Chiropractic Care in the Outer Banks

Today we would like to tell you about the benefits of chiropractic care during your pregnancy, as well as offer some tips to help you be more comfortable during your pregnancy.

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Today I would like to talk to you about chiropractic treatment for vertigo.  Vertigo can take many forms and chiropractic care can be effective for treating many of these forms.  Chiropractic care for vertigo offers the advantage of treatment without medication.

Vertigo sufferers will have some or all of the following symptoms:

• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness
• Feeling faint
• Hearing loss or ringing in the ears
• Sense of the world spinning (the popular definition of vertigo)

The type of vertigo we will discuss in this post is known as BPPV, or Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo:

• Benign – A non-progressive condition
• Paroxysmal – Onset is sudden and unpredictable
• Positional – Episodes are caused by changing head position
• Vertigo – Sense of spinning or dizziness.

BPPV is a specific condition of the liquid in the inner ear, and is often caused by one of the following:

• Head injury
• Severe cold or virus
• Minor strokes
• Effects of the ageing process
• Certain types of medication

Treatment begins with your chiropractor taking your medical history and asking questions to try to discover the cause of your vertigo.  He will then conduct specific tests to determine the type of vertigo you are suffering from.

Treatment for BPPV is generally as follows: Repositioning maneuvers are used to reposition otoconia in the inner ear, and then habituation exercises (a more intense form of repositioning maneuvers) are used to advance the treatment.

If you are suffering from any of the symptoms of vertigo, then you should contact your chiropractor immediately.  Your chiropractor may be able to help you with your vertigo without exposing you to medication or surgery.

Dr. Craig McGiffin at Clearview Wellness is the chiropractor for the Outer Banks.  Call Dr. Craig today if you are suffering from vertigo and get started on the road to recovery.

One of the keys to chiropractic care is helping you avoid injuries.  This week I would like to talk about an article that I recently found.  Anne Fisher with About.com has put together a great list for helping your child avoid both immediate and long term back problems due to backpacks.

First let’s take a look at some problems that heavy backpacks can cause:

• Poor posture
• Spinal disc compression
• Muscle Strain
• Misalignment of the back and neck
• Headaches
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Shoulder injury

These examples are bad enough, but if you read this blog regularly then you know that misalignment of the back and neck can lead to even more long term problems.

Anne Fisher lists several ways to avoid injury:

• Keep the Weight Down – Keep your child’s backpack weight at 10% of body weight or less.  Encourage your child to stop at his or her locker frequently to change out textbooks and not carry any extra books.  She also mentions buying a set of textbooks for home use, but scanning textbook pages into your child’s computer once a week would be a cheaper solution.
• Organize the Backpack – Keep the weight centered (between the shoulders) and put heavy items closer to your child’s back.
• A Backpack has Two Straps – Make sure your child uses both straps when wearing a backpack.  Slinging it over one shoulder leads to physical compensation due to lack of balance, as well as putting more weight on one shoulder instead of spreading it over both shoulders.
• Keep the Straps Tight – Keep the straps tight and the backpack close to the body.  This helps keep it centered and avoids stress from the pendulum motion of a swinging backpack.
• Pay Attention – Keep an eye your child’s spine.  If he or she is adjusting body posture while carrying a backpack then it is too heavy.  Don’t forget to ask your child about aches and pains.  This is one of the easiest ways to avoid problems.

For chiropractic care on the Outer Banks, Dr. Craig McGiffin at Clearview Wellness can help your child with problems associated with heavy backpacks and advise you on how to avoid future injuries.

Call Dr. Craig today and put your child on the path of good health.

If you suffer from headaches more than once per week, you may be experiencing tension headaches.  A tension headache is often described as something “squeezing your head”, or pain on both sides of your head.  Tension headaches are causes by the muscles of your shoulders, head, and neck tensing and contracting.

The root of the problem is often emotional stress and can be solved by eliminating the source of stress.  However, if you have a constant source of emotional stress your muscle tension can become chronic, leading to recurring tension headaches.

Physical injury can also cause tension headaches.  Injuries which set a pattern of muscle contractions can lead to chronic tension headaches.

If you “favor” a part of your body that has been injured, this causes uneven stress on your body.  This uneven stress can lead to permanent changes in your posture and skeletal misalignment.  Improper alignment will force your muscles to compensate for the uneven stress on your body in the form of muscle tension and contraction.

Chiropractic treatment can help alleviate and prevent tension headaches.  Your chiropractor will begin with a thorough examination to find any misalignment.  Chiropractic adjustment to give your body proper alignment will help prevent the recurrence of tension headaches.

Often patients with chronic headaches will find relief through chiropractic in just a few treatments, as muscles relax and nerve irritation is reduced.

Your chiropractor on the Outer Banks, Dr. Craig McGiffin, can help you with your headaches.  Dr. Craig has years of experience helping patients with tension headaches and migraines, and he can help you return to your healthy, headache-free life.

Call Dr. Craig McGiffin at his Clearview Wellness Center today to get rid of your tension headache.