It's all about the prevention of degenerative joint disease. There's now oodles of research, convincing studies not done by chiropractors who obviously have an axe to grind, that joints that are not in motion quite rapidly develop immobilisation arthritis.
That's why whiplash is such a serious condition. It causes fixations in the joints of the neck. Result? Hyaline cartilage degeneration and immobilisation arthritis sets in.
The joints of Luschka in the cervical spine are particularly vulnerable to a T bone motor accident; untreated, severe pain down the arm is almost inevitable.
Injury to the lower neck also means starvation of the nerve supply to the shoulder muscles and forearm; conditions like a rotator cuff and are carpal tunnel syndrome are not uncommon sequelae.
And then there are all the headaches that come after a whiplash, injuring the upper cervical spine.
The joints of the head and neck, primarily as can be seen from the TMJ anatomy, the Atlanto Occipital Joint and the Lower Cervical facet anatomy cause most of the head neck pain that we see on a daily basis in our Chiropractic clinics.
Sometimes the underlying cause is a scoliosis that was poorly managed in childhood, sometimes a whiplash injury and often simply too many hours doing the couch potato thing.
The jaw joint is a frequent cause of migraine headaches and severe facial pain; do you have a loud clicking or popping sound when your chew? It's not uncommon after having wisdom teeth removed under a general anaesthetic; you are unable to protest that the surgeon is over opening your jaw.
The treatment of low back and leg pain has become in the United States the single most costly health care malady. Two insurance companies did some research on patients covered for chiropractic and those not covered and discovered that the DC group brought them significant savings; and this despite the fact that they did not include the costs of surgery and advanced imaging.
More, their research shows that if you first consult a medical doctor for lower back pain then are more likely to end up under the knife. As in most health conditions, early diagnosis and treatment of a sciatica or femoral neuralgia makes all the difference.
These are not primarily inflammatory conditions and the only benefit of NSAIDs is for pain control which can be very severe. Would you treat a broken arm just with analgesics?
If the disc is not reduced early, numbness and weakness in the leg soon follows. Is your knee giving way on the steps? Are you having difficulty raising the big toe? That will make you trip as you walk; it's caused by an injury to the L5 nerve root.
In our clinics we also see patients on a daily basis who have had total hip replacement surgery and yet continue to have significant low back, sacroiliac joint and hip pain. Usually this is not because the surgical treatment was poorly done, but because the fixation in the SIJ was not addressed.
Severe pain in the groin and upper leg is extremely disabling and distressing. The causes are often complex. It can be a pinched nerve as in Meralgia Paresthetica, or referred leg pain during pregnancy, capulitis, Femoro Acetabular Impingement syndrome, Developmental Hip Dysplasia and a host of other conditions.
The limping child must be carefully assessed. Growing pain doesn't exist, but Perthes Disease certainly does.
LEG PAIN DURING PREGNANCY ...
MERALGIA PARESTHETICA ...
UPPER LEG PAIN
Hip pain is treated routinely, daily, in chiropractic clinics. It could be adanced hip arthritis, which may need to be referred for an orthopaedic consultation, but more usually it relates to the pre-arthritic hip conditions.
Two of these are fairly common, Developmental Hip Dysplasia, and the fairly recently discovered Femero Acetabular Impingment Syndrome which often progress to hip arthritis if left untreated.
A third is Perthes Disease which is fortunately rather less common. NEVER, EVER, dismiss the limping child complaining of hip, thigh or knee pain. Growing pains are a myth and, if missed, Perthes progresses relentlessly to severe disability.
I had lunch on Sunday with a good friend who in every other way is in extremely good health. A missed Perthes disease. He is constantly on morphine, and uses either a crutch or wheelchair. Tragic mis-diagnosis.
The severe form of DDH will usually be picked up by the discerning paediatrician, or chiropractor treating the colicky baby. They will be looking for the typical signs of Hip Dysplasia Ortholani Galeazzi and Barlow.
However the mild forms of DDH do slip through the fingers, causing groin pain, often starting in the young adult.
FAIS is characterised by a very stiff hip with a "hard end-feel" in the young adult.
Both DDH and FAIS need to be carefully managed, or a total hip replacement is on the cards.
Did you know that freshly squeezed orange or lemon has far more nutrients and vitamin C than the carton variety? Take the test; it tastes far better too. Plant an orange or lemon tree in the spring this year.
Use the pulp too; that's where much the best nutrients are to be found; unfortunately my good wife prefers her strained.
Green salads can be dull but, spiced up with lemon juice and a dribble of olive oil, they can be delicious; and, not unimportant, the cure for a stubborn constipation.
It's interesting that broccoli has even more vitamin C than OJ from a carton, plus it's loaded with proven anti-cancer substances. Just four plants in your garden will supply your family for months. Plant them in the autumn for best results.
Choose the branching variety; they go on for months producing florets even more rich in sulforane, the active ingredient in cancer prevention; they make the perfect soup for a cold winter's night.
Protein is found in many foods, commonly fish, fowl, and red meat; and dairy products. Perhaps you haven't heard of Tofu and Hummus, two excellent vegetable proteins. Both have zero cholesterol and have powerful anti-cancer phytogens. Eat them weekly. At these links you can read more about Tofu nutrition and an authentic hummus recipe.
Building your very own solar generator is not as difficult or expensive as you may think; the payback time is 5-7 years depending on whether you include all the costs of blown electronic devices because of the surges when the power comes back on. As a result of Eskom's imminent demise it's becoming increasingly important for CHIROPRACTOR Fourways Illovo Kyalami Midrand Lonehill Sunninghill and his or her patients.
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