Eastwind Chiropractic Center

Back Pain

There are various diagnoses associated with the symptom of "Back Pain". The most common back conditions seen in our office are as follows: Facet Syndrome - This patient typically has trouble standing and bending backward; however, all positions can be painful. The pain tends to be very specific and usually does not travel down the leg. Disc Herniation - This patient typically has a complaint of "Sudden" back pain after attempting to either lift a heavy object or bend forward. Often the patient will report hearing a "Pop" in their back. The Patient typically has trouble with standing up straight and sitting, with pain often travelling down the leg. Sprains and Strains - This patient typically reports injuring themselves during a slip and fall or other rigorous activity. Referred Pain - Various organs refer pain to the lower and upper back, including kidney, bladder and gall bladder. Pain tends to be unaffected to position and can be very hard to pinpoint. Chiropractors are specially trained to differentiate the above conditions from one another so that the proper treatment protocols can be performed.
Neck Pain

This is the second most common group of conditions seen in our office. Some of the most common sources of neck pain are as follows: Degenerative Arthritis - This patient typically reports stiffness and/or pain in the neck, especially in the morning. They often complain of tightness when attempting to turn their head. More severe cases can have complete loss of motion of the neck. The most common cause of degenerative arthritis of the neck is trauma, most patients report a history of auto or sports injury more than 5 years prior. Facet Syndrome - These patients typically have a lot of pain with attempting to look upward, and turning their head in one direction. The pain tends to be described as "sharp" and often refers into the shoulder. Sprains and Strains - This patient typically is involved in either a sports or auto incident and presents with muscle spasm and pain with most motions of the head. Auto incident sprains are typically called "Whiplash". Other non-specific neck pain is very common as well, which results from what Chiropractors refer to as Subluxations, or minor misalignments of the neck. All of the above diagnoses can be successfully treated with Chiropractic care.
Knee Pain

Knee related pain tends to be one of the most disabling and painful conditions due to the amount of stress the knee joint undergoes during normal daily activities, such as walking, climbing stairs and bending. Knee surgery has some of the highest rates of failure, with pain often worsening, even after complete replacement. Due to the lack of blood flow to the cartilage of the knee, there is very little capacity for healing on its own. The most common knee conditions treated by Chiropractors are as follows: Patellofemoral syndrome/Patellar Tracking Disorder/Chondromalacia Patella - This condition has many different names, but the meaning is the same. This patient typically is told that they have weak "Quads" and that the patella (knee cap) is not moving properly. The patella will begin to degenerate if this occurs over a long period of time. Even though the surgery to "correct" this condition is very expensive and invasive, Chiropractors can typically manage this condition in only a few visits, with simple exercises and adjustments to the knee joint. Other Knee conditions that respond well to Chiropractic care are Ligament Sprains, such as ACL, PCL, Collateral and Meniscus tears.
Shoulder Pain

The Shoulder is the most complex joint in the body. In fact, it is made up of three separate joints: Glenohumeral (arm to shoulder socket), Acromioclavicular (clavicle to shoulder blade) and Sternoclavicular (sternum to clavicle). All three joints must move in unison to allow the shoulder to have 180 degrees of motion in different directions. The most common shoulder injuries tend to be rotator cuff strains and tears. These occur from repetitive small trauma, which weakens the small shoulder muscles (together they make up the rotator cuff) that are attached to the shoulder blade. These muscles are the stabilizers that prevent the shoulder from dislocating when you bring your arm overhead. A tear in these muscles will significantly impair one's ability to perform normal daily functions, such as light lifting, brushing and washing hair, etc. Arthritis - Not as common as you would think, this is when the shoulder joint begins to degenerate from a long history of neglect to the shoulder from either a single untreated injury or repetitive trauma. This condition typically sore in the mornings but improves throughout the day as the shoulder "Warms Up". Tendonitis/Bursitis/Tendonosis - These conditions are all similar in pain pattern and mechanism of pain. These are injuries to either the tendons of the shoulder muscles (where the muscle inserts into the bone) or the padding between the tendons and bone. All of the above conditions can be managed well with Chiropractic care, with exception of significant rotator cuff tears that need surgical repair; however, most rotator cuff tears are very minor and respond better to conservative treatment, such as Chiropractic and Exercise.
Elbow Pain

There are two main conditions of the elbow that encompass most of the patients with elbow pain. They are commonly known as "Golfer's Elbow", "Little League Elbow" and "Tennis Elbow". Even though the sport's name is in the name of the condition, a patient does not have to play that specific sport to develop this condition. These conditions arise from sprains and strains of the collateral ligament and muscular attachments of the Medial (inside) and Lateral(outside) regions of the elbow. Call it what you want, Chiropractic care is very effective at not only treating the pain, but strengthening the elbow to prevent the condition from recurring.
Wrist Pain

Wrist pain can be from a number of sources. Common diagnoses are as follows: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - there is an extensive article on carpal tunnel syndrome on this website, the link is on the right (or bottom on a cell phone) of this page. Sprains and strains - It is very common to see patients with sprains and strains of the wrist due a reflex that prevents us from falling on our faces. Instead of simply falling flat on our face or back, our bodies instinctively stretch both arms out and either land on or grab with our wrists. While this protects vital body parts, such as our head and back, it leaves the wrist very vulnerable to fractures and sprains. The bones of the wrist, called carpals, are compressed and stretched beyond their normal positioning. Typically they are held together with a complex web of ligaments, however, in a fall such as described above the force of the impact will often partially or completely tear these ligaments. After a fracture and dislocation has been ruled out with X-Ray, Chiropractors can successfully treat these injuries with mobilization techniques to re-align the carpals and give exercises to strengthen the wrist. Other conditions of the wrist include arthritis, referred pain from the neck and elbow and cysts. All of which can be treated with Chiropractic care.
Headaches

There is an extensive article written about headaches on this website, please click here to be taken to the article.
Carpal Tunnel

There is an extensive article written about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome on this website, please click here to be taken to the article.
Sports Injuries

Chiropractic care for sports injuries focuses on the mechanism of trauma and the reason for the failure of the specific ligament, muscle, etc. Most non-professional athletes, of all ages, have some key mal-adaptive behavior that allows them to perform their sport of choice, but exposes them to risk of injury. Other athletes are simply at risk for specific injuries based on their genetics. For example, the most commonly seen injury in female basketball players is an ACL tear. An exceptionally tall and thin player is unable to withstand excessive force through the knee due to a typically lesser muscular mass than a male counterpart and the physics, which calculates that force increases exponentially as the lever arm increases (remember she has tall, long legs). Training this patient in proper jumping mechanics can reduce her chances of injury or re-injury significantly.
Auto Injuries

Auto Injuries can encompass a wide range of diagnoses, and often symptoms do not appear for 12-48 hours. It is also very common for symptoms to take up to two full weeks to appear. The most common injuries are sprain and strain type injuries. A Sprain is a tear in a ligament responsible for holding two bones together. A tear does not necessarily mean that the ligament has been completely separated, but rather the outer layers have begun to fray like an old piece of rope. The frayed outer layer weakens the integrity of the ligament and allows it to stretch beyond its normal length, thereby making the joint unstable. Because the joint has become unstable, the body attempts to splint the joint by putting the local muscles into spasm. There are not many nerve endings in ligaments; therefore, pain level initially may be very low or none at all. However, muscle tissue has a very large amount of nerve fibers. Once a muscle has gone into full spasm, typically 12-48 hours post-injury, it begins to send pain signals to the brain. The muscles will remain in spasm, and eventually shorten, until the joint has returned to its normal position and becomes stable. However, the spasm of the muscle itself does not allow the joint to return to its normal position and stabilize.

Chiropractic treatment is two-fold, the first goal is to re-align the injured joint through the use of precise "Adjustments". The second goal of treatment is to stabilize the joint through the use of therapeutic exercise, also known as physical therapy. A Strain typically accompanies Sprain injuries, but is a separate condition of its own. A Strain is a tear of muscle fibers, which is commonly seen in patients who "Brace" before impact. The pre-tightening of the muscles in an auto incident renders them less flexible and thereby more prone to tearing. Treatment is targeted toward relaxing and resting the injured muscle initially, with therapeutic exercise introduced to re-strengthen the muscle once the fibers have begun to heal. With either injury it is very important that you DO NOT STRETCH the injured region. Stretching a Strained or Sprained joint will worsen the tear and result in more muscle spasm. A stretch may feel good temporarily but will significantly extend recovery time and pain. Other injuries seen in some auto incidents are Fractures, Concussions, Lacerations, etc. While Chiropractors can diagnose these conditions, any patient with these more serious conditions will be referred to the ER or a proper specialist for co-management.
Asthma

Asthma is defined as "a respiratory condition marked by spasms in the bronchi of the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing, which typically arises from an allergic reaction or other forms of hypersensitivity." While Chiropractors do not "cure" asthma, many patients find significant relief of their symptoms and/or are able decrease their dependence on inhalers and other asthma medications, which can have harmful side effects. Chiropractors do NOT advise against the use of such medication, Asthma can result in death if proper medication is not available during an "attack". However, if the patient finds that they have less "attacks" while under Chiropractic Care, then naturally they will be utilizing less of their inhaler.

Chiropractic care for asthma is a co-management strategy with the patient's other healthcare providers. The hypersensitivity to stimuli plays a direct role in bronchial spasm through the autonomic nervous system (commonly referred to as the "fight or flight" response). The autonomic nervous system is comprised of special nerve fibers that exit and run parallel to the Thoracic Spine (aka the Midback region). Pressure of less than the weight of a quarter is all that is necessary to overstimulate a nerve, which can easily be caused by what Chiropractors refer to as a Subluxation, which means that a vertebra has become mis-aligned. An "Adjustment" to any Subluxations present in the Thoracic Spine will have a direct effect on the autonomic nerve fibers at that same vertebra. If you have any further questions regarding Chiropractic treatment for Asthma, please feel free to schedule a free consultation with one of us.
Scoliosis

Scoliosis - Scoliosis is defined as an abnormal curvature of the spine of more than 10-20 degrees. The spine is made up of 24 individual bones called "Vertebrae". Each vertebra is supposed to "interlock" with the vertebra directly above and below to prevent dislocation when we bend and twist. This interlocking allows us to an incredible degree of stability while performing extreme activities, such as heavy lifting or sports. However, because these vertebrae are strongly connected, if one or more become "out of place" the vertebrae above and below follow. We call these "out of place" vertebrae a Subluxation. Medical doctors diagnose over 90% of scoliosis patients with "Idiopathic" Scoliosis. The prefix "Idio" meaning unknown and the suffix "pathic" means origin of disease. Chiropractors argue against such a vague diagnosis that falsely portrays a condition for which there is no treatment, or worse, where treatment is to screw titanium rods into a child's spine. There are a number of ways to develop curves in the spine: leg length discrepancies (responsible for over half of the scoliosis patients in our office), old trauma (falls, sports and auto injuries), genetics (scoliosis has a mild to moderate genetic pattern) and body type. It is widely known that tall, thin females have the highest risk of developing scoliosis. While the cause of the scoliosis may not be clear initially, careful history, examination and most importantly x-ray evaluation will likely reveal which form of scoliosis a patient has.

It is vital that a scoliosis be found before a child reaches the end of puberty, as their growth plates begin to close and their ability to adapt significantly reduces. Because of the abnormal stress on the vertebra from the curve, the vertebra will begin to reshape into a wedge if not treated properly. Once a "wedged" vertebra's growth plate has closed, it is very unlikely that it will ever return to its normal shape. As one can imagine, if a vertebra is shaped like a wedge it will be impossible for the vertebra above it to align properly. Chiropractic care can correct some scoliosis curvatures, and even in some of the most extreme cases it can prevent further progression of the curvature, eliminating the need for titanium rods. Please read my own personal success story with scoliosis as a child on my Bio page by Clicking Here.
Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful and inspiring human conditions; however, it can also be very painful. Pain during pregnancy should never be considered normal (with the exception of labor); however, pain is very common as the pregnancy progress and specific hormonal changes begin to take effect. One of the most important hormonal changes is Relaxin. This appropriately named hormone relaxes the ligaments of the entire body to allow the pelvic bowl to expand and give the child enough room to safely exit the birth canal. However, due to the broad effect on all ligaments, it is common for pregnant patients to report significant back pain, neck pain, hip pain and more. Also, due to the increased shift in weight forward from the expanding uterus there is an increased forward bend of the lowback (Chiropractors would call this Hyper-Lordosis). This increased forward bending results in a pinching of the structures of the spine and ultimately pain. Chiropractic care can provide gentle, yet effective, treatment to the back and neck. Even pregnant patients without pain will benefit from chiropractic care, by ensuring that the pelvis is in proper alignment prior to birth it is possible to reduce delivery time, labor pain and difficulty.
Imbalance

While this condition is typically not the sole reason a patient seeks our care, it is a very common symptom of spinal and neurological disease. Injuries to the spine, limbs and nervous system result in abnormal nerve impulses to the brain. This disruption in the feedback system of the brain (What we call Proprioception) results in the body being unable to perform simple balance and coordinated functions. One of the most common injuries to result in loss of balance and coordination is Ankle Sprains. Typically an ankle sprain will heal successfully on its own without much intervention; however, the loss of proprioception never fully recovers. Instead, the foot loses the ability to perform full range of motion, specifically bending the ankle upward (what we call dorsiflexion). This loss of motion limits a patient's ability to maintain balance through the foot, with one of the most common complaints being difficulty walking down a flight of stairs. Chiropractic care can mobilize the ankle joint and provide exercises to retrain the nervous system to regain the lost balance. Usually within only a few visits.
TMJ

There is an extensive article on TMJ pain located on this website. Please click here to be taken to the article.
More

There are simply too many possible human conditions to list them all here. Just because a specific condition is not listed here, does not mean we can't treat it. Please feel free to schedule a free consultation if you have any questions about a condition that is not listed here.

Text/Call Us: (704) 545-7410

Conditions List with Details