Is Your ‘Neck Pain’ Really Serious?

October 30, 2012 by

Is Your ‘Neck Pain’ Serious?

   When is a pain in the neck more than just a pain in the neck?

When is it the sign that something more serious may be involved?

   Typically, neck pain is caused by a muscle strain, and one side of the neck may experience more pain more than the other. But when neck pain is accompanied by other symptoms, it may be cause for concern.

For example, neck pain with vomiting and a stiff neck may indicate meningitis. If you cannot touch your chin to your chest and experience drowsiness, confusion and/or sensitivity to bright lights – call a medical doctor right away.

Neck pain with weakness in the arms and tingling in the fingers may indicate a herniated disc, which is pressure on a nerve root due to a narrowing of the spinal cord canal. Call my office immediately, we can help you here at Richter Chiropractic.

Neck pain and trouble moving your head without pain? This could signal fibromyalgia, a condition that causes pain in your muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons. It could also be a symptom of rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder that affects your joints, particularly those in your feet, knees and hands.

Neck pain after a traffic accident is usually referred to as “whiplash,” because the neck, when you are in a car that is hit, tends to snap suddenly forward and then backward, causing what is known as cervical acceleration/deceleration (CAD) trauma or syndrome. Again call my office in El Cajon immediately following an accident, no matter how minor.

Most people experience neck pain at some time in their lives. I’ve received training that helps me to locate the causes of your neck pain, restoring normal mobility in your neck and other affected body parts.

In addition, I’ll determine whether you have a relatively minor issue, or whether you require a more intense treatment plan. Please advise us regarding any neck pain you are experiencing, whether or not the pain is severe. Your pain may start out SMALL, but it can get really bad, and this usually happens late at night or on the weekends, so CALL ME NOW if you have pain or some of the symptoms I mentioned.

After you call, I’ll examine you thoroughly. I try to restore normal feeling and function in your neck and other affected body parts as quickly as possible. Continued care will help ensure that the muscles and joints in your neck and back remain in optimal working condition to keep you living life to your fullest potential, without restriction. Pain is something that you never want to cover up before you find out what’s causing it.

Disc lesions are serious. If you have neck pain or any other types of pain, call my office now. Chiropractors are experts at being able to distinguish different types of neck problems, so make that call or give this to a friend that needs assistance. We are here in east county San Diego for one thing: To help you.

So Call Today! 619-670-7500

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Fall Now Pain Later?

May 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

YES!  You can have a fall now and the pain might not come until months later.

Almost two years ago, a patient of mine from El Cajon was working as a hostess in  a local restaurant in order to pay rent during graduate school.

One late October afternoon, she slipped walking from the back kitchen on her way to the dining rooms and her head hit the thick molding halfway down the wall behind her.  She jumped up in shock and shook it off.  She took some aspirin and went back to work.  Eventually the pain and bruises went away.

One morning in late February she woke up and couldn’t move her head to the left, necessitating keeping it cocked to the right.  She was in so much pain that she made an immediate appointment with our office here in El Cajon to get her spine checked and adjusted.  I adjusted everything including her jaw and wondered how this happened.  She shrugged, but when her mom mentioned her fall months earlier, it was confirmed as the cause.

Have you (or anyone you know) experienced a hard fall or do you (or they) have a prolonging ache?  Look deeper into chiropractic as a source of relief and help.

At this El Cajon chiropractic office we primarily adjust patient’s spines due to complaints of back, neck or joint pain, and headaches using a drug-free approach to healing.

We here at Richter Chiropractic are skilled in aligning the spinal bones and the tissues of your body – especially those along the spine – in order to push air bubbles out of the tissue (this is the “pop” that is heard) to allow for greater circulation and better range of movement of the joints.

This office in El Cajon has been a big help for many suffering from annoying pain or stiff neck syndrome.  We can help you too.  Just give us a call for your free initial exam and consultation. 619-670-7500.

 

 

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Is Your Back “Out-of-Wack”?

May 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Take our subluxation health test, from Richter Chiropractic, and discover if you may be a candidate for a spinal and neurological check-up!  We here in El Cajon understand your concerns and think we can help.

Answer yes or no:

  1. Do you take pain relievers more than 2 times/week?
  2. Have you ever been in an auto accident or taken a bad fall?
  3. Do you have neck or back pain more than 2 times/month?
  4. Do you feel fatigued late in the day?
  5. Do you suffer from arthritis?
  6. Do you have daily/weekly digestive problems?
  7. Have you had pain between the shoulder blades for more than a month?
  8. Do you suffer from headaches or migraines more than 2 times/month?
  9. Do you have constant or regular shoulder, hip, elbows or knee pain?
  10. Do you suffer from allergies, asthma or other breathing difficulties?
  11. Do you have insomnia or feel you don’t sleep enough?
  12. Do you get a cold or flu more than 2 times/year?
  13. Do you feel nervous or stressed-out on a regular basis?
  14. Do you have high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, colitis or other stress related disease?
  15. Do you feel sick often?
  16. Do you experience regular stomach pain?
  17. Do you have frequent pain for an unknown cause, such as sciatica pain in the buttocks and down back of the leg?
  18. Are your joints stiff or sore upon arising?
  19. Do your hands or feet tingle, ache, burn or feel numb at any time?
  20. Do any of your health problems affect your work or family life?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may need to come in!  So give us a call at 619-670-7500.  Make an appointment to see Dr. Mace Richter and get an exam.   It’s FREE!

 

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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

May 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in l Cajon refers to a variety of symptoms, including numbness, tingling and pain in the hand, wrist and arm and associated weekness or wasting away your hand muscles that are supplied by your median nerve.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when tendons inyour wrist become inflamed after being aggravated.

A tunnel of bones and ligaments inyour writs narrows, pinching your nerves that reach your fingers and the muscle at the base of your thumb.

We’ve seen many such patients here at Richter Chiropractic.  Often, when there is a misalignment of one or more of your spinal bones in the neck, the brain is not able to send a strong, steady nerve current to your arm and hand.

This imperfect nerve flow can cause an inflammation or swelling of your median nerve, which is easily irritated within your wrist by repetitive movement.

The result is the numbness, tingling pain, and weekness associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

While there is little agreement in the medical community in El Cajon as well as worldwide about the causes, there is a possibility that we can help.  Chiropractic care could be the help you need.

We Need To Evaluate Your Pain

Through gentle chiropractic manipulation, we at Richter Chiropractic in El Cajon can realign the spinal bones in your neck, relieving the pressure on your affected nerves, allowing strong nerve current to flow from your brain to the affected area.

This is the best way to take care of pain associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  Some people in El Cajon do not have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but a pinched nerve.  Why go through surgery if it’s not necessary?  Call Barbara today to make your appointment to be checked!

 

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Body Trivia From Your El Cajon Chiropractor

January 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 Your body is an amazing system. If you take good care of it, it will take good care of you. Here are just a few things you may not know that I’d like to share with you today.

  • The thickness of your skin varies from 1/2 to 6 millimeters, depending on the area of your body.
  • The four taste zones on your tongue are bitter (back), sour (back sides), salty (front sides), and sweet (front).
  • The five senses are sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste.
  • Your body contains eight pints (3.79 liters) of blood.
  • The strongest muscle of the body is the masseter muscle, which is located in your jaw.
  • Muscles normally account for 40% of one’s body weight.
  • There are 230 joints in the body, 37 of which are in your neck.
  • The large intestines are five ft (.61 m) long and are three times wider than the small intestines.
  • Most people shed 40 lbs (16.14 kg) of skin in a lifetime.
  • Your body is 70% water.
  • When you sneeze, air rushes through your nose at a rate of 100 mph (160.93 km/h).
  • An eyelash lives about 150 days before it falls out.
  • Your brain sends messages at the rate of 240 mph (386.23 km/h).
  • About 400 gallons (1,514.16 liters) of blood flow through your kidneys in one day.
  • You blink your eyes about 20,000 times a day.
  • Your heart beats about 100,000 times a day.
  • Humans breathe 20 times per minute, more than 10 million times per year and about 700 million times in a lifetime.
  • You have about 100,000 hairs on your head.
  • There are 10 million nerve cells in your brain.
  • Each of your eyes has 120 million rods, which help you see in black and white.
  • Each eye has six million cones, which help you see in color.
  • One in 12 men is color blind.
  • Placed end to end, all your body’s blood vessels would measure about 62,000 mi (99,779.33 km).
  • You see with your eyes and hear with your ears, but your eyes must send a message to your brain in order for you to see, and your ears must send a message to your brain in order for you to hear.
  • Your brain weighs 2 percent of your total body weight. It uses 20 percent of your body’s energy.

Mace Richter, Chiropractor El Cajon

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Pillow Talk

January 19, 2012 by 30 Comments

How’s Your Pillow Treating You

and

Is That a Major Problem For You?

Headaches and neck pain been bothering you? Believe it or not, you spend up to 1/3 of your life sleeping; shouldn’t you think about giving some serious thought to whether or not you have the RIGHT pillow, considering your head spends about 8 hours every night laying on it. Your pillow is pretty important, don’t you agree?

Do you know how to pick the proper pillow? Do you think it’s just a matter of what feels the most comfortable? Or is it about your ability to “scrunch it all up” with your hands to make it what Goldilocks would call, “just right”! From a chiropractic standpoint, here’s what’s important about selecting a pillow:

* When sleeping on your side, your pillow should support your head so that your head, neck and shoulders are INLINE with your middle and lower spine. Side sleepers may also want to use a spacer pillow between your knees for maximum spine alignment. 

* When sleeping on your back, your head and neck should be aligned with your spine.

* Pillows that are too thick or too thin generally do not support the head to maintain proper spinal alignment. Foam materials that mold to your head and “spring back” often provide good support.

* Your pillow should also support different sleep positions because you don’t remain in the same position all night! You should, however, avoid sleeping on your stomach – this is the worst sleep position for your neck and spine.

* Make sure the pillow is made of hypoallergenic (non-allergic) materials.

If you have any problems with your neck or headaches I recommend the use of cervical pillows, usually made from foam or memory foam, which have a concave middle and are raised in the area where your neck lies. These pillows support the head and neck properly and help to alleviate neck pain. 

Regardless of the type of pillow you use, keep one thing in mind – just as mattresses don’t last forever, neither do pillows! Over time, pillows become breeding grounds for dust mites and they get lumpy or flat and are less supportive as a result. Is it time to go pillow shopping? If so, please ask us what we recommend to get the optimal support and pain relief you need! Remember, it’s not about symptoms, it’s about prevention.

 

Dr. Mace Richter, Chiropractor in El Cajon, CA

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El Cajon Chiropractor’s View on Dizziness

January 6, 2012 by 3 Comments

Dizziness

Dizziness is not a disease, it is an indication that there is something wrong somewhere in your body. The dizzy spells are your body’s WARNING system that tells you, something is interfering with the proper function of your body’s organs, nerves, glands, or muscles.

Dizziness is a SYMPTOM, not a disease.

As a chiropractor we know the relationship between your upper neck bones and that spinal misalignments can cause vertigo, which is a fancy medical term for “dizziness”.

REMEMBER: All of the functions of your body are under control of your nervous system. Your nervous system originates in your brain where nerve energy is transmitted down through the spinal cord inside your spine and branches out between the vertebrae as spinal nerves.

Often, something causes your spine to twist or move the wrong direction. You can just fall asleep on the couch and cause this. This twist creates a misalignment of your spinal bones which can put pressure on your delicate, super sensitive nerves in your body, which interferes with the transmission of nerve energy at 100%.

After ruling out other causes, such as caffeine and aspirin sensitivity, we diagnose the problem as a spinal misalignment. Through gentle aligning techniques, we can relieve the pressure on these sensitive spinal nerves, allowing your body to heal itself.

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Richter Chiropractic is doing a food drive!

December 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

We have been doing a food drive with the San Diego Food Bank to make this Holiday Season a good one for the hungry.  It has been going very well so far!  We have 7 days left to fill the food bins and we are accepting all food donations.  The food drop off is at 236 Jamacha Rd, El Cajon, CA. Thank you to all of our friends and patients who have already contributed.

 

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