Deutsch Chiropractic: Common Conditions

Most people know that neck and back problems can often be helped by chiropractic. But we are experienced in caring for many other painful ailments leading you toward a healthier lifestyle. Here are some of the conditions we have treated successfully over the years.

Neck and Back Pain
This is a very common condition treated by chiropractors. Spinal problems may develop from many causes, from a sudden overload like an whiplash injury, athletic injury or a sudden wrong move, to a long standing postural stress like slumping postures. All of these stressors affect the interaction between the spinal muscles and joints, causing the spine to stop working properly. Muscle spasm and joint stiffness commonly alter the normal function of the vertebrae and their joints. Neck and back pain typically responds very favorably to a combination of spinal manipulation and therapeutic exercises.

Myofasical Pain Syndrome
Pain arising from the muscles and connective tissues develop due to imbalances or strain. And may result in a painful spasm. This is usually the component of pain which best responds to Graston Soft Tissue therapy (see www.grastontechnique.com) and therapeutic exercise massage. Often there are several things going on at the same time which necessitate treatment. When the underlying condition causing the myofascial pain and spasm is improved and treated, the pain and spasm often resolves.

Ruptured or Bulging Discs
Pain arising from disc tears, bulges or ruptures are best treated nonsurgically whenever possible. We have special training and experience treating disc injuries, and maintain a very high success rate utilizing specialized chiropractic and physical therapy disc reduction techniques (see www.coxtechnique.com and www.mckenziemdt.org ). A radiculopathy is a a problem that results when a nerve in the neck or back is irritated as it leaves the spinal canal, causing radiating arm or leg pain. A radiculopathy may be associated with an injured disc.

Spinal Stenosis
Stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canals by wear-and-tear degenerative changes of the vertebra or spinal ligaments. As degenerative changes occur, the size of the spinal canal becomes smaller. The spinal canal begins to encroach on the spinal cord or the nerve roots. Pressure on the nerves in the spinal cord can cause numbness, tingling, or pain in the arms, hands, and legs. Specialized treatment designed to increase lumbar spinal canal volume (see www.coxtechnique.com) has been shown to be an effective nonsurgical treatment for reduction of pain due to stenosis. Over the years we’ve found most success combining Cox technique with deep tissue massage, ultrasound, therapeutic exercise, and modification of activities of daily living.

Whiplash
Whiplash is most commonly associated with rear-end car collisions in which the heads of those in the front car are suddenly snapped back and forth by the impact. It is more accurately called cervical acceleration/ deceleration (CAD) trauma or syndrome, which describes the rapid movements that can injure the vertebrae of the neck and back and the muscles and ligaments that support them. Manual treatment including soft tissue techniques, therapeutic exercise, and spinal manipulation are typically very helpful in reducing the distress that results from whiplash, allowing patients to return to their normal activities.

Sacroiliac ['SI'] joint pain
Similar to the facets, the SI JOINT can become inflamed and irritated. This usually presents as lower back pain which worsens with extension and rotation and flexion to either side. Treatment includes SI joint manipulation to restore joint function and therapeutic exercise to improve joint strength and stability.

Rotator Cuff Tendonitis
The rotator cuff is a group of flat tendons which fuse together and surround the front, back, and top of the shoulder joint like a cuff on a shirt sleeve. These tendons are connected individually to short, but very important, muscles that originate from the scapula. When the muscles contract, they pull on the rotator cuff tendon, causing the shoulder to rotate upward, inward, or outward, hence the name "rotator cuff."

The uppermost tendon of the rotator cuff, the supraspinatus tendon, passes beneath the bone on the top of the shoulder, called the acromion. In some people, the space between the undersurface of the acromion and the top of the humeral head is quite narrow. The rotator cuff tendon and the adherent bursa, or lubricating tissue, can therefore be pinched when the arm is raised into a forward position. With repetitive impingement, the tendons and bursa can become inflamed and swollen and cause the painful situation known as "chronic impingement syndrome."

Highly effective treatment for many people includes Graston Soft Tissue therapy (see www.grastontechnique.com) physical therapies and therapeutic shoulder exercises.

Tennis Elbow
Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is one of the most common elbow problems seen by chiropractors. It is actually a tendinitis of the muscle called the extensor carpi radialis brevis which attaches to the lateral epicondyle of the humerus.

It may be caused by a sudden injury or by repetitive use of the arm. Many doctors feel that micro tears in the tendon lead to a hyper-vascular phenomenon resulting in pain. The pain is usually worse with strong gripping with the elbow in an extended position, as in a tennis back hand stroke, but this problem can occur in golf and other sports as well as with repetitive use of tools. Mechanics and Machinists seem to be particularly predisposed to this disease due to the demanding nature of their work. Graston Soft Tissue technique (see www.grastontechnique.com) is very effective treatment treatment.

Golfers Elbow
Similar to lateral epicondylitis, this is an inflammation at the origin of the flexor muscles of the wrist. It presents with pain with resisted wrist flexion, such as with lifting objects with the palm facing upwards. Golfers have additional stress at this region of the elbow when hitting a ball, hence the name. It is treated in a manner similar to TENNIS ELBOW, with surgery reserved for cases which fail conservative management.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a compression neuropathy, i.e. a pinching of the median nerve within the wrist. The carpal tunnel is a bony canal within the palm side aspect of the wrist that allows for the passage of the median nerve to the hand. Pinching or compression of this nerve by the transverse carpal ligament sets into motion a progressively crippling disorder which eventually results in wrist pain, numbness and tingling in the hand, pain consisting of a "pins and needles" feeling at night, weakness in grip and a feeling of incoordination. Treatment includes therapies to reduce joint swelling, increase the relative size of the canal, and balance the strength of the muscles that traverse the joint.

Degenerative Osteoarthritis of the Spine
Wear and tear as well as age-related change leading to progressive loss of spinal function. Many people are told they “will just have to live with arthritis pain”. However, gentle hands-on treatment to restore decreased movement along with specific exercise is very helpful.

Headache
Muscle Tension Headache is a very common type of headache arising from the muscles and joints of the upper spine and skull. While there are several categories of headache, we find that many headache sufferers have a significant problem with spinal dysfunction and myofascial pain.