Shoulder pain, arm pain, arm numbness, tingling, weakness?
Do you suspect you have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS)? Thoracic outlet syndrome is a group of conditions involving the compression of nerves and blood vessels in your neck and shoulder area. TOS can lead to pain, numbness and weakness in your neck, shoulders, and arms. Most commonly caused by repetitive stress, trauma, and anatomical abnormalities, TOS can destroy sleep, work, hobbies, and your future. Or, it can be easily corrected if the cause is properly identified. Often accompanied by neck and shoulder pain or tension, the arm on the affected side will sometimes have scary symptoms like pain and numbness in the left arm, mimicking what we might feel is a heart attack symptom. It is important to see your doctor to rule out heart issues if symptoms on the left side are worrisome. Over time, if not dealt with properly, thoracic outlet syndrome can worsen to the point of needing surgery. Don’t Want Surgery? See a chiropractor. Huh? That’s right. Oftentimes TOS is caused by compression of a rib and your collar bone, both of which are commonly worked on by chiropractors. With TOS your nerves, muscles, and bones are not positioned and working well together. The bones and...
read moreBack Pain And A Porsche Don’t Mix.
Solutions for back pain in your Porsche If you have to climb down into your Porsche, you need to take measures to not lose the joy of driving your favorite car. Sports cars are often a challenge to get in and out of and a few simple exercises could save your fun! Squats: will help you strengthen your quadriceps and gluteal muscles, both of which help you in and out of the car. Just use your body weight as resistance to the exercises. Lateral Lunges: Like when you reach your right leg into the car to get in, but you are on a flat floor, just going from side to side. Touch your toes: bending over to touch your toes decompresses and stretches your low back. This helps to combat compression of the spine, a common cause of back pain. Especially when driving a car with racing suspension, like your Porsche. Heated Seats: warm your muscles to relaxation with your heated seats. Turn the A/C on if you have to. For more help enjoying your Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari, Maserati, BMW, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, or other make of sports car, call the office with the GULF livery design as the...
read morePrevent Hiking Injuries with WD-40!
Are you a hiking accident waiting to happen? USE WD-40! In his book, “Injuries in Outdoor Recreation” Gary N. Guten, MD discusses causes, understanding, prevention, and treatment of common recreational activity injuries. Maine is a summer wonderland of recreational adventure, and as such, is also a hotbed of injuries. “A sports injury can be a prolonged, frustrating problem. Your first step is to listen to your body and then seek help.” ~Gary Guten, MD This sounds boring unless you have an injury or fear injury. In that case, understanding healing and prevention could save your life. Hiking is wonderful. Maine summers are beautiful and so are our mountains and trails. Most of us are fair-weather hikers and don’t hit the mountains in the winter. This makes us more of the summer warrior type. The majority of the year we are not incorporating hiking into our regimen, which makes us more vulnerable when we jump right in during the spring, summer, or fall. Common injuries of hiking include: Fractured bones Sprained ankles Spinal compression Back pain Shoulder pain or strain Hip pain Sciatica Piriformis syndrome Shin splints Plantar fasciitis, and a host of other combinations of injuries that could really...
read moreCar accidents and Lyme disease. True Story.
You are not alone. Sometimes results are just as meaningful to your loved ones as they are to you. Your health impacts the lives of others. Here is a true story… Car Accidents and Lyme Disease. “I have been bringing my fiancé to this practice for almost two years. I can’t say enough positive things about it. We started coming here together after another driver on the road hit my fiancé’s car at an intersection and caused her many issues. Because of the nature of her injuries along with her underlying condition of having Lyme disease, she was in a great deal of discomfort and almost constant pain. After only a couple of months, Dr. Lou got her back in good shape. A few months later, disaster struck again in nearly the same type of situation with a driver running a red light and striking my fiancé’s vehicle and causing her further injury. We came to Lou again and within a matter of mere months, he got her back to even better shape than she was in before the first accident! Coming to the office for an extended amount of time and so often, the entire staff became like...
read moreWhat Is Spinal Degeneration?
If you could only have one car for your entire life, would you take better care of it? You only have one spine, one brain, one set of nerves. Make them last. What Is Spinal Degeneration? If you have arthritis in your spine, you have spinal degeneration. Spinal degeneration (osteoarthritis) of the discs, joints, and bones of the spine occurs in most people due to stress. Physical stress and chemical stress are most likely to lead to degeneration. Physical stress could be a fall, a sport, a desk job, or sleeping on your stomach. Chemical stress could be a calcium deficiency, drugs, medications, bad diet, or chemical changes brought on by mental stress. What are the stages of spinal degeneration? Degeneration of the spine occurs in stages. Stage 1-3, with 3 being the worst. The reason there is a grading system is that degeneration predictably gets worse with time and no intervention. Should I fear spinal degeneration? Even with intervention like chiropractic care, or more extreme measures like surgery, it may be that the best one gets, is a slowed process of degeneration. Slow is better than fast when it comes to degeneration of the spine. Once degeneration is severe,...
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