Back pain is the most common condition treated by chiropractic therapy.
If you are experiencing back pain that continues for more than seven days you need to make an appointment for a chiropractic evaluation. A simple strain that continues untreated without correction can turn into a serious chronic problem.
After a complete orthopedic, neurological and chiropractic examination Dr. Fogel will diagnose and determine whether your back pain is of mechanical (muscle, ligament, tendon or joint origin) or whether your problem is arthritic in nature.
Q: How did I get this back pain?
Most mechanical back problems start with a mild strain associated with a fall, sudden twist or heavy lift from a weak unsupported posture. Although the original incident may have occurred years ago a new stress/strain or a repetitive minor strain may provoke a new bout of pain.
Repetitive strains are numerous and they include house chores, painting, mopping, new exercise programs, reaching upward to a shelf, prolonged sitting in front of computer monitor turned to either right or left.
The cervical spine is the upper part of the spinal column between the head and shoulders and is composed of seven of freely movable spinal joints. The neck is subject to a number of common pain syndromes involving both mechanical and arthritic causes. Neck strain can arise from improperly designed work environments such as computer screens set too far to the right or left of center, holding a telephone between the ear and shoulder, sleeping in the presence of a fan or cold draft and sleeping on a couch.
Whiplash or trauma stemming from a motor vehicle accident can cause micro tearing of muscle, tendon and ligamentous structures, resulting in mild to severe neck pain.
Tension, emotional stress and physical illness with prolonged bed rest all can cause sustained neuromuscular contraction of the neck.
Tension Headaches are often associated with mild neck pain or stiffness. A careful examination and history which reveals a connection between your longstanding or chronic neck pain points toward a very high probability of success in treatment.
Research has demonstrated that 80% of all headaches are cervicogenic (caused by dysfunction of the neck spinal joints and or musculature). Wearing new bifocals, prolonged viewing of a computer monitor, reading or watching TV in bed, whiplash etc, have all been associated with neck-related headache. The upper neck is particularly vulnerable to headache causing symptoms including dizziness and mild visual disturbances. Dr. Fogel has had great success with these types of cases.
Sciatica is another common condition treated at our office. Sciatica refers to a syndrome of low back, leg, hip and buttock pain.
Sciatica has several possible causes and degrees of complexity. The good news is that more than 50% of sciatic cases seen here will be treated successfully.
We provide a comprehensive evaluation to determine the cause of your sciatica. Dr. Fogel will let you know whether your problem is a herniated disc, a pyriformis muscle spasm or an osteoarthritic spine or hip.
A more serious herniated disc is accompanied by muscle weakness, numbness and reflex change. In this situation you will be referred to an excellent spinal surgeon.