Back pain is one of the most common chiropractic problems, with the majority of people experiencing it at some point in their lives. Back pain is the third most common reason behind doctor visits in the United States. In today’s digital world, where people are sitting and looking at screens for the majority of their day, either through their job and through digital entertainment, that can increase the risk for developing back pain. Sitting so often can be a significant cause of back pain, as it places more pressure on your spine.

Luckily, back pain is easily preventable. You can have an office job that requires sitting through your day, and still take steps to decrease your risk of developing back pain. This starts with addressing the most common culprit of back pain for people who sit the majority of their days.

Posture 

How you sit plays a huge role in your risk of back pain. Poor posture affects your spine, especially if you consistently have it. If you frequently slouch, lean forward, and have your elbows spread too far out from your body, this creates more pressure on your back that sitting in and of itself already does. If you are usually looking down at your phone, holding it to your ear with your shoulder, and not moving, these also contribute. Your head is heavy – if it’s consistently out of line with your spine, this can be hard on your back. 

It is difficult to break habits, but especially for something as important as our posture, it is vital to take the necessary steps to improve your posture. When sitting, your head should be lined up with your shoulders, your back straight against the back of your chair, your elbows in closer to your body, and your feet flat against the floor. Merely by adjusting your posture, you can reduce your risk of back pain.

Listen To Your Body

Humans aren’t sedentary creatures. We’re meant to be able to move, which can make jobs that require so much sitting taxing. Listen to your body. Get up and move around every half hour or so. This doesn’t mean you have to do jumping jacks in the office, but just even standing up, going to get a drink or a snack, or taking a little lap around the office can help your body and relieve some of that pressure sitting puts on your spine. 

Be More Active

Inactivity like what office jobs create can increase your risk for back pain, especially if you have poor posture. As the previous point mentions, people are meant to be able to move around. This means that a more active lifestyle can be a good preventative measure against back pain, both in that a more active lifestyle means a stronger body that is harder to hurt and in how it can help you maintain a healthy weight, which reduces the stress placed on your spine.

A stronger back means a lower risk of back pain. Stretching and strengthening exercises can assist with this. Swimming, walking, and other aerobic exercises also work to strengthen your  body, while exercises like yoga and pilates can help with your balance and stability. It’s generally recommended that the average adult gets 150 minutes of aerobic exercise in a week.

Eat Healthy

Having a healthy diet also helps protect your back. It is good both for keeping a healthy weight and for getting enough calcium and vitamin D. As mentioned above, a healthy weight means less strain on your back. Calcium and vitamin D strengthen your bones, which makes it easier for them to support you and harder to break. Simply by improving your eating habits, you can reduce your risk.

How To Fix Back Pain

If you suffer from back pain and want to know how to fix it, there are several options available to you. Treatment starts with finding the root cause of your pain and then figuring out how to fix it. Chiropractic treatment is among the best for back pain. A chiropractor can make adjustments and perform physical therapies, like spinal decompression therapy, which can help you. They can also guide you through exercises and stretches you can do in order to both heal current pain and prevent more in the future.

Are You Suffering From Back Pain?

Here at Elite Chiropractic, we know how important your back is to your overall comfort and health. We offer specialized treatment to get to the root cause of your pain and help you get back to feeling steady and capable. If you suffer from back pain, we have several treatment options available. If you would like to schedule an appointment or if you have any questions, please contact us at Elite Chiropractic today!

Circulation issues, cellular damage, and other musculoskeletal problems plague anyone from athletes to people who are just getting older. Without treatment, these problems can escalate and impact your quality of life. Luckily, there are a multitude of treatment options available to you, amongst which is vibration therapy.

What Is Vibration Therapy?

Vibration therapy is a form of physical therapy that relies on vibrations. It originated in 1867, when Russian physician Gustav Zander discovered that the vibration from a device he made helped to heal circulatory issues in the body. Since then, vibration has been found to have many therapeutic benefits, from relieving constipation, to increasing bone density, to improved circulation, leading to vibration therapy becoming common practice. 

How Does It Work?

Vibration therapy utilizes rapid-fire vibrations to force your muscles to contract and release. This stimulates blood flow and circulation and tissue growth. Targeted vibrations also provide pain relief by disrupting pain signals. Vibration therapy enhances your body’s natural ability to heal itself and is non-invasive. 

What Does Vibration Therapy Look Like?

When you schedule an appointment for vibration therapy, you’ll either receive localized treatment for problem areas or treatment for your whole body. Vibration therapy uses machines called vibration plates in order to create vibrations. Your physical therapist will have you either sit, stand, or lay on it, depending on what you’re trying to treat. The machine will then vibrate, forcing your muscles to contract. Vibration therapy appointments usually don’t take too long, making it a time-efficient treatment method. 

Vibration therapy can be combined with other treatment options like other forms of physical therapy or massage therapy for the best results, but it is also effective on its own for certain issues.

What Is It Good For?

Because vibration therapy forces your muscles to contract, it relieves tense muscles. The increased blood flow promotes natural healing, with how the vibrations can target specific damaged areas of the body and assist your natural healing process by guiding the blood there. The vibrations can relieve pain of compressed nerves, and both ease the pain of and boost the healing in injured tissues, muscles, ligaments, and discs. 

Vibration therapy also offers many other benefits. It can alleviate stress with how the vibrations make you feel like you’re exerting yourself, ergo reducing your cortisol – or stress hormone – levels, same as if you were working out, as well as boost your metabolism. It can increase your range of motion, due to bringing down inflammation and relieving tense muscles. It can improve your strength through promoting healing in your muscles. 

Are There Any Risks?

Generally, vibration therapy is a very safe method of treatment. Same as anything else though, there are some risks associated with it. The primary risk of vibration therapy is the vibration level being set too high for the patient, which can result in back pain and potential injury. With a professional physical therapist, though, you likely won’t need to worry about that. You may also want to first consult with your physical therapist if you are pregnant, have heart disease, are on blood thinners, or have any other conditions that you think vibration therapy may aggravate.

How Do I Know If Vibration Therapy Is Right For Me?

You may consider vibration therapy if you suffer from chronic pain, inflammation, tissue damage, or muscle tension. In addition to these, vibration therapy has been found to be helpful for a number of other health issues, such as:

• Parkinson’s disease
• Cerebral palsy
• Fibromyalgia
• Lymphatic drainage
• Arthritis 
• Cystic fibrosis
• And more.

If you’re considering vibration therapy, talk to a professional! They will be able to advise you on whether it is an option for you or if you should consider another method of treatment.

Do You Have Questions About Vibration Therapy?

Here at Elite Chiropractic, we offer vibration plate therapy, along with a multitude of other chiropractic treatment options. When you work with us, we’ll find the right method to help whatever issues you’re suffering from. For any questions about our services or to schedule an appointment, please contact us at Elite Chiropractic today!

Whether or not you love reading, you might have heard of the recently released novel The Great Gatsby: But Nick Has Scoliosis by Dick E. Heese. To help you understand what scoliosis is, this article will go to the signs and symptoms of scoliosis. It will also provide some information on how scoliosis can be treated. 

Although this article provides information on scoliosis, please do not use it as a replacement for professional help. Scoliosis is a serious condition that should be treated by a licensed and experienced professional. Keep reading for more information on who can treat scoliosis.

What is scoliosis?

Scoliosis is a condition in which an individual’s spine is curved. That means that a person with scoliosis often struggles with posture, walking, and other aspects associated with the spine. The spine usually begins to curve at the beginning of puberty and this curvature can range from mild to severe cases. Most cases of scoliosis are mild. But in severe cases, individuals will need surgery to strengthen and straighten the spine. According to John Hopkins Medicine, there are 3 million new cases of scoliosis each year, most of them occurring to children around the ages of 10-12 years old. 

Symptoms of scoliosis in older populations

Just because scoliosis tends to occur around the time of puberty does not make it a “young people’s issue.” In fact, scoliosis is an issue for people of all ages. That is, those who have it tend to have had the changes in their spine at an early age while the effects of this curvature might show up at a later time.

Here are some signs of scoliosis:

• Difficult with walking or awkward posture while walking
• Difficulty with breathing
• Pain in your back
• Clothes don’t feel right when you wear them 
• Feeling bad about your posture or being told that you have a “poor posture.”

Manage scoliosis with the help of a chiropractor

You can learn to manage scoliosis with the help of a chiropractor. A chiropractor will be helpful in a variety of ways. Here’s just two ways that a chiropractor can help with scoliosis. 

A chiropractor can help with the pain associated with scoliosis

Oftentimes, people with scoliosis assume that surgery is the main way of treating scoliosis. The reality is that there are many alternative and less invasive ways of managing scoliosis. With the help of a chiropractor, you can try things like chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and exercises to help you with this condition. You shouldn’t have to choose between the extremes of a surgery or living with the main. There are options available to you when you turn to a chiropractor. 

A chiropractor can teach you how to manage scoliosis from the comfort of your home

A licensed and skilled chiropractor will help you manage scoliosis from home. That is, they will teach you exercises that can help you with this condition. Additionally, they will go over lifestyle changes that can help with scoliosis. Lifestyle changes may include learning to stand rather than sit, learning the correct posture associated with different positions, and other aspects. This will be beneficial to you in the long run since a chiropractor should equip you with the tools that you need to learn how to manage this condition.

Move from living with scoliosis to thriving with Elite Chiropractic

At Elite Chiropractic, we would love to help you move from living with scoliosis to thriving! We believe that we can help you manage your condition so that it doesn’t function as a barrier to living your best life. We offer a variety of modalities and therapies that can help you. 

If you’re in the state of Washington, contact us at 509-436-8530. You can also reach out to us here. We would love to see you living the life that you deserve!