CONDITIONS TREATED

Symptoms of neck pain or neck injuries

Neck pain symptoms may range from a dull, achy pain to sharp shooting pains.  Some common symptoms of neck pain are:

• pulling/tension/tightness
• sharp/shooting pains
• feeling of instability
• throbbing pain
• burning sensations
• feeling of heaviness
• loss of range of motion in the neck

Seek immediate consultation if your pain results in:

• numbness or tingling into the arms/hands/fingers
• sharp shooting pains
• headaches
• lightheaded or dizziness
• visual impairments

Causes of neck pain

• poor posture
• whiplash
• car accidents
• degenerative joints and disc
• sports injuries
• underlying pathologies

How long does it take to heal neck pain?

Our patients generally experience quick relief from our neck pain treatment, although everyone heals differently.  Most neck pain has a muscular component to it.  The most common type of neck pain is caused by a simple sprain/strain.  These injuries take 8-12 weeks to heal properly.  If there are more advanced complications like spinal degeneration, chronic pain, or additional health problems, then you can expect your healing process to be longer.

Call the office at (952) 300.8338 to set up a neck pain consultation.

Symptoms of back pain or back injuries

Symptoms include physical discomfort occurring anywhere along the spine or back.  They may range from mild discomfort to disabling pain.

• Aching pain
• Burning pain
• Muscle strain/sprain
• Pain traveling down the leg or into the feet
• Numbness, tingling or burning
• Sharp shooting pain
• Muscle spasms and tension
• Throbbing pain

Seek immediate chiropractic consultation if your pain results in:  shortness of breath, numbness into the leg or feet, loss of motor function or strength in the legs/lower extremity.  

Causes of back pain or back injuries

Back pain symptoms may result from a variety of causes that are not due to an underlying condition or pathology.  Examples include overuse such as working out, recreational sports injuries, prolonged sitting and lying down, poor posture, years or repetitive hard work, or even just sleeping in an uncomfortable position.  A detailed chiropractic examination will determine if your pain is a result of muscular strain, spinal damage, or problems within your spinal disc.

**Seek immediate medical attention if your back pain is accompanied by urinary incontinence or rapid weight loss. 

How long does it take to heal back pain?

Back pain symptoms will generally improve within 4 to 12 weeks depending if it is acute mechanical pain or chronic back pain.  At Abundant Life Chiropractic, our goal is always to help you get pain free as quick as possible and remain that way.  If your pain is chronic, we will likely recommend a series of maintenance treatments, as well as, home rehab and therapy.

Numbness, tingling, burning and weakness fall under the broad category of nerve pains called neuropathy.

Symptoms of neuropathy

• tingling
• numbness
• loss of sensation into the arms, hands, legs or feet
• burning sensations
• abnormal facial sensation
• sharp pains
• increased sensitivity
• muscle weakness
• loss of reflexes, especially in the ankle
• loss of balance and coordination

Diagnosis’s associated with neuropathy

• Plantar Fasciitis
• Sciatica
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Numbness/Tingling into the arms, hands, and/or fingers
• Numbness/Tingling into the hips, legs, and/or toes
• Facial nerve pain
• Frozen Shoulder
• Meralgia Paresthetica
• Ulnar Nerve Entrapment
• Tennis Elbow
• Golfers Elbow
• Muscle Cramping
• Burning foot pain

Causes of neuropathy

• Nerve damage
• Spinal Damage
• Diabetes
• Bulged disc
• Herniated disc
• Rare genetics disorders
• Toxins
  • chemotherapy or radiation treatment
  • heavy metal toxicity

How long does it take to heal neuropathy?

The latest research shows that nerves have a great ability to heal. However, this is often a timely process. Healing of a neuropathy will greatly depend on the type of the neuropathy that you have. To achieve full recovery, the nerve must undergo three main processes: Wallerian regeneration (the clearing process of the distal stump), axonal regeneration, and end-organ reinnervation.

Regeneration time depends on how seriously your nerve was injured and the type of injury that you sustained. If your nerve is bruised or traumatized but is not cut, you should expect to see symptomatic changes start in 6-12 weeks. Certain types of neuropathy such as chemo-induced neuropathy can take anywhere between 18 months to 5 years to heal.

Conservative Treatments for Neuropathy

The most common neuropathy medications, Gabapentin and Lyrica, are effective in temporarily relieving the symptoms.  Unfortunately they will not actually correct the cause of your neuropathy, as they are simply designed to mask the symptoms.

The first step in treating your neuropathy is a detailed examination, history and consultation with a neuropathy specialist. From there, a few different treatment approaches can take place moving forward.

If you are dealing with a chemical related neuropathy, the best treatment is a Comprehensive Cellular Detox. All our doctors are Abundant Life Chiropractic have advanced training in cellular detoxification. This is not a quick nor an easy approach; however, it is the only approach in effectively correcting chemical caused neuropathies.

When dealing with spinal related neuropathies, the best course of action is a spinal corrective treatment plan. One that is tailored to your specific problems, and giving you a long lasting correction. At Abundant Life Chiropractic our doctors our doctors treat dozens of neuropathy and nerve related disorders. Take a moment to check out our reviews to see how we can help you.

A painful sensation in any part of the head, ranging from sharp to dull, that may occur with other symptoms.

Symptoms of migraines or headaches include:

• Pain originating at the base of the skull
• Pain traveling through the temple region and the forehead
• Vice-like pain on the side of the head
• Stabbing pain through the eyes
• Facial nerve pain
• Blurred Vision
• Nausea
• Light and sound sensitivities

*Seek immediate consultation if your pain results in nausea, aura, or blurred vision. 

What causes migraines and headaches?

• lack of sleep
• incorrect eye glass prescription
• stress
• spinal damage
• nerve damage
• upper cervical inflammation
• concussions
• whiplash
• cervical instability

Different types of head pain

• tension headaches
• migraine headaches
• cluster headaches
• sinus headaches
• acute headache
• throbbing headaches
• post-traumatic headache
• caffeine headache
• exertion headache
• hypertension headache

*Seek immediate medical attention if your headaches are resulting in facial numbness, facial paralysis, trouble speaking, trouble walking, loss of balance or coordination. 

How long does it take to heal?

Migraines and headaches heal very different based on the individual, chronicity, and severity of their cause.  Most of our patients start seeing lasting relief of their headaches within the first 4 weeks of treatments.  If the condition is chronic and/or related to a concussion, TBI, or whiplash, you can expect if may take up to 6 months to start noticing lasting relief.  The brain and upper cervical neurology are very sensitive areas.

Auto accidents are one of the most common causes of chronic pain that we see in our office.  Whether it be from an accident years ago when you were in high school, or even a recent accident that was not properly treated.

If you have been in an accident, you likely know the feeling of how your adrenaline starts pumping and your heart starts racing.  Immediately following the accident, you likely checked to make sure you were not bleeding and that your arms and legs are attached.  Yes, they are, pheew, “I was lucky and walked away without a scratch.”  We here this all too often.  Just because you are not bruised on the outside, does not mean you are not suffering from bruises on the inside.

At Abundant Life, we see patients with extreme injuries from auto accidents ranging from TBI’s and fractures all the way to simple aches, pains, and strains.   However, it is the lower impact collisions that will usually cause the most damage due to one simple factor, neglect.  When underlying issues are neglected, small issues are given the opportunity to grow into large pains down the road, generally chronic pain.

Steps to evaluating your injuries

First things first, get scheduled for a full-body workup.

1. Whiplash evaluation
2. Ligamentous integrity testing
3. Cranial nerve testing for concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s)
4. Diagnostic range of motion X-rays
5. MOST IMPORTANTLY, documentation of any injuries you may have sustained.

Our team has an adept background in dealing with whiplash, concussions and auto injuries.  Not only in healing the injuries, but also providing appropriate documentation of your injuries for your insurance carrier and claims adjuster.

Possible therapies available for healing injuries

1. Chiropractic adjustments
2. Massage therapy
3. Deep heat therapy
4. Spinal traction
5. Home rehabilitation programs
6. One on one muscular therapy
7. Extremity work

Call (952) 300.8338 to schedule your initial full-body injury evaluation.

What is Fibromyalgia?

Causes of Fibromyalgia

• previous traumas and injuries (auto accidents, sports injuries, concussion, etc…)
• high levels of mental stress
• chemical toxicity overload
• post side effect of chemotherapy treatment
• cervical spinal damage
• loss of curvature in the neck

Associated signs and symptoms

It is very common for fibromyalgia patients to also deal with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).  This is due to the fact that the central nervous system, in the presence of fibromyalgia, is under constant stimulation via pain sensations.

• pain and tender points
• sleep problems
• memory fog “fibro fog”
• morning stiffness
• numbness/tingling into the arms, hands, legs and/or feet
• lack of energy
• muscle twitches and cramps

Healing fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia’s chronic pain can sometimes feel unending for an individual.  Some people never find relief.  At the same time,  others are able to completely resolve their fibromyalgia pain.  At Abundant Life, we have been able to witness dozens of patients find immense relief.  The healing process is certainly vast and very different case by case.  We believe it is always good to start slow, with a baseline assessment, and move from there, as everyone is different case to case.

“Over the course of the past 7 years, I have found that patients suffering from fibromyalgia symptoms will respond within the first 3 months of treatment and change.  If we do not see change in a 3 month time frame, it is likely we will not see any.”  – Dr. Knight

Sciatica refers to back pain caused by a problem with the sciatic nerve. This is a large nerve that runs from the lower back down the back of each leg. When something injures or puts pressure on the sciatic nerve, it can cause pain in the lower back that spreads to the hip, buttocks, and leg.  It is common to have sciatica symptoms down both legs.

What are the symptoms of sciatica?

• Lower back pain
• Pain in the rear or butt
• Shooting pain
• Hip pain
• Burning/Tingling
• Numbness
• Electric shock sensation
• Loss of strength in one of both legs

What causes sciatica?

A lot of sciatica cases are causes by damage or injuries to the lowest area of the spine, the sacrum.

• Lumbar spinal stenosis
• Degenerative disc disease
• Spondylolisthesis
• Spinal misalignments
• Pregnancy
• Muscle spasms in the back and buttock

How long does it take to heal sciatica?

Most people are feeling much better in 4 to 8 weeks.  However, to permanently correct the cause of sciatica may take a bit longer.  Corrections are heavily dependent on the individual and the severity of the damage present in their spine ie:  degeneration, stenosis, spondylolisthesis’s.  Read some of our sciatica testimonials on google or schedule your first appointment for a consult with our doctors here.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel is commonly referred to as median nerve compression.  The median nerve is one of the many nerves that make up the brachial plexus.  A group of nerves that run from the C5-C7 vertebral region in the neck, down across the lower neck/upper back/shoulder and into the arm.  The median nerve is the only nerve that goes through the carpal tunnel in the hand.  When damaged or compressed, it will commonly produce symptoms in the thumb, index and middle finger, but sometimes it may feel like your whole hand is effected.

Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel

• tingling
• numbness
• pain in the thumb or hand
• pins and needles
• weakness in the hand or forearm
• burning

Symptoms may travel up into the forearm and bicep, but generally are more prominent in the hand.

What Causes Carpal Tunnel?

• trauma and damage to the wrist
• median nerve entrapment
• brachial plexus damage
• cervical spinal damage
• diabetes
• thyroid dysfunction
• fluid retention from pregnancy high blood pressure

How long does it take to heal carpal tunnel?

Early diagnosis and treatment offers the best results.   Carpal tunnel recovery ranges from a few weeks to several months.  In general, patients start seeing symptomatic improvement in 4 to 8 weeks or treatment.

At Abundant Life Chiropractic we have had success treating many conditions beyond the realm of general musculoskeletal pain.

Infants/Toddlers

• ear infections
• sinuses
• sleep issues
• colic
• constipation

Adults

• hip pain
• leg and arm pains
• shoulder pain
• sports injuries
• digestive complications
• sleep difficulties
• chronic fatigue
• hypothyroidism

We offer complimentary consultations and referrals are not required.  If necessary we can provide professional referrals and offer case co-management for difficult conditions that require a multi-disciplinary approach.  Start by scheduling your consultation here.