Posts Tagged ‘chiropractor’
Earache is the most prevalent basis for office visits to pediatricians. By the age of three years, more than 70 percent of children will have had at least one episode of earache, and about a third will have had three or more episodes. What you might not know, however, is that earache is also the most common occurrence for children under the age of five years to be taken to the chiropractor’s office.
How Chiropractic Care Relates to Earache and Ear Infections
A pediatrician who thinks that a child with an earache has a middle ear infection will generally prescribe antibiotics as a typical course of treatment. Advanced study, however, has concluded that such practices are often ill-advised. Antibiotics are only effective against bacterial pathogens, and since the child’s middle ear infection may be produced by a virus, antibiotics are ineffectual. This may be the reason for a child’s chronic ear infections.
One of the many evaluations that a Honolulu chiropractor can make is whether the earache or ear infection is created by inflamation of the small nerves in the spine, called free nerve endings.
When these nerve endings are inflamed, an undue tension is generated in the small muscles of the neck. Pressure produced on the lymphatic drainage ducts as a consequence of muscle tension can prevent adequate drainage from inside the ear. This condition prevents the body from naturally rectifying the problem. Additionally, balance can also be affected.
Identification by a chiropractor of such a situation is made by the discovery of increased tension in the neck and paraspinal muscles. Normally more tension is felt on the side of earache. In addition, the chiropractor will check to see which spinal vertebrae are either marginally out of alignment or not moving within their normal range. There are many reasons for such aproblem due to the many bangs, jolts, and falls most children encounter growing up. Restoration of normal lymph drainage is most often accomplished with a short regimen of treatments that include spinal adjustments and manipulation of the neck muscles. If your child is struggling with an earache or an ear infection, contact your Honolulu chiropractor as soon as possible.
Advanced Research and Guidelines
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), ear infection, the most frequent childhood disease after the common cold, accounts for nearly 30 million doctor visits each year. Furthermore, at least 6 million courses of antibiotics are extraneously prescribed for the affliction.Not too long ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new guidelines for treating pediatric ear inflammation, and specifically recommended a period of “watchful waiting” since, in many cases, infections clear up on their own, without medication.
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) commends the AAP on the guidelines and emphasizes that chiropractic care is a “good first option” for treating ear infection conservatively. “Doctors of chiropractic have been treating children for decades with great success – helping them to avoid painful ear infections, antibiotic overuse and resistance, and ear tube surgery,” said ACA President Donald Krippendorf, DC. “Particularly when dealing with young children, drugs and surgery should be an absolute last resort.”
San Jose Chiropractor: Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions
Knee pain and disability is commonplace, second only to spinal conditions within the musculoskeletal system. Conditions concerning the knee can be separated into several groups including poor mechanics of the knee and impaired foot mechanics as the result of foot pain, frequent overuse of the knee joint, problems due to arthritic changes in the joint, and traumatic injury from events such as sports and falls.
Non-trauma knee problems: Insufficient mechanics of the knee joint and the associated stress on the soft tissues of the knee are, by far, the most common cause of non-traumatic pain. Usually, the part of the knee involved is the patella or knee-cap. Many times the patella does not move fluidly or does not move sufficiently on the femur during bending of the knee producing too much stress on the tendons, cartilage and ligaments. This particular condition is normally called chondromalacia patella (CMP) or Patella Femoral Syndrome (Knee Cap Pain). The dysfunction usually starts when there are imbalances in the quadriceps muscles of the thigh that attach to and move the patella. Imbalances in the muscles associated with knee movement often originate from lower back ailments, particularly in the sacroiliac joint. Imbalances in muscle groups that attach to the knee can also lead to pain and dysfunction. For example, the muscles on the inside of the thigh, when strained and tight, can create pain on the medial or inside of the knee. Mechanical knee pain is also produced by gait irregularities such as pronation.
Evidence of overuse includes pain during activities such as climbing stairs, running, jumping, as well as pain upon getting up after prolonged sitting. A number of women appear to be predisposed to painful overuse problems for anatomical reasons, but such conditions are frequently related to wearing high heels on a regular basis.
The main treatment for mechanical or overuse injuries to the knee is to re-establish proper balance of the muscles, restore proper movement to the patella and other joints of the knee, and to correct any subluxations of the sacroiliac joints and bones of the foot. In some cases, a brace is used to help with the adjustment of the patella or to secure the joint. Chiropractors, such as your San Jose chiropractor, are experts in supplying knowledgeable diagnosis and care of these conditions.
Knee problems due to trauma: Traumatic injuries commonly occur during physical exertion that involves running and jumping, especially. Sprains happen when tissue is torn as the result of the knee being stretched or contorted beyond the facility of the ligaments that hold the joint together. The muscles that give motion to the knee can also be torn during injury causing a strain or pull of the muscle. As with a sprain, a muscle strain can range from a minor injury that requires little attention to a severe injury necessitating surgery. The knee also has two special “cartilages” – the menisci – between the tibia and the femur that provide for frictionless movement and cushioning. These cartilages can also be torn during trauma, and commonly necessitate surgical repair, or even removal if damaged severely.
Traumatic knee injuries can create severe pain and swelling and need urgent examination and attention. In the majority of cases a qualified chiropractor, such as your San Jose Chiropractor, can treat these conditions, but there are some injuries that require the craft of an orthopedic surgeon. Whatever the case, it is crucial to stabilize the injured joint immediately and to put ice on the injured area, if possible, until the injury can be evaluated.
Conditions such as poor mechanics and problems due to overuse, as well as traumatic injuries, need to be eliminated at an early stage. Otherwise, the tissues of the knee joint, expressly the cartilage, will begin to erode. As a result the bones will rub on one another, and changes such as bone spurs can take place. This painful affliction, known as degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis, commonly advances with age. Usual treatment may involve medications such as NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). However, there are natural anti-inflammatory supplements that are very effective such as rosemary, glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, bioflavinoids, curcumin. Conservative treatment, such as chiropractic, can be extremely helpful in reducing the pain. Your San Jose chiropractor is very knowledgeable about anti-inflammatory supplements. In addition, people can often assist themselves by keeping their weight down, doing exercises (especially in the pool), and wearing cushioned shoes or insoles.
The adverse effects of many medications on children’s health has many moms and dads worried. Parents are frequently asking, when given a prescription for a child’s recurrent problem, “Is this really all I can do for my child? Isn’t there a safer alternative?”
Many children’s pharmaceuticals often not only mask a child’s symptoms, but can produce negative side effects. Their desire to attain natural health for their children has led moms and dads to find health care opportunities that sustain their child’s own inherent ability to be healthy.
Chiropractic care is that option. All children function better with 100% nerve function. When the nervous system is optimally functioning, the immune system, which is regulated by the nervous system, is able to do what it’s meant to do, which is keep your child healthy. In the case of children’s health, “the best offense is a good defense.” Children are exposed to so many health-endangering illnesses every day that it would be unfeasible to immunize them against them all, even if there were such immunization available. Your Camarillo Chiropractor well-informed and has years of expertise when it comes to colds, sore throats, ear infections, fevers, colic, asthma, tonsillitis, allergies, bed-wetting, infections, pains, falls, stomach-aches, and the hundred and one little (and big) things children go through as they grow up.
A chiropractor is committed to helping keep your child healthy and strong so that the ailments that seem to be an inescapable part of childhood, either will not affect your child as strongly or won’t affect them at all. The function of chiropractic treatment is to remove interferences to the natural healing power running through the body. When that power is released, the healing results that take place many times appear to be profound.
Furthermore, a child has less tendency to be injured at play or in sports when his or her spine is in alignment. In addition, children who get adjusted on a regular basis don’t appear to experience as many “growing pains” as other children.
Lately, we are finding at your Camarillo Chiropractor that more and more moms and dads are bringing their children to us for day-to-day childhood health concerns. All children are deserve the right to live at their entire capacity. Chiropractic adjustments for children at your Camarillo Chiropractor is safe, gentle and effective.