Most people think of whiplash as an auto accident injury, but it can occur in any mishap where the head and the rest of the body are suddenly whipped in different directions, even at speeds as low as 5mph. This sudden, unnatural motion strains the neck’s complex network of muscles, vertebrae, ligaments and tendons. If not diagnosed and treated promptly, the resulting neck pain, back pain, headaches, difficulty concentrating, sleeping, and seeing can drag on for years. While car accidents cause more than 3 million cases of whiplash each year, sports injury and personal injury situations are also frequent culprits. Our Encinitas and Cardiff by the Sea chiropractors, Dr. David Melendez and Dr. Lorraine Melendez have helped hundreds of patients overcome this painful neck injury.

Chiropractic Help for Neck Injuries, Restores Quality of Life

We urge everyone who has suffered a sudden neck strain to seek chiropractic care quickly after the injury occurs. Why? Because even when an accident victim goes to the hospital, emergency room doctors are time-limited as to what they can offer patients suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. Furthermore, when this injury occurs at low speeds, symptoms may not manifest themselves for the first few hours or even weeks afterward. In the meantime, the soft tissue damage can wreak havoc on the alignment of the neck vertebrae, causing neck pain, bulged disc problems, back pain and a host of other problems.

As chiropractors, we understand this lag time between the neck injury and the symptoms, and can diagnose problems before they worsen. Then we offer several treatments to help our neck injury patients recover and go on to lead healthy, pain-free lives. Usually, a combined regimen of gentle cervical spine adjustments, spinal decompression and massage can stimulate healing and help to relieve the terrible pain associated with this neck injury. When we catch the injury before it gets out of hand, we can help patients avoid years of pain.

Have you ever suffered a neck injury like this? What kind of treatment helped you the most?

Cardiff By The Sea & Encinitas Chiropractor Gives Helpful Immunity Advice in New Video Series With Dr. David Melendez

Carpal tunnel syndrome can affect people who type frequently or use their hands to perform any sort of repetitive motion. At Gold Coast Chiropractic in Cardiff by the Sea, our Encinitas chiropractor manipulates the spinal column as well as the wrist and elbow to treat the condition. Massage therapy can also relieve the pain and symptoms associated with the syndrome.

What Causes Carpal Tunnel?

Carpal tunnel syndrome usually occurs as a result of personal injury. When a patient has the condition, the median nerve, which runs through the forearm and wrist to the hand, is pinched. The pinched nerve causes feelings of pain from the wrist to the hand or from the wrist up the length of the arm. A person with the condition also feels numbness in her hand and wrist and tingling sensations. As the condition progresses, it may be difficult to hold onto objects or otherwise use the hands.

Types of personal injury that can lead to the condition include breaking the wrist or constantly flexing the wrist. A fractured wrist can put pressure on the nerve, leading to the pain and other symptoms. A person who performs a repetitive movement, such as typing, lifting objects on and off an assembly line or kneading bread dough constantly, is at risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, as the constant flexing of the joint puts pressure on the nerve.

Chiropractic Care in Cardiff by the Sea

At our Cardiff by the Sea clinic, our chiropractors offer spinal adjustments that reduce the pressure put on the median nerve. Our chiropractors manipulate the spinal area as well as the wrist and elbow to alleviate a pinched median nerve. Adjustments help a patient gain back range of motion and function in her hands and wrists. Our clinic also offers massage therapy to restore the muscles in the arm and wrist and speed recovery time.

Have you tried chiropractic care to treat carpal tunnel syndrome?

At our chiropractic office, our Encinitas chiropractor, Dr. David Melendez helps patients take ownership of their health by evaluating posture, sleep habits, nutrition and lifestyle to achieve an overall state of well-being with as little chronic pain as possible. More than just an alternative treatment, chiropractic care helps restore proper vertebrae spacing and alignment to the body, which in turn helps with the amount of overall pain a person may experience. In fact, many fibromyalgia patients in the Encinitas area have been seeking treatment for back pain and other related symptoms of fibromyalgia at our chiropractor office as well.

Though chiropractors cannot cure the disease, many patients find that regular adjustments, decompression and other physiotherapy techniques help provide relief to the sore and tender areas affected by fibromyalgia. In fact, with regular spinal adjustments, some patients suffering from the disease enjoy more restful sleep, less fatigue and less pain.

In addition to improved pain tolerance, chiropractic adjustments increase production of natural endorphins in the body, which act as natural pain killers. Patients may also benefit from improved blood flow, which may promote healing in the soft muscle tissues of the body affected by fibromyalgia.

What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a disease that causes pain and tenderness in the soft tissues and joints of the body. It typically causes chronic discomfort in multiple areas spread throughout the body. Though pain may occur anywhere, many patients complain of dull or shooting back pain, as well as pain in the neck, shoulders, chest, rib cage, hips, thighs and knees.

No cure exists for fibromyalgia, but a number of people suffering from the disease find relief with regular exercise, frequent chiropractic adjustments and visits to a massage therapist, who may use light massage to promote relaxation and release stress that may otherwise intensify fibromyalgia pain.

Have you or someone you know found relief from fibromyalgia by using the services of a chiropractor?

Sciatica is the name of the symptoms that result from the compression or irritation of any of the five spinal nerve root endings that lead to the sciatic nerve. It can also refer to the symptoms caused by the compression or irritation of either the left, right or both sciatic nerves. It is important to note that, while very common, sciatica refers to symptoms that arise as a result of a deeper issue. It is the job of the chiropractor to determine what is causing these symptoms and then treat the cause.

Symptoms, Causes and Chiropractic Treatment

When the nerve roots or sciatic nerve are compressed or irritated, the result is pain. The pain can be felt anywhere from the lower back down to the foot. The pain can sometimes be severe or it can manifest as numbness, weakness, tingling or trouble with mobility. Typically, the symptoms are generally only felt on one side of the body.

One of the causes of sciatic pain is a herniated disc. At Gold Coast Chiropractic, we correct herniated disc with Pettibon Spinal Rejuvenation Therapy. This form of therapy is a better form of care compared to traditional therapies because it not only reshapes the disc allowing it to move back into its natural position, but it also helps strengthen the muscles that support the spine. This allows the patient to heal permanently, offering long-term relief from sciatic, nerve-related back pain and other symptoms.

There can be other causes that lead to sciatic nerve pain, and it is the task of our chiropractors to find and correct those issues. We want to be your source of decompression; at our Encinitas clinic, we are committed to finding the cause of your back pain and then offering you the care and rehabilitation that you need to recover.

Have you suffered from sciatic nerve pain? What forms of chiropractic care have helped you find relief?