Chiropractor in Burke, VA - NOVA Chiropractic & Wellness Center

Dr. Todd P. Sullivan

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Why Chiropractic Is Preferred For Spinal Disc Problems

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Chiropractic care for spinal disc problems is steadily increasing in popularity. As more and more research proves the effectiveness for chiropractic for these types of problems, doctors and therapists are incorporating it into treatment plans for their patients.

Spinal disc problems can be debilitating, causing significant pain and severely limiting mobility. Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common spinal problems, causing back pain that, like other spinal conditions, can extend into the hip and leg or even the arm and hand.

It is caused by degeneration or thinning of the spinal joints or discs which can disrupt the mechanics of the spine and contribute to bulging discs that press on spinal nerves. Traditional treatment of this condition usually consists of strong pain medication and sometimes surgery.

Patients who are dealing with pain from discs that are bulging or ruptured as well as herniated, or slipped discs, do respond well to chiropractic care. Where surgery has long been a primary medical answer to pain relief for these spinal conditions, chiropractic treatments offer a nonsurgical alternative that has been shown to be very effective.

Most spinal or disc problems are marked by a specific set of symptoms including neck and back pain, stiffness, arm pain, leg pain, and tenderness in the spinal muscles or the spine itself. Other more serious symptoms can present at the onset of the condition or over a period of time. These symptoms indicate a dangerous problem that could even be life threatening; they include:

  • Back pain accompanied by fever
  • Loss of control of bladder or bowel
  • Severe weakness that inhibits the ability to use arms, legs, walk, etc.
  • Loss of sensation in both arms and/or both buttocks
  • Inability to defecate or urinate

More serious or life threatening symptoms may require medical intervention, but most spinal conditions can be helped or even corrected with chiropractic care.

Through the careful, precise manipulation of the spine, a chiropractor can make adjustments to the body that help relieve the pain and pressure. This treatment can halt the debilitating progression of certain spinal problems while relieving pain and increasing mobility.

Spinal problems are usually diagnosed by a combination of complete physical examination and a thorough patient history. During the examination the patient’s musculoskeletal and nervous systems are carefully assessed. A doctor of chiropractic will examine the patient by moving the patient into different positions using their legs, arms, and back while applying pressure to the joints. Other diagnostic tools include x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The preferable course of treatment for spinal problems is more conservative in nature. The earlier the problem can be diagnosed and treatment can begin, the better. There are several different treatments that a doctor of chiropractic may do to control and treat the pain. Modalities such as heat and ice applied to the affected area have been proven effective in controlling injury related pain in the lower back.

Movement is also crucial to healing and the sooner the patient gets back on their feet, the better. For most injuries or back problems, those problems are exacerbated when the patient stays in bed or coddles their back instead of walking and moving. It can result in long term back problems.

Spinal manipulation by a doctor of chiropractic has been proven to be an effective, safe treatment for disc problems and associated pain. In some cases therapeutic exercise may be added to the treatment and this too has been shown to be very effective.

In most cases, chiropractic care is sufficient and surgery of the spine or injections are unnecessary to manage the problems. In fact, these more invasive therapies often create more problems than they cure. Chiropractic care should be the first course of action for spine related pain, injury, or problems. So if you or a loved one are suffering from spinal disc problems, make sure you give us a call. We’re here to help!

How Chiropractic Benefits Football Players

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There is no doubt that football is a rough sport. At times it can be downright brutal, especially on the body. The sport sees a myriad of injuries, some serious, including head and neck, ankle, knee, and spinal. Chiropractic care is quickly becoming a popular, viable method of not only treating injuries, but also for managing injury related pain and even injury prevention. There are several significant benefits that football players can glean from chiropractic care.

A survey exploring the prevalence of chiropractic care in the National Football League (NFL) showed that of the team trainers surveyed, 77 percent responded that they have referred players to a chiropractor for treat or evaluation. At that time, in 2002, 31 percent of the NFL teams have a team chiropractor on staff. Now all 32 of the NFL teams utilize chiropractic care for their players and staff.

College teams are also finding that chiropractic care can help their players. Virginia Tech has a chiropractor who routinely treats the players, helping them with injury recovery and physical health. The doctor has an office in the sports complex and the trainers are able to schedule appointments for the athletes.

The benefits of chiropractic care for football players are significant.

Improved Mobility

Chiropractic manipulative treatment (CMT), aka the chiropractic adjustment, is one of the primary chiropractic therapies in sports medicine. It helps to increase flexibility and minimize or eliminate pain in movement. CMT is often used by football players as an injury prevention measure. It has also been shown to improve athletic performance.

Solid Body Maintenance

The brutality of football leads to frequent injuries. However, soreness and stiffness are even more commonplace. Many players use chiropractic care to ease the general pain that comes from overexertion and rough play. They may not be injured, per se, but are experiencing the normal pain that comes with the territory when one is an athlete. Chiropractic care keeps the body working as it should at optimal athletic performance.

Pain Relief

Chiropractic care has long been recognized as an effective pain management tool and now athletes are discovering the benefits of chiropractic therapy as well. It has been shown to relieve headaches, particularly those stemming from head and neck injuries. It also relieves shoulder pain and pain from ankle and knee injuries such as sprains.

Injury Prevention

There is a direct correlation between athletes who regularly use chiropractic care and a decline in sports related injuries. Those who use the treatment experience better flexibility and mobility which has been linked to injury prevention. Additionally, chiropractic care helps to increase strength and by making the body stronger it is more resistant to injury.

Increase Strength and Endurance

Chiropractic care has been linked with increased muscular strength. While it is often thought of as a way to relieve pain, it has been shown to effectively promote strength in the muscles after only a few sessions. This can help players avoid injury by combining the increase in strength with increased mobility. This also works to promote endurance and stamina.

Sports Hernia Relief

A significant amount of athletes experience groin pain due to injury. Athletic pubalgia is one of the most common causes of injury related groin pain. Also known as sports hernia, athletic pubalgia can cause significant pain. Chiropractic care has been shown to relieve the discomfort within 8 weeks when combined with rehabilitative exercises.

Chiropractic care plays a very important role in injury prevention, whole body care, and pain relief for athletes in one of the roughest sports in the world. These benefits can also be translated to other sports where injury is a frequent occurrence.

How Mobile Devices are Wrecking Our Spines

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Nearly everyone has a smartphone or mobile device these days, and while there is some merit to this technology by keeping us more connected – at least virtually – it is wreaking havoc on our bodies. When you look at the posture that people assume when texting, reading email, or browsing social media while on their mobile device or smartphone, you will see their head bent forward and rounded shoulders. They typically hold the device either at chest level or waist level meaning that their hands are together, forming an almost crouch position.

This is very bad for the spine but it creates problems for other parts of the body even beyond the spine. Let’s take a look at some of the common issues that come with bad smartphone posture.

Text Neck

The more you tilt your head downward (just as you do when looking at a smartphone), the more pounds of pressure you put on your neck and back. Your spine supports the weight of your head. The more it is thrust forward, looking down, the heavier your head gets. Doctors are seeing many young people with this problem, some even as young as 8 years old.

It is characterized by tightness or tension in the neck and shoulders as well as the upper back. Some patients report pain while others feel pressure, and others feel tightness. Sometimes the pain will spread throughout the body or from the neck to the arms and hands.

Forearm and Wrist Pain

Even the way you hold your phone in your hands can cause problems. Since you keep your hand in one position for long periods of time your muscles never have a chance to relax. You have several muscles engaged to do this: the forearms, the wrist, and the neck.

If you are experiencing pain, sometimes shooting, in your elbow or wrist your smartphone use may be the culprit. So put the phones away or leave them at home.

Sore Upper and Lower Back

As your neck struggles to support your head which is rolled forward, it stands to reason that you will experience back pain. In fact, both upper and lower back pain have been attributed to smartphone use.

Think about the muscles that run along your spine. They help stabilize it and help control and support your head. When you hunch over you strain those muscles in your upper back. What you may not realize is that similar strain is being put on the muscles in your lower back as well.

Blackberry Thumb

The muscles in your hand are very small but they can cause you a great deal of pain if you frequently use a mobile device. As you type on the keyboard of your smart phone, it can cause problems with tendons and ligament as well as the muscles.

This repetitive stress of the body is caused daily by people who stay hunched over their small phone screen. The repetitive movement of your thumb as it manipulates the device can cause inflammation in the thumb and hand.

Headaches from Tension in Neck and Back

One of the most common ailments associated with mobile device usage is headaches. These headaches can come from tension in the neck, strained muscled in the back, or overworked muscles through the hand and arm into the shoulder. It can also come from eyestrain caused by staring at the screen for extended amounts of time, looking at tiny text.

There is no doubt that mobile device usage is becoming a serious problem in our society today. While there are the people who text while driving or while walking, posing a significant threat to their own and others’ safety, what they are doing to their own bodies is enough to cause alarm.

Chiropractic care can ease the pain and reverse a good portion of the damage that has been done, but if when people continue with the same bad habits the treatment is only temporary. There needs to be a focused effort made to pull people out of their mobile devices, at least a portion of the time, to minimize the structural spinal damage they are doing to themselves.  If you are suffering from neck pain give our office a call at 703-912-7822 or visit us at Chiropractor in Burke, VA.

Let Chiropractic Care Put the Oomph Back In Your Dance Steps

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Do you want to dance?

Most people love hearing these words, and wholeheartedly jump to the dance floor to twist and shout with the best of them. Some even take classes to learn to swing, tap, or ballroom dance. Others even train and compete. It’s big fun, and provides social interaction and exercise.

And sometimes pain.

While some don’t view it this way, dancing is a sport. As such, dance moves can put pressure on your body that causes injury.

Common dancing injuries include foot and ankle sprains, pulled knees, and stress fractures. If you have shimmied your back out, or do-si-do’d your knee into a stiff, painful mess, it’s time to call the best dance partner you have ever had: your chiropractor!

Chiropractic care helps dancers prevent and cope with injuries in a variety of ways.

Before:

Dancing requires coordination and balance that comes from strong muscles, bones, and ligaments. If your body is tight and ill-prepared for exercise, you could end up busting a move in the wrong way on the dance floor.

Chiropractic care can, over time, help strengthen your muscles and align your spine so your body is in prime condition for physical activity, with minimal risk of injury. Chiropractic visits work wonders from the neck to the feet in putting the body back in its top performing form. In addition, your chiropractor can offer an at-home regimen of stretching exercises that serves to further promote healthy joints, tendons and muscles.

During:

For those who dance regularly, painful feet, ankles and knees may be viewed as part of the package of doing something they love. This doesn’t have to be the case. By committing to regular chiropractic care, dancers improve their range of motion, and keep muscles and joints loose and functioning correctly. Chiropractic care during a regular routine of dancing plays into staying healthy and mobile.

After:

Dancing requires a body to move, turn, and stretch in ways that it may not be accustomed. If you ignored proper preparation, or ended up taking precautions and suffered an injury anyway, you may experience pain and loss of mobility. Make an appointment with your chiropractor as soon as possible.

Many common bodily injuries can be dramatically improved by a regimen of chiropractic care. From sprains to strains to misalignment, a few visits to your chiropractor offers multiple benefits.

The first is pain management, often without drugs. The second is injury improvement by performing manual manipulations, known as adjustments, that stretch the injured area and promote healing. The third is increased mobility. Finally, chiropractic care assists the body in knitting itself back together so well that it minimizes the chances of future injury.

If you have been dancing on and off or regularly for years, or if you are thinking about taking up dancing, know there are many great benefits from incorporating it into your routine. However, you need to take proper precautions to reduce the risk of suffering an injury as you move.

Make sure to choose a nutritious diet and stay hydrated while you dance, and wear properly fitting clothing and shoes. Strive to practice the moves correctly, as well as maintain correct posture. Don’t overdo it, because pushing your body past its limits is a surefire way to cause an injury. Also remember to always stretch out and warm up before dancing.

By following these simple suggestions, you can hit the floor when the music starts and dance until you wear out, enjoying the health benefits dancing brings, while avoiding the injuries.

How Chiropractic Benefits Cheerleaders

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When we think of cheerleaders we usually think of pretty girls in colorful outfits, pom poms in hand, cheering for their team. They are way more than that though. Cheerleaders are serious athletes.

It has taken a while, but the public is finally starting to realize just how true this is. Data collected by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research (NCCSIR), between 1982 and 2009 cheerleaders made up for more than 70 percent of catastrophic injuries in women’s college sports. At the high school level that number exceeded 60 percent.

Some claim that this high percentage of injuring among cheerleaders to be due to lax regulations at the state level. Some states refuse to recognize cheerleading as a sport and organizations such as the NCAA don’t either.

This leaves an already potentially dangerous activity without proper oversight of the government or regulating agencies. It also means that some people who manage cheer squads and organize competitions are not required to get the same coaching and safety training standards that those in other sports do.

Since chiropractic treats the whole body through not just structurally via spinal adjustments, but also through soft tissue techniques, patients can receive complete care after an injury and during rehabilitation. Cheerleaders are finding that chiropractic care provides numerous benefits and can even make them better athletes.

It helps to improve range of motion

Chiropractic care helps to improve a person’s range of motion which in turn helps to prevent injury and relieve the pain of injury. Chiropractic is growing in its popularity within the field of sports medicine because of its effectiveness. A 2010 study published in The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association showed that chiropractic made a significant difference in performance.

It helps to prevent injury

Even when no injury is present, athletes can benefit from chiropractic care. This is especially true in high impact sports like cheerleading where athletes push their bodies beyond limits through acrobatics and some of the strenuous tricks that they do in the course of their sport. Chiropractic helps to loosen muscles, making them more pliable and flexible, thus less prone to injury.

It helps to relieve pain from injury

A study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in March 2011 shows that chiropractic for pain relief can alleviate the pain of hamstring injury. The study was conducted over the course of a football season and involved 43 professional cheerleaders for football various football teams.

Throughout the study the cheerleaders received specific exercise intervention. At the end of the study those who had reported pain due to a hamstring injury experienced significant pain reduction after receiving chiropractic treatment.

It can increase physical strength

While chiropractic is typically considered a therapy for alleviating skeletal and muscular complaints, a study in 2011 showed that it can also improve physical strength. The study involved judo athletes competing at the national level who used cervical spinal manipulative therapy (SMT). The final results of the study showed a 16 percent improvement in grip strength among the athletes who received only three SMT sessions.

The case for chiropractic care for athletes is very strong. It can help during training, recovery from injury, rehabilitation, and at every point in between. Although cheerleaders are still in their infancy of being recognized as serious athletes, the case for chiropractic care as a viable sports medicine therapy to improve performance and recover from injury is significant. The benefits that cheerleaders can receive from this type of therapy, as we can see here, can really give them something to cheer about both on the field and off.

4 Powerful Ways Yoga Increases the Effectiveness of Chiropractic Care

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Yoga hasn’t taken the world by storm, but it has gained steadily in popularity in the last decade. Originally developed thousands of years ago, the practice of breathing, posing, and stretching offers a variety of important health benefits. Reduced stress and blood pressure, increased flexibility and stamina, greater balance, and a better understanding of breathing techniques are all fabulous results of practicing yoga.

In addition to the normal exercise benefits yoga offers, the practice serves as treatment for a variety of injuries and health conditions. Yoga embodies the recognition of the link between physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness, and reaches its fans in deeper ways than other forms of traditional exercise.

Although the two disciplines come from entirely different histories, the concept that yoga heals the body in its entirety closely mirrors the concept behind chiropractic care. These similar foundations offer enormous benefits to those suffering from a variety of injuries and conditions that seek help from a chiropractor. By incorporating yoga sessions into their treatment, chiropractic patients often reap great rewards.

Here are four reasons why:

Yoga primes the body for healing

Practicing yoga stretches and elongates the body’s muscles, releasing tension and stress. Before patients visit their chiropractors, yoga can serve to warm up their bodies and clarify their minds, so the chiropractor can dig into the root problem. Yoga complements chiropractic treatment by readying the body to heal itself.

Yoga strengthens joints and ligaments

Dealing with a health condition or injury is frustrating and can seem like it takes forever to heal. Implementing yoga into a recovery plan helps strengthen joints and ligaments, which aids in promoting healing and cutting down the time it takes to get better.

Yoga works on the body as a whole and promotes greater well-being from head to toe. A stronger body absorbs chiropractic care more productively and deeply than one that is stiff, sore, and unhealthy.

Yoga increases range of motion

Depending on the severity of the individual’s specific condition, chiropractic patients may need several visits to “prep” their bodies before the main issue can even be addressed. Yoga sessions increase a body’s flexibility and help with the range of motion in the neck, back, hips, and other joints. By going into a chiropractic treatment equipped with better range of motion, the patient is more pliable, and the visit is able to offer more in-depth adjustments, for greater results.

Prevents future injury

Many reasons individuals seek chiropractic treatment are for recurring issues. Yoga provides an ongoing way for patients dealing with chronic issues to manage and reduce instances of pain, inflammation, and other symptoms. A regimen of yoga coupled with chiropractic care keeps the body aligned, its balance level, the muscles stretched and de-stressed, and the joints operating efficiently.

Both also serve to keep posture correct, and ligaments strong. All of these results create a body that is less susceptible to future injury, and less inclined for previous medical conditions to resurface. Individuals enjoy greater mobility longer, all without changing their active lifestyles.

Yoga has long been touted as the answer for many of the body’s issues, and it’s smart for individuals, whether dealing with current issues or in prime health, to check out the basics of yoga. Chiropractic care coupled with yoga offers a great many benefits to patients who are dealing with medical conditions or injury. Ask your chiropractor for an evaluation of your health issues, and whether adding yoga to your overall health plan would help you lead a better, more active life.

4 Benefits Plantar Fasciitis Sufferers Gain By Using Chiropractic

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One of the most difficult medical conditions to spell is also one of the most common. Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain. A person is afflicted with this medical condition when the tissue tears in the long ligament that runs along the bottom of the foot, called the plantar fascia ligament. The resulting symptoms include pain and inflammation that can be acute and often ongoing.

It’s estimated that 2 million Americans suffer from plantar fasciitis. However, many different factors cause the condition.

A foot trauma from an injury such as a fall can bring about the condition. Other causes are wearing ill-fitting or non-supporting footwear, prolonged standing, and arthritis. Once afflicted with plantar fasciitis, the sufferer often changes their gait to avoid foot pain, bringing on secondary issues such as misalignment and joint stress.

While there are several modes of treatment options, chiropractic care offers multiple unique benefits to those who suffer from plantar fasciitis. Here are four specific ways chiropractic care effectively treats plantar fasciitis.

Chiropractic car helps reduce the strain on the plantar fascia

When the ligament is stressed, it can cause tiny tears that brings on plantar fasciitis. Sufferers who don’t take measures to repair this damage often experience ongoing pain and inflammation. A chiropractor, over a series of visits, is able to adjust the foot and heel so the ligament starts to relax, which in return, promotes healing and diminishes the instances of dealing with the condition again down the road.

Chiropractic care helps minimize secondary bodily injury due to compensation

As mentioned above, individuals dealing with the pain of plantar fasciitis frequently adapt their gait to avoid painful steps, causing stress and weight to fall on other parts of the feet, ankles, and joints. This may eventually cause issues with strained muscles and sore joints.

Chiropractic treatment not only deals with the symptoms, but treats the root of the problem. Patients who commit to chiropractic care see the plantar fasciitis decrease in severity. In addition, the chiropractor helps re-train them to walk and stand correctly, taking care of the secondary issues.

Additional at home exercises promote healing

Patients can help their situations in addition to visiting their chiropractor by taking advantage of regular home therapy exercises. Part of chiropractic care for plantar fasciitis includes a regular recommendation of exercises that stretches and heals the plantar fascia as well as secondary affected areas. For maximum results, patients need to make sure they perform the exercises correctly and diligently stick to the rehabilitation plan.

Chiropractic works well in conjunction with other treatments

Chiropractic treatment for plantar fasciitis complements other treatments. Chiropractic visits paired with massage, physical therapy, and more invasive treatment such as injections to offer pain management, increased mobility, and faster healing. Talk with your chiropractor to see what other treatments may complement your current care.

The not so great news is plantar fasciitis’s typical recovery time is several months. The great news is that committing to a combination of chiropractic visits and therapy exercises heals 9 out of 10 cases.

Plantar fasciitis is a common issue that millions of people face, but it doesn’t have to control your activity level or hinder your lifestyle. Consult a chiropractor and work together to lay out a plan of chiropractic adjustments, at-home rehab, and possibly other complementary forms of treatments. It may take time, but plantar fasciitis sufferers can eventually reach a point where they are pain free and their mobility is unhindered!

If you are suffering from plantar fasciitis give our office a call at 703-912-7822 and watch this video on how to treat plantar fasciitis.

What Chiropractic Patients Ought To Know About Whole Food Supplements vs. Synthetic

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We always eat our vegetables, drink our kale smoothies, and tear through a bag of fruit on a daily basis, right? Uh, sure, whatever.

The truth is most Americans are busy and make dubious dietary choices. Meat heavy, overly processed, and vegetable skimpy most like describes our meals. Some of us try to counterbalance our imperfect eating choices by taking vitamin supplements to help fuel our bodies with the proper nutrients.

Roughly half the U.S. population takes some form of vitamin supplements. We understand vitamins and minerals help protect our muscles, bones, and joints, keeps our skin and hair healthy, and boosts our immune system.

Choosing a supplement regimen seems like a healthy trend, because of our perception they are good for us. How accurate is that, really?

The answer depends on the type of supplements you choose, as they vary widely from one brand to the next, and labels don’t necessarily give insight as to their quality. A good standard of practice is to choose whole food vitamins over synthetic whenever possible.

Why is that? Here are a few points to remember about whole food vs. synthetic vitamins.

Like processed foods, synthetic vitamins are not naturally occurring. Whole food vitamins operate on the principle that natural is easier for the body to absorb and use, so it ends up offering greater benefits. A synthetic multivitamin may show everything you think you need on the label, but if your body isn’t absorbing it, then taking it does little good.

Another point is that natural supplements tend to be easier to absorb. Vitamins and minerals are absorbed by the body in complex ways, often taking one type of mineral for the other to be digested. Whole food vitamins are real foods in their entirety, supplying the body’s need for the vitamins we understand as well as the secondary ingredients that make up the food. Conversely, synthetic vitamins isolate each separate vitamin, so the overall result is less effective.

Finally, taking isolated nutrients can actually cause deficiencies. As shocking as this may sound to those of us who religiously pop extra vitamin C before we board a packed plane, it’s true.

When an isolated vitamin or mineral enters the body, it still demands other nutrients to be present in order to be digested and utilized. This requirement can pull those nutrients out of the body’s reserves, which, over time, can cause a deficiency of completely different vitamins. Whole food vitamins, on the other hand, don’t cause this, because everything they need to be used by the body is included, since it is a natural food.

If you use supplements to ensure you meet your dietary requirements, take a long look at the labels, and do your own research on the type of vitamins in your medicine cabinet. If they are synthetic, think about making a change to whole food vitamins for greater health benefits.

And remember that real food is best. No supplement, no matter how high quality or natural, beats eating a healthy variety of high quality organic foods. If your current diet is lacking in healthy, fresh foods, set a goal to add a few to your meals over the next few weeks.

Your body is the only one you will ever have, so it’s vital to take care of it. Empower yourself to stay strong and healthy longer by committing to eating healthy and exercising. If you decide to take supplements, choose the whole food options, and keep in mind they are no substitute for nutrient rich eating.

What Chiropractic Patients Ought To Know About Orthotics

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Individuals who suffer from a recurring medical condition, as well as those who experience an injury of one form or another, maintain the same overall goals; manage the pain, find a successful treatment option, and heal as quickly as possible. Fortunately, chiropractic care helps promote healing and strengthen the body by working on it in its entirety.

Experienced chiropractors understand there are some other treatments in addition to chiropractic care that help aid pain management, increase mobility, and decrease healing time. Depending on the condition, individuals may experience a wide array of benefits from blending these treatments into their chiropractic treatment.

One such treatment is orthotics. If life were a sandbox, chiropractic care and orthotics would be the best of friends. Orthotics treat muscle and skeletal conditions, as does chiropractic treatment. Some of the key benefits of utilizing orthotics as treatment include:

Greater support

Orthotics created to “brace” the body part that is not at full performance strength allows it to heal faster.

Success in keeping certain areas immobile

Sometimes a person’s injury requires little or no movement, and orthotics serve this scenario well.

Decreasing weight bearing on the particular body part

Feet, for example, bear a great deal of the body’s weight, making them one of the more difficult parts of the body to achieve healing. Orthotics provide the weight bearing assistance needed to give the body time to repair and heal itself.

Body stabilization

If a part of the body is not functioning adequately, the entire body may be unstable. This is an unsafe situation that can actually cause other injuries. Orthotics are tools that stabilize the body by providing extra support.

Body alignment correction

A variety of injuries and other health conditions cause misalignment of the spine. Certain orthotics assist the body in achieving alignment over the course of time, especially when combined with chiropractic adjustments.

Used in the course of chiropractic treatment, orthotics provide a valuable factor in the person’s recovery. Marrying the regimens of chiropractic care and orthotics supercharge the healing and recovery time.

Here’s how:

Helps eliminate painful symptoms. With chiropractic visits working on the body as a whole, and orthotics offering support and stabilization, patients often show a decrease in painful symptoms faster than employing one or the other.

Increases the chance of returning to normal activity. Utilizing orthotics gives the area that is underperforming stabilization and support. This allows a person to more likely return to work and other daily activities faster than chiropractic treatment alone.

Minimizes reliance on medication. A chronically painful medical issue is quite difficult to manage without medication. Long-term use of certain medications can create health and addiction issues, leaving a person with one more problem to handle. The combination of chiropractic care and orthotics empowers many individuals to lessen their dependence on drugs.

Maximizes quality of life. While being treated by a chiropractor, a patient’s body may take weeks or longer to stabilize before it completely heals. When orthotics are coupled with chiropractic care, these same people are able to achieve a greater feeling of stability, and consequently, independence. This effect is perhaps the most significant benefit of employing the two practices, as quality of life is immeasurable.

To get scanned and fitted for your custom orthotics give our office a call at 703-912-7822 or schedule an appointment online by visit us at Chiropractor in Burke, VA.

5 Reasons Whiplash Sufferers Should Choose Chiropractic Care

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Our neck is a busy body part. It holds up and turns our head, allowing us to see, hear, and speak in the direction we choose.

Although the neck is a real “team player” it’s a bit of a diva, meaning it’s fairly delicate. There are many ways everyday motion injures the neck, ending up causing pain, decreased mobility, and varying degrees of short and long-term misery.

Whiplash is a common neck injury caused by a sudden movement that jerks the neck forth and then back in a whipping motion. Automobile accidents frequently result in whiplash, as the vehicle is moving and then stopping rapidly.

This affects the neck’s ligaments and joints in various degrees, depending on the speed of the vehicle and the site of the impact. In severe cases, the discs and the nerves may also be damaged.

Symptoms of whiplash include varying degrees of pain, stiffness in the neck, headaches, and sometimes dizziness, blurred vision, and nausea. Some people only suffer with whiplash a few days, while others experience ongoing issues.

If you have been injured in an automobile crash, it’s in your best interest to immediately schedule an appointment with a chiropractor. There are a myriad of ways chiropractic care assists in managing the pain and minimizing the symptoms of whiplash.

Here are five of the best reasons:

#1: Reduces inflammation to promote healing

The first order of business for whiplash sufferers is to get the neck’s inflammation reduced, as this hinders proper healing. Your chiropractor will utilize chiropractic adjustments, along with other forms of treatment based on your specific injury. It’s essential to undergo this type of treatment as soon after the injury occurs as possible in order to reach optimum results.

#2: Minimizes pain for greater comfort

Whiplash can be extremely painful, as so many of the neck’s components may be involved, and the neck is such a mobile body part. Every neck movement hurting is no way to live! Chiropractic care soothes the pain of whiplash through therapeutic techniques that promote healing of the damaged area.

#3: Returns proper body alignment

When the inflammation and the pain of whiplash are reduced, the next step is to promote healing and alignment within the body. A chiropractor will perform a series of chiropractic adjustments that includes the neck and spine, but may also incorporate other parts of the body. Whiplash does a number on the body’s natural alignment, and it’s the chiropractor’s job to put it all back together in workable order.

#4: Offers exercises to increase mobility

Contrary to old movies where the whiplash sufferer wears a cumbersome neck brace, it’s vital to the rehabilitation process to keep moving. During chiropractic visits, patients receive a regimen of exercises to perform regularly at home. These, combined with chiropractic care, lessen the time it takes to recover.

#5: Provides an alternative to surgery

The good news is that a whiplash injury rarely requires surgery. However, it’s best to not tempt fate and visit a chiropractor to make certain your injuries are treated and begin healing. A chiropractor monitors improvements and keeps you apprised of your progress, empowering you to get better and back to normal activity faster than simply suffering through the symptoms, hoping they go away.

If you are involved in a motor vehicle crash and end up with whiplash, don’t despair. A chiropractor will map out a treatment regimen that will decrease inflammation and pain, increase mobility, and promote healing. Remember, the sooner you see your chiropractor, the faster the treatment begins, and the sooner you see results. Don’t suffer give us a call today at 703-912-7822 or visit us at Chiropractor in Burke, VA.