CHIROCARELA.COM: Blog

Have you been eager to get back to golf as society re-opens? At ChiroCareLA.com in Glendale, we’re certainly glad to see our patients exercising and getting bone-strengthening Vitamin D from sunlight while maintaining a safe physical distance. But we also advise everyone to increase their activity at a slow, steady pace. Golf is a sport that takes a heavier toll on the lower back than most, so we wanted to say a bit about the risks and how we can treat overuse injuries.   A golf swing forces the spine to rotate quickly at a tilted angle, which puts it under a great deal of strain. The vertebrae of the lumbar region don’t have as much anchoring as other parts of the spine to prevent rotation, so the connective tissues they do have are more vulnerable. Besides being at risk for pulling a muscle, older athletes may have dehydrated spinal discs, which could become herniated if subjected to enough force. Younger golfers are at greater risk for spondylolisthesis, in which a vertebra slides ...

Neck pain happens, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with it forever. With some lifestyle adjustments you can prevent neck pain altogether. Dr. Alajajian and his staff, located in Glendale, CA, take pride in educating patients about good spinal health. Since many of our patients experience neck pain, it's important to take a step back and see what causes it. Only then can you take the necessary steps to treat and ultimately prevent your neck pain! Prevent neck pain by: - Sleeping on your back - Drinking plenty of water - Making sure you are using a comfortable and supported pillow - Making sure your computer monitor is at eye level - When texting, keeping your mobile phone at eye level, taking breaks, or using talk-text - When making a phone call, using a headset or earpiece - Stretching, exercising, and strengthening your neck muscles - Carrying weight on your person so that it is evenly distributed - Practicing a supportive posture (no slumping or hunching!) - Holding your ...

If you’ve ever had pain in your leg, you may have tried adjusting your posture in a way that also put strain on your lower back. But the connections between our legs and the lumbar region go deeper than that. ChiroCareLA.com in Glendale offers a variety of complementary therapies for reducing pain in a holistic, safe manner, so to help our patients understand why we use them, we wanted to take some time to discuss some of the ways in which the back and legs are connected.   The nerves that lead to our legs emerge from the spinal cord in the lower back. They exit the lumbar vertebrae through small holes called foramina and weave through the muscles and bones of the pelvis. Compression in these nerves could cause a shooting pain, tingling, or numbness down the leg, which are the symptoms of sciatica, but the pressure causing the pinch could have several origins. Swelling from a dislocated facet joint or herniated disc, or a back muscle stretching over a spinal spur, could compress nerves...

Good posture depends on a solid base. If there’s a problem in the foot, a person may throw off their whole musculoskeletal alignment trying to compensate for it. At ChiroCareLA.com, our chiropractic practitioners offer a variety of soft tissue treatments for plantar fasciitis, which is swelling in the connective tissue at the bottom of the foot. But sometimes, foot pain has a simpler explanation, which is why we want to talk about avoiding foot cramps.   Foot cramps occur when the muscles in the feet tighten suddenly, usually while a person is lying down. They often occur when the muscle is fatigued from overuse or getting inadequate nutrition. While staying hydrated and getting plenty of potassium are important for preventing muscle cramps, if the foot has inadequate blood supply, necessary nutrients may not be reaching it. A patient may be able to correct this by wearing shoes that aren’t as tight and that don’t force their foot forward.   In the moment a cramp occurs, a person may b...

As experts in musculoskeletal care, we at ChiroCareLA.com offer complementary, non-addictive, fast-acting treatments for stingers and other shoulder pain. You may be wondering what chiropractic has to do with the shoulder. The field of chiropractic is concerned with every part of the body, and with shoulder pain, it is worth examining whether the problem is related to nerves in the neck.   Several nerves emerge from the spinal cord in the neck and branch out to the upper body. The ones going to the arm bundle together in the shoulder in a structure called the brachial plexus. When a person’s head is pushed away from their shoulder and their shoulder is pushed down, as often happens in contact sports, the brachial plexus is briefly pinched. This would cause a shooting pain along the shoulder and arm, which is what is called a stinger. Usually, stingers go away as quickly as they came. But if a person is subjected to repeated blows, or their brachial plexus is compressed by swelling, the...

Have you recently been in a motor vehicle accident or otherwise had your head snapped back and forth? Don’t delay seeking a clinical examination. The symptoms of whiplash don’t always appear immediately, but they can be painful and debilitating when not treated early. At ChiroCareLA.com, we offer a variety of safe therapies that account for the individual needs of each patient, designed to not only alleviate symptoms, but aid the healing process.   Whiplash is sometimes referred to as Cervical Acceleration-Deceleration Syndrome or CAD, in reference to how it develops in the neck bones or “cervical spine.” When a person’s head is snapped back and forth, they may develop microtears in their neck tissues and the connecting tissue in their head and shoulders. This can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including soreness, shooting pain, instability, and swelling. The ligaments of the neck may be stretched, and swelling may compress the nerves exiting the cervical spine and traveling to the ...

Bursae are a crucial part of the musculoskeletal system. These small sacs of fluid provide the lubrication that allows our tendons to glide easily. But bursae can become inflamed, and when they do, a person is likely to experience pain or dysfunction in nearby tissues. At ChiroCareLA.com in Glendale, we’ll work with patients suffering from bursitis to return them to activity as quickly as possible, while putting them in the best position to maintain their health in the future. This week, we’re taking a closer look at how bursitis relates to pain in the hips, specifically.   There are hundreds of bursae throughout the body, including some large ones on the front of the pelvis. But when a person experiences bursitis-related hip pain, the problem is most likely related to a trochanteric bursa. These bursae, one on each side, are located in a notch on the outward-facing side of the top of the femur. A connective tissue called the iliotibial band stretches from the hip to the knee over the ...