Posts by Hayes
Sleep: Made Easier Without Subluxation
The Dalai Lama says that sleep is the best meditation
We would like to further point out that sleep is also one of the best medications. It allows for the rest and repair of every cell in the body, for the recharging of essential systems and for the preparation for body and mind to face another day. Sleep is no joke; while you (hopefully) rest in comfort, your body is hard at work. So it is perhaps a cruel twist of fate that something so important can, for some people, be so hard to come by. As an office of chiropractic, we focus on improving quality and quantity of sleep by treating pain.
Subluxation: a Real Pain in the Neck
Subluxation means dysfunction
Subluxation can result from the jostling of every day movements, direct trauma or seemingly innocuous actions such as sitting with poor posture. Once subluxated, the joint is liable to cause a lot of trouble: from interruption of nerve signalling to contributing to poor circulation, pain and more. Subluxation in the cervical vertebrae are particularly troubling because the nerve pain can be referred to the head, leaving you with a rather misleading headache.
Why Choose Chiropractic in the Wake of Auto Accidents
Even minor accidents have lasting consequences
In the aftermath of a car accident it can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of paper work, police reports, legal conversations and other parts of the fall out. But there is one thing more important than everything else: your health! In the wake of an auto-accident, we urge you to prioritize the physical well-being of you and yours.
Chiropractic’s role after an accident
At our office in Dunedin, we offer the following benefits for people involved in auto accidents.
- A full physical examination to determine the extent of the trauma on your body
- Reducing pain and inflammation: many auto injuries involve micro tears to the soft tissue throughout the body and inflammation can cause a lot of pain in the days after. Chiropractic helps to minimize inflammation and jump start the healing process.
- Minimizing the growth of scar tissue: scar tissue can adhere to normal tissue and create epicenters of tightness and pain; it can even trap nerves underneath this new layer of dense, thick tissue. Keeping scar tissue at a minimum is a key way of restoring range of motion
- Restoring range of motion
It is important to remember that the sooner you detect a problem, whether it be whiplash, subluxation, damage to tissues in the back or something more serious, the sooner you can start healing. Certain injuries and related symptoms may not surface for up to weeks after the initial accident.
Chiropractic cares for people involved in auto accidents in Dunedin
As specialists in the biomechanical form of the human body, we believe strongly that anyone who has been involved in a car accident should be evaluated by a chiropractor.
Whiplash! Protecting your Neck in the Wake of Trauma
Whiplash is the catchier name for neck strain
Whiplash, or neck strain, refers to damage to the muscles and tendons in the neck, or the soft tissue that connects muscle to bone. Whereas neck sprain refers to tearing of the ligaments which connect bone to bone. The causes of both are very similar: acute injury due to forceful impact, such as that which is sustained during a car accident or a particularly heavy football tackle.
A description of the motion that gives whiplash its name
What is Chronic Muscle Tension Doing to You?
What is causing your muscle tension in the first place?
Muscles tense in reaction to stress, both physical and mental. Furthermore the central nervous system reacts to stress by altering the function of blood vessels and reducing blood flow to both muscles and nerves in the back. With reduced blood flow, the cells are receiving less than sufficient oxygen they need for respiration and waste products are allowed to accumulate; this in itself can lead to muscle spasm and back pain. When this natural reaction to stress leaves your muscles in a semi-contracted state for too long, soreness and stiffness ensue.
Chronic muscle tension has a lasting impact
Are you Overburdening your Body with Subluxation?
Subluxation refers to the spine moving out of alignment. Chiropractic theory holds that subluxation is the cause of many problems with health and thus correcting a subluxation can have a domino effect of positive outcomes in the health of both body and mind. Let’s begin by looking at how subluxation throws a wrench in the works of your nervous system.
Subluxation creates a network of challenges for your nerves
Sciatica: A Symptom Rather than a Condition
Describe: sciatic nerve pain
Sciatic nerve pain refers to pain, feelings of numbness and weakness in the lower body, caused by dysfunction in the sciatic nerve. This nerve, the largest in the human body, stretches from the lower back, through your buttocks and down the back of each leg. It is important to remember that sciatica is not a condition itself but a symptom; there are many causes of sciatica and thus it is important to determine what exactly is causing your pain and dysfunction.
The Subject of Subluxation
Define: Subluxation
At its most simple, subluxation refers to a misalignment of the vertebrae that causes nerve interference. The spinal cord is your body’s conduit for nerve signalling, through which the brain sends messages to every cell in the body; nerve interference is therefore maleficent because it acts to impede this signalling process, causing the body to function less than optimally.
Chiropractic’s Role in Pregnancy: The Webster Technique
Focusing on pelvic balance as labor approaches
As the mother moves into the last trimester of pregnancy, thoughts shift toward labor and delivery. During this penultimate phase, the proper alignment of the pelvis and sacrum is of critical importance for the following:
- Preventing dystocia (difficult birth)
- Maintaining plenty of room for the baby to develop healthily
- Keeping the mother free of pain with an optimal immune system.
Breech positioning, in which the baby presents feet first or buttocks first, is not conducive to a smooth birth. Occurring in about 1 out of every 25 pregnancies, breech position increases the likelihood for surgical intervention because it increases the chances of a child being stuck in the birth canal, causing injury or death, and can damage the umbilical cord, interfering with the child’s oxygen supply.
Pelvic Imbalance during Pregnancy
At Hayes Family Chiropractic, we are dedicated to the success of your pregnancy!
Chiropractic is an excellent option for keeping the mother’s body in a state that is conducive to the healthy development of a child. In this way, we increase the likelihood of an easier pregnancy and a safer birth. To demonstrate this point, misalignment of the pelvis is responsible for a host of complications in pregnancy.
Misalignment of the pelvis and pregnancy
Pelvic misalignment occurs when the woman’s body releases pregnancy hormones that relax ligaments to make way for the passage of the child. At the same time, the added weight of the child shifts the woman’s center of gravity downward and adds more weight (and thus pressure) onto the destabilized spine, shifting it out of alignment. This is responsible for a lot of the back pain that is considered synonymous with pregnancy.