Hip Labral Tears

Do you feel pain in one of your hips when you’ve been standing, sitting, or moving for a long time? Does it feel stiff or like it gets caught? If so, there may be a problem with the joint’s cartilage. At Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, we’re more than just a clinic for back pain. Our experts in musculoskeletal health use non-addictive, non-invasive treatments for all sorts of joint problems. This week, we’re discussing a type of hip injury known as a labral tear.

A labrum is a seal of cartilage that locks the ball of the femoral head into the socket of the pelvis. (There’s one connecting the arm to the shoulder, too.) The labrum also provides cushioning, and if it tears, a person is at risk for developing arthritis or a bone spur in the future. Although the labrum can be damaged by an acute injury, it can also wear down due to repetitive motions, particularly in people who had an abnormal ball and socket connection to begin with. People who play sports that stress the hip muscles, such as soccer and hockey, are at greater risk for developing hip labral tears.

Hip labrum tears don’t always have symptoms, but they may be accompanied by other injuries. An x-ray will help us to determine if there’s something wrong with the bones of the joint that would require a chiropractic adjustment. Otherwise, patients will likely be prescribed physical therapy to improve their hip’s range of motion and stretch out their muscles. We can also use electric muscle stimulation and therapeutic massages to reduce inflammation and shorten workout recovery time.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

 

Causes of a Stiff Back

Lower back pain is one of the most common health ailments. It has several causes, and most people are at risk for at least a few of them. However, the most common causes of back stiffness can be treated with minimal invasiveness and without the use of dangerous medications. At Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, we’re dedicated to providing holistic treatments and lifestyle counseling that will prevent the return of back stiffness, so let’s take a closer look at how it can be prevented.

Usually, lower back stiffness can be traced to overuse of some muscles, putting excessive pressure on the structures of the spine. But the muscles in question aren’t always in the back. When the hamstrings or hip flexors are tight, they’ll pull on the lower spine, putting it out of alignment with the pelvis and potentially triggering inflammation. The same can occur with the ligaments in that area. Certain positions also make inefficient use of the lower back’s muscle and ligament support, such as when a person sits hunched forward or slouching backwards. If a person isn’t warming up before exercising, they’re especially likely to strain their supporting muscles through acute injuries or long term wear. Prolonged inflammation and excess pressure could wear down the cartilage cushioning the joints between their vertebrae, leading to more stiffness.

Chiropractic adjustments can realign joints, reducing the pressure on nearby tissues and preventing erosion of cartilage. But to remain healthy, a patient will need to engage in core strengthening and flexibility exercises. Core strengthening will provide the lower back with more support, and flexibility training will lengthen the hip muscles so they don’t pull as much on the spine. Maintaining better posture will also help to prevent tightness in the lower back as well as the neck.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

 

Golf Injuries

If you’re looking for a way to exercise while physically distancing, golf isn’t a bad option. Besides allowing you to stretch your limbs, it exposes you to plenty of sunlight, which will allow you to build stronger bones. But golf can take a toll on your back if you’re not careful, and at Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, we’ve seen a lot of golfers suffer from lower back pain. Although we provide holistic, non-addictive treatments to enable a speedy recovery, we want our patients to know how to prevent wear and tear to their musculoskeletal system.

Swinging a golf club subjects the torso and hips to strong forces. The spine is rotating quickly on a tilt, and the lumbar region, or lower back, doesn’t have as much internal stability as other parts of the spinal column. Ideally, the hips and shoulders should be rotating with the spine to create a fluid motion, but if not, the muscles and ligaments attaching to it may be strained. In worse cases, a spinal disc may rupture, or a fracture in the facet joints may allow a vertebra to become unstable. Disc injuries tend to occur more in older athletes, while facet joint injuries tend to happen more often to younger people.

Anytime a person exercises, it’s important to warm up first by doing dynamic stretches. It’s a good idea for new golfers to seek professional training, but one basic pointer is that they should bend with their hips and knees instead of their lower backs. If a golfer suffers an injury that is still causing problems after a day of rest and icing, we can provide a diagnostic and determine whether they would benefit from treatments including chiropractic adjustments, electric muscle stimulation, therapeutic massages, and ultrasound. We’ll also recommend therapeutic exercises that will improve core strength and the flexibility of the hips and shoulders.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

 

Leg Pain and Back Problems

As a chiropractic office, Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield offers holistic treatments for problems in the musculoskeletal system. The nerves to the rest of our bodies emerge from the spine, and many muscles in the lower body connect to the pelvis or lower back. Since leg pain and back pain are often intertwined, let’s take a look at how they may play into each other and how we treat them.

The nerves to the legs emerge from the lumbar region of the spine, or lower back. They pass through the muscles of the pelvis, and compression in these nerves could cause a shooting pain, tingling, or numbness. The compression could occur at the point where they emerge from the spine as a result of a herniated disc, a bone spur, or the dislocation of a vertebra. There might also be swelling in the piriformis muscle, which links the lower back to the leg, in the sacroiliac joints, which connect the pelvis to the base of the spine, or in the bursae that lubricate each hip. Swelling and constriction in the leg muscles might also cause them to pull on the hips or lower back.

These are not the only causes of leg pain, but they are among the most common and the most responsive to noninvasive treatment. We work to reduce inflammation and set joints back in the right place by performing gentle, manual adjustments. These adjustments can release pressure on compressed nerves and allow the body to continue its natural healing process. We may also perform massage therapy and electric muscle stimulation to relax tight lower back muscles and allow blood to flow in and out more easily.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

Back Pain in Teen Athletes

Although teenagers don’t suffer from back pain at as high a rate as adults, they’re not immune to it. There are several health conditions that could predispose a teenager to developing back problems, and the teenage years are when athletes usually begin to incur a risk of overuse injuries. At Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, we’re happy to help teens learn about wellness and what they can do to exercise safely and recover effectively.

Usually, when teenagers suffer back pain due to overuse injuries, the damage is limited to their muscles. In such cases, they may want to apply ice for fifteen minute intervals immediately after the injury and gradually work their way back to normal activity. If pain is recurring, we can provide electric muscle stimulation and cold laser therapy. But without a professional diagnosis, it may be difficult to tell the difference between muscle sprain and a dislocation of the spinal column. These could include spondylolisthesis, in which one of the vertebrae slip forward past the others, a fracture in the facet joints, or, less common in adolescents, a herniated disc.

Chiropractic adjustments can be helpful while recovering from a spinal injury, but we also offer lifestyle counseling, including physical therapy and nutrition. Teenage girls, in particular, are vulnerable to osteoporosis, and need both regular calcium and strong core muscles to prevent back injuries. Scoliosis is also more common in girls, and teenagers need to be examined for it at regular appointments. They may be able to reduce its severity through physical therapy and bracing.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

Common Whiplash Treatments

Whiplash is a common kind of neck injury. It can take many forms, but it is often painful, and the pain may radiate. We offer several safe, complementary therapies for whiplash at Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, and are available for our patients during the coronavirus outbreak. But we need you to understand why if you may have suffered whiplash, you need to take it seriously.

 

You may have heard whiplash referred to as cervical acceleration-deceleration syndrome. That is because it is characterized by the microtears the soft tissues of the neck incur when a person’s head is whipped back and forth, as frequently happens during car crashes. Small tears in the muscles, ligaments, and spinal discs will cause the tissues to become inflamed and stiffen, limiting the neck’s movement. The pain may be throbbing, or it may feel like pins and needles and come and go. It may also travel along the neck muscles into the shoulders or up to the head.

 

We will diagnose the extent of a person’s whiplash injury through imaging and range-of-motion tests. Resting injured muscles too much risks that they will further deteriorate, which is why we will use the information we learn during the diagnosis to prescribe gentle stretching exercises, instead. We may also reduce stiffness by gently adjusting the neck and administering therapeutic massages. Whiplash symptoms may take a while to develop, but they respond better to treatment when caught early. If you’ve been in a vehicular crash or similar accident, schedule an appointment with us right away.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

Introduction to Spondylolisthesis

One of the reasons that lower back pain is so common is that it can be caused by several conditions. Spondylolisthesis is a complicated word for describing a relatively simple concept: a vertebra that has slipped forward. At Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, we can diagnose spondylolisthesis and work with patients to relieve their pain in a non-addictive manner. But it’s important for patients to be aware of the possibility they have spondylolisthesis so they’ll know to take their pain and rehabilitation seriously.

Vertebrae are made up of a large flat body with an arch in back and facets for attaching to the other vertebrae above and below. Between the vertebrae bodies are spongy discs that act as shock absorbers. The facet joints contain cartilage and are lubricated by a fluid called synovium. As a person ages, their spinal discs tend to become dehydrated, and the lining of their facet joints may wear down and become inflamed. In this condition, it’s easier for a vertebra to slip out of place and compress nearby tissues, causing soreness. Although any vertebra could slip, the vertebrae of the lumbar region, or lower back, are the ones at greatest risk. When they’re out of place, they may compress the sciatic nerves, causing shooting pains or numbness down the legs.

We’ll use a combination of imaging and tactile tests to determine whether a patient is suffering from spondylolisthesis. It is common for more than one vertebrae to be displaced. Treatment options may include chiropractic adjustments to realign the joints and anti-inflammatory treatments such as electric muscle stimulation and therapeutic massages. Long-term bed rest is not usually recommended, since it would allow the back muscles to atrophy. Instead, we’ll advise the patient on therapeutic exercises that will allow the back muscles to take more pressure off the facet joints and spinal discs. The patient may also want to switch to impact-free aerobic exercise, such as swimming.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.

 

Spinal Spurs

Spinal spurs are a common problem. These abnormal growths of bone tissue in the vertebrae are a frequent occurrence as people age, and if they’re positioned badly, they can contribute to joint inflammation and compressed nerve roots. But although spurs can fuel vicious cycles of inflammation and abnormal bone development, they don’t usually require surgical treatment. At Kosak Chiropractic in Fairfield, we provide pain relief that is minimally invasive and will position the body to function better in the future.

 Bone spurs develop at locations of inflammation. When a person has osteoarthritis, the cartilage that cushions the joints connecting the vertebrae wears away. As a result, the spinal joints become inflamed by rubbing against each other, and spurs develop that limit their mobility. Spurs can also develop when the discs between vertebrae are damaged. As the disc becomes less able to cushion the vertebrae and their connecting soft tissues, the soft tissues are subjected to additional wear and become inflamed. This allows spurs to develop at the point where the ligaments connect to bone.

Spurs can be identified through imaging tests such as x-rays. We’ll also ask patients to undergo range-of-motion tests so we can determine if there’s nerve blockage or muscle fatigue. Treatments focus on reducing inflammation and restoring range-of-motion. We’ll use chiropractic adjustments to relieve pressure on the spinal joints and electric muscle stimulation and ultrasound to loosen muscles and ligaments. We can also employ massage therapy to push old blood out of inflamed areas and allow nutrient-rich fresh blood in. Lastly, therapeutic exercises will keep the back muscles strong, providing better support to overburdened spinal joints.

Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.