The most common symptoms a chiropractor treats
Lower back pain, witch's dart
Low back pain is the world's most common musculoskeletal problem that affects almost 600 million people around the world all the time. Only about 1% of back pains are serious and require immediate medical treatment.
For the most part, low back pain is non-specific. This means that no single structure can be precisely blamed for the pain.
Lower back pain is also common at the chiropractor's office, and for non-specific functional lower back pain (e.g. witch's arrow) chiropractic treatment is the best treatment method in my opinion and help is usually quick. When the blockages in the joints are opened and joint function is normalized, the protective tension of the muscles and the pain are relieved quickly.
Sometimes there are bad wear defects and bulging of the diaphragm in the background, which can be seen in X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging. Even in those cases, chiropractic treatment is appropriate, but more treatments are usually needed.
Neck pain, cervical spine, torticollis, hump
Pain in the cervical spine is often associated with a posture problem where the head is too forward. The cause of this forward head position is often excessive
sitting, driving a car, office work and excessive use of mobile phones and computers. If you don't pay attention to the posture of the head, the head easily falls too far in front of the shoulders and the result is a straightening of the curvature of the cervical spine, i.e. the normal lordosis, shortening and tightness of the head nodding / rotator muscles (Sternocleidomastoideus) and side flexor muscles (Scalenus).
The rotation of the head is limited and sometimes the facet joints of the cervical spine lock and the rotator cuff goes into spasm, causing a "twisted neck" or torticollis. The neck can be very painful and so stuck that the head cannot be bent in any direction. With chiropractic treatment, it is usually possible to restore the mobility of the cervical spine quite quickly, thus relieving muscle tension and pain.
SI joint, so-called sacral joint, "sciatica" during pregnancy
The SI joint is a large joint in the hip and has little movement. Its joint surfaces are uneven and even a small misalignment of the pelvis can cause a sharp pain in the lower back/buttock and take the leg under (as patients often describe the situation).
Problems with the SI joint can be caused, for example, by falls on a slippery surface, tackles in sports, or even a misstep on a forest path. Also, insufficient stretching of the muscles of the legs and pelvis, a hobby that unilaterally loads certain leg muscles, and long-term sitting (sitting work, traveling) are common causes of cruciate ligament problems.
With chiropractic treatment, it is possible to correct wrong positions in the pelvis and relieve pain conditions caused by the cruciate joints quickly and naturally.
SI joint problems are also very common during pregnancy. This so-called "pregnancy sciatica" is usually easily and safely treated at a chiropractor's office. The treatment takes place on the side, so it can also be carried out in the late stages of pregnancy.
Neck shoulder and upper back pain, reflux and heartburn, migraine
Upper back problems have become extremely common in recent years. The reason for this is probably the widespread use of computers and cell phones and office work. One-sided gym training can also lead to muscle imbalance in the neck and shoulder area, causing problems.
The head, shoulders and shoulder blades roll forward, the pectoral muscles tighten, the rotator cuff of the shoulder is overstretched and irritated, the joints of the ribs and vertebrae of the thoracic spine do not move normally.
The pain can be felt in the chest, under the shoulder blade, in the middle back, and it can radiate to the arm as a tingling or numbness sensation. This can often be accompanied by symptoms caused by dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, such as benign arrhythmias, reflux problems and migraines. Often, breathing in can also be difficult or painful.
Correcting posture, the right stretches and opening joint blockages with chiropractic methods usually bring quick help to thoracic spine problems.
Sciatica, herniated disc, piriformis syndrome
Sciatica is usually caused by a physical bulging of the disc, a bone spike caused by wear and tear, or pressure caused by chemical inflammation from a herniated disc, which is directed at the nerve root of the sciatic nerve in the lower back.
Piriformis syndrome is often confused with nerve irritation because the sciatic nerve anatomically passes under or in some cases through the Piriformis muscle. The piriformis is under the gluteus maximus muscle. It starts from the edge of the sacrum and attaches to the side of the hip (greater trochanter). A tight Piriformis can in some cases be the cause of pain radiating down the leg.
Sciatica causes pain radiating to the buttock, rear thigh, calf and foot, muscle weakness and loss of sensation. Back pain is usually present in the initial stages, but as the problem continues, the pain radiating to the leg is the worst. In addition to pain, the findings at the reception usually include the absence of a tendon reflex, sensory deficits and muscle weakness.
Chiropractic treatment cannot repair a ruptured disc, but surgery is often avoided if joint mobility can be normalized and the pressure around the nerve root relieved.
Hip, knee, ankle, foot, shoulder, elbow, wrist
Various limb problems are also quite common at the chiropractor's office. Numbness, tingling and weakness in the hands and feet often have their roots in the spine, because the nerves coming from the spinal cord inside the spine also control the function of the muscles and blood vessels of the limbs. Locked spines and postural errors can contribute to the development of tennis and golf elbow, hip and knee problems, or even plantar fascitis.
Even in these problems, it is worth resorting to the help of a chiropractor.
Headache and dizziness, “As if the blood would circulate better in the head"
A familiar statement after chiropractic treatment. I must have heard it hundreds of times. Light and good feeling on the head and shoulders. Headaches, migraines, dizziness and a dull feeling in the head are relieved. As if the brain gets better blood and works better. Vision clears. Is that euphoric feeling just a placebo or what could it be due to?
Today, most working-age people visit a chiropractor for neck-shoulder and thoracic spine problems. In addition to pain in the neck or between the shoulder blades , e.g. headache, dizziness, migraine, reflux, hand numbness, benign arrhythmias, general fatigue and weakness.
In medicine, there is a well-known syndrome called Cervical spondylotic internal jugular venous compression syndrome (IJVS). It means compression of the internal jugular vein, which reduces blood flow to the head. Normally, venous blood flows out of the skull along these large veins, allowing more oxygenated arterial blood to flow to the head. If this outflow of blood is blocked or weakened for some reason, intracranial pressure rises, cerebral-spinal fluid circulation is disrupted (impaired CSF dynamics) and neurological symptoms can be troublesome. Headache, tinnitus, buzzing in the head, various visual disturbances and decreased vision are well-known symptoms in the diagnosis of IJVS.
There has also been a connection with serious central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as transient monocular blindness, Ménière's disease, Alzheimer's disease (AD), increased intracranial pressure (idiopathic intracranial hypertension) and MS._cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_
In this study
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6930831/
CNS Neurosci Ther.2020 Jan; 26(1): 47–54.)
focused on verifying the compression state in the inner jugular vein caused by degenerative changes (wear defects, bone spurs) of the uppermost cervical vertebra (Atlas) and the severe symptoms resulting from this compression state.
Could worsening posture, head thrusting forward (so-called mobile phone neck), incorrect positions of the vertebrae and muscle tension in the cervical spine caused by locked joints cause similar symptoms?
Can degenerative changes be the result of joint dysfunction and poor posture? You can read more about the origin of wear defects here http://www.kiropraktikot.fi/kiropraktikot.fi-blog-kimmo-heinonen-selkarankaa-on-vaikeaa-laittaa-yoksi-vesilaiin
More about disc degeneration and disc herniation here
http://www.kiropraktikot.fi/kiropraktikot.fi-blog-kimmo-heinonen-mista-johtuu-valilevytyra
Could chiropractic treatment, which corrects posture and joint dysfunctions and resulting muscle tension, be helpful in treating these symptoms?
At least this seems to be happening at the reception. It is very common to hear the patient say after the treatment how "the vision became clearer" or "as if the blood started to circulate in the head" while the entire shoulder area becomes lighter and the pressure in the neck disappears.
When the mobility and posture of the cervical and thoracic spine can be improved, the entire nervous system works better and muscle tension decreases. In the upper part of the cervical spine and at the base of the skull, joint locking and muscle tension can be corrected with chiropractic treatment, and in this way the blood circulation of the head and the cerebrospinal fluid circulation and thus the symptoms can be positively affected.
If you have a headache, a stuffy feeling in your head or other symptoms, I recommend you try the treatment of a professional chiropractor.