling?

Dry needling is a therapeutic technique that targets trigger points on the body. This instructs specific musculoskeletal systems to “reset to default”. By doing so, they begin functioning as they were intended to.

It involves the placement of a tiny, single-use, dry needle into a trigger point. A myofascial trigger point is an easily irritated spot found on the fascia of a musculoskeletal system. Fascia is an extremely nerve-dense (and therefore sensitive) tissue that surrounds organs, bones, muscles, and other systems in the body.

Nodules and tightness can form within the fascia. A trained professional can feel these spots on your body. You can also feel them as isolated pain or tension in a muscle.

Placing a dry needle on this spot acts as a “reset button” for that network of tissues. We call it “dry needling” because the needle doesn’t inject anything into your body. The sterile, stainless steel needle instead works with your own body’s natural responses to get the desired result.

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture also requires several single-use, tiny needles. The acupuncturist applies these needles shallowly to acupuncture points to restore optimal health.

Acupuncture points are not the same as the trigger points targeted with dry needling. Instead, they are points mapped out on the human body along life force (Qi or Chi) pathways called Meridians. These pathways manage the flow of Qi energy and connect everything, body-mind-emotions.

Since these are also connected, disruptions or blockages in one part of a whole person (That’s you!) can lead to dis-ease in another part of the body, mind, or emotions.

An acupuncturist targets these points by shallowly inserting needles into your external body (skin) to unblock Qi within the body (e.g., liver function) and restore balance in those energies.

So when comparing dry needling vs acupuncture, dry needling helps improve the mechanical function of the muscles and joints. Alternatively, acupuncture helps restore how energy moves through your body to promote overall health.

So much more to explore on our site! We think you’ll also like these helpful articles.

How Does Dry Acupuncture Vs Dry Needling Work?

Dry Needling Supports Musculoskeletal Balance

Your musculoskeletal system comprises muscles, bones, and connective tissues. Overuse, underuse, and misuse can cause this system to stop functioning as it initially did.

Unfortunately, modern life doesn’t promote whole body health. You use specific muscles a lot, and others hardly move. Just think of how often you use your right hand vs left hand, depending on your preference.

As a result, some systems overwork while others do not. They become weak. This creates an imbalance between them that can lead to abnormal stress. You may experience this as a localized:

  • Tension
  • Pain
  • Pinched nerves and nerve pain
  • Cramping up

If allowed to continue, this can cause degenerative joint diseases and a change in your posture. Misalignment slowly becomes the new normal. The body tries to adapt to how you’re using it.

Those who sit for 8-10 hours a day can find themselves particularly affected. Sitting muscles get stronger. Standing and moving muscles get weaker.

By targeting the myofascial trigger point, we can restore proper alignment and balance among systems.

Acupuncture Supports Optimal Health and Function

Acupuncture is a complex, and well-studied science of how Qi moves through the body. Through research and experimentation, ancient acupuncturists mapped out how Qi flows within the meridians. This allowed them to target specific acupuncture points to unblock the flow of Qi.

Keep in mind that neither acupuncture nor dry needling is a treatment in the way conventional medicine defines “treatment”. Both work by helping your body help itself. They can reset and activate your body’s natural tendency to want to restore balance and move toward optimal health. In that, dry needling and acupuncture are the same.

We can further explore the dry needling and acupuncture differences by looking at the types of conditions you might use acupuncture or dry needling for.

Take the quiz to find out which one may be better for you.

What Does Dry Needling Versus Acupuncture Help With?

Dry Needling Helps Primarily with Extremity Pain

Most pain in your extremities is caused by imbalances in the musculoskeletal systems. One system is working harder than another, overcompensating and causing strain. You may have experienced this when you’ve ever favored an injured body part and developed a cramp somewhere else because of the imbalance.

So activating the trigger points with a dry needle can help restore balance and reduce pain with conditions like these:

  • Tennis elbow
  • Golfer’s elbow
  • Hip Pain
  • Pain in the Glutes (Buttocks)
  • Knee pain
  • Achilles Tendonitus / Tendonosis
  • Plantar Fasciitis
  • Other foot pain
  • Various muscle spasms
  • Dry needling for TMJ

To experience the benefits of acupuncture, schedule an initial consultation for evaluation and first treatment.

Acupuncture Helps with Disrupted Qi Flow that Can Lead to Physical and Emotional Pain

Acupuncture can help with a broader range of conditions related to imbalances in the Qi flow. As a result, you may experience improvements in:

  • Digestive issues
  • Menstrual pain
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Inability to deal with stress
  • Depressed feelings
  • Migraines
  • General pain
  • Allergies

You’ll find a more complete list here.

While dry needling vs acupuncture for various conditions may sound straightforward, everyone is different and may need one, the other, or both to experience the greatest relief. For example, many want to know about Dry Needling vs Acupuncture for migraines.

Some people who have migraine, develop a tension headache that becomes a migraine while others see light flashes that signal the headache is on its way. These are just two of the different ways people experience migraine. Each calls for a different solution. For this reason, both dry needling and acupuncture can be effective for migraines, depending on the person and how they experience the condition.

When you take the quiz, you’ll quickly learn which might work best for your unique situation.

Origins

Dry needling is a fairly recent and modern treatment first practiced in 1979. It is growing quickly in popularity and respect in the conventional medical community. In fact, many physical therapists now learn this treatment as part of their training. They are adding it to their list of therapies they use to help patients with various types of pain.

On the other hand, acupuncture is an ancient Chinese Medicine practice dating back 1000s of years that is also growing in popularity and respect in the U.S.

Relationships to Conventional Medicine

American Medical Association (AMA)

The American Medical Association (AMA) has also presented acupuncture as a possible solution when they said, “Non-pharmacologic therapy and non-opioid pharmacologic therapy are preferred for chronic pain”.

The American Medical Association (AMA) calls dry needling an invasive procedure. That term sounds scary. But it just means that because a needle penetrates the skin, only a licensed practitioner can perform it. These include medical doctors, doctors of chiropractic, physical therapists, and doctors of acupuncture. The AMA and many other organizations consider dry needling to be a type of acupuncture. So it’s important to note many may use the term “acupuncture” when they are really talking about dry needling in research and vice versa.

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)

Similarly, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) says that physical therapists who are properly trained can offer this treatment to their patients.

National Institutes of Health (U.S.)

Acupuncture and dry needling have a lot of modern scientific research backing up their efficacy for a variety of ailments. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health a subset of The National Institutes of Health, “Results from a number of studies suggest that acupuncture {including dry needling} may help ease types of pain that are often chronic such as low-back pain, neck pain, and osteoarthritis/knee pain… reduce the frequency of tension headaches and prevent migraine headaches.”

Conventional medicine sees the benefits of acupuncture a little differently than a modern acupuncturist or ancient practitioner would. They recognize that acupuncture can:

  • Reduce inflammation
  • Stimulate blood flow
  • Stimulate the nervous system
  • Activate endorphins, your body’s natural painkillers

They see it as an integrative therapy complementing conventional medicine much like chiropractic or nutritional therapy. In the same way, it can work for people who are willing to stick with a treatment plan.

To experience the benefits of acupuncture, schedule an initial consultation for evaluation and first treatment.

Dry Needling Therapy Vs Acupuncture Treatment Targets

Through years of education and experience, trained professionals can feel that tension and knots when they examine a part of your body. Often the location of these knots isn’t precisely where you have pain, since these systems pull on each other.

The practitioner knows that placing a needle at that trigger point causes the muscle to release that tension so that it can start working correctly.

On the other hand, acupuncture follows a well-researched and defined meridian map. This map dictates that placing a series of needles here, here, and here can restore the proper flow of Qi. The acupuncturist listens to the client describing their problems. Then, based on their understanding of the meridian map, they know where to place the needles.

Dry Needling Vs Acupuncture: Side Effects

All procedures and therapies can have side effects. So it’s important to only allow a trained and licensed professional to perform dry needling or acupuncture. Because needles are single-use, the risk of infection is minimal. Most side effects are mild and not enough to stop someone from having either done. Around the treatment site, you may experience temporary pain, bruising, and bleeding.

To experience the benefits of acupuncture, schedule an initial consultation for evaluation and first treatment.

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Facet Joint Syndrome: Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment

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The work of a joint is to connect two or more body bones to facilitate motion. In our spine, facet joints are the joints that connect two or more vertebrae. Like any other joints in the body, facet joints allow effortless motion in the intervertebral disc. This functionality caters to the stability of each motion segment. Unfortunately, because of age or any accident, a person can get damage in his facet joints which leads to facet joint syndrome.

The Facets are located in the neck, upper back, and lower back. They exist in pairs, one on each side of the spine and at each level of the spine. They are essentially synovial joints, similar to the joints we have at the knuckles and the knees.

If it’s acute, it can be like a sharp shooting pain. If it is more chronic, it can tend to present duller and achy, sometimes paired or coupled with muscle spasms.

Causes of Facet joint syndrome

The Facet joints are one of the most overlooked when it comes to back pain. About 15% to 45% of all back pain originates from these facet joints. There are millions of people with back pain who have inflamed facet joints.

The leading cause of facet joint syndrome depends on the affected region of the spine. For instance, if you are experiencing facet joint pain in your lower back, it is probably because of your age.

With age, our body structure which supports the spine, like the intervertebral disc and facet joints, gets wear and tear due to strain and physical activity. In addition, the intervertebral disc comprises water, and our growing age affects disc hydration, ultimately reducing the disc height. Such things lead to lower back pain.

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Symptoms of the Facet Joint Syndrome

Well, the facet joint pain usually presents as more localized pain versus radiating pain or traveling pain. So you can have localized pain in the neck or the lower back. When they get bad enough, facet joint pain can radiate to other parts.

For instance, if facet joints in the neck are compromised, the pain will radiate into the upper back and the arm. Similarly, if facet joints in the lower back are experiencing the pain, you may experience pain down into the glutes and the high hamstring area. Facet joints can present as pain, but they can also present as muscle spasms and just dull and achy pain in general.

Besides, joint pain can worsen because of specific movements such as forward bending and twisting motions.

Let’s know more about the symptoms of facet joint syndrome as per the affected joint.

Cervical Facet Joint Syndrome

Cervical Facet Joint Syndrome causes neck and shoulder pain, which will restrict motion. Thus patient will find it difficult to rotate the head with ease. Facet syndrome in the cervical spine may also lead to a headache.

Thoracic Facet Joint Syndrome

This syndrome causes pain in the mid-back. In addition, this restricts the patient from several body movements such that a patient may need to move their entire body to the left or right to see in that particular direction.

Lumbar Facet Joint Syndrome

This causes pain in the lower back. Patients will feel pain in the lower back or sometimes in the buttocks. But the pain will never go below the knees. Such inflammation causes stiffness and makes it difficult to stand straight and get up from the chair.

Which is the most common facet joint syndrome?

Degenerative Joint Syndrome is the most common one. Around 60% of adults over the age of 65 have some sort of the arthritic change in their necks. And over 90% of adults over the age of 65 have some kind of degenerative or arthritic changes in their lower back. Now the facet joints and the discs work together.

So when the facet joint is compromised, the discs also tend to get involved, causing a duel, and both of them mostly feed off of each other and cause you pain. Therefore, through chiropractic treatment, we will address both, the disc and the facet joint when working with a patient with some of these symptoms.

Diagnosis of Facet Joint Syndrome

Your chiropractor will feel tenderness around the facet joint and do palpation or push into the spot to diagnose the condition.

When you visit the doctor’s clinic, he will check your medical history and do some physical and neurological exams. The physical test includes bending, walking, or twisting your body. This will help the expert to know the exact pain point in your back. The neurological examination checks your nervous system and may test your reflexes and responses.

While neurological tests and physical examination will inform the doctor about your condition, a diagnostic injection is necessary to confirm the facet joint syndrome. In such injections, the doctor will give local anesthesia to the suspected joint pain site. A decrease in pain immediately after injection shows that the doctor can know the source of pain and can plan further treatment accordingly.

Sometimes your doctor may observe the inflammation area and then perform other tests that diagnostically could be x-rays that could look at the joint spacing and if there’s any inflammation around that facet joint. There is also a slew of orthopedic examinations that can be done during treatment and consultation. The most expert way to diagnose facet syndrome is through imaging, the orthopedic test, and of course, touch and feel.

Is it possible to repair facet joints?

That’s a complicated question because once a facet joint has degenerated or deteriorated, doctors cannot re-grow the bones, but they can manage it pretty well. Of course, if you’re catching your facet syndrome a little bit on the earlier end of things, your specialist can start to stop things in their tracks and begin to reverse the process through good treatment.

Treatments for facet joint syndrome

After confirming your facet joint syndrome, your doctor will probably start with nonsurgical treatments. This may include anti-inflammatory medications and physical exercise. Some exercises give strength to your lower back and help prevent facet syndrome. But there are some holistic ways to treat this syndrome. For example, your specialist may go with hot and cold therapy based on acute or chronic pain to cure the syndrome.

If your facet joint syndrome is very new and acute and there’s inflammation, we may start with some cold or Cryotherapy followed by heat therapy and then contrast treatment. At our San Francisco clinic, we utilize cold and hot therapy and other therapies such as Chiropractic and Acupuncture. One big thing to understand when it comes to facet joint pain is that it can sometimes pop up for numerous reasons. For example, when you may go to pick up something heavy off the ground, or sometimes it’s random; you just kind of wake up with it or maybe sleep incorrectly. So we’ve seen these conditions pop up for many different reasons. But regardless of the reason, we treat all types of facet joint syndrome at our San Francisco clinic here at Truspine.

One thing that has worked for our patients is getting them into a supportive brace. Wearing a supportive brace between flare-ups can help reduce the discomfort that comes with facet syndrome. Pairing that supportive brace with treatment or therapy at our clinic can help. So Chiropractic treatment can help to take pressure off the facet joint syndrome through a technique called Spinal manipulation therapy or adjustments. Adjustments are quick forces into the joint to help to decompress the joint and reduce inflammation. We do offer Chiropractic therapy here at our San Francisco clinic.

Another beneficial therapy is Acupuncture. Acupuncture can be beneficial in helping to ease the tension or pinching of the nerves to help relax the muscles around the nerve, especially if your facet syndrome presents with any radiating or traveling pain. Other than that, we love to pair our Chiropractic and Acupuncture care with exercises to ensure that once we get rid of your facet syndrome, it stays away and doesn’t come back. So strengthening the muscles around the facet joint is much more helpful.

To experience the benefits of acupuncture, schedule an initial consultation for evaluation and first treatment.

Can massage therapy help facet joint syndrome? 

The short answer is no. Facet joints are deep, and massage therapy is more superficial.

Can massage help in any aiding with the recovery process?

Yes, once the acute phase has been completed, then massage therapy can aid in helping you recover from facet joint syndrome.

How long does facet joint syndrome take to heal?

It depends on how long you’ve had your pain and many other factors. But typically, we can resolve the facet joint syndrome at our San Francisco clinic in about four to six weeks.

Can facet joint syndrome or pain heal itself? 

The body is self-healing, but sometimes it needs a push in the right direction.

And we believe our chiropractic care paired with Acupuncture and other therapies can help you on your way.

What are the best exercises for facet joint syndrome? 

The top three exercises for facet joint syndrome are planks, child’s pose, and cat-cow stretch.

What is the best sleeping position for facet joint syndrome? 

We typically recommend patients suffering from facet joint syndrome sleep on their side with a pillow between their knees and try to keep their body in a neutral position as possible. The proper pillow and mattress are also recommended.

Conclusion 

The best medications for facet joint syndrome are NSAIDs, Acetaminophen, and a type of muscle relaxer. However, we highly recommend seeking professional help before attempting to try one of these medications for your pain.

Are you suffering from back pain? Does it become a part of your life? Do you know 60% of people suffer from back pain, which can be Facet joint inflammation? Give us a call at Truespine, our San Francisco clinic, to get correctly diagnosed.

Can Chiropractic Care help cure your facet syndrome? We’ve cured plenty of facet joint syndrome victims at our clinic. To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

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Acupuncture and Its Benefits

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In the case of various health issues, people first try standard therapies. Then, people switch to alternative medicine when these therapies fail to give the expected results. There are several forms of alternative medication practised today. In this article, we will discuss the concept, process, and benefits of Acupuncture in detail. Let’s begin with the idea of Acupuncture.

What is Acupuncture, and How Does It Work?

Acupuncture uses thin needles put into different places on the body called acupuncture points. These points lie along Meridian pathways that carry Chi or energy to other body parts. Acupuncture works to unblock those areas where the power may be stagnant because of illness or injury or some chronic disharmony in the body. It allows the body to function naturally by restoring the balance that was once there.

To experience the benefits of acupuncture, schedule an initial consultation for evaluation and first treatment.

Relief after an Acupuncture session

After an acupuncture session, the body becomes highly relaxed. It resets the nervous system and puts you in a more parasympathetic state than a sympathetic one. Sometimes you will feel sleepy; sometimes, you may have more energy. It depends on the cause of the treatment on that day.

Immediate Effect and Time Required for Relief or Improvement

Acupuncture often generates an immediate effect experienced as body relaxation and better sleep that evening. However, in some cases, patients who have chronic issues and delay treatment may require therapy for a longer period. For example, if you visit the acupuncturist with back pain you’ve had for five years, it’ll take several sessions for recovery. Some people feel much better after one or two treatments. Usually, results are expected within four to six weeks. Your consistency with treatment will determine the final result.

How Long Does the Effect of Acupuncture Last?

It simply depends on what you’re coming in for. In most cases, the effects of Acupuncture can be permanent after a few sessions, or it can require maintenance. Initially, it is necessary to visit an acupuncturist regularly until the symptoms don’t come back. Experts usually recommend weekly visits for about four to six weeks until your symptoms aren’t returning. In case of signs return after some period, the maintenance and upkeep wellness visits can help the patient. You can visit monthly or maybe seasonally for such a purpose.

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Dos and Don’ts After an Acupuncture Session

After the acupuncture session, patients must listen to their bodies. People coming in for physical ailments must avoid doing exercise or activity involving that particular body area. Those who come for detox are not supposed to drink alcohol. Experts usually ask people to drink lots of water after Acupuncture. They also suggest resting if they can and resting if they feel like it. If you must go on with your work and are tired, you’ll be fine to drink a coffee if you need to.

Preparation for First Acupuncture Session

You need not prepare much for Acupuncture. Many patients try to wear loose clothing, which is not necessary. Experts ask people not to come on an empty stomach or complete, just somewhere in between. There is no strict rule of eating much or less before Acupuncture to make or break the treatment.

During the first session, experts have an in-depth conversation with patients about what they’re coming in for and their medical history.

Then, the patients are asked to get on the table so that experts can take their pulses. Then the other diagnostic measures are done, such as palpation of the abdomen, neck, and other body areas. After that, the expert will begin the treatment by starting slowly. The expert will ask you to inhale and exhale with the first couple of needles. Some people are susceptible to Acupuncture, whereas others are not sensitive.

Frequency of Acupuncture Sessions

Unless someone is extremely ill, at an advanced age, or has a child, the experts say you can’t overdo it with Acupuncture. Acupuncturists usually recommend a cadence of once a week. However, it is undoubtedly acceptable to do more than that. Typically, people proceed with that speed whenever they’re first starting. 

Comparison Between Acupuncture and Physical Therapy

Comparing acupuncture with physical therapy, people recover very quickly from acupuncture. Even though the recovery depends on the injury, physical therapy seems to be a long-term process. Acupuncture immediately relaxes the tight muscles in acupuncture Points. And it also allows the body to function the way it did before the injury. Physical therapy chips away bit by bit. Acupuncture will expedite your process. Physical therapy is essential, and most people opt for it. But, you will get a lot quicker results if you also do Acupuncture.

Who Can Opt for Acupuncture Therapy?

Everybody can benefit from acupuncture therapy. However, acupuncture is not done on kids younger than five to seven. And also, if you’re at an advanced age, it will be very light. There are no other parameters than age to get Acupuncture done. Being too young, kids don’t need this therapy. And the older people are too weak to have a lot of Acupuncture done. But people with ages anywhere in between can opt for this for anything. It may be a cold or flu, a sore neck or back, allergies, indigestion, anxiety, etc.

Process of Acupuncture Session at True Spine

Before Acupuncture Session

  • We begin with an in-depth conversation when you come for your first acupuncture treatment. You can share any pertinent information that you feel is important for us, along with your medical history and reason for coming.
  • We ask you many questions about things that might seem unrelated to what you’re coming in for. Acupuncture strives to treat the entire person. Anything from your past life is perhaps significant to what you’re coming in for.

To experience the benefits of acupuncture, schedule an initial consultation for evaluation and first treatment.

During Acupuncture Session

  • After that, we will let you get comfortable on the table and will begin the treatment with a diagnosis. It includes Chinese pulse taking and palpitation of the abdomen. Depending on what you’ve come for, the neck, sometimes the feet, or different areas.
  • If you’ve come for physical pain, we’ll take a good look at the body’s structure. The way you stand and your neck or arm moves(if it’s a separate issue).
  • Then we will begin the treatment by giving you the breathing cues. So you inhale, we insert the needle, and you exhale. We’ll continue needling till all of the hands are in. We’ll continue the treatment depending on how nervous you are that day.
  • Usually, people start to feel nice and relaxed and fall asleep at the table. Some of them get to a pleasant meditative state. Then we let you rest in the room with the lights off, warm bed, and feet heater on for about 20 minutes.

After Acupuncture Session

  • We leave you with a button in case you feel uncomfortable. You can press the button, which will alert us to come in and check on you. So after 20 minutes, we return and get the needles out. We check in with you to see how you’re feeling, and you’ll be on your way.
  • At True Spine, we make sure you’re entirely comfortable. We allow you to understand what was done that day and what you can expect in the upcoming days. We’ll give you that briefing before you leave. We’ll tell you when we want to see you again, and you’ll be on your way.

Benefits of Acupuncture

The benefits of Acupuncture are far and wide. It is helpful for pain relief, stress, anxiety, and insomnia. Experts do work with allergies, fertility, and the digestive system. Let’s look at the following benefits of Acupuncture for various health issues.

  • Acupuncture for Fertility

Acupuncture is widely studied for fertility and can be beneficial on many levels since it regulates hormones. If stress is the factor, it relaxes the patient. It can also build an endometrial wall if that is a factor. Several factors lead to infertility these days. Acupuncture can also be done with IVF for people looking to get pregnant naturally.

  • Acupuncture for Back Pain, Neck Pain, and Other Body Pain.

Pain is one of the most common reasons people seek out Acupuncture. Some people suffer from upper back and neck pain due to poor posture. Few others suffer from low back pain due to exercise or injury. Acupuncture works to relax these muscles and decrease inflammation. There’s another form of Acupuncture called trigger point acupuncture. It is more effective at relaxing tight muscles and gives excellent results.

  • Acupuncture for Nausea and Vomiting

Acupuncture is perfect for all sorts of nausea. It’s good at relaxing the vagus nerve. It helps those who have a vagal response that often causes them to be nauseous or dizzy. Other reasons for nausea can be related to how your digestive system works further down the line. It decreases inflammation in the intestines and helps the digestive system function smoothly.

  • Acupuncture for Migraine and Headaches

Acupuncture is excellent for migraines and headaches. People have a lot of tension at the back of their heads or eye strain due to looking at a screen. Acupuncture is excellent for relaxing muscles around the back of the neck and the eyes. We can deal with the hormones; whose imbalance is causing a headache. So Acupuncture works for multiple factors causing a headache.

  • Acupuncture for Anxiety 

We’re all overworked and stressed out these days. Everyone’s nervous system is on a high. So we do a lot of Acupuncture to decrease the sympathetic response from the nervous system. Acupuncture is also excellent for depression. It helps to relieve long-held emotions and helps the body and your mind in processing. You often feel much lighter and much more relaxed after an acupuncture session.

  • Acupuncture for Insomnia

We treat insomnia with Acupuncture by regulating the nervous system of people. They are overworked and constantly on the go, and it’s difficult for them to turn it off at night. We also work with the adrenals in this state. It’s difficult for the adrenals to get on a regular rhythm, which interrupts the circadian rhythm. When melatonin increases at night, cortisol is still very high. It won’t allow melatonin to turn on and will help you to turn it off and go to sleep.

  • Acupuncture for Weight Loss

Acupuncture can decrease the way your brain thinks of the stimulus. So it will allow you to eat only when you are hungry. Acupuncture also allows the digestive system to function more smoothly. You can process your food effectively. You don’t have all the bloating, constipation, and toxicity build-up from a sluggish digestion system.

  • Acupuncture for Sciatica

Sciatica is one of the main reasons people come in for Acupuncture. The piriformis muscle becomes highly tight due to poor posture or injury. This is where the sciatic nerve runs through the glutes. We can relax the piriformis muscle around that nerve and decrease the nerve pain. In addition, the imbalance of the sacrum bone, which is at the base of your spine, also often leads to sciatica. Acupuncture can realign the sacral joint to avoid pressure and further imbalance.

  • Acupuncture for Sinus

Acupuncture is excellent for sinus issues. If someone has chronic sinusitis, it decreases the inflammation in the sinuses. It also allows the body to process the flame more effectively. So, in case of an allergy, it will help with the histamine response. If it’s a chronic inflammation of the sinuses, it will decrease the inflammation and flame produced in response to that inflammation.

  • Acupuncture for Stress

If you’re coming in for any ailment, we always work with stress-relieving points on you. It’s straightforward to relax the nervous system and feel euphoric after Acupuncture. It’s one of the best benefits of Acupuncture and one of the main things we see in almost all of our patients.

Risks Involved with Acupuncture

  • Pneumothorax

The puncturing of the lung is the most significant risk for Acupuncture and is called pneumothorax. Since the needles are thin, they do a very tiny puncture. In that case, you would have blue lips and a bit of difficulty in breathing. You would also need to go to the hospital. So, pick the acupuncturist wisely who knows what he’s doing.

  • Nerve Damage

Choose your acupuncturist wisely to avoid the risk of nerve damage. Correct placement and depth placement of the needle should never damage a nerve. But it can happen if you have somebody that does not know what they’re doing.

Conclusion

Now you are aware of the concept of Acupuncture and its benefits. You can opt for Acupuncture as a remedy for any of the above health issues. You will get the best acupuncture treatment with True Spine.

Are you dealing with pain, injury, or inflammatory conditions? To experience the benefits of acupuncture, schedule an initial consultation for evaluation and first treatment.

Chiropractic Treatment: A Blessing for Back Pain Relief

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Many of you might have experienced back pain in your life at least once. Being an unpleasant situation, we try to eliminate it as soon as possible. Today, we will know about types of back pain conditions and Chiropractic Treatment for back pain relief.

Back Pain and its Types

We can separate back pain into two broad categories: upper back pain and lower back pain. Doctors consider upper or mid back pain as one part and the other one as lower back pain. Both types of back pains require different treatments.

Some of the specific back pain issues include facade syndrome, disc herniation, lumbar sprain strain, day-to-day backaches due to sitting for a long time, sleeping incorrectly, and other reasons. These issues are treated differently with chiropractic or acupuncture techniques.

Chiropractic Treatment for Back Pain

The majority of the people suffering from back pain want relief from it and hence choose chiropractic treatment. It is a non-surgical treatment that focuses on spinal manipulation and mobilization. The theory behind this treatment is that the proper alignment of the spine, muscles, and surrounding structure enables our body’s self-healing process without medication or surgery.

Chiropractic treatment is an alternative method for patients suffering from pain in their joints, muscles, connective tissues, bones, and tendons. This treatment uses the manipulation technique to restore the mobility of joints that get restricted due to tissue injury caused by some reasons.

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Chiropractors v/s Regular Doctors

Patients suffering from back pain have two primary options: visit a regular doctor or go to the chiropractor. There is a difference between a regular doctor and a chiropractor because the regular doctor falls under conventional medicine, and the chiropractor comes under holistic medicine.

In conventional medicine, doctors prescribe a combination of muscle relaxers, pain relievers, and inflammatory reducers. These medicines usually help the patient manage the pain, but they do not necessarily cure it. At the same time, chiropractors go to the root of the problem, which can be a stuck joint, a muscle sprain, or a strain that they focus on.

How does Chiropractic Treatment work on Back Pain?

There are a few different ways in which chiropractors treat the back pain of patients. The use of chiropractic adjustment for specific joints is one of these ways. HVLA technique or high-velocity low amplitude thrust technique is used to unstuck the particular joint. To identify these sticky joints, expert chiropractors use the feel or touch approach.

The other techniques used by chiropractors include the Graston Technique, which is a soft tissue technique. They also use the active release technique, which involves manual therapy. Knowing where the inflammation has formed and which joints are stuck is important for this Treatment. Chiropractors use the palpation technique for this purpose. Once they are aware of the root cause to focus on, the treatment is provided to the patient accordingly.

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

Number of sittings and duration required for Treatment-

This is a major concern for almost all patients with back pain. Most patients want to recover soon so that they can enjoy their life again. The number of sittings required for treating back pain and the duration of recovery differs from person to person. The reason behind this is the severity, and the delay in starting the treatment is different in each case.

Chiropractors try to provide relief from back pain at the earliest. In the case of chronic back pain, the time required for recovery is more than the general backache. The number of sittings needed is more in such cases. Some people have an assumption that they have to visit a chiropractor for a lifetime, which is wrong. You can stop the treatment once you feel the relief and the chiropractor gives you some exercises for a future course.

Advantages of Chiropractic Treatment for Back Pain-

Chiropractic treatment provides you with many health advantages and relief from back pain. Some of the chiropractic benefits are as follows-

Relief from neck pain and back pain-

Chiropractic treatment relieves patients suffering from back pain and neck pain. Chronic pain takes time to recover, but this treatment helps to achieve good results.

Non-surgical treatment-

Chiropractic treatment is a non-surgical option available for back pain and joint pain patients.

Help in treating Scoliosis-

The abnormal curvature developed in the spine is known as Scoliosis. This causes abnormal posture and back pain. Chiropractic treatment helps in treating patients with Scoliosis.

Relief for patients with Sciatica-

The sciatic nerve gets damaged due to some pressure and causes severe pain from the lower back to the legs. This condition is referred to as Sciatica. Chiropractic treatment provides relief to patients with Sciatica.

Helps in reducing inflammation-

Chiropractic treatment reduces inflammation and provides relief to patients.

Helps in joint pain and muscle tension-

After getting chiropractic treatment, people suffering from joint pain and muscle tension experience relief.

Improved athletic performance-

This benefit is more inclined towards the sportspeople or athletes. Chiropractic treatment improves the performance of sportsmen and athletes.

Side effects of the Treatment-

Like other therapies, some patients experience side effects after having chiropractic treatment sessions. These side effects include extra soreness in the area of pain, inflamed muscle, and pushback in the joint. In such cases, chiropractors always recommend at-home palliative care. It includes stretching and icing, which helps manage pain after treatment sessions.

Conclusion

Now we have understood the concept of chiropractic treatment and how it provides relief for back pain. Being a non-surgical treatment, it avoids further health issues. Thus, we can say that- ‘Chiropractic treatment is a Blessing for patients suffering from back pain.’

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

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Graston Technique for Pain Relief – Age group, Benefits, and Side effects

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Whether you love sports or heavy exercise in the gym, injuries are common in such things. Hence, it is very important that you maintain and take the necessary steps to prevent any injury. It can happen due to wrong posture or intense workout. Graston Technique is extremely helpful in pain relief.

Graston Technique is used for various conditions. Many people know that the Graston technique is used for giving relief from sharp pains like plantar fasciitis. In this blog, you will know everything about the Graston Technique and how it is effective.

What is Graston Technique?

Graston Technique is basically a manual therapy. It is a technique of assistant mobilization and most of the clinics can do this therapy. It uses steel instruments for various body parts. Mainly, this technique is helpful for scar tissues. Hence, physical therapists use various advanced techniques and tools to scan the injured part and treat them.

Moreover, the process is simple, but it can become complex. It is because of the inflammatory response in the joints and soft tissues. As the scar tissues break, the body disposes of them naturally. To explain it simply, the crisscross fiber breaks down, and aligned fiber appears.

In this way, the joints start moving in a better way and give smooth function flow. Another best fact about the Graston technique is that it is non-invasive as well as safe. Thus, this technique can help to heal the injury fast compared to other techniques.

Graston Technique for pain relief

What are the different conditions the Graston technique is used for treating?

Mostly, people think of the Graston technique for treating soft tissue. But it is also significant for various other conditions. It can treat inflammatory conditions related to arthritis. These are the other different types of conditions in which the Graston technique is useful.

  • Tennis elbow
  • Golfer’s Elbow
  • Plantar Fasciitis
  • Tendonitis and others

Safe or Not: Quick Facts

As said, professionals with proper licenses can only perform the Graston Technique. Therefore, it is safe and you can opt for it. Nowadays, many practitioners are using the Graston Technique for pain relief as it is one of the safest and most effective ways to heal fast.

Side Effects You Should Know

Talking about side effects, there are not many adverse effects of the Graston technique. You may experience some side effects such as bruising on the treated area. But it only lasts for a few hours. It is because of the breaking up of scar tissues and the capillaries. Have a look at the following list:

  • Pain and Discomfort after getting the Graston massage
  • Bruising in the area of treatment
  • Release of Spontaneous connective tissue, which happens when the scar tissues release from the healthy tissue

From the above information, you can understand that these side effects are common. Also, it is important for re-stimulating your healing cycle. It is not possible to eliminate or prevent the bruises after the therapy. Moreover, if you face any other issues, you should call your therapist.

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first Graston treatment.

Muscle Scraping and Graston Technique

Many people compare the Graston technique with muscle scraping. Even some providers also call it muscle scraping. But, muscle scraping is intense as compared to the Graston technique. They use various tools which are mainly made of stainless steel and are of different shapes. Thus, the practitioner knows which tool to use with appropriate pressure.

Graston Technique Neck
Graston Technique San Francisco

Is there any downtime for the Graston Technique?

Moreover, there is not much downtime for the Graston technique. But, it largely depends on the injury type the person is suffering from. There is no doubt that there will be a recovery period if you have an acute injury.

For that, it is best to warm the patient’s body before starting the therapy. It can also include moving the patient around to get a better flow.

Is it possible to do the Graston technique at home?

There are several tutorials available online for doing the Graston technique at home. But patients should take advice from the experts for doing this. It is simple; the experts know the pressure points and techniques.

On the other hand, it can be really problematic if you hit the wrong part with inappropriate pressure. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you should always visit your chiropractor for better results.

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Preferred Age Group for doing Graston technique for Men, Women, and Children

Another crucial fact about the Graston technique is that anyone with injuries can avail of this technique. The prominent reason is that it mainly focuses on the injury. The practitioner thoroughly checks the patient to understand the intensity. Then, they start their therapy to treat injuries to soft tissues.

Graston technique for treating plantar fasciitis

The Graston technique can be used for a variety of conditions. Many patients know that this technique is used for treating plantar fasciitis. It is a sharp pain that occurs at the bottom of your foot. Anyone with age 20+ can experience such pain.

This technique involves using a metallic tool that helps get into your foot muscles. It has been observed that the Graston technique speeds up the recovery process. So, if you are too suffering from plantar fasciitis, you must opt for the Graston technique.

How Often You should do the Graston technique?

The Graston technique can be done once a week. Sometimes, your therapist can also recommend twice a week. Therefore, it depends on the intensity of the injury. Hence, it is better to opt for the best therapist and get the best results. You can see the results just after 3-4 sessions.

Is the Graston technique the right option?

Additionally, the results can differ from one place to another. It is better to consult your expert to give you a brief idea. Graston technique can really help you gain comfort and release pain from the affected area. So, are you looking for the best chiropractor in your area? We are located in San Francisco. Please give us a visit and our team will let you know everything about the Graston technique and will answer all your queries related to it. You can undergo treatment in our clinic to get relief from pain.

Conclusion:

Graston Technique is an evidence-based treatment that when combined with rehabilitative exercise, can cater to better results. Some patients may notice an improvement by the end of the first or second week. Correct treatment through this technique can give you a pain-free life.

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first Graston treatment.

What Is Shockwave Therapy & How Can It Treat Plantar Fasciitis?

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This article will discuss shockwave therapy and how it cures plantar fasciitis. Shockwave therapy proves to be the best among the other options available to treat plantar fasciitis. So let’s understand those concepts and why this therapy is best.

What is Shockwave Therapy?

In this therapy, the sound waves or acoustic waves go deep into the muscle, tendon, or ligament. It is a non-invasive, outpatient alternative to surgery for people suffering from joint and tendon disorders.

Patients looking for an alternative to conventional treatments like orthotics and injections find this treatment very useful. For example, shockwave therapy helps people with tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, knee pain, shoulder pain, and plantar fasciitis. 

How does it work?

Shockwave therapy helps treat tennis elbow, heel pain, and degenerated tendons. After completion of diagnosis, the therapy starts with the probe. Firstly, your doctor will apply gel to the skin of the concerned area. Next, he will do a non-invasive probe to that part of the body.

An electric charge will create focused energy on the area of concern. These shock waves heal the tissues by creating force. After the session ends, your doctor will remove the gel from the skin.

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort and experience the healing power of sound, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

Is Shockwave Therapy painful?

The main complication involved in this treatment is pain and hypersensitivity. These issues generally resolve with time. The active participation of the patient makes this treatment more successful.

High energy wave may require local anesthesia, as it causes some pain, whereas low energy wave therapy doesn’t require anesthesia. Pain and disability may persist if the treatment is not successful.

What is Plantar Fasciitis & where is the pain in plantar fasciitis located?

The plantar fascia is at the bottom of the foot. In this disorder, the inflammation takes place in the foot’s heel. The patient may feel a sharp pain in the morning or after long durations of activity.

To be precise, Plantar Fasciitis is the pain at the heel, specifically in the calcaneus bone. The patient may feel pain in the morning after the rest of the whole night. Also, the long walks or running sessions can cause pain in this area. Shockwave therapy treats plantar fasciitis.

What is the cause of plantar fasciitis? Who is affected by this disease?

Repeated stress and tension on the feet can cause inflammation in the plantar fascia. This results in plantar fasciitis. There is no particular reason for this disorder. But the following categories of people are more prone to plantar fasciitis-

  • People between the age group of 40 to 60 years.
  • Athletes and sportspersons who do more exercises which cause stress on heels.
  • People with flat feet, a high arch, or a typical walking style can suffer from plantar fasciitis.
  • Obesity causes stress on the feet. Hence those who are carrying extra weight are prone to this disorder.
  • The people with occupations that keep them on their feet regularly for a long time.

Does obesity contribute to plantar fasciitis?

Obesity is one of the factors causing stress on the feet. A person who is carrying extra weight puts added pressure on the plantar fascia. The extra weight causes heal pain, which puts a load on joints and ligaments.

Consulting a doctor for suitable weight-loss methods and doing exercises regularly will help avoid the risk of plantar fasciitis in the case of people who are carrying extra weight.

 Signs/symptoms of plantar fasciitis:

If you are suffering from one or more signs/symptoms present below, then there is a possibility that you have plantar fasciitis-

  • Pains in the bottom and nearby area of the heel.
  • Increasing pains after a workout.
  • Pain in the arch of the foot can be a symptom.
  • Worst pain in the morning and standing after sitting for a long duration.
  • The swollen heel can also be a sign of plantar fasciitis.
  • Continuing pain for months.
  • 80% of people have reported tight Achilles as a symptom.

How can shockwave therapy cure plantar fasciitis?

If the conservative treatment options did not work in the early days, there were limited choices like steroid injections, custom orthotics, or invasive surgeries for plantar fasciitis. Unfortunately, these options cannot be used in the long term since they can weaken the tendon.

Shockwave therapy is a quick, gentle, non-surgical treatment option which helps reduce the pain from plantar fasciitis. Currently, this treatment is highly effective and the most advanced therapy available for plantar fasciitis.

In this process, the special probe delivers pressure to the concerned area and triggers the body’s self-healing process. This results in the formation of new blood vessels. Thus it is a very effective treatment.

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What are the home remedies to treat plantar fasciitis? (primary solution to treat the pain before visiting a chiropractor)

The majority of the people with plantar fasciitis recover within 10 months by following home remedies. They are:

  • Stretching the calf muscles.
  • Avoid walking bare feet. Use well-cushioned, sturdy and supportive shoes.
  • Use arch supports, appropriate shoe inserts, or custom-made foot orthotics.
  • For reducing tightness in the calf muscle, use a night splint.
  • Massaging the affected area can also give relief.
  • Apply ice on the area for 10 to 15 minutes, three to four times per day.
  • Restrict physical activity along with prolonged standing.
  • Take over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or naproxen.
  • Lose weight and use crutches.

What are the therapies for plantar fasciitis other than shockwave therapy?

The treatment options other than shockwave therapy are as follows:

Physical therapy- A therapist teaches exercises to the patient that requires stretching of plantar fascia and Achilles tendon to strengthen lower leg muscle.

Night splints- Wearing a splint can keep the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon in a stretched position overnight while the patient sleeps.

Orthotics- Using custom-fitted or off-the-shelf arch supports distributing the pressure on the feet more evenly.

Walking boots, crutches, or canes- Using one of these products for a longer duration as per recommendation from the health care provider.

Other procedures- If the above options do not give results, then the other options like steroid injection, surgery, and ultrasonic tissue repair can help to get relief.

Why is shockwave therapy better than other therapies?

We have seen options other than shockwave therapy for plantar fasciitis. They have their limitations as follows:

  • Steroid injections cannot be used for a long time since they can weaken the tendon.
  • Wearing a particular shoe for a long time for custom orthotics is not convenient.
  • Invasive surgeries are risky because of the side effects and an extended downtime which is not favorable.

But in shockwave therapy, there is no risk, no inconvenience of wearing the particular shoe, and no injections are involved. Besides these factors, this therapy is quick, gentle, advanced, and highly effective. These features make it better than other therapies.

What are the side effects of plantar fasciitis?

Some effects may not be strictly known as side effects, but they are observed if the plantar fasciitis is left untreated. They are:

  • Chronic heel pain hinders daily activities.
  • The change in walking style to avoid pain can lead to hip, knee, foot, and back problems.
  • Heel spurs, ligament tears, ankle pain, pelvic instability, osteoarthritis, etc.
  • Plantar tears, plantar rupture, and plantar fibromatosis are some of the consequences.

How many shockwave therapy sessions are required to treat plantar fasciitis? How long does it take to cure this?

The number of sessions and duration required for treatment varies from person to person. It is also dependent on the intensity of the pain. But average, three to four weekly sessions/sittings are necessary for complete healing.

Some people start feeling relief immediately after the session, while others feel it 2 to 4 hours after the session. There is no downtime required. Patients can join back their routine activities after the sessions.

Exercises for plantar fasciitis:

We have already understood that this disorder requires rest and not significant activity. So there is no need for any rigorous exercises for this treatment. Only some stretching exercises are sufficient and helpful for relief. They are as follows-

  • Calf stretches.
  • Rolling stretches.
  • Seated foot stretches.
  • Towel curls.
  • Marble pickups.

With the help of these exercises and proper rest, the patient will feel relief very soon.

Are you dealing with a sharp pain at the heel after a walk, running session, or early in the morning when you get out of bed? You are most probably suffering from Plantar Fasciitis. Shockwave therapy has a success rate of around 60-80%.

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort and experience the healing power of sound, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

Treating Plantar Fasciitis with Shockwave Therapy

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In this blog, Dr. Supreet Shah explains how shock therapy works and how it can help to treat Plantar Fasciitis.

Shockwave therapy is a medical device that allows chiropractors to carry high-energy sound waves to painful spots and muscular-skeletal tissue. 

Plantar Fasciitis is the sharp pain in the heel area. For instance, a person might feel this pain early in the morning while stepping out of bed or right after a running session. People with the occupation that keeps them on their feet or sitting for long hours can also experience this sudden pain in the heel area. 

It is that fibrous tissue at the bottom of the heel that causes somebody pain. Shockwave therapy is used to emit sound waves deep into those tendons and ligaments to help break up scar tissue. This eases the pain and the tension, of Plantar fasciitis. Shockwave therapy greatly improves mobility and helps to eliminate the pain more permanently.

Are you dealing with physical pain?  Are you in search of optimal health, but don’t know where to start?

To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort and experience the power of sound, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

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