Adults

Do You Suffer From….

  • General stiffness and restricted movement?
  • Headaches and migraines?
  • Leg pain, weakness, numbness and tingling?
  • Arm pain, weakness, numbness and tingling?
  • Pain in your lower limb joints such as ankles, knees, hips?
  • Pain in your arms such as wrists, elbows or shoulders?
  • Starting to think your body feels old before it’s time?
  • Feel your favourite sport is suffering?

If you have said yes to any of the above, then perhaps Chiropractic care may be for you.

The following are just a few examples of when Chiropractic care may help:

  • Acute and Chronic Back Pain
  •  Neck pain
  • Headaches originating from the neck
  • Migraine prevention due to myofascial tension
  • Extremity conditions such as frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, shin splints and even plantar fasciitis

Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most common complaints we see here at MERN Chiropractic. Back pain is likely to affect us all at some point in our lives. The difference being the severity and reason causing the pain and incapacity.
The most common conditions for back pain are:

  • Vertebra (spinal bones)
  • Spinal Discs
  • Spinal Nerves
  • Soft Tissue (muscles)

These are all considered and examined when a patient presents with back pain to us.

Chronic Back Pain

It is common for chronic back pain to gradually develop and progress over time without a specific known onset. Usually over time small micro traumas are inflicted onto the structures of the low back which exposes these structures to prolonged stresses which accumulate over time. Most common reasons for this includes:

  • The way you sleep and condition – not only of your mattress, but also your bed base.
  • The way you stand and hold yourself in certain positions.
  • Repetitive lifting, carrying or prolonged driving.
  • Poor sitting position – both at work or home.

Over time, the outcome is overloading of the spinal tissues leading to dysfunction, fatigue and pain.

Acute Back Pain

We often hear phrases such as “All I did was bend forward to put my shoes on…”

Unless you have had a known trauma onto your low back, it is unlikely that your back has developed severe sudden pain from just bending forward. Often you may feel a slight pain at a specific time or incident, but did not feel too bad at the time.  Fast forward a few hours after this initial event, when both inflammation and muscle spasms have begun to occur and the pain becomes more severe.

The most likely reason is that over time micro trauma has been occuring in your lower back to where it can no longer endure the strain. Pain is often the last thing to present itself, and the first thing to go, but the reasons why you have pain may have been building for months or even years.

Neck Pain

Everyone gets a stiff neck once and a while.  It may happen first thing in the morning if you have slept in the wrong position or after a long workday when you have been sitting in front of a computer. Please be aware that there is a vast difference between an occasional stiff neck to one that hurts and is affecting your daily life.

When to See a Chiropractor for Neck Pain

  • Your neck pain or stiffness does not improve after a few days.
  • You find looking to the right or left difficult without neck pain.
  • You are using pain medications daily to treat your neck pain.
  • You are worried that your neck pain may have a serious cause.
  • Your initial neck pain has now moved to numbness or tingling in your arms.
  • Your neck pain developed after a car accident.

What May Cause Neck Pain?

  • Nerve (tingling/numbness/weakness into your arms or hands)
  • Joint (altered joint position and condition/reduced range of motion)
  • Soft tissue (muscles/ ligaments and fascia can all effect your neck)
  • Whiplash (neck exposed to sudden excess forces)

Today’s modern living causes immense problems for the neck and shoulder region. We are stationed at our desks and computers much longer than ever before. This usually leads to poor work posture, stresses and inactivity which eventually can all cause pain and discomfort in the neck and shoulder region. This can also be associated with headaches.

Extremities

Laura is a Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner (CCEP), which means she specialises in any extremity pain you may be experiencing, including:

  • Jaw
  • Ribs
  • Shoulder
  • Elbow
  • Wrist
  • Hips
  • Knee
  • Ankle
  • Foot

As with any pain, the most important thing to do is to determine the cause of your pain. Do not be alarmed if you start getting treated not necessarily where you are having the pain. Often an extremity pain is a consequence of an issue elsewhere. Laura has been trained to accurately diagnose the problem and treat accordingly. Whether the pain is from a frozen shoulder, tennis/golfers elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive strain injury or radiating from dysfunction in the neck or low back, Laura will explain to you the best course of action.