Osteoporosis - Gallatin Valley Chiropractic of Bozeman

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a loss of bone mass density or thinning of the bones. This loss of bone density happens over a period of time and results with weakening of the bones. Osteoporosis usually affects women over 50 who are menopausal or premenopausal. However, men and younger women can also be affected by osteoporosis.
There are many people who actually have osteoporosis and are not even aware of it. Osteoporosis does not necessarily cause any symptoms or pain until a bone fracture occurs. Fractures when they do occur can be very serious and cause a lot of pain.


Prevention:
There is no complete cure for osteoporosis. It is very difficult to rebuild bone once it has been lost or deteriorated. Therefore the best treatment is prevention. It is very important to build and maintain strong bones in the earlier years of a person's life with proper nutrition and keeping joints moving properly with chiropractic care.

Healthy bone building requires an adequate intake of calcium accompanied with Vitamin D. It is recommended that men and premenopausal women get 1000 mg/day of calcium, and for postmenopausal women to get 1500 mg/day. Vitamin D helps with the absorption of calcium into the body and is important to help prevent osteoporosis. If not enough Vitamin D is obtained, no matter how much calcium you take, it can not be utilized by the body correctly. Vitamin D can come from the diet and by skin through sunlight. People living in the northers hemisphere are recommended to take a Vitamin D supplement, especially during the winter months. People of ages 19 to 50 are recommended to get 200 IU daily, and those over 50 are recommended to get 400 IU of Vitamin D daily.

Preventing osteoporosis involves healthy lifestyle habits. Eating a healthy diet is just as important as quitting smoking, limiting alcohol, and consuming caffiene in moderation. Exercise is also extremely important when preventing osteoporosis. Including weight bearing exercises throughout the week actually strengthens bones. Try to include exercises such as lifting weights, walking, swimming, and biking throughout the week. Keeping your spine adjusted and healthy by your chiropractor will help keep your joints moving properly and allow you the proper exercise you need.

If you have been diagnosed osteoporosis, the next step is to take action to slow the progression of bone loss and to prevent fractures. You can still live a relatively normal and active life by taking action and preventing the effects that osteoporosis can have.

Chiropractic Care with Osteoporosis:
Chiropractic care can help reduce pain associated with osteoporosis. Care can also be given to help treat an osteoporosis-related injury. Chiropractic treatments can improve your range of motion and increase mobility which can help reduce accidents and injuries, as well as prevent back and neck pain. Just be sure to let your chiropractor know about you condition so that your care and treatments can be fitted to your specific needs.

Chiropractic Bozeman

Sciatica

What is Sciatica?
The sciatic nerve, which is made up of 5 smaller nerves that exit your low back, is the longest and largest nerve in the body. It begins at your pelvis, and passes through your hip region and buttocks, before continuing down both legs. As it moves down each leg, the sciatic nerve branches out into smaller nerves. In addition to providing feeling to both your thighs, legs, ankles and feet, the smaller branches of the sciatic nerve control many of the muscles that make up the lower legs. Sciatica, is a term that describes pain that radiates along the course of this nerve.

What causes Sciatica?
When you have sciatica, or pain down your leg, it may be a sign that you have another problem in your body, where pressure is being put on a nerve in your low back. Most commonly, the cause of nerve compression in the lower back is a herniated or bulging lumbar disc. However, sciatica can also be caused by other conditions that target the spine, such as bone spurs, narrowing of the spinal canal and nerve root compression. Other conditions, including pregnancy and tumors, can also affect the nerves in the low back and cause sciatica. Another frequently seen cause of sciatica is piriformis syndrome. The sciatic nerve passes directly under the piriformis muscle in your pelvis. When this muscle tightens up, or becomes spasmed, it can put direct pressure on the sciatic nerve. Often times in men, pain down the leg is due to the fact that men carry their wallets in their back pocket and often sit on them.

How do I know if I have sciatica?
In the majority of cases, pain that begins in your lower back and travels to your buttock and down through the back of your leg, is most characteristic of sciatica. Other symptoms that you may notice in addition to your sciatic pain are tingling, numbness and muscle weakness in the leg that is affected. The severity of the pain can vary from a mild ache to a burning, sharp sensation or even severe debilitating discomfort. At times, the discomfort may be described as an electric shock or sudden jolt of pain. Over time, sciatic pain usually intensifies and becomes more intense when you increase pressure in your body, as in coughing, sitting or sneezing.

How is Sciatica Treated?
Often times, people suffering from sciatic pain are given a combination of stretches for the piriformis muscle and get adjusted by a chiropractor. The piriformis is attached to the sacrum, so when this bone is shifted out of alignment, it puts abnormal tension on the piriformis creating the sciatic nerve pain. Great results are achieved through natural and conservative methods by treatment from a chiropractor.

Bozeman Chiropractic

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, also known as median nerve neuropathy, has become a very common occupational health condition that many people are faced with each year. It is becoming more and more popular with the increase in trends for computer use in offices around the world. Millions of people are affected by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome each year, although it doesn’t have to be a condition that you suffer from.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is caused by the entrapment of the median nerve at the level of the carpal bones in the wrist. This pressure can be caused by a traumatic injury like falling on your wrist snowboarding, or by repetitive stresses to the wrist, including typing, hammering, and chopping. Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can range from pain in the wrist, to numbness, tingling, burning, hand weakness and loss of grip strength. Many times this condition can produce symptoms that are worse at night because you are lying down and allowing more blood flow to the area and increasing the inflammation around the median nerve.

There are, however, other conditions that may closely resemble the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which causes it to be a highly misdiagnosed condition. Conditions that may resemble this are ulnar nerve neuropathy, pronator teres syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, and cervical nerve root impingement. Your chiropractor will be able to properly diagnose this condition and to rule out other causes of the symptoms that you are having.

There are a number of ways to treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and in many cases a chiropractor can adjust the areas of problem including the cervical spine or the arm and wrist if the doctor has extremity adjusting training. These adjustments, along with physiotherapies, stretching, and rehab exercises can in most cases alleviate or eliminate your symptoms associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Come visit us at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic of Bozeman to find out what is cause of your pain might be. Our licensed chiropractor, Dr. Dustin Rising is trained in extremity adjusting and will help you on the road to a speedy recovery.

Chiropractic Bozeman

April is Foot Health Awareness Month!

Your feet are referred to as the 'foundation' for the rest of the body and are essential for movement and activity. They provide support for everything that we do, starting with standing, walking, and running. The feet also help in protecting the bones, spine, and soft tissue from extra stress when moving. The importance of having stable, well-balanced feet is key for body support and functioning. Properly balanced feet affect posture, and the body's overall performance and efficiency, which will contribute to optimal health along with chiropractic.

Many people with foot problems actually have little to no pain in their feet. The pain that they experience will instead be distributed to other areas in the body, like the back, neck, hip, and knees. If one or both of your feet are not properly balanced it can result with improper posture and therefore unnecessary stress and strain in certain areas of your body. Your chiropractor will be able to tell you if you have postural imbalances and if your problems are coming from your feet.

Foot Levelers can help balance your feet and stabilize your body. They are customized to fit your feet and shoe by taking exact measurements of the bottom of each foot by a digital scan that is available at Gallatin Valley Chiropractic of Bozeman. Your lifestyle is also taken into consideration when custom fitting your foot levelers along with age, weight, and your activity level. This is to ensure that the best is made specifically for you to support your daily lifestyle.

Come into Gallatin Valley Chiropractic of Bozeman for your FREE digital foot scan so you can get your custom made foot stablilizer ordered today, and you will benefit from better posture, reduced pain, and overall better health. When our feet are properly supported, our body is properly supported.

http://www.gallatinvalleychiropractic.com