Sunday, November 29, 2009

Exercise for a healthy Back

How to build a health Back

I provide treatment for many different kinds of injuries. There are many different causes for neck pain, back pain, chronic headaches, sciatica etc. and can include auto accidents, work related injuries, injuries as a result of domestic chores, and even sometimes something as easy to do as sleeping in an awkward position.

  I would estimate that over half of my patients suffering from back pain and neck pain have the same question, “What changes can I make to prevent this from occurring again?” Their concerns led to the development of this article and the points I address in my posting.

  There’s nothing like intense back pain or neck pain to induce someone to take action about their health.

Often, people take action with regard to their health when they experience frequent pain. Eager to start, people frequently ask what kind of stretching or exercise they can implement right away. The best practice you can employ with a new injury is to apply ice packs and rest as much as possible.
  During more than  years of chiropractic experience, I have seen many clients not heed my advice, and wind up worsening their condition. Most of us should begin exercising and stretching our backs when it is not in acute pain.

The most challenging obstacles clients have to overcome are poor diet and lack of exercise. Outside of chiropractic care, exercise is one of the very few things that a patient can do at home to prevent or help diminish the chances of developing back pain or neck pain.

  You should engage in exercise cautiously following an injury, making sure you feel absolutely no pain. You should start slowly with low intensity exercises, and gradually build up to more resistance only when you feel absolutely no pain.

Understand your limits when reintroducing exercise after a back injury, and proceed cautiously. When exercising and stretching, make sure it's under the guidance of a health care professional. You can improve the support in your spine by strengthening muscle tone and adding flexibility.

  A routine of stretching and targeted exercises is almost always one of my first recommendations to a new patient. When you combine chiropractic care with stretching and exercising, you will have faster and more complete healing.


Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at

(619) 280 0554

San Diego Chiropractic


Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.

Better Health Steve Jones

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Tips for Safe Driving

Safe Driving and Auto Accidents In San Diego

Being a Chiropractor in San Diego, my office provides treatment for many whiplash accident victims.  One of the reasons for these accidents is wet weather driving.  Since we don’t have rain throughout the year in this desert community, when it does rain, oil and debris that has been sting on the road all year long loosens resulting in a very slick driving surface. 

Auto accidents are serious!  You may not be aware that approximately 25% of all auto accident victims never make a full recovery.  That could mean a lifetime of neck pain, low back pain, headaches, etc.

The best defense for accident prevention in wet weather is defensive driving.  The following paragraphs were found on the National Safety Council website and specifically target safe wet weather driving techniques.

“Losing control of your car on wet pavement is a frightening experience. You can prevent skids by driving slowly and carefully, especially on curves. Steer and brake with a light touch. When you need to stop or slow, do not brake hard or lock the wheels and risk a skid. Maintain mild pressure on the brake pedal.

If you do find yourself in a skid, remain calm, ease your foot off the gas, and carefully steer in the direction you want the front of the car to go. For cars without anti-lock brakes, avoid using your brakes. This procedure, known as "steering into the skid," will bring the back end of your car in line with the front. If your car has ABS, brake firmly as you steer into the skid.

While skids on wet pavement may be frightening, hydroplaning is completely nerve-wracking. Hydroplaning happens when the water in front of your tires builds up faster than your car's weight can push it out of the way. The water pressure causes your car to rise up and slide on a thin layer of water between your tires and the road. At this point, your car can be completely out of contact with the road, and you are in danger of skidding or drifting out of your lane, or even off the road.

To avoid hydroplaning, keep your tires properly inflated, maintain good tread on your tires and replace them when necessary, slow down when roads are wet, and stay away from puddles. Try to drive in the tire tracks left by the cars in front of you.

If you find yourself hydroplaning, do not brake or turn suddenly. This could throw your car into a skid. Ease your foot off the gas until the car slows and you can feel the road again. If you need to brake, do it gently with light pumping actions. If your car has anti-lock brakes, then brake normally; the car's computer will mimic a pumping action, when necessary.

A defensive driver adjusts his or her speed to the wet road conditions in time to avoid having to use any of these measures. Reprinted with permission from the National Safety Council”
If you do happen to get into a fender bender, get to the chiropractor ASAP.  From a statistical standpoint, the best way to avoid becoming one of the 25% of auto injury patients that never fully recover is to undergo an examination with a licensed chiropractor and follow up with any recommended treatment as soon as possible.
 
Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at

(619) 280 0554

San Diego Chiropractic


Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.

Better Health Steve Jones

Monday, November 9, 2009

Neck Pain Treatment

Neck Pain Treatment

Do you ever remember seeing someone in a neck brace?  Do you remember thinking, “I wonder how much pain you would have to actually use one of those?” 

Last week I had a patient come to my Chiropractic office because of neck pain.  Her neck pain was bad enough that she wore a neck brace.  She said that she had a history of neck pain in the past but that this current episode of neck pain happened after she spent the day watching her boyfriend fly his stunt kites at the beach.

In this patients’ estimation, she had no idea what possibly could have caused this painful episode.

Those of you who have suffered with neck pain know what she is going through. 

After a neck injury that has not been properly treated, future flair ups can be common.  These flair ups of neck pain can come with little or no obvious provocation.

The process of re-aggravation of an old injury goes something like this.

1)    You injure you neck.  Usually a sprain or strain that probably receives no formal treatment.
2)    That injury results in scar tissue that builds around the joint restricting or altering normal joint motion.
3)    Weeks, days, months or maybe years later, the joint is moved in a direction that irritates it resulting in a process that involves irritation and inflammation.
4)    The irritation and inflammation causes muscle spasm and pain. 

In most cases of neck pain without a significant discernable injurious event, the cause of a painful episode lies in an accumulation of old injuries like car accidents and falls combined with ongoing daily postural stress.

When your neck is exposed to a combination of specific old injuries and ongoing postural stress, seemingly new injuries to the same area can be the result of something as mundane as an awkward sleeping position or a prolonged fixed position of the neck that might occur with watching TV or working on the computer.

Because this type of flair up is so common, “new injuries” that occur with such non stressful events are not new injuries at all but aggravations of old injuries.  I like to use the analogy of the straws on the camels back for these kinds of events.

In closing, if this patient had hurt her neck watching her boyfriend fly a kite at the beach and she had no other history of neck pain or injury, I would be surprised.  With this patient however, the onset of this episode of neck pain did not surprise me at all. 

There is an old saying, “The body never forgets”.


Writers Bio

Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.

Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.

Call Steve Jones at

(619) 280 0554

San Diego Chiropractic


Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.

Better Health Steve Jones