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Chiropractor-Vs.-Massage-Therapist-Which-Is-Better

Chiropractor Vs. Massage Therapist: Which Is Better?

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Neck pain, back pain, sciatica, a pulled muscle, knots—all reasons to consider chiropractor vs. massage therapist or chiropractor with massage. But you don’t want to waste time or money with a solution that won’t help you feel better. And honestly, while both do excellent work, sometimes chiropractor or massage is better——and sometimes both.

Many face this dilemma, torn between the two and struggling to commit. On the surface, they seem to get similar results. After all, both effectively prevent some conditions and improve the healing process while providing pain relief.

But in reality, their goals, methods, and benefits couldn’t be more different.

Understanding the difference between massage and chiropractic can tell you whether you need massage or chiropractor first or to skip one altogether. Chiropractors and massage therapists are very aware of the importance of each other’s methods. Most chiropractors will wholeheartedly recommend massage therapy for specific conditions and vice versa. 

Which one is the real winner? It depends on your unique situation, so take the chiropractor vs. massage therapy quiz to find out. Or read on to learn more about these two effective methods for managing pain and stress.

Take the quiz now to find out which is better for your situation.

Chiropractor Vs. Massage Therapist: What’s The Difference?

Massage vs. chiropractor
Chiropractor Vs Massage Therapist

What’s the difference between chiropractor and massage therapist? What’s better massage or chiropractor?

The debate of chiropractor vs massage therapist continues. But they have a lot in common. Both chiropractic treatment and massage therapy have roots in ancient Chinese culture. The treatments are considered holistic care and promote health and wellness. Like many holistic methods, they increase the body’s ability to heal itself without medication or surgery.

However, in practice, they are very different.

Chiropractor – Supporting Spinal Alignment for Better Function

Chiropractic care is a non-invasive method designed to identify and restore proper range of motion. The primary goal of chiropractic care is to support a healthy neuroskeletal system. This system includes bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and other connective tissues.

But by far, the skeleton and the joints are the most critical pieces.

Your skeleton is your body’s structural support, and the spine is by far the most critical part of your skeleton. When it’s not aligned, you may experience pain, tension, pinched nerves, inflammation, unnecessary wear-and-tear on joints, and sudden or increasing loss of mobility.

Chiropractors focus on bone alignment as the root cause of these issues.

This care can support strength, mobility, and a faster, more thorough recovery after an injury. Similar to a dentist recommending that you brush and floss in between visits to maintain tooth and gum health, a chiropractor will also recommend an at-home exercise regimen and ongoing visits to reinforce the adjustment and help you experience lasting relief.

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

They may additionally suggest other therapies like nutrition therapy, acupuncture, and massage to enhance your results.

Do chiropractors do massage therapy? Many ask this. Usually, chiropractors do not do massage. A chiropractor could hire a massage therapist to provide massage within a chiropractic clinic as a separate service. But chiropractors and massage therapists require different skills and education.

More reading we think you’ll enjoy:

Massage Therapist – Easing Tension to Support Wellness

In massage therapy, the primary practice is the manipulation of soft tissues—mostly muscle groups. This manipulation comes with improved circulation and flexibility, and relaxation. It stimulates the nervous system and promotes tissue healing. It can reduce out-of-control inflammation.

Regular sessions can promote mental and emotional well-being as well. And since mind-body-emotions are all connected, this can promote overall physical health and wellness.

Either chiropractic or massage therapy can help you manage chronic pain. And chiropractors and massage therapy together can be even better. Still, the key difference between massage and chiropractic remains. Massage doesn’t impact the root cause of the pain (misalignments in the spine).

So yes, massage can have immediate benefits. But even with repeated massage sessions, the pain keeps returning unless you also work on the root cause—improving your structural integrity. On the other hand, chiropractic can.

Take the quiz to find out if you need chiropractic vs. massage.

Chiropractor Vs. Massage: What Do They Do?

What Does a Chiropractor Do?

Chiropractors are primary healthcare providers that can treat several conditions. Their main goal is to release subluxations in the spine. Subluxations occur when a vertebra (a single backbone) moves out of alignment with the other vertebrae. This is quite often visible on an X-ray.

Chiropractors generally use spinal manipulation and manually applied force or pressure to joints to adjust the spine, bones, and joints into proper alignment. As a chiropractor, I’m trained to feel misalignments and correct them.

Chiropractic Evaluation and Diagnosis

During your first visit, a chiropractor performs a complete evaluation to understand where misalignments and dysfunctions in the neuromuscular system exist. This will allow them to develop a personalized treatment plan to address them. They’ll ask you to perform specific movements and also guide other motions to understand better how your body is working—or isn’t.

This evaluation may include imaging tests like X-rays or MRI to confirm the injuries that a chiropractor can feel.

Chiropractic Treatment

Depending on your diagnosis, the chiropractor may perform a chiropractic adjustment during the initial visit.

In addition to spinal manipulation, chiropractors may use limited massage, splints, braces, physical therapy or shockwave therapy. They may also order X-rays and refer patients to other medical specialists, such as orthopedic surgeons or physical therapists when needed.

Chiropractors may give nutritional advice and prescribe vitamin regimens and exercise as a treatment. They may also recommend that you see a massage therapist.

For example, upper cervical chiropractic care focuses on the cervical spine. This is the part of your backbone located along the back of your neck. Misalignments here can lead to pinched nerves, upper body numbness, muscle spasms, and pain. In severe cases, you may develop cervical spinal stenosis and severe neuropathy.

Ultimately, the nerve signals traveling from the brain stem into the spinal cord become disrupted. This confuses the messages your brain and body are trying to send each other.

This can lead to seemingly unrelated medical conditions like tension headaches, TMJ pain, bruxism (teeth clenching or grinding), and mid to lower back pain.

Chiropractic Care Targets the Root Cause of Most Pain

Chiropractors target two vertebrae known as atlas and axis, found where the skull and brain stem connect with the first spinal vertebra.

Once they restore the balance with a chiropractic adjustment, that nerve signal flow is restored, and your body knows how to do the rest, fixing itself.

This enables the body and the nervous system to operate at their best possible level.

But chiropractors don’t focus solely on the spine. Chiropractors are responsible for treating the entire musculoskeletal and neuromuscular system, with the spine a primary focus because of the importance of the spinal cord.

In other words, we are treating bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles.

chiropractor vs. massage therapist

What Does a Massage Therapist Do?

On the other hand, massage therapists are experienced in treating only muscular conditions and in helping relieve muscle pain, stiffness, and tension through hands-on treatments. That’s the big difference between massage and chiropractor.

Through massage, they can relieve inflammation short-term, which can undoubtedly improve nervous system function (if there is no nerve obstruction like a misaligned vertebra) and allow the body to heal soft tissues. This can also improve blood flow, lymphatic system drainage, and blood circulation for a time after the massage.

They focus on the muscles and soft tissues and perform one or several types of massage, often using different oils or lotions.

The massage therapist can also use different techniques: Each has different goals, so you should discuss what you want to achieve from massage with your therapist.

They may offer:

  • Swedish
  • Deep Tissue
  • Sports
  • Hot Stone
  • Chair
  • Prenatal
  • Trigger Point
  • Geriatric

For example, a sports massage is a very intense massage intended for athletes. Its goal isn’t to relax the client but to promote connective tissue health to reduce the risk of injury.

Types of massage therapy
Types of Massage Therapy

Massage vs. Chiropractor: Their Origins

According to Western Medicine, Daniel David Palmer founded the chiropractic profession in 1895. He studied human anatomy and concluded that many ailments resulted from pressure on the nerves from structural issues in the body.

Without a doubt, Palmer certainly expanded the science of chiropractic and normalized it in the Western World. However, even Palmer himself never said he invented chiropractic.

Writings about chiropractic adjustments date back to nearly 5000 years ago in what is now China, with separate writings in Greece some 2500 years later.

The first documentations of massage also date back around 5000 years to India’s Ayurveda medicine. Within this ancient set of health restoring and maintenance practices, massage is still revered and seen as an essential part of holistic health and optimal wellness.

References to early massage healing practices are also found in ancient Chinese and Egyptian writings.

Chiropractor Vs. Massage: Their Philosophy

Each profession offers benefits to the patient. But the approaches are not the same.   

A chiropractor’s approach is not necessarily just focusing on the area of pain only to provide temporary relief. They focus on “WHY?” the individual is experiencing those symptoms.

On the other hand, massage therapists provide more temporary relief. They are treating the symptoms but not the reason for those symptoms.

How Often Are Chiropractor Visits Needed

This depends on what your chiropractor is treating, its severity and personal goals. Generally, weekly to monthly visits are enough to reset the structural misalignment and relieve nervous system pressure and symptoms you experience from it. You should see significant improvements within 2 to 4 weeks with weekly visits.

However, for a time, these improvements need to be maintained with ongoing chiropractic care.

Through holistic functional medicine, a chiropractor’s longer-term goal for patients is to strengthen their joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles’ ability to support healthier alignment when possible to the point that you no longer need a chiropractor or need to see them less frequently.

This can take several months or years. And some patients may need to see their chiropractor on an ongoing basis.

How Often Is Massage Therapy Needed

This can vary widely. At least once a month is a good starting point. If you’re actively working with a chiropractor with massage therapist to resolve a specific ailment, then your chiropractor may recommend massage before or after each adjustment.

Chiropractic adjustments can cause soreness as the body tries to reset itself. Chiropractor with massage care can ease the soreness to speed your body’s natural healing processes.

So, if you’re receiving chiropractor with massage, you will align massage appointments with a chiropractor. That means getting a massage more often.

You may be wondering can chiropractors do massage therapy? Yes, some do. Others focus primarily on chiropractic and other functional medicine areas like nutrition, acupuncture, laser therapy, etc., as we do in our clinic.

Massage Vs. Chiropractor: Education and Training

One of the most significant differences between chiropractors and massage therapists is their educational background. Chiropractors are healthcare professionals who need a four-year undergraduate education and a four-year doctorate in chiropractic.

During their programs, chiropractors pass several rounds of boards and certification tests and take classes in physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy, and physiology.

Massage therapist school, on the other hand, typically includes around 500 hours of training. However, this does vary from state to state. After training, they have the option to become licensed by completing FSMTB’s MBLEx exams that cover pathology, kinesiology, anatomy, physiology, body systems, and business ethics.

All of this can take 2 years or fewer.

Is Chiropractor or Massage Better?

So, many wonder: is chiropractic better than massage or vice versa? But the truth is both are very useful tools for restoring and maintaining function and easing symptoms related to that dysfunction. In some cases, chiropractor care is better, but massage can get the job done in others. In most situations, a chiropractor with massage is best.

Take our chiropractor vs. massage therapist quiz to see which we might recommend based on your unique symptoms and goals. You may be surprised which works best for common issues like these:

Chiropractor Vs Massage for Sciatica

Sciatica is a nervous system disorder involving sharp pain going down the legs from the lower back. It has several possible causes, from diabetes to herniated discs to bone spurs. The cause determines whether massage or chiropractor is best for sciatica. Sometimes, both. Other times, neither.

Chiropractor Vs Massage for Knots

What people refer to as knots are typically points of tension that can lead to tight or jumpy muscles. This results from unbalanced repetitive motion often combined with the underuse of nearby connected soft tissues.

Chiropractor Vs Massage for Back Pain

Massage may be just what you need to relieve occasional back pain. We encourage you to learn when chiropractor care may provide a better solution by taking the quiz.

Chiropractor or Massage of Neck Pain

Similarly, neck pain can have many causes, from compression in the cervical spine to poor sleeping habits.

Chiropractic or Massage for Pulled Muscle

While massage may seem like the clear choice for muscle issues, you need to ask why your muscle is getting pulled.

Chiropractic or Massage Therapy for a Neuropathy

Similar to sciatica, neuropathy is a nerve disease that may be caused by diabetes, poor circulation, or spinal dysfunction among other causes.

Chiropractic Care and Massage Therapy Are Better Together

Ultimately, a balance of these two therapies can provide patients with the best outcome possible. Massage therapy can help loosen the muscles before or after a chiropractic adjustment. A chiropractic back adjustment can last longer when a patient’s muscle tension is released.

As a result, the body has the best chance to heal itself after an adjustment.

Chiropractor with massage
Pre-Chiropractic Massage Therapy

The Benefits of Seeing a Chiropractor with Massage Therapist

Massage can break up adhesions. These are abnormal bunching of tissues that happen due to inflammation and injury.

With these adhesions broken up, the tissues can stretch and move more easily. As a result, the soft tissues adjust to chiropractic adjustments more readily. Massage also increases circulation, delivering oxygen and nutrients soft tissues need to heal themselves.

It also improves lymphatic function. One of the roles of the lymphatic system is to drain excess fluid and carry dead and dying cells out of the body, both critical to the immune system’s function in the healing process.

That’s why you may experience less soreness after a chiropractor visit when preceded by a massage appointment a day or so before.

Do I Need A Chiropractor Or Massage Therapist First?

Both chiropractic care and massage therapy can be helpful preventative measures to avoid the pains and discomfort that come from everyday life.

Possible Injury, Ongoing Radiating Pain, Sudden Unexplained Pain, Nerve Pain

In these cases, it is typically best to visit a chiropractor first. They will be able to ensure it is safe to see a massage therapist. So when choosing between chiropractor or massage first? Chiropractor.

Chiropractic care is better if you have joint pain, spinal disc issues, or pinched sciatic nerve. A chiropractor will identify the cause of your pain, whether it is muscular or skeletal, and help choose the correct treatment course.

Muscle Pain, Soreness, Stiffness, Need to Relax

If your primary issue is muscle pain or stiffness, or you are looking to simply relax and unwind, massage therapy is the right option. By massaging, massage therapists can increase circulation to the affected area, relieving the buildup of lactic acid that often causes muscle spasms and pain.

If you are still debating chiropractor vs. massage therapist, you should always consider getting professional advice from a licensed and trained chiropractor.

There are other individual factors to consider. Take the massage therapist vs. chiropractor quiz to learn which is better based on your unique health challenges and situation.

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

Pinched-Nerve-Spinal-Stenosis

What Causes Spinal Stenosis? What Are The Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Available Treatment?

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Spinal stenosis causes wear and tear in the spine leading to the advanced stage of arthritis. Spinal stenosis is a result of a reduction in the space in the backbone.

What is spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis involves losing space inside the spinal canal. Just like you can have stenosis of the freeways when there are a lot of cars going through, you can have encroachment on the spinal canal. Now, it’s most common in the lumbar part of the spine, which is the lower back. Degenerative changes can take up space inside that canal. Less space means more pressure on the nerves and thus more irritation.

What does pain from spinal stenosis feel like?

Spinal stenosis pain is mostly felt in the back or in the legs. But spinal stenosis may not cause any pain at all. It can cause more intense symptoms such as progressive weakness in the lower extremities, again, meaning the legs. If it gets bad enough, it can also cause some bodily functions to lose control, such as the bladder and bowel movements.

What is the main cause of spinal stenosis?

The main cause of spinal stenosis is degenerative arthritis or instability in the spine. Some of the symptoms of spinal stenosis could be numbness in the legs due to pinched nerves, and loss of motor function as well into the lower extremities. The symptoms are mostly as you might take notice, caused by squeezing of the nerve root. Symptoms again most often occur in the lower extremities or the legs. Standing or walking can sometimes exacerbate or make your symptoms feel a lot worse.

How is spinal stenosis diagnosed?

Spinal stenosis is predominantly diagnosed with either an MRI or a CAT scan, and it’s reviewed by a radiologist and discussed with your primary care.

What part of the body does spinal stenosis affect?

It can definitely affect the neck, back, or low back. Meaning the mid back or low back. It can also cause difficulty with walking. Classic spinal stenosis can be presented with shorter distances of you being able to walk, along with much more.

How does Spinal Stenosis affect the body?

First and foremost, Spinal Stenosis can affect the neck, mid back, or the low back. Depending on what parts of the body it affects, you may get different types of symptoms. Some symptoms may be an effect of Spinal Stenosis of the lower part of the body, meaning the lumbar – could be difficulty with walking. Sometimes you may even be able to walk shorter distances, but you tire much quicker than you normally might. Spinal stenosis can also affect the neck and upper back. With those, you may get more arm & hand symptoms.

What types of people are prone to developing Spinal Stenosis?

Spinal stenosis generally affects the older population, so we’re looking at 60, 70 plus. As we age, there are more chances of degenerative arthritis, which can cause spurring and consequently, Spinal stenosis.

More reading we think you’ll like:

Can spinal stenosis be cured?

Spinal Stenosis is not curable. Good therapy and some activity modification can help to manage it. If the case shows severe symptoms, experts will immediately recommend surgery.

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

What are the best treatments to cure or manage Spinal stenosis?

If spinal stenosis gets severe enough, experts may recommend surgery to free up or decompress the nerves, causing less inflammation and less irritation. Professionals make use of the decompression fusion process to achieve this.

Surgery is indicated with advanced arthritis leading to pinching of the nerve or instability of the spine. Remedies that you can do to prevent getting to a point of surgery would be chiropractic treatments, acupuncture treatments, and physical therapy. That would be the best three-prong approach. The chiropractic is great, therefore really loosening up the joints, taking pressure off the nerves. Where acupuncture comes in is decreasing inflammation and irritation around the nerves and eventually, you’re going to want to strengthen those muscles and ligaments around the spine to help hold the structure. So physical therapy or rehabilitation is important mostly long term. So again, chiropractic, acupuncture, and physical therapy are definite musts with spinal stenosis.

Other things that could definitely be beneficial would be palliative care such as massage therapy, as well as flexion-distraction types of exercises that can help pump the lower back. And this pumping mechanism with these flexion distraction exercises can help get nutrients and water through an imbibition process to the discs to help really get all the nutrients to the disks as quickly as possible.

How can a person suffering from Spinal stenosis cope with the disease?

In addition to doing the recommended therapy, it’s important to keep active, keep moving and keep things fluid. Going on daily walks can help. Experts recommend more flat walking, so avoid hilly areas and high elevations.

Another thing that could be very beneficial would be swimming. Swimming kind of helps take the weight off the body and takes your joints through a full range of motion, loosening up the area, and de-inflaming the area.

Making sure that you have good sleep ergonomics, as well as sitting and standing ergonomics. So it’s important to get an Ergonomic professional to possibly take a look at your setup to make sure that you’re doing everything you can possibly not to irritate the area any further. One thing to note is that when Spinal stenosis gets bad enough, it can cause radiating symptoms. So symptoms down the legs as well as bowel and bladder dysfunction. If we get to this point, it’s really important to get to the emergency room as quickly as possible. This could indicate a surgical intervention and that’s probably what our experts at Truspine would recommend at that point in time.

Are you having shooting pains down the back of your legs? This could be spinal stenosis. At our San Francisco clinic, we have spinal stenosis experts that are ready to take action, evaluate and give you the right and best care plan. It’s important to get a very thorough examination. Give us a (415) 421-1115.

You can schedule an appointment with our San Francisco chiropractor to get correctly diagnosed or have a free 15-minute phone consultation.

Does Chiropractic Help? Yes, it helps with these 3 health concerns

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A common misconception about chiropractic care is that the practice isn’t an authentic medical treatment. I would like to set the record straight by saying that chiropractors are designated as physician-level providers. This means that they are medically trained to treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system.

Herniated_Disc_Treatment

The ACA estimates that chiropractors treat more than 35 million Americans annually for a range of health concerns. Three in every group of four people describe chiropractic care as very effective. What top health concerns are among those that ail the general population, and how do chiropractic adjustments address these? Keep reading to find out.

Who Should I See For Back Pain?

Your first choice should be to look for a non-surgical treatment that focuses on spinal manipulation and mobilization. We now know that chiropractic adjustments can restore the mobility of joints that get restricted due to tissue injury. As we’ve previously discussed in A Blessing for Back Pain Relief, this tackles the root of the problem of back pain — which can be either a stuck joint, a muscle sprain, or a strain.

An estimated 40% of Americans with lower back pain or more than 7.7 million people would rather see a chiropractor than a medical doctor. This is because the latter’s specialty would be the management of pain through the prescription of muscle relaxers, pain relievers, and inflammatory reducers. The former enables our body’s self-healing process without medication or surgery.

More posts we think you’ll enjoy:

Can Chiropractic Care Help Quick Smoking? 

Experts have found that smoking contributes to lower back pain. Chiropractors encourage their patients to quit smoking to manage body pain and much more. Additionally, Tobacco Free Life explains that the knock-on effect resulting from back pain and poor posture encourages smoking for stress relief. Addressing back pain medically, therefore, will reduce stress and discourage smoking behavior.

The effect isn’t direct, of course. However, when combined with evidence-based approaches to quitting smoking, it can be easier to avoid relying on cigarettes. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)—like the nicotine patch, gum, and lozenge—is proven to increase your chances of quitting. Prilla notes nicotine pouch use is growing throughout the US as a discrete means to consume nicotine in moderation. This smokeless “modern oral nicotine category” similar to nicotine gums and patches can be used in public spaces like the office where back pain tends to flare up.

Chiropractic adjustments can help you get rid of back pain that leads to nicotine cravings. Thus, slowly decreasing the reliance on nicotine.

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

Obesity 

Another epidemic in the US is the growing rate of obese adults and children. Surprisingly for most, chiropractic treatment addresses this in different ways by tackling the root cause. By not simply treating symptoms, it seeks to prevent future weight gain.

First is by moderating communication between the brain and the digestive tract, through spinal manipulation. This regulates the physical appetite for food while simultaneously reducing body and back pain due to excess weight.

Otherwise, Gym Trends 365 emphasizes that chiropractic care improves athletic performance by making daily movement more comfortable. This encourages exercise and other physical activity, which many obese people with pain tend to shy away from. The resulting production of serotonin can then induce a cycle of healthy diet and exercise habits.

As a form of holistic care, chiropractic treatment doesn’t just care for a current issue in isolation. A traditional chiropractor looks at a patient’s whole body and how everything interacts. This holistic view shows them how body pain can have a cyclical relationship with things like obesity or smoking behaviors. They should thus be treated together and not separately.

Whether it’s your brain, muscles, nerves, skin, or even your emotions, chiropractic treatment aims to keep every part working so that you can feel better. For more information on chiropractic care, check out our other blog posts at Truspine. 

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

Lower-back-pain

Back Pain | Causes, Symptoms, Prevention & Treatment

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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. 

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.

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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. 

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy 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
  • Massage therapy

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.

Active-Release-Technique-and-Myofascial-Release-Technique

Is Active Release Technique the same as the Myofascial Release Technique?

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The myofascial release technique is a way of manipulating and restoring movement to tissues that surround your muscles called fascia. The Active Release Technique is arguably the most advanced and effective form of myofascial release pretty much ever created. The Active Release Technique is a well thought or packaged form of the Myofascial Release Technique, and It requires a lot more mastery and education, and studies to get the certificate. Beyond chiropractic school, students and doctors are required to take more hours and have more practice to be able to be Active Release Technique Doctors or ART Doctors.

How does the Myofascial release Technique work and what conditions can be cured? 

The myofascial release technique is there to break up scar tissue or adhesions within the fascia. It really tends to help with disorders such as Temporal Mandibular Joint disorder or TMJ disorder, and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A lot of our at-home desk workers or computer workers and engineers are really familiar with Fibromyalgia and headaches. It could be migraines or tension headaches, but releasing the muscles at the right spot can help relieve chronic pain in different parts of the body. 

How does the Active Release Technique work and what conditions can be cured? 

The Active Release Technique or ART is more pinpoint myofascial release work, and it helps a slew of different types of conditions, including neck pain, low back pain, tension headaches, shin splints, and plantar fasciitis. It can also help with more uncommon conditions such as frozen shoulder pain and sciatic nerve pain.

Myofascial Release or Active Release Technique, which one is better for me?

It really, really depends on the type of condition that a patient may present with and how specific it is to where their pain points are, and if they have any referral pain points. The doctor will do a thorough examination to determine if the Myofascial Release Technique or Active Release Technique is better for you.

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What are the benefits of Myofascial Release and Active Release Technique:

The benefits are similar in the fact that it will help increase the range of motion. It will help to take down your inflammation levels as well as help you get back into the activities that you are seeking to do. The other great benefit of both the active release technique and myofascial release technique is that it prevents re-injury. So opening up the joint, breaking up the scar tissue, or the myofascial adhesions can help increase that range of motion.

Hence you can use that joint fully. So that way we’re not going to cause another injury or a re-injury.

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

When should you not use the myofascial release technique or active release technique?

The Active Release Technique is a soft tissue method that focuses on relieving tension via the removal of adhesions, which can develop in tissues as a result of overload or repetitive stress injuries or RSI. 

Which types of conditions should not be using these techniques? 

That would be any sort of malignancy, aneurysm, tumors if you have pretty severe rheumatoid arthritis as well as advanced diabetes, or any sort of osteoporosis.

Use of Myofascial Release Technique and Active Release Technique at Truspine clinic:

At our San Francisco clinic, we practice both Myofascial Release Technique as well as the Active Release Technique. The providers are certified in providing both of these techniques and so you can rest assured. You’ll get the best possible treatment that is going to be tailored to what you need and your condition at our San Francisco clinic.  

What is the best way to prepare for the Active Release Technique?

At our clinic, we usually recommend that patients wear loose clothing or expose the area that needs to be treated. So that way our providers can get a more hands-on approach to treating you quickly and effectively to get your pain levels down. 

How much does the Active Release Technique cost? How long does it take to get better? 

Well, in terms of length of time depends on how long you’ve had the condition and how chronic it is. And so the provider will be able to determine that at your first visit or consultation. The cost of the treatment does depend on what areas need to work on. The costs are very standard and very competitive compared to other clinics in the San Francisco area.

Final Words

Do you or a loved one have a condition that might benefit from the Active Release Technique? Give us a call at our San Francisco clinic (415) 421-1115 or visit us at 150 Lombard Street.

At our San Francisco clinic, we are experts in treating many different injuries with active release techniques. Get on our schedule with one of our trained providers so we can start.

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

Take the Quiz

Are you currently experiencing pain or conditions that may be the result of imbalances and blockages in your body? Then it’s time to learn more about which service might be right for you. Take the below quiz.

Neuropathy: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

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Neuropathy is a prevalent ailment or disease that affects 8% of the U.S. population. That’s roughly 24 million individuals. Now, this is sufficient background information to begin discussing neuropathy and what doctors can do to treat this illness. At any age, peripheral neuropathy can emerge. It can affect both the older generation and the young but primarily affects us as we approach an advanced age. There are several neuropathy causes, with diabetes being one of the most prevalent. Diabetes is responsible for 30% of neuropathy cases. And idiopathic or undetermined disorders are responsible for the remaining 30%. Therefore, they know that diabetes is the leading cause of neuropathy. Now, diabetes can develop for a variety of reasons: High blood sugar, as well as genetic and metabolic variables.

Two forms of diabetes exist which are Type-1 and Type-2. Typically, type 1 diabetes is hereditary. Always, a genetic element is present in that. Type two diabetes is a lifestyle disease. This is when metabolic variables come into play.

However, regardless of the source of your diabetes, if it becomes severe and progressive, it can develop neuropathy in the hands and, more frequently, the feet.

Neuropathy Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

What is Neuropathy?

In case of damage to the nerves which originate from the spine, patients can suffer from neuropathy. Consequently, the brain’s spine is comparable to the hard disc of a computer. All of these nerves originate from the spine and travel to various regions of the body, including the hands and feet. When this nerve is impeded by a variety of causes, such as an obstruction or something pinching the nerve, less information may travel to the hands and feet. This may result in a variety of symptoms that doctors refer to as neuropathy. Neuropathy can manifest as a sense of burning or tingling. It may be a sharp, piercing pain. There may be numbness. It can be a motor weakness, such as limb weakness or fatigue. There may be muscle pain. Therefore, all these are symptoms that a person with neuropathy may experience.

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Does stress or any other factors also cause neuropathy?

Apart from Diabetes, people always have this question, to what extent is stress a factor for the perchance of neuropathy? 

Stress is the main culprit of neuropathy. If you focus more on mental stress, there are slight chances it can be a cause of neuropathy, but most often, it exacerbates the situation over time. Now, physical stress on the body might occasionally induce impingement and neuropathy due to the high stress on nerves, which can lead to their damage if it persists in that manner. However, stress is unquestionably one of the elements that could aggravate your neuropathy or make you feel worse. Consequently, the specially designed program of doctors does include stress reduction or stress management assistance.

Outside of diabetes, neuropathy can develop because of:

  • Infections
  • Toxins
  • Tumors
  • Alcoholism
  • Autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis
  • Metabolic syndromes
  • Trauma
  • Chemotherapy

What are the early symptoms or warning signs of neuropathy?

There are a few early warning indicators of neuropathy. One of them is having a history of any autoimmune disorders or diseases that might be classified as diabetes. Consequently, if you have one of these illnesses, you might fall into the neuropathy group. 

In terms of symptomatology, tingling and mild numbness in the hands and feet may be among the warning indications. It could also involve occasionally losing your balance while standing or walking. These would be typical early symptoms of neuropathy. Also, when you’re lying down or in bed, it’s not uncommon for your hands or feet to fall asleep for extended periods.

Stages of Neuropathy: From mild to severe

Yes, neuropathy is a disease that occurs in progression. There are 5 stages of neuropathy, and it is highly advisable to start treatment in the early stages of it. The following are the 5 stages of neuropathy:

Numbness and Pain

The beginning stages of neuropathy involve pain and numbness. These symptoms will not be permanent, but you will experience intermittent occurrences. These initial signs of discomfort and numbness may be modest, yet you will notice their presence. For instance, you may have mild tingling or numbness in your hands and feet, which will ultimately subside. You may notice that your equilibrium and reflexes are slightly off-kilter if we compare it with a typical state. Frequently, the first symptoms reoccur every few weeks and become steadier with time. Due to their subtlety, the initial indicators of neuropathy are frequently overlooked.

Regular and Persistent Symptoms

In the second stage of peripheral neuropathy, pain and numbness become more consistent and regular. It is difficult to identify exactly when a patient’s neuropathy advances to the second stage. Still, it will become apparent when the patient experiences pain and numbness more frequently than before. In the second stage, it becomes increasingly impossible to ignore the present pains, numbness, and other symptoms. At this moment, many individuals sense that something may be wrong and seek medical assistance. If the treatment of neuropathy begins in the second stage, there is a chance of reversal of nerve damage; however, if neuropathy is left untreated after the second stage, nerve damage is frequently irreversible.

Debilitating Pain

In the third stage of neuropathy, you experience discomfort every day or nearly daily. In this stage, the pain begins to interfere with your regular activities and hinders you from functioning normally. At this time, you may realize that over-the-counter pain drugs are no longer effective, and you are unable to obtain relief. This is because, in the third stage of neuropathy, you are likely to have further nerve damage sensations and symptoms. In the third stage also, it is possible to reverse some nerve damage, but in the majority of cases, nerve damage is irreversible.

Constant Numbness

In the fourth stage of neuropathy, the patient’s legs and feet become extremely numb. This is due to a shortage of healthy nerves capable of transmitting impulses to the brain. You may experience a rise in numbness and a decrease in pain, neither of which is desirable. This is a symptom that the nerves are dying, and the majority of nerve fibers have been destroyed when this occurs. At this stage, the bigger nerve fibers have begun to sustain irreversible damage. During this stage, your equilibrium is likely to be compromised, and it may become difficult to walk while maintaining your balance. In the fourth stage of neuropathy, nerve loss is irreparable, and the majority of numbness is irreversible. At this stage, it is imperative to seek therapy to prevent the irreversible worsening of numbness. In the fourth stage, there may be a fair opportunity for improvement.

Complete loss of feeling

This is the concluding step of neuropathy, which occurs when the lower part of the legs and feet has lost all sensibility. You experience no pain, only tremendous numbness. This is because there are insufficient nerves capable of transmitting signals to the brain. At this point, walking has become quite difficult, and your equilibrium is seriously impaired. You may become so unstable as to require the use of a wheelchair. If you have reached this level of neuropathy and have completely lost sensation in your lower extremities, you must seek emergency medical assistance. In stage five, nerves are irreparably destroyed; however, regeneration of certain nerve fibers may be feasible.

So, these are the five stages of neuropathy as it progressively gets worse.

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

Diagnosis of Neuropathy

Neuropathy can be clinically diagnosed. It is based on the response given by the patients, generated by using various mechanisms.

Therefore, in the clinic, there is a technique that each patient must undergo to determine the loss of sensory nerves. Doctors usually examine what percentage of sensory nerves have been lost. For that, they put patients through a series of field tests in which patients are essentially asked to rate their level of awareness. It can be done through various mechanisms. It can be cold therapy, hot therapy, a sharp push, or a dull push. Consequently, according to the response of patients, they gather data and empirically determine the treatment procedure. They also constantly compare the results of our examinations to what a natural sensation might feel like.

How does Diabetes Neuropathy originate?

Apart from Type I Diabetes which is caused due to genetic factors, the inception of Type II diabetes can be traceable. Diabetic neuropathy due to Type II diabetes begins in the gastrointestinal tract. It depends on our dietary habits, and certain lifestyle circumstances are typically to blame. What are you consuming throughout the day? How are you spacing your meals, and what are you eating? Are you physically active or increasingly sedentary? Consequently, these variables can all contribute to the onset of diabetic neuropathy.

How to cure Diabetic Neuropathy? Is it curable?

Diabetic neuropathy or diabetes in general is a disorder that requires lifelong management. Diet and lifestyle will serve as the therapy’s base. Can you eliminate the neuropathy associated with diabetes? Yes and no. In other words, once you’ve lost feeling or sensation in your nerves, there is no turning back. Therefore, doctors want to be able to detect it before it reaches this stage so they can begin to halt the process and reverse the nerves’ degeneration. For the diabetes problem, the goal is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This would include any dietary modifications, additional supplements, workouts, and stretches the patient is comfortable with.

Treatment for Neuropathy in feet and legs

Everyone has a unique genesis for the onset of their neuropathy. As previously indicated, thirty percent of neuropathy is unknown. The amazing thing about the medicine that doctors provide is that it treats the majority of kinds of neuropathy. Of course, they evaluate you in the clinic to determine if you are a good candidate for art therapy. Still, there is a fundamental aspect of the therapy that applies to all types of neuropathies. The three primary components of art therapy are the in-clinic component and the at-home component, where at-home components can stimulate and rebuild nerves and nourish them. And the third portion will be the nutrition portion, which will aid improve circulation to the rest of the body and provide the nutrients to feed the nerves to keep them healthy.

Thus, a three-pronged approach is necessary to effectively halt neuropathy and initiate the reversal process.

Complications resulting from Neuropathy

There are a few, and if neuropathy has been present for some time and has taken root, the nerves may begin to die. Further, chronic pain, GI or gastrointestinal issues, dizziness or vertigo, and urinary or sexual problems are all possible consequences.

Occasionally, this could manifest as a total or partial lack of sensation in the feet or hands at that location. In such conditions, amputation is often a possibility, which, of course, is something you never want to achieve. Therefore, you should visit the clinic as soon as possible to begin treatment for this illness before you reach the point of requiring surgical intervention.

Why is early treatment essential in the case of Neuropathy?

The vast majority of patients have already gone to other doctor’s offices or clinics and have received medicine, or their primary care physician has sent them to a podiatrist or neurologist for treatment. They’ve tried everything and still haven’t found relief. This is because the information they’ve received has failed to address the root cause. 

You have to figure out what your nerves are lacking and give it back to them, and if you do that, they’ll come back to life again. However, “the point of no return” can exist. Neuropathy can put people in wheelchairs and even necessitate amputations in the worst-case scenario. You need to do two things if you are going to solve the situation. Ensure that the nerves are getting the blood supply they need while they’re recovering by stimulating their growth and restoration.

As a result, it is critical to begin treatment for Neuropathy as soon as possible.

What are the varieties of treatments which can be offered?

In addition to pharmaceuticals that are used to treat disorders that are related to peripheral neuropathy, the following medications are used to treat the signs and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy:

  • Pain relievers
  • Antidepressants
  • Topical treatments
  • Anti-seizure medications

How does the conventional route of medicine treat the situation?

There are many prescription drugs for nerve pain caused by diabetes, but not all of them work for everyone. Consult your doctor about the pros and cons of any medicine you’re thinking about taking to figure out what might actually work for you.

What are the differences between a conventional route and Chiropractic treatment?

The standard medical approach is to begin treating individuals with neuropathy with medicine in the hopes that their symptoms may go away on their own. Sadly, this is not the case at all. Neuropathy usually gets worse. Neuropathy progresses so rapidly that it necessitates a second and then a third round of treatment from a doctor who will prescribe further pills to numb the symptoms but will never find out what is the root cause of them. It only works like a band-aid treatment to cover up neuropathy as it progresses.

Medications, Topical creams, and Anti-depressants are also used to help with the mental aspect of it. And it’s just a cascade of going down this rabbit hole of covering up the symptoms.

While at our Chiropractic clinic in San Francisco, we want to get to the root of the issue, start to help with your pain in a more natural way without the drugs and the surgery, and help you get your life back and to be able to go back to doing the activities that you’d love to do, which could mean something like going back to work or simply being able to do chores or going back to a favorite sport like activity.

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

The final word from the expert

So if you or your loved one. Is suffering from neuropathy. Whether it’s from diabetes or any other condition, give us a call today so we can help you reduce your pain levels and get you back to doing what you love.

With early detection of Neuropathy symptoms, chiropractic care can help to cure neuropathy and maintain diabetes with proper diet and lifestyle. To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

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.

Active Release Technique (ART): An effective treatment for chronic pain

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Our body has incredible techniques of self-healing if we give proper stimulation to it. Active Release Technique (ART) is a simple way to heal chronic pain without the need for any surgery. This non-invasive treatment involves massage and body movement to heal chronic pain which happens because of problems in ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons, and fascia.

This technique causes the breaking of scar tissues which are also called adhesions. This allows proper blood circulation in the body and increases flexibility and release of entrapped nerves for faster healing. The main aim of ART is to allow joints to move freely without any stiffness.

The active release technique is a movement-based technique that’s very specific, where it targets muscles from their origin to their insertion point, to break up scar tissue and muscle adhesion.

What kind of conditions can be treated with the active release technique?

Chiropractors, doctors, physical therapists, and massage therapists use this technique to treat many chronic and acute pains. In the case of soft tissue injuries or traumatic accidents, ART is an effective treatment.

There are various conditions with which the active release technique can help, which include neck pain, lower back pain, tennis elbow also known as epicondylitis, golfer’s elbow, and tension headaches. The active release technique can also help with pains that are more uncommon such as:

  • Shin splints
  • Chronic tension or headaches that can stem from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  • Shoulder strains and sprains
  • Rotator cuff injuries
  • Peripheral nerve entrapments such as Sciatica
  • Plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is pain at the bottom of the foot, which we found that the Active Release Technique can really help combined with Shockwave Therapy.

Active Release Technique for treating scar tissue

The active release technique is very good at breaking up scar tissue. The scar tissue is basically fibrous tissue, which makes the muscle harder to move, and we sometimes lose a little bit of mobility. Scar tissue can be between muscle and muscle, muscle and ligament, and ligament and nerves. The active release technique works really hard to break up these scar tissue or muscle adhesion.

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Once ART breaks up the scar tissue, patients may experience the below benefits:

  • Relief in muscles stiffness
  • Feeling of restoration in fingers and toes
  • Enhanced flexibility and strength
  • Less inflammation and joint pain.
  • Relief while doing exercise or other physical activity

ART is not much relaxing as a massage; it may be uncomfortable for patients. But once done, you will get a chance to participate in all physical activities and get relief from pain. This makes this technique worthwhile.

So what is scar tissue? 

Scar tissue is fibrous tissue that’s crisscrossed and can cause impairment in mobility. It is a collection of collagen and cells which covers the injury site. The way it does that is if scar tissue is blocking the blood flow, then we can see some of that tingling and numbness in the extremities.

Signs of scar tissue

  • Stiffness in the neck, knees, back, or elbow
  • Pain during exercise
  • Pain at the bottom of the foot near the heel
  • Tingling or numbness in the fingers
  • Decrease in flexibility or limited motion
  • Reduced strength
  • Inflamed joints

The active release technique has a multitude of benefits, including the increase in ranges of motion and mobility, which ultimately allows you to perform your activities at a much higher level.

Side effects of Active Release Technique (ART)

Patients may find some residual soreness and sometimes a little bit of pain and bruising. But most of our patients have recovered relatively well and quickly, ultimately resulting in less pain, less chronic pain, and just better movement throughout their day.

Who can benefit from the Active Release Technique (ART)?

Many star athletes, amateur athletes, or weekend warriors who want to do something adventurous in their life, prefer ART. Hence all age groups can take advantage of this technique with the help of a licensed provider.

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

Can the Active Release Technique replace surgery?

Sometimes we get the question of whether the active release technique can help prevent surgery. Lots of times we have been able to delay or even prevent surgery. An example, we got one patient in our clinic who’s been coming to us for a few months now for carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome is where we lose blood flow and have nerve collisions because of the tightness around the wrist.

We’re able to release that through active release techniques or ART, which help them get a better feeling and less pain into their hands, ultimately preventing surgery altogether. They’re super thrilled to visit us at our San Francisco clinic. This can definitely arise in other parts of the body and the active release techniques can help even prevent surgical interventions. So if you or your loved one is suffering from any sort of musculoskeletal injury at any of the extremities, give us a call, and let’s get you on our schedule so we can see what’s going on and see if the active release technique or ART is the best type of therapy for you.

What to expect during an ART treatment?

This technique involves physical exams and treatment all at once. After knowing your pain area, your practitioner will sense the tightness or unusual muscle movement in the affected area. This is an examination phase.

After problem detection, your practitioner will manipulate the affected area with suitable movements. Such a technique will stretch the soft tissues and will break the adhesion which causes pain.

An expert practitioner should perform this technique. If you think that this technique will cure you, contact us.

Final Word

If you’re suffering from any sort of sports injury or any joint issues, give us a call at our San Francisco clinic. We have many different providers at our clinic that are trained to perform active release techniques and can get you better as quickly as possible. So you can go back to doing what you love.

 At our San Francisco clinic, we are versed in treating many different injuries with active release techniques. Get on our schedule with one of our trained providers so we can get started.

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

Herniated Disc: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

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What is exactly a herniated disc?

It is a problem with one of the rubbery discs that sit between two strong vertebrae. These two strong vertebrae hold the disk in between. Sometimes, this disc can start to move and shift. This can happen if you place some extra stress on that disc through some sort of movement or impingement. Sometimes, this moving or shifting can lead to feeling back pain and even radiating pain.

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Can a herniated disc heal on its own once you do have it? 

The simple answer to this question is sometimes it can and sometimes it can’t. It depends on how significant the herniation is. A smaller herniation can tend to go away on its own. While a moderate to a bigger herniation can cause a little bit of extra stress. In that case, you may need some outside help, and that’s where Chiropractic comes in.

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

Can a chiropractor heal a herniated disc?

Yes, the chiropractor uses a series of techniques to heal a herniated disc. About 70% of these discs are made of water and as they are alive, they can regrow. Doctors then put the disc back into place. But it’s not as simple as just kind of poking it back in. A chiropractor will use some techniques to guide the disc to go back in between the two vertebrae. Now, the techniques that a chiropractor can use will vary.

The most common technique is the deflection distraction technique, which makes use of a chiropractic table. The Chiropractic table will move up and down at the posterior end, where the lower back is. The pumping mechanism of the table will allow the nutrients to flow to the disc. It will also allow the water and the nutrients to get to the disc for its proper healing. So, an MRI is the best way to diagnose a herniated disk than an X-ray. An X-ray will only look at the bone while an MRI will look at the water weight. And so the expert will be able to see the soft tissue through that.

The experts look at the vertebrae bones and the spine in the MRI. If they find lesser room between the two vertebrae, that means the disc has kind of pushed out. The experts want to bring the disc back in over some time. They can do it through this flexion-distraction and the pumping mechanism of elongating the spine. Experts give some exercises and stretches that are in conjunction with the injury. The recovery time may vary depending on the severity of the discs and the exercises.

What activities should you do or which ones should you avoid? 

Let’s start with the avoiding ones, which will be any sort of high-impact exercises. So don’t get involved in running, jumping, box jumps, and jump rope in case of a herniated disc. The pounding and the high impact of these exercises will cause more stress at that level. Exercises and stretches that may be more indicated may be low-force ones, for example, the Cat-Cow stretch or a forward fold. These exercises kind of decompress the lower back and take pressure off the disc. The common one we recommend for patients is to lie on their stomachs on a fitness ball. This exercise can help to open up the back. It can also open up the disk space to give it a little bit more room. So these are activities which you can do but again, it’s all on a case-by-case basis.

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Can you massage a herniated disk?

Unfortunately, no. The disc is deep enough that our hands can’t necessarily reach it. But these exercises and stretches and therapies will help in a more non-direct way.

What is the most common treatment for a herniated disc? 

Preference is given to flexion-distraction and chiropractic adjustments for the herniated disc. In case of any radiating pain or nerve pain, acupuncture can work for that injury. The treatments for nerve pain depend on where the nerve pain is. A lot of times, nerve pain paired with your herniated disc could be nerve impingement.

Once the herniated disc gets pushed on and squeezed, it can start to push out along the adjacent nerves. These nerves can start to cause pain down the arms or even down the legs. Nerve pain indicates that your herniated disc was a little bit more significant. And hence it needs a little bit more attention.

The nerve pinched can present in many different ways. It can be a sharp shooting pain, it can be numbness, it can be a tingling, and it can be muscle weakness or fatigue. For example, if it’s sharp shooting pain down the leg, that would be called sciatica pain and that would be the sciatic nerve. If it’s going down the posterior part of the leg, sometimes there’s a weakness in the leg, and experts can check that with muscle testing. Sometimes they may see that the herniated disc is causing numbness down at the feet. It can be a case of some nerve impingement. Here, the nerves do not get the proper flow, and doctors should address this at that time. And for that, experts start to add in other therapies such as laser therapy and acupuncture. These are good adjacent or complementary therapies if you have the nerve portion as part of your herniated disc issue.

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

What is the treatment for an L5-S1 herniation?

An L5-S1 herniation means that there’s a herniated disk at the lowest part of your back. Now, that can cause impingement of a nerve or a series or a bundle of nerves. Sometimes with L5-S1 herniation, you’re going to see a sciatica impingement or the sciatic nerve being impinged. This can cause sharp shooting pains down the posterior of the leg. And this pain can go all the way down to the foot. Now, there are treatments for this as well. Of course, chiropractic is going to be number one. Chiropractors make sure that they take pressure off the disk through chiropractic manipulations or chiropractic adjustments, or spinal adjustments. This will help take pressure off immediately and give you more long-term relief.

Are there any self-care treatments to try at home for L5-S1 herniation?

Experts also try to provide some short-term relief as well through Palliative care. This includes figure four stretching, lacrosse ball rolling and foam rolling. And these are more treatments to help alleviate pain while at home. You can take a look at our separate blog about the top five sciatica exercises. It would be a great beginning point to see if we can get some at-home care.

What is the treatment for herniated disc at C5-C6?

C5-C6 is close to the lowest part of the neck, and treatment for a herniated disk at C5-C6 is another big request we generally see. In case of nerve impingement; one can feel the pain down the inside of the arm, down all the way into the fingers. Now, that can present in many different ways. It can be a sharp pain, it can be tingling and it can be numbness. And that also needs to be addressed along with the herniated disc.

Again, the preferred treatment for the herniated disk at the C5-C6 is going to be chiropractic care. We want to immediately take pressure off of the disc, off of the nerve. Secondary would be using massage techniques down into the arm, using ART or Active Release Technique. It releases the muscles that follow that nerve all the way down in the arm. And finally, laser therapy can help immediately reduce inflammation at the nerve level. This therapy also gives you instantaneous relief.

What is a treatment for a bulging disk? 

Herniated disc and bulging disc are very synonymous. So the treatment would be very similar for a bulging disc. Primarily it is chiropractic care, and possibly acupuncture and laser therapy as well. If there’s any sort of nerve impingement with that bulging disc.

We at Truspine Clinic in San Francisco offer Chiropractic and Acupuncture therapies. We also offer Shockwave and Laser Therapies as per the requirement.

Have you or anyone you know suffered from a herniated disc? We would like to know more about your experience. To get to the root cause of pain and discomfort, schedule an initial consultation, including a comprehensive evaluation and first treatment.

Chiropractic Treatment to effectively heal the Iliotibial Band Syndrome

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Home » Archives for Supreet Shah » Page 4

Iliotibial band syndrome or ITBS is caused by irritation in the tendon called the iliotibial band by rubbing against hip or knee bones.  This tendon is on the outside of the leg and goes from the top of the pelvic bone to the knee. When the condition is too tense this tendon rubs against the bones. Several reasons are there which cause tightening of the Iliotibial band. A lot of those reasons fall under the category of repetitive stress injuries. This implies many endurance sports like cycling and running may result in IT band syndrome.

These types of sports generally have a flexion-extension portion, which can cause friction in the IT band over a period of time. The IT band is a connective fibrous tissue that spans from the point of the hip down to the lateral part of the knee.  With repetition and overuse, there could be some friction at the distal part of the IT band, causing inflammation or edema formation. Sometimes it can actually feel kind of like a sharp stingy pain. So basically, the band can rub on these bony areas at the lateral knee, causing extra friction. 

Diagnosis of Iliotibial band syndrome

Diagnosis happens by pushing the spots of tenderness.

Your doctor will move your hip away from the body while giving support to your knee. The patient may feel pain in such a condition and won’t be able to move the hip very far.

Knee movement at various angles to see whether it is paining or not.

It can feel more like a stinging or sharp pain at the distal lateral part of the knee. And not always, but sometimes you can also see some edema or swelling in that region. Pain is felt with the knee bending at 30 degrees.

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How long does it take for an Iliotibial Band to heal?

Patients can surely recover from Iliotibial band syndrome or ITBS. The recovery time depends on person to person. Usually, ITBS is caused because of pelvic imbalance or some biomechanical dysfunction. Although this syndrome is not age-specific, it usually affects endurance athletes or amateur athletes. Taking proper rest and keeping yourself away from high-impact activities is one of the treatments. Your doctor will suggest some therapies and exercises for you to recover faster.

Usually, patients can see relief from pain in a couple of weeks. But for complete resolution, it may take 6 weeks depending on the activity level of the patient.

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

Which exercises are best?

You may require a healthcare specialist to treat this syndrome. We provide various types of treatment for quick recovery of this syndrome.

Stretching and strengthening:

Strengthening the gluteus muscle and stretching the IT band shortly thereafter can offload the IT band. We help patients with such exercises and provide them with videos to do it later on.

Therapy:

The best therapy would be a combination of different therapies. This includes chiropractic, acupuncture, shockwave therapy, and laser therapy. All are beneficial in helping with IT Band syndrome. We provide shockwave therapy to break the friction or scar tissue that forms because of repetitive stress injury. Patients usually feel better after shockwave therapy.

Graston therapy and Active Release Technique:

Active release technique, take off the pressure surrounding the IT band. Although the IT band is not a muscle. But we work on the muscle near the band to treat the pain. Graston therapy involves pinning and stretching certain muscles to break up any scar tissue in which friction is present.

Surgery:

When therapy and exercise don’t work for patients, healthcare specialists may recommend surgery. But it will be the last option.

How do you prevent Iliotibial band syndrome?

  • Many healthcare experts will recommend patients to do foam rolling, but not in the IT band area. They can do rolling at the muscles around the structure.
  • As ITBS is a pelvic imbalance and biomechanical imbalances, chiropractic treatment can be a prevention measure for this syndrome. Chiropractic can help bring proper balance to the pelvis so that there is no imbalance within the muscles on both sides of the body.
  • Do stretching, warm up, and take a rest for some time after exercise.
  • Run with shorter strides
  • Stretch the IT band, thigh muscles, hip muscles, and hamstrings.

Should we massage the Iliotibial band syndrome?

Massage is strictly not allowed as it can irritate the already inflamed area. Patients are supposed to take rest and follow the specific therapies as per specialist recommendation. Stay away from exercises that cause aggravation like running, cycling, or other high-impact activities. Never walk on hills in such conditions, as it will put extra stress on your joints which can pull the IT band.

Is Iliotibial band syndrome curable?

Yes, it is completely curable and preventable Patients need to do regular therapy followed by exercise, stretching, and strengthening the muscles around the IT band to completely eliminate the Iliotibial band syndrome. You should not get involved in exercise or activities that can aggravate the pain such as running or cycling until you get complete relief from the pain.

How do I check if I have Iliotibial band syndrome?

Patients may feel pain in the lateral part of the knee, i.e. outside of the knee. Sometimes they may get a feeling of bone bruise or bone pain. The best way to check is to touch the knee part and feel any sharp or stinging pain. Also, you can bend your knee by 30°C to check the pain. If you feel the pain, probably you have ITBS. Of course, the official way is to visit the healthcare center. You can take help from a chiropractor, acupuncturist, or physical therapist. He will focus on the pain point so that he can officially give it a good diagnosis.

Causes of Iliotibial band syndrome?

The main cause of this syndrome is friction which lies where the IT band crosses the knee. A fluid-filled sac named ‘bursa’ is present in our body which helps the IT band glide effortlessly over the knee while we bend and stretch our knee. But in the case of a rigid IT band, bending creates too much friction. This causes swelling of both the IT band and bursa which leads to Iliotibial band syndrome or ITBS.

Usually, this syndrome occurs because of excessive physical activity or we can call it Repetitive Stress injuries or RSI. So utilizing the knee over and over again, going through a flexion-extension motion can cause extra stress outside of the knee, causing ITBS.

Wrap Up!

So, are you facing an issue of Iliotibial band syndrome? Or do you feel its symptoms? We at Truspine Clinic in San Francisco offer Chiropractic therapies such as Active Release Technique, Graston Therapy, and Shockwave Therapy to treat Iliotibial band syndrome or ITBS.

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

Acupuncture-and-Its-Benefits

Acupuncture and Its Benefits

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Home » Archives for Supreet Shah » Page 4

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.

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