Back Pain Treatment :: Texas Spinal Health

Nov
15

Aching Back? Spinal Decompression May Be the Answer

Back pain can be serious. Unfortunately, an uncomfortable back ‘tweak’ isn’t all that uncommon. It’s easy to strain yourself just doing every day activities such as pulling weeds, lifting children, taking out the trash, rearranging furniture, carrying grocery bags, or climbing a ladder

If you don’t bend or stretch your body in just the right way while doing your chores, your back will suffer. There are all kinds of over-the-counter remedies that can be used for mild back pain. But when your pain is moderate or severe, it’s not as easy to tackle!

Let’s look at options available for spine-related pain, such as Spinal Decompression and chiropractic treatment.

Causes of Serious Back Pain

A herniated or bulging disc is a tear in the outer, fibrous ring of a disc that lets the important soft, spongy spinal material protrude between the outer rings. The tear can allow inflammatory chemical transmitters to be released, and that causes acute pain. This condition can be serious enough to require back surgery.

Sciatica, which results from an irritation in the actual root of the spine’s lower lumbar region, can be debilitating. This terrible pain isn’t in the disc itself, but is often from a disc bulge which can irritate nearby nerves. This is “nerve root pain” that tends to radiate to other areas of the body. The term Sciatica is often used to describe the pain that runs from the lower back down the leg.

Either of these conditions can disrupt your life.

Symptoms

The cause of pain in your lower back or your leg is tied to whether or not there is pressure on a nearby nerve. If there is no pressure from the herniated disc, you may only have a slight ache in the lower back or you may not have any symptoms at all. However, when a nerve is affected symptoms can include:

Numbness or a sense of pins-and-needles going down one leg from the buttock or from behind the knee to the thigh. The pain can even extend all the way to the ankle or foot.
A feeling of weakness in some muscles in one or possibly both legs.
Front thigh pain.
Muscle spasms or deep and severe muscle pain.
Pain in the lower back.
Pain in the buttocks or leg pain that intensifies when sitting.
Hip pain.
Difficulty moving your leg or foot due to weakness or numbness.
Consistent pain on one side of the buttocks.
Difficulty standing up because of a shooting pain.

Options

If your condition is severe enough, surgery may be required; however, if you prefer to avoid surgery, nonsurgical Spinal Decompression Therapy (SDT) is an option. It’s a safe, non-evasive treatment that is often very effective and, just as important, it’s cost-effective.

As a Garland Chiropractor, I can help determine if you have a bulging or herniated disc. Then we can decide if spinal decompression therapy is the best approach for your specific condition.

How Spinal Decompression Therapy Works

To decompress a spine means stretching it to provide a good healing environment for the affected disc. When the spine is stretched, pressure is reduced and the bulging spinal material is pulled back inside the disc. This allows healing nutrients and other substances to reach the injured area. Over time—meaning that more than one treatment is usually required–this action helps replenish fluids needed to heal the spongy spinal material in a damaged disc.

This type of therapy involves the use of a comfortable, computer-controlled traction table. The prone patient is strapped on the table below the ribcage and around the abdomen, held in place while the table initiates cycles of gentle stretching. This is all controlled by a customized, computer generated treatment plan, which means each patient’s treatment is specific to their personal physical needs.

The number of treatments needed is can vary dependent upon the patient’s condition. Often however, it may take several treatments to begin to experience improvement. The good part is that the stretching therapy takes about 20 minutes and it can be done within the chiropractic office.

Is It For You?

While Spinal Decompression Therapy is a good choice for most patients with a herniated disc or sciatica, there are some people who should not undergo this type of therapy. This includes:

Expectant mothers—the baby wouldn’t appreciate it!
Patients with vertebrae that have been broken, those with spinal fusion, or who have any kind of spinal implants, especially an artificial disc.
Patients with failed back surgery.
Anyone who has had multiple surgeries for pain improvement without recovery (no improvement).Additionally, patients with osteoporosis, spinal infections or tumors, or who require blood-thinning medications are not good candidates for this treatment.

Summing Up

If you’re suffering back pain from a herniated disc or sciatica, consider Spinal Decompression Therapy to relieve or reduce your pain. It’s non-invasive, non-surgical, drug-free, and relatively quick!

If you’re already a patient, that our clinic has a wide variety of resources, such as chiropractic treatment, massage therapy and physical rehab, all designed to help you feel better as quickly as possible.

Contact Texas Spinal Health and let us help you to determine if you’d be a good candidate for Spinal Decompression Therapy.

Categories : Back Pain Treatment

Apr
30

Pregnancy, Chiropractic and Nutrition – One Woman’s Story

by admin

When Sarah found out she was pregnant, she knew she wanted to make changes in her health. It was just weeks into her pregnancy and her back was already hurting. And as a former smoker, she was concerned about the impact that cigarettes might have had upon her body.

Over the years, Sarah had relied on chiropractic treatment to take care her back pain, but now she wan’t sure if the combination of pregnancy and chiropractic was a good idea. Since Sarah’s entire family had been to Dr. Mixon for chiropractic care, she knew she could trust him to offer sound, honest advice.

Pregnancy and chiropractic treatment

Dr. Mixon explained that pregnancy and chiropractic treatment can make a world of difference in a woman’s comfort levels while pregnant. Treatment is perfectly safe during pregnancy even in the earliest weeks. In fact, chiropractic treatments can improve alignment in the spine and pelvis making the birthing process.

Dr. Mixon also explained that the physical rehab offered by their Garland chiropractic clinic would help strengthen her muscles and improve her range of motion. He also said she could add in therapeutic massage after her first 12 weeks.

Massage is known to help relieve sciatica pain in pregnant women. Massage can also help:

Reduce edema
Relieve anxiety and tension
Improve oxygenation in the muscles and soft tissues
Ease joint pain
Improve circulation

Once Sarah understood the safety of treatment, she began to visit the clinic each week. Soon the pain was gone. But Sarah received another surprising benefit from her visits to Texas Spine & Wellness.

The doctor recommended the professional grade prenatal vitamins they stocked in the office. Although she was already taking a prenatal vitamin, she was willing to give the new brand a try. She says that’s when everything changed.

A new prenatal vitamin changed Sarah’s health and energy

“Before I took the prenatal vitamins from Frontrunners Health, my hair used to come out in handfuls. I was really worried.” says Medders. “But after beginning Baby’s Best Start, I stopped losing my hair and it started looking thicker and shinier. People kept asking me about my shampoo, but I had to explain that my hair was different because of my prenatal vitamins. Even better than the changes in my hair was the amount of energy I had.”

Now, six months after the birth of her son, Sara says, I really believe the combination of vitamins and chiropractic treatment was the reason my baby, Obee, was born so healthy.”

Prenatal vitamins with a difference

Kerrin Kuntzman, cofounder of Frontrunners Health explains, “The ingredients in our professional grade prenatal vitamins are different from the drugstore brands. Our formulation is designed to supply nutrients in their most natural and bioavailable forms. That’s why we use folate vs. the synthetic form of the vitamin, folic acid.

Folate is the vitamin that is so vital in preventing neural tube defects in a developing baby. We also use a methylated form of vitamin B-12, which is particularly important to support energy levels. Lutein is added for baby’s eye and brain development.”

The vitamin provides other key nutrients as well. Biotin, a costly supplement that supports healthy hair and nail growth, is often omitted from lesser quality supplements because of its high cost, whereas Baby’s Best Start provides 100% of the RDA. The vitamins are also free of artificial colors, flavorings or additives. In addition, its vegetarian formula is safe for those following a gluten-free diet.

“If an expectant mother wants to take the best possible prenatal vitamin, they should consider trying Baby’s Best Start. It’s great for use both before and after pregnancy.” Dr. Mixon adds.

Medders is a believer in both chiropractic care during pregnancy and her prenatal vitamins, “Even though I’ve had my baby, I still schedule monthly appointments with Dr. Mixon. And I still take my prenatal vitamins because I feel so much better and have a lot more energy. And believe me, I need plenty of energy to take care of a six month old baby boy who requires every minute of my time!”

In addition, to being great for pregnancy, Baby’s Best Start prenatals are wonderful for women who are breast feeding. They’re great hair and nail vitamins too! If you’d like to try a bottle of Frontrunner’s prenatal vitamins for yourself, you can take advantage of a $5.00 discount coupon code on your initial order. Just enter the code B8HWFE82 upon checkout. You can find the vitamins through the Texas Spine & Wellness office, the Frontrunners Health Solutions website or at Amazon.

Categories : Back Pain Treatment, Healthy Lifestyle, Pregnancy

Nov
10

Chiropractor in Garland Offers Holistic Fibromyalgia Treatment

by admin

When most people think of a chiropractor, they think of a doctor who “adjusts” or manually aligns the spine or joints. While this is true, most chiropractors approach health from a holistic perspective.

James Mixon, a chiropractor in Garland, Tx, understands that health conditions such as Fibromyalgia require a multi-faceted approach. Pain relief or pain management is only one aspect.

Fibromyalgia treatment can be difficult because of its many contributing causes, including those stemming from psychological, neuro-biological, genetic and environmental factors. Some patients also suffer from psychological conditions such as depression.

Admittedly, the main aspect of the condition is pain. Consequently, fibromyalgia treatment is usually centered around pain relief.

Prolonged pain reduces one’s ability to fight diseases, and decreases quality of life by keeping a person from doing the things they love. It can also lead to a feeling of helplessness.

Traditional Treatment—Not a Perfect Solution

However traditional pain management brings its own problems. Generally the conventional way to treat fibromyalgia is through the use of pharmaceutical pain killers, muscle relaxers and antidepressants. Getting this combination of drugs exactly right can be a long process. In addition, long term use of many of these medications can lead to lead to side effects and the development of medical conditions such as stomach ulcers.

What is worse, much like depression, conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome are often paired like an ‘evil twin’ with fibromyalgia. Therefore it’s important not to worsen one health condition while treating the other!

While medical science may not understand the cause of fibromyalgia, its effects are better understood. Recently there has been a major shift in treatment. More practitioners are addressing their patients’ conditions holistically. This is because many of the symptoms of fibromyalgia and the depression which is often associated with it, can be aggravated by what one eats and the chemicals they come in contact with at home or work.

Multi-faceted Holistic Pain Management

Dr. Mixon advises his patients towards a more holistic pain management program where standard medications are only part of the solution. In the case of fibromyalgia, treatment begins at home! This is because common food additives such as monosodium glutamate and aspartame have been found to aggravate symptoms of fibromyalgia. So phasing out foods with such additives is an important first step.

There is good news for fibromyalgia patients. Herbal remedies and natural supplements can help patients take charge of their condition.

But, since the world of natural supplements is filled with grandiose claims and worthless remedies, it’s important to choose supplements wisely.

Recently the Texas Spine and Wellness team asked a top manufacturer to produce an an all-natural professional grade supplement to assist in the treatment of painful, inflamed joints.

The result is Frontrunner’s Health Solutions’ InflamEase.

image of natural joint health supplements

This powerful formulation contains a synergistic blend of three extracts which have been used worldwide for centuries to help with joint pain and inflammation.

The first of these extracts is Boswellia Serrata. Commonly known as Indian frankincense, it’s also called as Salai or Shallaki. The plant is found in India and Pakistan and has been used effectively for generations to reduce joint swelling and pain.

The second is Turmeric root, another plant which comes from India. Turmeric contains curcumin, a natural anti-inflammatory. This ingredient helps slow progressive damage to joints and has antioxidant properties. Studies are currently underway to test its efficacy in treating irritable bowel syndrome as well.

The third ingredient is the extract of the Harpagophytum plant of South Africa. This plant has many names, such as the grapple plant or wood spider, but is best known as the Devil’s Claw. The root extract has several medicinal benefits including the ability to aid digestion, alleviate pain and reduce fever. The Europeans who brought this plant back to Europe also found it to be a powerful anti-inflammatory.

While the addition of natural supplement can help with pain, Dr Mixon has found it is possible to enhance their benefits by using multiple therapies.

Integrated Medical Clinic Offers Greater Choice

This chiropractor in Garland has a medically supervised clinic which combines the services of an MD, nurse practitioner, exercise physiologist as well as full-time massage therapists.

Dr Mixon recommends that his fibromyalgia patients take advantage of as many of these services as possible to maximize the effect of their pain management treatment.

In particular he has found that trigger point injections, (small injections of safe, plant-based, or homeopathic medicines), can be effective in quickly reducing pain and inflammation. Most of these simple injections are covered by commercial insurance and are available three days per week. As pain is reduced, exercise rehab can be added to improve range of motion and increase flexibility.

As mentioned above, fibromyalgia treatment can be challenging. But a holistic approach of diet, nutritional supplements, decreasing exposure to toxic chemicals, and adding natural pain management therapies will exponentially improve your odds of success over this painful and frustrating condition.

If you would like more information on the many ways that Texas Spine & Wellness can help you with holistic fibromyalgia treatment call (972) 840-2520 today.

Categories : Back Pain Treatment, Joint Pain Treatment

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