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What’s Really Causing Your Back Pain?

April 12, 2016 by acupuncturerapha Leave a Comment

When back pain happens to you, it’s a far cry from enjoyable. And while no one likes to experience it, the pain itself is actually quite common. In fact, nearly every adult in the world has experienced back pain at some point during his or her life. But in many cases, back pain doesn’t actually begin in your back. 

So, where does it start? Take a look at a few options that could be responsible for your back pain.

Hip Misalignment

Do you ever feel like you’re taking uneven steps? Frequently carrying a heavy bag to one side, poor posture, and not wearing supportive shoes can all contribute to hip misalignment leading to low back pain. Misaligned hips often begin as a result of weak back, core or pelvis muscles and uneven shoe wear. 

Text-Neck 

In today’s world, it seems that we’re all guilty of spending at least some amount of time each day looking down at our smart phones or tablets. Unfortunately, too much of this downward tilt can cause pain in your neck from overstretching tissue and muscles, eventually leading to spinal misalignment. Back pain as a result of text-neck is a compensation reaction, with the real issue being the neck.

Teenagers and younger children face the highest risk for suffering from symptoms of text-neck. 

Prolonged Sitting 

If you spend most of your day behind a desk, you could find yourself sitting for hours on end without much movement. Prolonged sitting compresses the spine and increases stress on the back, legs, arms and even neck. To combat back pain caused by long periods of sitting, set an alarm to remind yourself to get up and move every hour. Choosing an ergonomic chair, keyboard, and mouse pad for your work space can also benefit your health. 

Regardless of where your back pain has started, chiropractic care can usually help. To learn more about how adjustments could help you, contact our practice to set up an appointment.

Filed Under: conditions

What Are Muscle Spasms?

April 12, 2016 by acupuncturerapha Leave a Comment

The answer is – it didn’t. Reaching for the towel overextended a muscle that was already strained. This made the muscle stiffen and go into spasm to protect it from any further harm. Muscles can become strained due to repetitive movements or habits, such as poor posture, heavy lifting, swinging a baseball bat or sitting in front of a computer.You reach for a towel on the top shelf of the linen closet and your back wrenches in pain as a muscle goes into spasm. The pain is excruciating and you can barely move. How could something as simple as reaching for a towel produce such pain?

Often, when muscles have been strained for some time, all it takes is one sudden movement (i.e., one stretch for a towel) for an already strained muscle to go into spasm. When this happens, all the muscle fibers contract at the same time. Muscle contraction cuts off blood supply, which creates even more muscle pain, causing the muscle to contract even further. This is an all too common occurrence for some people who lie immobilized on the floor for hours because the muscle doesn’t relax with movement. 

Help for Your Muscle Spasms 

It can take several weeks for a muscle spasm to subside, so try the following to help the healing process.

  • Rest. 
  • Apply ice/heat to assist in pain relief. 
  • Since a lack of magnesium, calcium and water are thought to provoke muscle spasms, increasing your intake of all three may help as well. 
  • Seek Spine & Muscle care at Rapha Clinic. 

Our Spine and Muscle care helps to alleviate the cause of muscle spasm once it is present as well as helping to prevent it from occurring in the first place! Proper joint and nerve function is essential to proper muscle function, and spinal adjustments locate and correct areas of the spinal joints where there is nerve and joint dysfunction.

Filed Under: conditions

Testimonials

"I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to Dr. Lee and his entire staff for transforming my once painful existence into a life that is now normal and free of pain."- Tina T.
"Thank you all for planning and executing the right recovery plan for me, incorporating physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, and caring. I think that your integrated approach is what really made a difference for me."- Kerstin Y.
"Rather than existing and just making it day to day, the treatments have given me back my life."- Deborah L.
"I have been suffering from back issues for the past 20 years and he is the first person who has actually made a valuable impact in my back health!"- Lisa
"Thank you for all of the time and detail you put into every chiropractic adjustment."- Stephanie F.
"Many thanks for your help, your skills, your caring hearts and professionalism in accurately diagnosing our condition and treating it with specialized care."- Angel M.

​Rapha Clinic Reston

1818 Library St
Suite 500
Reston, VA 20190

​Rapha Clinic Arlington

Rosslyn Metro Center
1700 N. Moore Street
Ste 1160
Arlington, Virginia

​Rapha Clinic Lansdowne

19490 Sandridge Way
Suite 310
Lansdowne, VA 20176

 

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