Back Pain
Since back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, it is vital to know how to prevent the cause of back pain. By maintaining a healthy diet and weight, remaining active and avoiding prolonged inactivity or bed rest are all important ways to avoid back pain. Before doing exercises or any physical activity, it is recommended to warm up and/or stretch.
Lower Back Pain
Your lower back is designed to provide support, strength, and flexibility to your upper body. That’s why the lower part of your back is sensitive to pain and injuries from everyday activities. That also means the causes and severity of back pain vary from one patient to another. Lower back pain can range from mild to severe and debilitating. That’s why you need to visit our Bothell chiropractors for examination, diagnosis, and treatment before the pain becomes chronic.
Chiropractic care is one of the best ways to manage and reduce pain and swelling around the lower back. Routine chiropractic care provides you with a safe, non-medicinal, non-addictive, and non-invasive treatment option.
Our chiropractors are trained to gently manipulate or align the spine using hands-on treatment. This practice is known as a chiropractic adjustment, and it’s done to align the spine, reduce joint restriction or misalignments to improve functionality and mobility.
By increasing joint mobility, pain is reduced, your nervous and spinal health are improved, and your ability to manage symptoms caused by lower back pain is improved. Depending on the cause of pain, our chiropractors will recommend massage therapy, physical exercise around the joint, or other back pain therapies.
What to Expect at Your Consultation
For many patients, accepting that they need chiropractic help and booking their first appointment tends to be more difficult than following up with consistent visits. However, there is no need to be alarmed as the procedure is non-invasive and painless.
On your first chiropractic visit, our chiropractors will ask you several questions about your pain. We might also need to do a physical examination to make an initial diagnosis. Our chiropractors will check your medical history to understand your problem better and eliminate other back pain causes such as injuries, fractures, and sprains.
The duration of the pain and the severity of your symptoms play a critical role in pinpointing the actual cause of your pain. Our professional chiropractors are thorough and will perform an in-depth examination before giving appropriate treatment.
Upper Back Pain
Upper back pain is one of the most common ailments people suffer from. It can be caused by a variety of factors, and ranges from mild to severe. Upper back pain can become debilitating and make it hard to complete everyday tasks. However, chiropractic care can help. At Martha Lake Chiropractic & Wellness in Bothell, WA, our team of experts provides natural solutions for upper back pain. We offer personalized treatment to help you return to a pain-free life.
The thoracic spine is the source of your upper back pain. Together with the rib cage, the thoracic spine is made up of various muscles and joints. When one of these joins or muscles gets injured or inflamed, it leads to back problems, such as upper back pain.
One of the reasons people suffer from upper back pain is having poor posture for years. The muscles next to the thoracic spine get weak every time the upper spine is pulled forward. You will start to experience pain in the back, shoulders, and neck.
An injury could also cause pain in the back. When one becomes injured during an activity, the upper back becomes weak and cannot support the ribs, vital organs, vertebrae, and sternum.
Upper back pain can affect anyone, from children to the elderly. Even though it can cause mild to severe discomfort, it is important to get treatment either way so it does not cause other health complications. Chiropractic treatment provides a long-lasting, effective solution to upper back pain.
Symptoms of Upper Back Pain
There are several signs that indicate that you need to seek treatment from our chiropractor. These include:
- Intense pain
- Weakness or tingly prickles in your legs
- Redness or swelling in the upper back
- Have experienced a car injury
- Neck pain
- Trouble walking or sitting
How Our Chiropractor Can Help
When you visit our facility, our chiropractor will perform a physical exam to look for the root cause of your pain. After a diagnosis, we will create a personalized treatment plan for you and your condition. Our chiropractor may use one or a combination of methods for upper back pain.
One of the most common methods is spinal adjustments. By realigning the spine, we can alleviate tension, pressure, and pain. We also offer massage therapy, acupuncture, stretching and strengthening exercises, and more. These methods have many benefits, including:
- Relieve pain and swelling
- Eliminate misalignments and joint restrictions
- Reduce inflammation
- Improve joint and nervous system function
Arthritis
Arthritis, or joint pain or joint disease, is the leading cause of disability in America. More than 50 million adults and 300,000 children are suffering from some type of arthritis. Common symptoms include swelling, pain, stiffness, and decreased range of motion. Severe arthritis can result in chronic pain, inability to perform normal day-to-day activities, and has the potential to cause permanent joint damage.
To determine whether or not you may be suffering from arthritis or to determine the severity, your medical professional will perform blood tests and conduct an imaging scan (ie: x-ray, CAT scan or MRI). Eating healthy, staying active, and understanding your type of arthritis and treatment options are crucial to decreasing your discomfort and paving the way for an enjoyable, happy life.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
CTS is a problem of the median nerve which runs from the forearm into the hand. When there is excessive pressure in the wrist, it causes swelling of the median nerve. This small area called the carpal tunnel is a narrow tunnel at the wrist made up of bones, soft tissues, nerves, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels. When the median nerve which runs through this tunnel gets compressed it causes pain, weakness, numbness or tingling in the hand and wrist which radiates into the forearm. The carpal tunnel is the most common area that gets compressed in both the hands and feet.
CTS should be diagnosed and treated early. During your consultation, you will receive a standard physical examination of the hands, arms, shoulders and neck to help determine if your symptoms are related to daily activities or to an underlying disorder. Our highly skilled chiropractor will also utilize other orthopedic tests to try to produce the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Laboratory tests and x-rays can reveal diabetes, arthritis, fractures, and other common causes of wrist and hand pain.
Pinched Nerve
A pinched nerve can happen in a variety of places throughout the body with some of the most common being the lower spine, wrists, neck, and legs. A pinched nerve occurs when the muscles or tendons around the nerve are inflamed, putting pressure on the nerve and either causing pain or even numbness throughout the extremities related or attached to this affected nerve.
Your pinched nerve may be caused by different physical conditions such as carpal tunnel or a herniated disc. Though pinched nerves can be painful, the majority of patients find that their pinched nerve(s) goes away on its own.
If the pinched nerve does not resolve itself and you have persistent pain that lasts for more than a few days, you should seek medical attention by scheduling an appointment at Martha Lake Chiropractic & Wellness with our chiropractor. This is especially true if you’ve tried at-home treatments but feel like your pain is worsening as time progresses. With pinched nerves, it’s important to seek medical attention in order to identify the underlying cause of the pinched nerve to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Neck Pain
Whether you recently suffered an injury that’s causing you neck pain or you have pain as a result of a posture problem or chronic injury, you can get relief through chiropractic care. Pressure in your spine can lead to neck pain, which means relieving that pressure and adjusting your upper spine can help relieve a lot of pressure and pain in the neck. Not only does this provide pain relief, but it can also restore range of motion if you’re having trouble turning your head.
Shoulder Pain
Shoulder pain is a very common condition and affects almost half of the U.S. Most patients feel some sort of pain, limited range of motion, an inability to engage in activities of daily living (ADL) or something more serious as a permanent disability.
Headaches/ Migraines
Often times, headaches and migraines occur as a result of a problem in the back or neck. Our Bothell chiropractor can adjust your spine and neck to help relieve pressure that may be causing headaches and migraines. This treatment provides near-instant relief for some people and reduces the severity of headaches and migraines in others. The major upside of chiropractic is the fact that you don’t have to take any pain medications, so you don’t have to deal with short or long-term side effects to get pain relief.
Sports Injury
Sports injuries are incredibly common. Since these injuries take time to heal, finding pain relief in the meantime is an important part of the recovery process. Chiropractic adjustments can help relieve pressure in your spine to prevent several problems. This is particularly useful for treating herniated discs and shoulder injuries.
Auto Injuries
Even a “minor” crash can result in serious injuries like ligament sprains. This can lead to chronic pain and disability if not treated properly. In fact, research shows that early treatment is the best way to prevent long-term symptoms. Chiropractic adjustments are effective because they help restore the healthy, normal function of your nervous system without the use of drugs or surgery.
Neuropathy
Neuropathy is a medical condition caused by damaged nerve cells and often associated with autoimmune diseases, infections, diabetes, tumors, or hereditary conditions. Peripheral neuropathy currently affects over 20 million people in the United States with symptoms ranging from tingling or burning pain and nausea to muscle spasms, difficulty moving your arms or legs, or atrophy.
Knee Pain
Knee pain is increasingly becoming a more common problem in society. It is a complaint we see frequently. The most common complaint associated with knee pain is considered the normal “wear and tear.” Another ailment that affects the knee is osteoarthritis. The symptoms and progression of osteoarthritis and knee pain can be reduced through our individualized approach to chiropractic care.
Sciatica
Sciatica is characterized by pain in the lower back that radiates down one or both legs. The pain is described as dull, achy, sharp, like “pins and needles” or similar to electric shocks. Other symptoms associated with sciatica include burning, numbness and tingling sensations. Sciatic nerve pain varies in intensity from mild to severe, and frequency may range from occasional to constant. The onset is generally gradual and not necessarily associated with a previous event. Sciatica is also known as radiating or referred pain, neuropathy, or neuralgia.
Personal Injury
Our goal is to help you receive the proper care after a personal injury, auto accident or fall. Our staff is devoted to helping you obtain the most comprehensive treatments and the care you deserve, so you may maintain your quality of life after an injury and can begin to feel like yourself again.
Too often, individuals involved in an auto injury or wreck have minimal or no symptoms until several weeks after the auto accident. That is where the professionals at Martha Lake Chiropractic & Wellness come in, and can assist you with all aspects of auto accident personal injury recovery.
Vertigo
Vertigo is the feeling that you are moving when you’re not. This sensation can be triggered by movements such as turning your head too quickly or looking down from a great distance, but it is ultimately caused by problems in the inner ear, brain, or brainstem. There are two different forms of vertigo with each stemming from various medical issues: peripheral vertigo and central vertigo.
Peripheral vertigo results in a problem with your inner ear and thus your balance, while central vertigo occurs when your brain or brainstem are suffering from a disease originating from your central nervous system (CNS). Peripheral vertigo is typically more severe, and central vertigo is more gradual in its onset. Regardless of the type of dizziness you are experiencing, more than likely, your quality of life is suffering because of it.
Degenerative Disc Disease
Degenerative disc disease is when natural changes in the discs of your spine cause pain. The discs between vertebrae act as shock absorbers for your spine, and as you age, they begin to lose flexibility. While this is a normal part of aging, it should not cause pain. If you experience pain due to this, it is classified as degenerative disc disease.
Each disc is composed of a sturdy outer wall and a soft, gel-like inner core. When we are born, these discs are primarily composed of water, but as age advances, the discs lose some of this water content and begin to get thinner. As you might imagine, this means each disc doesn’t absorb the shocks of everyday life as well.
Whiplash
Whiplash is an injury to the head or neck area, specifically neck muscles from rapid forward and backward motion caused by a trauma (eg. A car accident). It causes acute neck pain (short-term) as well as can restrict your movement in your neck and make you feel like your muscles are tensed. Neck pain and stiffness are the most common and easy to spot symptoms, Others include: Worsening of pain with neck movement, Loss of range of motion in the neck, Headaches, most often starting at the base of the skull, Tenderness or pain in the shoulder, upper back or arms, Tingling or numbness in the arms, Fatigue or Dizziness.
Work Injuries
Workplace injuries don’t only occur during traumatic slips and falls at work but are more often than not, the result of repetitive movements, and caused by doing the physical demands required of your job over an extended period of time. These types of workplace injuries are all too common in today’s workforce and are best identified by their symptoms.
- Lower back pain
- Shoulder pain
- Carpal tunnel and hand pain
- Disc injuries
- Sciatica (pain caused by the sciatic nerve in your lower back and legs)
- Joint pain
Being examined by a chiropractor is often the first step in identifying and treating a workplace injury through non-invasive care which is why Martha Lake Chiropractic & Wellness conducts thorough examinations during his first session with new patients in order to better assess their injury. Since workplace injuries usually develop over time, it’s important to share all the symptoms you may be experiencing so we can identify the root cause.
Scoliosis
Pain from the pressure that results from scoliosis is common, especially in adults. With regular chiropractic adjustments and massage therapy, you can relieve some of that tension and pressure in your back to reduce pain levels and minimize the damage that scoliosis can cause. If you’re already seeing a medical expert for scoliosis treatment, but it isn’t working well enough, chiropractic is a great way to supplement your current treatment.