Posts by Barton Chiropractic Clinic

The rehabilitative effects of swimming

Exercising in the pool has numerous benefits that exercising on land just can’t match:

• Reduced compression of the spinal joints
• Natural resistance of the water means that every movement is strengthening
• Warm water provides therapy to joints

One major limitation for people looking to overcome back pain is that the pain itself limits motion. Your back pain is holding you back from performing the exact motions which help you prevent the pain in the first place. Enter the water and this vicious cycle begins to unwind. You can focus on strengthening and stretching the muscles and joints that matter for keeping pain at bay at whatever level of intensity you choose. 

How we help you get in the water

Our primary goal at our office is to get you in conducive shape for whatever kind of exercise you like most. After all, moving is what matters! If you want to get into the pool, we can help you overcome back pain through spinal adjustment that aligns the spine and improves your overall range of motion. Furthermore, chiropractic adjustment has been shown to reduce inflammation and improve circulation, boosting the body’s healing response. That means you can get in the water and reap the therapeutic benefits of buoyancy without the fear of hurting yourself further. If you are interested in overcoming back pain in a natural manner, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Adding an extra layer of support to your joints

While high-impact sports help your body build stronger joints and stronger tissue to surround them, it is important to give them an extra layer of protection and support; that extra layer comes from chiropractic. Through chiropractic adjustment and other hands-on modalities, we help high-impact athletes maintain the strength and mobility of the joints and muscles that are used most. 

When it comes to injured joints, chiropractors apply a manual force to restore joint mobility and increase circulation to damaged tissues which may be contributing to the loss of motion. Chiropractic treatment reduces inflammation and pain and facilitates the healing process.

Keep moving your best with chiropractic care

Athletes will benefit from the chiropractic care provided at our office because we are experts in musculoskeletal form. We keep your nervous system free of interference and ensure the proper alignment of your spine to keep your body ahead of potential injuries. If you are interested in adding an extra layer of protection and optimization to your athletic repertoire, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Finding a way to sleep with chronic back pain

Chiropractic is an art of problem solving. Where more traditional treatment methods fail, chiropractic looks deeper, asks questions, and demands answers of your musculoskeletal form: what exactly is causing your chronic pain? We believe that the most powerful way to change your relationship with sleep and chronic pain is to manage it naturally. And while it may take more work than using opioids to manage pain, or sleep-inducing drugs to find sleep despite the pain, we believe that between chiropractic treatment and lifestyle adjustments you can find serious pain relief and the sleep you need. The upside is greater and the list of side-effects is much smaller.

Chiropractic to help you sleep with chronic pain

Our modalities, whether it be spinal adjustment, decompression therapy, massage or trigger point release, help our patients experience a dramatic reduction in pain and an improvement in range of motion. Many of our patients report that they have had their best nights’ sleep in memory, purely on the strength of one visit. Imagine how you can feel with consistent chiropractic treatment, combined with lifestyle adjustments including managing your diet and sleep environment? The potential is great; if you are interested in sleeping better today, give our office a call to schedule an appointment. 

We can reduce muscle tension

Muscle tension is widespread; it is one of the most common causes of muscle ache and pain. We use chiropractic techniques to restore proper alignment to the spine and regulate the nervous system. This in itself is a big boost, but our treatment goes further by helping you identify behaviors that are contributing to your muscle tension; we help you find ways to stay relaxed, both in body and mind, throughout the day. If you are interested in a life with less muscle tension, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

The multifidus: small but mighty when it comes to core stability 

The multifidus is a series of muscles that attach directly to the spinal column- there is a superficial group and a deep muscle group which perform several key functions; the key roles of the multifidus muscles include taking pressure off the intervertebral discs, keeping the spine straight and supported. Before any motion is initiated, the multifidus activates in order to protect the spine from injury. People with back pain often present with smaller and thus weaker multifidus muscles, which means their ability to protect the spine is reduced. The key takeaway here is that a weak multifidus contributes to a lack of core stability and leaves people more vulnerable to back injury. 

Establishing core stability

There are stretches and strengthening exercises that can specifically target the multifidus to restore strength to this small but powerful muscle. Before starting any routine that involves core and thus spinal stability, it is worth consulting with a health professional. We offer expertise on the subject of core stability and chiropractic adjustment which ensures your spine is properly aligned in order to reap all the benefits of your exercise. Give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Flip flops and high heels have the highest coincidence of back pain among footwear

Your footwear has a direct impact on your back pain: flip flops provide no cushion or shock absorption, allowing impact from the foot to travel directly to the vertebrae; high heels force the muscles of your back to work harder and are more likely to cause injury from falling. These forces contribute to spinal misalignment and the development of degenerative conditions including herniated discs and sciatica. Here are some alternative proposals for footwear that fills the same function without harming the spine to the same degree.

• For flip-flop addicts, Crocs and sport sandals with straps are a better alternative. 
• For high heel lovers, wedges provide the same stylish lift without destabilizing the foot and forcing the back to work quite as hard. 

Improving spinal health habits in small ways

No matter what footwear you choose, there are always ways you can improve your spinal health habits. From mixing up your shoes, to stretching before wearing high heels, to avoiding wearing them for long periods of time, it will always benefit your back if you keep an eye on how you are wearing your shoes. Footwear is a microcosmic example of how we make large changes in your spinal health habits. We can help undo the damage that flip-flops and high heels have caused your spine. If you are interested in improving your spinal health from the bottom-up or the top-down, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

Your spine is central to your overall health

Thus, having regular checkups performed to determine its overall health is a simple way of maintaining well being. Every movement you make during the day will affect one part of the spine or the other, and many of these movements conspire to move the spinal joints out of alignment, leading to nerve compression and overall bodily dysfunction. The important thing is to listen to your body. Pain is a signal just like the check engine light in your car.

How can problems with your spinal joints cause pain? 

First of all, they can bother or impinge upon nearby spinal nerves which interact directly with the brain. This is especially prevalent in people suffering from herniated discs, in which bulging disc material puts pressure on spinal nerves. However, spinal joints being out of alignment most often lead to restrictions in range of motion, which can hamper the effective communication of your central nervous system. This overall imbalance is responsible for painful tightness in the muscles as well as pain that results from sprained ligaments surrounding the vertebral joint.

Tuning up your spine

The good news is that subluxation is effectively corrected with chiropractic adjustments. These are purposeful, sometimes instrument-assisted adjustments that return spinal joints to proper alignment and simultaneously improve nervous system functioning. Don’t let spinal misalignment wreak silent havoc with your life until a serious condition develops. Instead, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

The damage of sitting all-day

Excessive sitting affects every part of the body:

• Damages organs and interferes with digestion
• Increases compression on the spine 
• Encourages poor posture habits
• Contributes to obesity and diabetes
• Weakens muscles, and destabilizes the muscular balance
• Causes poor blood circulation

This is just the start. Excessive sitting can be traced as a cause of many of the USA’s most prevalent health problems. So, if your job requires you to sit, and you have a penchant for binge-watching TV after work, make sure that you take steps to undo this damage on a daily basis.

Undoing the damage of sitting all-day

Besides an hour of vigorous workout that gets your heart rate up and works your muscles, you should focus on choosing specific movements that target the parts of your body which suffer the most during sitting. Yoga is an effective modality for doing just that! Here are some of the most effective yoga poses for habitual sitters:

• Downward facing dog 
• Spinal twist
• Pigeon pose
• Cat and cow pose 
• Child’s pose

Detailed instructions for these poses can be found here: https://www.verywellfit.com/essential-yoga-poses-for-beginners-3566747. If you are interested in redressing all the damage done by sitting, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today.