Hi everyone

So today I decided to talk about a classic thing I see so often in the clinic. What is funny is that I had 3 patients today show up with that exact pain. It is pain linked to ribs actually called costovertebral syndrome. What does that mean??? Patients usually describe pain beside the shoulder blade not exactly on the spine. It hurst if they move their arm or they just feel a burning nagging pain in that area. If it becomes very acute people can’t breath and report a stabbing knife in their backs. It can also hurt when they are sneezing or coughing . It can also refer to the front of the thorax as well. Some even have difficulty moving their arm. Many times it is misdiagnosed as muscles spasms. I agree that we have alot of muscles in that area but when I touch the exact spot I am on the joint between the vertebra and the rib head. How do people injure themselves? Lifting something heavy such as kid, suitcases, or repetitive arm motion hanging in the air. Whenever we move our arms our rib also move and if they lose their normal motion then they start to create discomfort.

With this issue it is drastic the change once we have done the adjustment. I usually do some muscle work all around and then proceed to the chiropractic adjustment. People immediately report feeling better after the adjustment. I have patients now that know exactly when the rib is not moving well and is interfering and come in with the diagnosis before I even touch them.

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Hi everyone

Today I wanted to talk about headaches. It is not uncommon for people to come to the clinic and tell me that they have headaches everyday and live with it. Most of them simply take medication or have tried different things and nothing seems to help. For many having a headache is a normal part of their life. Why I love chiropractic is that I have had many cases, it will change their life. They will go from having a headache everyday to hardly any and they are able to reduce all the medication that they take. But why?

I describe to my patients that there are different types of headaches. The one type that we can help is called cervicogenic headache. These types of headaches are so common and misdiagnosed. They are linked to tensions in the neck, jaw and face. The lack of motion of vertebras in the neck will create muscles tensions all around the neck, jaw and face. These headaches usually cause pain on both side of the head and start from the back and go in the front. It usually comes at the end of the day. Our goal as a chiropractor is to increase and restore proper mechanics in your neck to then allow all the tension in the muscles to release. So the frequency of the headaches diminishes dramatically. Obviously if you are allergic to read wine or cheese or you headache is linked to your cycle, we will not be able to help with these ones. The thing to remember is that many headaches are linked to the neck. Don’t just blame stress! Stress causes muscle tension and the cycle starts up again….

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Hi everyone

Today I wanted to talk about sleep posture. We spend so much time sleeping in our life that it can have a huge impact on how you feel. People always ask me which posture is best. The easiest thing to answer I find is to tell patient which one to avoid.

The worst position is stomach sleeping. Stomach sleeping as been associated with upper back pain and headaches. When I do my history, I always question which position people sleep in. If they have major headaches symptoms most of the time I can predict that they are stomach sleepers. When you are on your stomach it changes all the curves in your neck and upper back and affects all the muscles and joints in the neck.

So patient should either sleep on their side or back. If you are on your side make sure your pillow covers the distance between your shoulder and your neck when your neck stays straight. On your back the best thing is to bring your knees up if you are experiencing some low back pain and make sure In your neck your pillow gives you god support. You want to ensure your head is not lifted too high or too low. The basic principle is to keep your spine in a neutral position.

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