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July and August are Scoliosis Screening months at Zager Chiropractic Services in Floresville Texas.
If you have a family history of scoliois, or if you are concerned that your child may have scoliois or is developing scoliosis, you can schedule a free scoliosis evaluation with Dr. Zager for your child. The appointment should take about 10 – 15 minutes. Dr. Zager will evaluate your child and see if there are any signs that your child is beginning to or has developed scoliosis.
She may also give you some simple exercises that will help strengthen your child’s musculature and reduce the scoliosis. If there are signs of scoliosis developing, Dr. Zager will also recomend a treatment strategy which may include: chiropractic adjusting, stretching and strengthening exercises, x-rays for further evaluation, and/or referrals.
If you live in the Floresville or south San Antonio area, you can call 830 393-6554 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Zager.
Maintenance or Wellness Adjusting is when you come in periodically for a “tune up” to make sure that your vertebrae are staying in the correct alignment. Coming in for these periodic adjustments helps prevent the vertebrae from getting too far out of place and causing your original pain to return.
¨ Many people ask how often should I come in for a maintenance or wellness adjustment—and part of my answer is that it depends on the your age, your physical activities, and your underlying condition. Let me give some general guidelines. For someone who has had their initial problem corrected and wants to come in on a maintenance or wellness schedule—it ranges between every 2 weeks to once every 8 weeks.
- ¨ The older you are—the more frequently you should get adjusted—simply because your body has gone through a lot more and has more wear and tear on it.
- ¨ Someone who is sedentary all the time should come in a little more often than someone who is moderately active (who walks, swims, exercises).
- ¨ Someone who plays physical or contact sports or has high activity levels will come in more often—every 2—4 weeks, especially if you play football, soccer, cycling, lacrosse, horse back riding, rodeo, roping, etc.
- ¨ The same for people who have physically demanding jobs in construction, ranching, farming, and mechanics.
- ¨ People who don’t have any disc injuries, osteoarthritis, reversed neck and/or low back curves, or neck or back surgeries can usually go between 6—8 weeks for adjusting,
- ¨ People who do have any of those structural conditions have had their pain syndromes for awhile and should come in a little more frequently between 3—6 weeks.
The bottom line is, if you are not on a regular maintenance schedule and you start to feel stiff and sore for more than a couple of days, you should call and come in for an appointment, before things get too far out of adjustment. It is easier to correct something before it gets too acute.
Most people at one time or another get a headache. For some, simply taking a couple of pain relievers, such as aspirin, will knock the headache down and let you continue on with your day. That is fine for an occasional headache; however, if you have repeated headaches you should get checked by a physician or a chiropractor to determine the cause and a treatment plan to correct the underlying problem.
There are several different types of common headaches (that I will cover here) : tension headaches, sinus headaches and migraines.
A tension headache is a headache caused from the sustained contraction of muscles of the head and/or neck. Typically it is a stress induced headache; however, sleeping wrong and/or working in one position for a longtime (i.e. at the computer) can also cause this type of headache since the muscles become imbalanced. Another name can be a “cervicogenic” headache meaning it originates from the muscles in the neck. See the Muscles of the Upper Cervical article on the inside.
Getting up and moving around every half hour when you are on the computer, as well as stretches, doing pure ranges of motion, and some simple shoulder exercises will help relieve this type of headache. Additionally, a massage or a hot shower will help relax the muscles of the head and neck. Chiropractic treatments can also help re-align your neck vertebrae so that your muscles are in better balance with each side; and therefore, are not constantly contracting, thus relieving the headache.
Sinus headaches are from your sinuses being blocked and causing pressure or pain. You can typically feel these types of headaches, just above your eyebrows, behind your eyes, and around you nose and cheekbones. The key here is to be able to open up your sinuses and let them start draining. There are some massage techniques that you can do on your face that will help open your sinuses. A hot shower will also help open your sinuses. When taking the shower, you should blow your nose several times in the shower after about 5 minutes. If your sinuses stay plugged, you run the risk of ending up with a sinus infection. Chiropractic treatment to the neck (especially at atlas and axis) can also help relieve some sinus pressure and help the sinuses drain.
Migraines can be very debilitating for patients. Migraines can last from 4 hours to several days. They can be classic migraines where there is an aura (some painless signs before the actual headache starts), light and sound sensitivity, nausea and/or vomiting all with one-sided intense head pain. There are also common migraines with or without some of above mentioned symptoms and signs. Migraines can be triggered by certain foods such as red wine, chocolate, caffeine and hard cheeses. Many migraine sufferers seek chiropractic care and get relief and prevention of their migraines through regular chiropractic adjustments to the cervical (neck) spine, especially atlas and axis.
 The purpose of the neck and occipital (back of the head) muscles is to support the head on top of your spine, as well as, to move the head and neck.
- The longer muscles start in the midback and shoulder regions and insert into the cervical (neck) vertebrae and the back of the skull (the occiput).
- The shorter and deeper muscles go between the individual cervical vertebrae, and also the occiput.
- When you have a cervical or occipital subluxation, your muscles become out of balance, with one side pulling more.
A simple test is to stand in front of a mirror. Close your eyes and stand where you think you are standing straight. Then open your eyes and check to see if your eyes or ears are level with each other, whether your shoulders are level with each other, whether your chin is in the midline, or whether you head is tilted or rotated. Any of those items can mean that your muscles are out of balance and that you probably have a cervical or occipital subluxation.
- Muscles that are constantly contracting, trying to pull the vertebrae back into place, or trying to stabilize the neck can be felt as tightness, may have “knots” in them, or even be felt as deep ache.
- Hot showers, ice, and massage may relieve some tightness.
- Chiropractic treatment will also help relieve and re-balance those muscles.
The First Annual Healthy Living Day be held on April 10th from 10 am until 2 pm at Zager Chiropractic Services at 2840 Business Loop 181 N, Floresville, TX. This mini-seminar day will provide information on a wide variety of common conditions such as low back pain and headache, as well as self help topics like how to do core exercises, nutritional tips, exercises for kids, correct lifting techniques, and relaxation techniques. It is free of charge and refreshments will be provided.
Click here to sign up for the class or Call (830) 393-6554
Why Do People Seek Chiropractic Treatment?
People come in for chiropractic treatment for a variety of reasons. People obviously come in for treatment because they are in pain (see box below), but many people also come in on a consistent basis after they are out of pain for general tune-ups or maintenance/wellness adjustments.
Chiropractic gets great results and has helped millions of people get relief from many painful conditions like low back pain, but it also helps many people who suffer from allergies, sinusitis, fibromyalgia, and headaches among other things.
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Newsletter 2010 January
You have been feeling pretty good lately, and then all of a sudden you do something small and your back or neck out and you are in lots of pain. What happened?
Slowly over time, your vertebrae go out of place again, your muscles get a little lax and without realizing it you do something as simple as picking up small box wrong and your back can’t take it. How do you prevent this from happening?
Get adjusted by Dr. Zager periodically, before you are in pain. For some people who are pretty healthy and do their exercises regularly it can be once every 2 – 3 months. For people who are older or have had lots of injuries over the years it will be between every 2 – 4 weeks.
By getting adjusted periodically you will be making sure that your vertebrae are properly aligned and not compressing any of the nerve roots. Your muscles will also be balanced and not continually contracting (where you feel lots of muscle knots) and aching.
From a financial standpoint, it is a lot more cost efficient to have periodic adjustments than to wait for six months and then have to pay for several adjustments all in a short timeframe when you least expect it. It is also takes less adjustments to correct a problem when it is small, rather than when you are in acute pain.
Many people with neck and arm pain go to chiropractors to help relieve their pain. This includes people with numbness in their hands and arms. There are numerous neck and arm conditions that respond well to chiropractic care including: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS), cervical radiculitis, brachial neuritis, carpal tunnel, neuritis, and myofascitis/fibromyalgia.
By gently adjusting the cervical (neck) and upper thoracic (midback) vertebrae, a chiropractor can take the pressure off of pinched nerves, restoring the normal nerve impulses, decreasing the pain or numbness, and helping to balance the surrounding musculature.
In addition to adjusting the spine, Dr. Zager gives each patient specific exercises to help strengthen up their muscles which in turn helps keep the vertebrae in their proper positions. She also shows you techniques to help yourself at home, including massage techniques.
If you have neck or arm pain, call today for a consultation with Dr. Zager to see if chiropractic can help you.
 Your spine is made up of 24 vertebrae and sacrum. There are 7 cervical (neck), 12 thoracic (midback – your ribs are attached to them), and 5 lumbar (low back) vertebrae. Between each set of vertebrae is an intervertebral disc (IVD) which acts like a cushion. Your nerves exit between each set of vertebrae through a foramina (hole or opening). When your vertebrae are misaligned, they can put pressure on the nerves as they exit.
In a new report commissioned by the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, medical researchers conclude that when considering effectiveness and cost together, chiropractic care for low back and neck pain is highly cost-effective and represents a good value in comparison with medical physician care and widely accepted cost-effectiveness thresholds.
Report authors Niteesh Choudhry, MD, PhD, an assistant professor at Harvard University, and Arnold Milstein, MD, PhD, chief physician at Mercer Health and Benefits, San Francisco, reached their conclusions by conducting a review of existing peer reviewed literature.
Just 2 of the author’s findings include:
- Chiropractic care is widely used, with almost half of all patients with persistent back pain seeking out this form of treatment.
- Chiropractic care for the treatment of “low back and neck pain is highly cost effective, represents a good value in comparison to medical physician care and to widely accepted cost effectiveness thresholds.”
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