If you think workers’ compensation issues are unlikely to affect you because your job is not physically demanding, think again. According to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), repetitive strain injuries are the most common and costly of work-related injuries and can affect people whose work habits run the gamut in physical demands. They cost more than $20 billion per year in workers’ compensation and affect hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Any repetitive motions such as typing or using an adding machine as well as more physically demanding motions like winding a wrench can put you at risk for repetitive strain injuries. One of the more commonly known strain injuries is carpal tunnel syndrome.  Sitting for hours on end can put you at risk for lower back pain and joint problems.

Sitting at a desk tightens the hip flexors, the muscles that pull your legs towards your body. Tight hip flexors can actually contribute to back pain, since tight hips tilt the pelvis forward, compressing the back. And let’s not forget stress, which can contribute to a wide range of physical challenges, with back pain near the top of the list.

Many of these work-related risks can be prevented or lessened by things you can do on your own. Paying attention to how your body is positioned while you’re doing your job, exercise and getting regular massage can reduce strain. Yoga and Pilates, in particular, are great methods for keeping your abdominal, back and leg muscles strong to ward off many of these risks. Simply taking regular breaks to stretch and walk around are some of the best ways to avoid chronic pain challenges. Ergonomic chairs are a must for office workers but must be complemented with proper posture and “get-up-and-stretch” breaks to be truly effective.

If you do find yourself in a situation where you’re experiencing pain with injuries that compromise your ability to work, you may qualify for care under your company’s workers’ compensations policy. By law, all companies are required to carry insurance that provides reasonable and necessary medical care for on-the-job injuries. What many people don’t realize (and their employer may not tell them) is that chiropractors and chiropractic treatments are covered by your workers’ compensation insurance.

In Minnesota, you can go to a chiropractor without a M.D.’s prescription, (although there are some parameters depending on how much other physical medicine you may have received for your injuries already, including physical therapy.)

In the interest of protecting your long-term health, be proactive. Speak to someone from your human resources department about both your healthcare and workers’ compensation policies and what type of chiropractic care coverage you are entitled to in general and in the case of an on-the-job injury. Don’t wait until the unthinkable happens to protect yourself with the information you’ll need to make prudent choices.

Chiropractic -  Effective, Safe and Cost Effective

A recent study conducted by medical and healthcare professionals outside the chiropractic profession, “Health Maintenance Care in Work-Related Low Back Pain and Its Association with Disability Recurrence,” (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, April 2011, Vol. 53 Is. 4, p: 396-404) concludes chiropractic care to be more effective for common, work-related, low back pain (LBP), when compared to treatment by a physical therapist or physician. Overall, chiropractic patients illustrated lower medical expenses, fewer disability recurrences and shorter initial periods of disability.

Chiropractors Get Injured Workers’ Back to Work Fast! White_Paper

Summary of Studies on Chiropractic Efficacy, Cost-Effectiveness and Patient Satisfaction

Personal Injury Protection

Hurt on the job? Whether it’s a sudden back injury, or cumulative stress to your wrists and shoulders, Minnesota law allows you to seek treatment from a chiropractic physician. Chiropractors are professionals at uncovering underlying issues in personal injury accidents. Whether it is a single adjustment or a series of treatment, your chiropractor is one of the best options to get you healing on the right path to recovering from your injury.

Employees may choose their health care provider for treatment of a work-related injury. The Minnesota workers’ compensation statutes entitle an employee to reasonable and necessary medical treatment or supplies to cure or relieve the effect of the work injury. The employer is required to furnish medical treatment as described in Minnesota Statutes 176.135, subd. 1, which includes psychological, chiropractic, physical therapy, podiatric, surgical, rehabilitation, and hospital treatment.

With spring in full swing, everyone is out doing their favorite activities.  While you’re enjoying the pleasures of the warm weather, it’s important to be prepared to keep yourself and your loved ones out of harm’s way.  Most children enjoy outdoor activities—swimming, biking, camping and more. It’s a time when injuries ranging from playground falls and sunburns to accidents at the pool and the beach are more likely to occur.

Sports and Recreation Safety

Sports and Recreational Safety

Key Facts

• More than 38 million children and adolescents participate in sports each year in the U.S.

• Nearly three-quarters of U.S. households with school-age children have at least one child who plays organized sports.

• Each year, more than 3.5 million children ages 14 years and under receive medical treatment for sports injuries.

• Approximately two-thirds of all sports-related injuries leading to emergency department visits are for children.

The rate and severity of sports-related injury increases with a child’s age.

• From 2001 through 2009, it is estimated that there are 1,770,000 emergency department visits, 6 percent of these for traumatic brain injuries, among children ages 14 and under for injuries related to sports or recreation.

• Though rare, traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of sports-related death.

• Approximately one out of five traumatic brain injuries among children are associated with participation in sports and recreational activities.

• More than 90 percent of sports-related concussions occur without the loss of consciousness.

• The most common types of sport-related injuries in children are sprains (mostly ankle), muscle strains, bone or growth plate injuries, repetitive motion injuries, and heat-related illness.

• In 2009, more than 365,000 children ages 14 and under were treated in emergency departments for either football or basketball-related injuries.

Where, When and How

• Most organized sports-related injuries (62 percent) occur during practice rather than games.

• A national survey revealed that approximately 27 percent of parents often do not take the same safety precautions during their child’s practice as they would for a game.

• Collision and contact sports are associated with higher rates of injury, however, injuries from individual sports tend to be more severe.

• Each year, approximately 715,000 sports and recreation injuries occur in school settings alone.

• The four activities with the most injuries to bones and muscles include bicycling, basketball, football and roller sports.  These four sports lead to 1.5 million medically treated injuries among children ages 5 to 14.

• It is estimated that up to 50 percent of injuries seen in pediatric sports medicine are related to overuse.

• For children ages 8 to 13, the rate of sports-related concussions was highest for football and ice hockey players, when taking into account participation rates.

• Among children ages 14 and under, the top five sports associated with head injuries include: cycling (40,272 injuries), football (21,878 injuries), baseball and softball (18,246 injuries), basketball (14,952 injuries) and skateboards/scooters (14,783 injuries).

• For males, the highest risk of concussion in organized sports is from football, while among females, soccer and basketball are the sports with the highest risk.

Helmet Safety

Enjoy The Great Outdoors But Put Safety First!

Whether your kids are elite athletes or just shooting hoops in the driveway, there are steps you can take to keep your kids in the game and free from injury.

Whether you are riding a bicycle, in-line skates, skateboard, scooter, an ATV or dirt bike, wearing a helmet should be an automatic habit.  Helmets should fit properly and also be fastened correctly.  A properly-fastened and fitting helmet does not move around on the head.

Summertime means activities and fun under the sun!  But even if we love to spend time outdoors in the sun, we must all be careful not to let a sports or personal injury spoil the day.

Obviously, we all as parents want what’s best for our children.  We want them to be happy and most importantly, we want them to be safe and healthy. That means making chiropractic checkups as a regular part of their health care routine.

Neck pain afflicts at least three quarters of people at some point in their lives, but There’s been little research on what treatments are the most helpful. Many take over-the-counter medications or visit doctors and chiropractors in search of relief. Sedentary office workers tend to be most susceptible to the condition.

Good News For Patients With Neck Pain!

When it comes to neck pain the best medicine is no medicine at all!

Now a new study published on January 3, 2012 in The Annals of Internal Medicine has a surprising answer demonstrating the power of alternative therapies for neck pain: Chiropractic care and simple neck exercises done daily at home were much better at reducing pain than taking pain medications like aspirin, ibuprofen or even strong narcotics. It’s good news for patients that there’s something they can do themselves to take a more active role in their care — such as doing the exercises or visiting a chiropractor — instead of just swallowing a pill.

And the relief provided by either exercise or spinal manipulation by a chiropractor was long-lasting — even up to a year later, when researchers checked back in with the study’s participants.

Spinal Manipulation, Medication, or Home Exercise With Advice for Acute and Subacute Neck Pain Full Text (PDF) FREE

The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, involved 272 adults, aged 18 to 65 years, who had had neck pain lasting for 2 to 12 weeks. The participants were then split into three groups and followed for about three months using three different methods:

1. Medication
2. Exercise
3. A Chiropractor

One group visited a chiropractor for 20-minute sessions throughout the study, for an average of 15 visits total. A second group was assigned to take common pain relievers like ibuprofen or, with a doctor’s guidance, stronger drugs like narcotics and muscle relaxants.

A third group met twice with physical therapists who taught them how to do simple, gentle exercises to stretch neck muscles at home. Each exercise called for 5 to 10 repetitions done up to eight times a day.

The researchers measured the subjects’ pain throughout the treatment, including at the end of the study and at six and 12 months after the start of treatment.

Both non-medication groups reported substantially more pain relief than the medication group. After 12 weeks, about 57 percent of the chiropractic group and 48 percent of the exercise group reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to just 33 percent of the people in the medication group.

A year later, more than half of the subjects who had received spinal manipulation or exercise still reported at least 75 percent less pain, compared to just a 38 percent reduction in pain among those who had taken medication.

Spinal Manipulation an Effective Treatment for Neck Pain

The exercises prescribed to patients in the study were simple and designed to be performed at home with the help of instructional photos. Supplement Home Exercises For Neck Pain

Do you need to know more?  Find out for yourself the enormous benefits of Chiropractic care. You’ll be glad you did!
See the story on ABC World News Tonight.

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) (also known as repetitive stress injury, repetitive motion injuries, repetitive motion disorder (RMD), cumulative trauma disorder (CT), occupational overuse syndrome, overuse syndrome, regional musculoskeletal disorder) is an injury of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems that may be caused by repetitive tasks, forceful exertions, vibrations, mechanical compression (pressing against hard surfaces), sustained, or awkward positions.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is a very important part of optimal musculoskeletal health. In short, ergonomics seeks to ensure that equipment and technology work in complete agreement with natural human movement and posture.

Did you know?

• $20 Billion is the annual cost of workers’ compensation claims related to repetitive motion injuries and illnesses. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• In 2002 employees missed 1.44 million days of work due to a repetitive stress injury (BLS)
• 91% of repetitive motion injuries occur to the wrist, hand, arms, head, neck, back, and shoulders. (National Safety Council)
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the second leading lost time diagnosis, with an average of 27 days missed from work. (BLS) and the average workers compensation claim for CTS is $12,181. (National Council on Compensation Insurance)

Types of RSIs that affect computer users may include non-specific arm pain or work related upper limb disorder (WRULD). Conditions such as RSI tend to be associated with both physical and psychosocial stressors.

What Causes RSI?

RSI is believed by many to be caused due to lifestyle without ergonomic care, E.g. While working in front of computers, driving, traveling etc. Simple reasons like ‘Using a blunt knife for everyday chopping of vegetables’, may cause RSI.

Initially, RSI affects the soft tissues of the involved joint(s). Soft tissues include muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons. However, if left untreated for long periods of time, the involved joint can become arthritic and form bone spurs resulting in permanent damage to the joint.

Other typical habits that some sources believe lead to RSI:

• Reading or doing tasks for extended periods of time while looking down.
• Sleeping on an inadequate bed/mattress or sitting in a bad armchair and/or in an uncomfortable position.
• Carrying heavy items.
• Holding one’s phone between neck and shoulder.
• Watching TV in incorrect position e.g. Too much to the left/right.
• Sleeping with head forward, while traveling.
• Prolonged use of the hands, wrists, back, neck, etc.
• Sitting in the same position for a long period of time.

Symptoms

Repetitive Strain

The following complaints are typical in patients who might receive a diagnosis of RSI:

• Short bursts of excruciating pain in the arm, back, shoulders, wrists, hands, or thumbs (typically diffuse – i.e. spread over many areas).
• The pain is worse with activity.
• Weakness, lack of endurance.

In contrast to carpal tunnel syndrome, the symptoms tend to be diffuse and non-anatomical, crossing the distribution of nerves, tendons, etc. They tend not to be characteristic of any discrete pathological condition. Studies show workers suffering from some sort of RSI, show common problem areas being the back, shoulders, wrists, and hands.

Treatment

On their own, some RSIs will resolve spontaneously provided the area is first given enough rest when the RSI first begins. However, some RSIs have been known to persist for years, or have needed to be cured with surgery.

The most often prescribed treatments for repetitive strain injuries are rest, exercise, braces and massage. A variety of medical products also are available to augment these therapies. Since the computer workstation is frequently blamed for RSIs, particularly of the hand and wrist, ergonomic adjustments of the workstation are often recommended.

Putting yourself in an ergonomically correct environment will go a long way toward minimizing the risk of injury down the road. Conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, lower back pain, neck pain and many others can be avoided in large part if proper ergonomics are practiced.

Modifications of posture and arm use (ergonomics) are often recommended.

Once your chiropractor has helped to get your pain under control, he or she may suggest exercise, diet, or lifestyle changes to improve your range of motion, strengthen muscles, and prevent a painful relapse.

Neck pain accounts for millions of trips to the doctor every year. The pain can be acute and severe enough to interfere with our everyday lives, but modern medicine offers little help. At best, you get over-the-counter pain relievers or narcotic drugs, all of which come with dangerous side effects and are often not effective enough to get rid of pain for good.

Pain killing drugs are associated with dangerous side effects, addiction and overdose. And it turns out they are also much less effective than harmless natural treatments. A new study shows that simple remedies like chiropractic treatments and home exercises relieve sub-acute neck pain better than pharmaceutical drugs – and without all the negative side effects.

Chiropractors and Exercise Are Better Than Drugs For Neck Pain

When it comes to neck pain the best medicine is no medicine at all according to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

1. Medication
2. Exercise
3. A Chiropractor

After 12 weeks the patients who used a chiropractor or exercised were more than twice as likely to be pain free compared to those who relied on medicine.

Are you caught in a cycle of recurring pain and endless appointments?  Before you reach for pain killers, watch this.

Neck Pain- Chiropractors, Exercise Better Than Medication, Study Says – ABC News

The exercises prescribed to patients in the study were simple and designed to be performed at home with the help of instructional Exercises for neck pain.

Spinal Adjustments

Spinal adjustments are an important part of the treatment for neck pain. This drug-free therapy simply involves the chiropractor using his or her hands to treat subluxations. A subluxation occurs when one or more vertebrae move out of position, thus creating pressure and irritation near the spinal nerves. Spinal manipulation and spinal adjustments can fix the subluxation, relieve pain in the soft tissues, increase circulation, and stimulate the body’s nervous system. Once your chiropractor has helped to get your neck pain under control, he or she may suggest exercise, diet, or lifestyle changes to improve your range of motion, strengthen muscles, and prevent a painful relapse.

Please contact our St Paul Minnesota Chiropractor office today to schedule an appointment.

Whiplash is a term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension. The term “whiplash” is a colloquialism. “Cervical acceleration-deceleration” (CAD) describes the mechanism of the injury, while the term “whiplash associated disorders” (WAD) describes the injury sequelae and symptoms.

Whiplash and Whiplash-Associated Disorders (WAD)

Whiplash and whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) represent a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck.

Whiplash is commonly associated with motor vehicle accidents, usually when the vehicle has been hit in the rear; however, the injury can be sustained in many other ways, including:

• Slip and fall or tripping accidents
• Bicycle, motorcycle, and all-terrain vehicle crashes
• A direct blow to the face, neck, head, or back (usually from playing sports)
• Diving into shallow water
• Roller coasters and other amusement park rides
• Sports injuries such as skiing accidents

Whiplash Associated Disorder

Before the invention of cars, whiplash injuries were called “railroad spine” as noted mostly during train collisions. After the invention of cars, the number of whiplash-related injuries have risen sharply due to an increase in rear-end motor vehicle collisions. The first case of severe neck pain arising from a train collision was documented around 1919. Given the wide variety of symptoms that are associated with whiplash injuries the Quebec Task Force on Whiplash-Associated Disorders, coined the phrase, Whiplash-Associated Disorders.

• Grade 0: no neck pain, stiffness, or any physical signs are noticed
• Grade 1: neck complaints of pain, stiffness or tenderness only but no physical signs are noted by the examining physician.
• Grade 2: neck complaints and the examining physician finds decreased range of motion and point tenderness in the neck.
• Grade 3: neck complaints plus neurological signs such as decreased deep tendon reflexes, weakness and sensory deficits.
• Grade 4: neck complaints and fracture or dislocation, or injury to the spinal cord.

Whiplash Injury

An entire whiplash injury occurs in about 1/10th of a second — the length of an eye blink. But in that time, the human head can experience forces greater than that of jet fighter pilots.

The number of milliseconds that takes place during the whiplash process after impact (~500 msec.) and the fact that voluntary muscle contraction takes longer (~800 msec.) makes it next to impossible to adequately “brace” prior to impact, even when the collision is anticipated.

Neck pain is a common complaint. Most causes of neck pain aren’t serious. Neck muscles can be strained from poor posture — whether it’s leaning into your computer at work or hunching over your workbench doing hobbies at home. Wear-and-tear arthritis also is a common cause of neck pain.

But sometimes neck pain can signify something more serious. Seek immediate medical care if you experience:

• Shooting pain into your shoulder or down your arm
• Numbness or loss of strength in your arms or hands
• Change in bladder or bowel habits
• Inability to touch your chin to your chest

Whiplash Injuries and Chiropractic

Even if you don’t have any obvious or immediate symptoms after an auto accident, or other injury, I would recommend that you visit a chiropractor as soon as possible.  Only then can an assessment of the severity and recovery of whiplash injury be made.

Research has shown that chiropractic has been a very effective approach to healing whiplash. In fact, Chiropractic Is The “Only Proven Effective Treatment” for Chronic Whiplash!

Chiropractic_The Only Proven Effective Treatment

Spinal Adjustment

Spinal adjustment — also called spinal manipulation — of the neck has been found to be highly effective in the treatment of whiplash or WAD, and hence, Chiropractic is often the recommended first order of treatment for patients suffering from this condition. It is the process of applying a quick but gentle pressure to “subluxated” vertebrae in a corrective manner.

It involves moving a joint beyond its usual range of motion but not beyond the range of motion the joint is designed to move, anatomically speaking. You often will hear a popping or cracking noise during chiropractic adjustment as the joint is manipulated.  Chiropractic doctors are the only health care professionals trained to deliver the chiropractic spinal adjustment.

When you visit our St Paul MN Chiropractor office, our first goal is to relieve pain and symptoms. But our ultimate goal is to restore health.

Headache Sufferers Find Effective, Lasting Relief WITHOUT Drugs

Today, Americans engage in more sedentary activities than they used to, and more hours are spent in one fixed position or posture. This can increase joint irritation and muscle tension in the neck, upper back and scalp, causing your head to ache! While pain killers may take care of the pain, it does nothing to address the actual cause of the headaches. Headaches can be an indication of other more serious health problems and should not be taken lightly.

Get Drug Free Pain Relief From Headaches With Chiropractic Treatments

Primary Headache includes tension-type, migraine, cervicogenic, and cluster headaches and are not caused by other underlying medical conditions. More than 90% of headaches are primary.

Secondary Headache results from other medical conditions, such as infection or increased pressure in the skull due to a tumor. These account for fewer than 10% of all headaches.

Ninety-five percent of headaches are primary headaches, such as tension, migraine, or cluster headaches. These types of headaches are not caused by disease but FROM TENSION!

If you are suffering from tension, migraine, cluster or cervical headaches, YOU CAN FIND RELIEF!!

Primary Headache Types:

1. Tension – type Headaches Tension type headaches are the most common, affecting more than 75% of all headache sufferers. As many as 90% of adults have had tension – type headache.

Tension – type headaches usually involve a steady ache, rather than a throbbing one, are described as a feeling of pressure or tightening, may last minutes to days, affect both sides of the head, and and do not worsen with routine physical activity. It may also be accompanied by hypersensitivity to light and noise. Some people get tension – type (and migraine) headaches because of stressful events. Tension – type headaches may also be chronic, occurring frequently or daily.

Rebound Headache: Rebound headache may occur among people with tension – type headaches, as well as in those with migraines. It can be the result of taking prescription or nonprescription pain relievers daily or almost every day, contrary to directions on the package label. If prescription or nonprescription pain relievers are overused, headache may “rebound” as the last dose wears off, leading one to take more and more pills. This is a great reason to call your chiropractor.

2. Cervicogenic Headaches Cervicogenic headache comes from disorders of the neck.

Cervical headache is often brought on by neck movement and/or sustained awkward head positioning (such as painting the ceiling, or washing the floor) It can also cause stiffness in your neck, shoulder and arm pain.

3. Migraine Headaches Migraine headaches are less common than tension – type headaches, but still migraines afflict 25 to 30 million people in the United States. As many as 6% of all men, and up to 18% of all women experience a migraine headache at some time.

Migraines may last 4 – 72 hours and involve the entire head. They can cause throbbing and are aggravated by routine physical activity.

Nausea, sensitivity to light and sound often accompany migraines. An “aura” may occur before head pain begins – involving a disturbance in vision, and/or an experience of brightly colored or blinking lights in a pattern that moves across the field of vision. About one in five migraine sufferers experiences an aura.

Usually, migraine attacks are occasional, or sometimes as often as once or twice a week, but rarely occur daily.

4. Cluster Headaches Cluster headaches are pretty rare, affecting about 1% of the population. They are different from migraine and tension – type headaches. Most cluster headache sufferers are male – about 85%.

Cluster headaches come in groups or clusters lasting weeks or month. The pain is extremely severe but the attack is brief, lasting no more than a hour or two. The pain centers around one eye, and this eye may be inflamed and watery. There may also be nasal congestion on the affected side of the face.

These “alarm clock” headaches may strike in the middle of the night, and often occur at about the same time each day during the course of a cluster. A history of heavy smoking and drinking is common, and alcohol often triggers attacks.

Treatment Options

Chiropractors offer a drug-free, hands-on approach to healthcare that gets you feeling better quickly, safely, and effectively. A report released by researchers at the Duke University Evidence – Based Practice Center in Durham, NC, found that spinal correction resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer – lasting relief than a commonly prescribed medication.

How Is a Headache Evaluated?

Early diagnosis and treatment are important in identifying the underlying cause for your headaches. In most cases, an in-depth history and physical examination will help determine this.

Once the cause has been identified, your St Paul MN chiropractor will develop a specific management plan to help eliminate your pain based on your individual needs.

What Is the Treatment for Headaches?

Chiropractors treat patients with tension-type headaches and as well as headaches caused by problems with the joints and muscles in the neck.

Adjustments of the neck, along with stretching and strengthening exercises, have been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of headaches. Massage Therapy and other forms of soft-tissue treatment can sometimes be helpful.

Scientists are also investigating other therapies, such as acupuncture, to prevent and treat this disorder.

Over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, may be used for an occasional headache, but long-term use can lead to health complications such as gastrointestinal difficulties, liver problems, and kidney failure.

What do you do when you suffer from a pounding headache?  Do you grit your teeth and carry on?  Lie down in a dark room?  Or take a pill, episode after episode?  Don’t wait any longer!  Headaches CAN be treated very effectively with Chiropractic treatments!

Pain is a silent epidemic in the United States. An estimated 50 million Americans live with chronic pain caused by disease, disorder or personal injury. An additional 25 million people suffer acute pain resulting from surgery, auto, sports or work related injury.  Approximately two thirds of these individuals in pain have been living with this pain for more than five years.

The most common types of pain include arthritis, lower back, bone/joint pain, muscle pain and fibromyalgia. The loss of productivity and daily activity due to pain is substantial. In a study done in 2000 it was reported that 36 million Americans missed work in the previous year due to pain and that 83 million indicated that pain affected their participation in various activities.

The Price Of Pain

If acute pain remains untreated, it’s status changes. It soon becomes chronic pain. Once three to six months go by, and the person has been experiencing pain, what happens within the body is that there are pain pathways that are created.  And this is how chronic pain is born.

• The annual cost of chronic pain in the United States, including healthcare expenses, lost income, and lost productivity, is estimated to be $100 billion.
• More than half of all hospitalized patients experienced pain in the last days of their lives and although therapies are present to alleviate most pain for those dying of cancer, research shows that 50-75% of patients die in moderate to severe pain.
• An estimated 20% of American adults (42 million people) report that pain or physical discomfort disrupts their sleep a few nights a week or more.

Commonly Reported Pain Conditions

When asked about four common types of pain, respondents of a National Institute of Health Statistics survey indicated that low back pain was the most common (27%), followed by severe headache or migraine pain (15%), neck pain (15%) and facial ache or pain (4%).
Back pain is the leading cause of disability in Americans under 45 years old. More than 26 million Americans between the ages of 20-64 experience frequent back pain.
Migraine, jaw and lower facial pain (TMD/TMJ) account for over 25 million pain suffers, many of who treat themselves with over-the-counter medications. Many pain sufferers take over-the-counter pain relievers for 5-10 years despite label warnings.
Adults with low back pain are often in worse physical and mental health than people who do not have low back pain: 28% of adults with low back pain report limited activity due to a chronic condition, as compared to 10% of adults who do not have low back pain. Also, adults reporting low back pain were three times as likely to be in fair or poor health and more than four times as likely to experience serious psychological distress as people without low back pain.

What is Chronic Pain?

While acute pain is a normal sensation triggered in the nervous system to alert you to possible injury and the need to take care of yourself, chronic pain is different. Chronic pain persists. Pain signals keep firing in the nervous system for weeks, months, even years. There may have been an initial mishap — sprained back, serious infection, or there may be an ongoing cause of pain — arthritis, cancer, ear infection, but some people suffer chronic pain in the absence of any past injury or evidence of body damage.

Many chronic pain conditions affect older adults. Common chronic pain complaints include headache, low back pain, cancer pain, arthritis pain, neurogenic pain (pain resulting from damage to the peripheral nerves or to the central nervous system itself), psychogenic pain (pain not due to past disease or injury or any visible sign of damage inside or outside the nervous system).

Treating The Whole Person

Because pain is a complex puzzle, no single health care profession holds the puzzle piece that solves this puzzle; rather, each health care profession holds a critical piece that contributes to the completion of the puzzle. Chiropractors are trained to see their patients as multifaceted, whole systems requiring a multidisciplinary viewpoint. A vast array of therapeutic options are available to pain patients, ranging from allopathic medicine to various complementary disciplines. Today’s pain patients may select Western medicine, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, pharmaceuticals, chiropractic, nutrition, supplementation, body work, yoga and psychology, to name a few. What does this mean to the pain patient?  The path to pain reduction lies in the power of applying many different healing therapies in a way that complements the patient’s needs, beliefs and personality.

Untreated pain has significant impact on the pain sufferer and their family. The Chronic Pain in America: Roadblocks to Relief study, demonstrated clearly that pain has a negative impact on an individual’s quality of life. Pain diminishes their ability to concentrate, do their job, exercise, socialize, perform daily tasks and sleep. All resulting in an unrelenting downward spiral of depression, isolation and loss of self esteem.

Effective, Lasting Relief WITHOUT Drugs!

There are many ways to treat chronic pain that don’t include potentially addictive medication.

The impact of pain requires an understanding that the whole person experiences pain; that is, the mind, body and spirit.  Fully Integrated Therapy supports the use of “conventional” treatments, for example, counseling, exercise or surgery, along with “complementary” pain-relieving techniques like acupuncture, laser therapy, bio-feedback, massage therapy or chiropractic manipulations. For more pressing concerns, Craniosacral therapy has proven to be effective on perplexing cases that have not responded well to other approaches.

This allows healthcare providers to offer more holistic care, taking into account all of somebody’s physical, mental, and social conditions in the treatment of illness.

Chiropractors are trained in chiropractic care, which focuses on the relationship between the body’s structure – mainly the spine – and its functioning to correct structural alignment problems to help the body in healing.

They use their hands and other tools to gently manipulate the spine to relieve pain (see spinal manipulation). Spinal adjustments or spinal manipulation is the process of applying a quick but gentle pressure to “subluxated” vertebrae in a corrective manner.  A chiropractor will advise you on available treatment options for pain management because it is important that you receive all the information you need about potential treatments.

Unlike DOs or MDs, they cannot prescribe prescription medications, admit patients to hospitals or perform surgery.



Yes, Spring is here again.  Before you rev up the lawnmower or reach for your rake, consider the possible consequences: upper or lower-back strain, neck strain and pain in the shoulders.  We have all done it…got up one sunny morning and set out to just do a little yard work. You feel fine, excited to be outdoors again, enjoying the fresh air and cleaning up around the yard.

Perhaps by evening by evening you feel as if you were in a train wreck. We use muscles that pretty much had the winter off. The strain has put you in a bad way. That is when you need to Caron Chiropractic. We provide an integrated approach to your therapy needs.

What Can You Do?

Just as playing football or golf can injure your body, the twisting, turning, bending, and reaching of mowing and raking can also cause injury if your body is not prepared. Like an athlete, if you leap into something without warming up or knowing how to do it, the chances of injury are greater.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) offers the following tips to help prevent the needless pain yard work may cause.

• Do stretching exercises, without bouncing, for a total of 10 to 15 minutes spread over the course of your work. Do knee-to-chest pulls, trunk rotations, and side bends with hands above your head and fingers locked. Take a short walk to stimulate circulation. When finished with the yard work, repeat the stretching exercises.
• Stand as straight as possible, and keep your head up as you rake or mow.
• When it’s still warm outside, avoid the heat. If you’re a morning person, get the work done before 10 a.m. Otherwise, do your chores after 6 p.m.
• When raking, use a “scissors” stance: right foot forward and left foot back for a few minutes, then reverse, putting your left foot forward and right foot back.
• Bend at the knees, not the waist, as you pick up piles of leaves or grass from the grass catcher. Make the piles small to decrease the possibility of back strain.
• When mowing, use your whole bodyweight to push the mower, rather than just your arms and back.
• If your mower has a pull cord, don’t twist at the waist or yank the cord. Instead, bend at the knees and pull in one smooth motion.
• Drink lots of water, wear a hat, shoes and protective glasses. And, to avoid blisters, try wearing gloves. If your equipment is loud, wear hearing protection. If you have asthma or allergies, wear a mask.
• Try ergonomic tools, too. They’re engineered to protect you when used properly.
• If you do feel soreness or stiffness in your back, use ice to soothe the discomfort. If there’s no improvement in two or three days, see your local doctor of chiropractic.

We can diagnose and treat patients with health problems of the musculoskeletal system and treat the effects of those problems on the nervous system and on general health. Many chiropractic treatments deal specifically with the spine and the manipulation of the spine. Chiropractic medicine is based on the principal that spinal joint misalignments interfere with the nervous system and can result in lower resistance to disease and many different conditions of diminished health.

Wellness vs. Medical Care

The main difference between wellness care and medical care seeks to turn on the body’s natural healing ability, not by adding something to the system, but by removing anything that might interfere with normal function. Standard medicine on the other hand tries to treat a symptom by adding something from the outside –a medication, a surgery or procedure.

Caron Chiropractic approaches health care stresses and overall health. Chiropractors provide natural, drugless, nonsurgical health treatments. They rely on the body’s natural recuperative abilities. They also recognize that many factors affect health, including exercise, diet, rest, environment, and heredity. We can also analyze your posture and spine using specialized techniques.

For some patients whose health problems can be traced to the musculoskeletal system, we can manually adjust the spinal column. Other alternative medicines can be used, including therapies using water, light, massage, ultrasound, electric, acupuncture and heat. Other ways to manage your health could include exercise, changes in lifestyle and stress management. We do not prescribe drugs or perform surgery. We believe in the natural state of your body. Our experienced team help you start enjoying more of the fun parts of life without pain, naturally. We use our non-invasive means to improve and restore your health.

Call for an appointment at 651-255-9999

Chiropractors have long been dedicated to delivering the safest and most effective healing methods for their patients. Scientific evidence supports chiropractic adjustments as safe, effective and an appropriate choice for patients with many common forms of neck pain and headaches.  Chiropractic health care has an impressive array of studies which support and prove the effectiveness of chiropractic care in a variety of different health ailments and many more studies are currently underway.

Chiropractic Is A Clear Winner For Back Pain

Many of these studies have been done not only by chiropractors, but by other health care professionals as well, including federal government studies of various countries.

So, how do chiropractors treat patients after an auto accident injury, personal injury, or sports injury? In an accident, muscle, ligament, and tendon damage results from the violent movement of the body along with trauma from impacts. Many traditional medical treatments focus on obvious injuries while assuming that surrounding soft tissues will heal on their own.

In many cases, this is true because the body is an amazing healing machine, but often, back pain, neck pain, and headaches can emerge weeks and months after an accident when the body healing response compensates for misalignment and scar tissue. When underlying structural issues go unresolved, the body rebuilds an injured area with built-in potential for long-term pain and limited function. Old injuries can often be the underlying cause of sciatica or worsen existing chronic conditions.

Your back is an intricate structure of bones, muscles, and other tissues extending from your neck to your pelvis. Back injuries can result from sports injuries, work around the house, or a sudden jolt such as a car accident. The lower back is the most common site of back injuries and back pain.

Chiropractic Gets Injured Workers Back To Work FAST!

More than 85 per cent of the working population will experience back-related injuries or conditions.

Many workers’ compensation studies have shown chiropractic care to be superior to medical care in the treatment of on the job back injuries. Chiropractors have been able to get their patients out of pain and back to work faster and with lower treatment costs. For employers, this means that increased use of chiropractic care can reduce premium costs for benefits and contribute to improved productivity.

Injury in the workplace, following an auto accident or at home can be a serious matter. For your health and well-being, do not assume that immediate freedom from back pain or neck pain after an accident means you are fine. Too often, auto accident victims suffer ongoing symptoms years after the auto accident injury and insurance claims have been settled.

Chiropractic Is A Cost-Effective Option For Injured Workers

Chiropractors Get Injured Workers’ Back to Work Fast

The Third Most Widely Read Medical Journal Finds Chiropractic A Winner In Low Back Pain

The use, complications, and efficacy of spinal manipulation for low back pain was reviewed in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the third most widely read medical journal. The article concluded that spinal manipulation clearly helps patients with uncomplicated, acute low back pain.

The Mange Report – back to work, and fast!

As the largest existing analysis of scientific literature on low back pain, the 1993 Ontario Ministry of Health commissioned study drew international attention when it recommended the management of low back pain be moved from medical doctors to chiropractic doctors.

According to this Canadian government commissioned study, “Injured workers … diagnosed with low-back pain returned to work much sooner when treated by chiropractors than by physicians.”

Work Comp & Return-To-Work Studies

Do you need to know more?  Find out for yourself the enormous benefits of Chiropractic treatments if you have an injury of any kind. You’ll be glad you did!