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Having a herniated disc in and of itself can be a very painful condition. When sciatica is a by product of the problem it is even worse. Not only do you have the pain from the disc,but you also have the pain from the swollen and irritated sciatic nerve.

First a herniated disc occurs when the central portion of the disc called the nucleus pulposis migrates outwards and breaks through the outer portion of the disc called the annulus fibrosis.

In research studies only the outer 1/3 of the disc has been shown to contain pain sensitive fibers. Therefore damage can accumulate over time before the person ever feels any pain.

Repetitive activities, incorrect sitting postures and trauma are usually to blame when it comes to herniated disc pain. These activities weaken the outer annulus allowing migration of the inner portion of the disc.

As the migration occurs and the outer fibers become contacted the pain sensitive nerves begin to become activated resulting in local back pain at first.

After the initial bout of back pain from a disc problem occurs a short period of relief or lessened pain may come about. This is usually due to the fact that the activities that caused the problem have been modified or stopped.

Many people make the false assumption that the pain is gone for good, however the medical literature shows a very different scenario. People are almost always destined to have another bout of back pain within a year, unless proper treatment is applied.

With the return of the pain there is also a corresponding increase the the area involved. This usually starts with a movement of the pain into the arm and leg depending on where the disc problem is.

Once pain begins to move into the leg it is often called sciatica. This condition is associated with involvement of the sciatic nerve.

The pain from sciatica can be a consequence of either pressure from the disc itself on the nerve or from inflammation caused by the injured disc irritating the sciatic nerve.

In either case proper treatment is a must. This means actually working to fix the disc problem through proactive means. The best treatment I have come across is for this is spinal decompression.

The outer fibers of the disc are able to scar over due to the negative pressures inside the disc, created with spinal decompression pulling back in the herniated material

Spinal decompression is the best treatment to actually heal a herniated disc relieving sciatica pain.

Recent years have given way to much controversy about the negative effects of high heels on your body. Doctors tut when women come to them with back problems, osteopaths sigh, and the health sections of newspapers go all out to warn us about the evils of the stiletto. But are they really that bad? Granted, high heels make your calves a little tender for a couple of days after you’re worn them, and your feet may be slightly sore, but once you wear heels on a regular basis, your body gets used to them – and your calves and feet will be stronger for it.

It is high time someone put a stop to these myths. Some people have already done so: earlier this year, the BBC came out with an article that suggested that high heels can, in fact, have favourable impacts on the body. That is why we shall challenge three pre-existing myths on the stiletto, and will subsequently explore how these can actually benefit the body.

Myth #1: High heels give you back problems. Not necessarily, say senior osteopaths. Only people with predispositions for back problems have a higher probability of getting one – but that doesn’t mean everyone is doomed to injure their back as a result of wearing stilettos. While it has been confirmed that walking on 8-inch heels for extensive periods of time can result in too much pressure being put on the front of the ankles (which leads to postural problems), this can be easily avoided if you take care. Instead of walking on stilettos all day, for instance, travel to work in your trainers and only slip on your heels at the office.

Myth #2: Stilettos create stiffness in the neck and lumbar spine. Not so. Osteopaths say that stiffness has very little to do with the fact that you are wearing high heels, and has everything to do with how you wear them. If you already have a postural problem before slipping on shoes, such as the disposition to tilt backwards slightly, then heels are likely to aggravate the problem as they put pressure on the lower back. However, if you adopt a straight and erect posture before putting on stilettos, then it is very unlikely that you experience any problems. In many cases, high heels have the tendency to correct a woman’s bad posture by forcing them to balance themselves, so stiffness is not a direct result of wearing stilettos.

Myth #3: Heels have a negative effect on your muscles. Again, not true. While some might have sore muscles due to wearing stilettos too often, you can steer clear of this easily, as proposed for Myth #1. A recent study has uncovered that women who wear stilettos do, in fact, have stronger leg and pelvic muscles then those who don’t. As long as you vary your footwear every day, there should be no reason for you to overexert these muscles.

Another interesting advantage of stilettos -as the BBC article revealed – is that they can improve your sex life. The article quotes a study conducted by Italian Urologist Dr. Cerruto in which she explains that the heel forces the foot in an angle so that it exercises and strengthens the pelvic floor functions. A woman’s pelvic muscles are very important to sexual performance, so the notion that intercourse may be improved simply by wearing heels is a welcoming one indeed.

No matter what myths you live by, there is always a right solution for you. Many times those extra four inches of self-esteem are just what a woman needs in life. Why take that away? As long as you pay attention to how your body responds, and you assume the correct posture, health and heels can go hand in hand.

Neck pain is something that plagues millions of Americans, and it can be debilitating. There are thousands of people that go on disability insurance each year because of painful neck injuries or stresses, but something that many people who suffer from neck pain don’t know is that there are treatments that can help mitigate their suffering.

Chiropractic care from an experienced, licensed Doctor of Chiropractic can work miracles for neck pain sufferers, and countless people have had positive experiences of lessening pain after just one treatment of chiropractic care. Chiropractic for neck pain can be a very positive experience and an effective method of pain relief.

In order to properly treat neck pain, it is important to understand the cause. Neck pain can come as a result of a herniated disc, bad posture, stress, heavy lifting, repetitive motion, and many other reasons. A chiropractor will ask questions and perform a physical examination to properly diagnose the cause behind the neck pain, and can then perform the spinal adjustments or other treatment necessary to help alleviate the neck pain, straighten the alignment of one’s spine, and allow the patient to function properly again.

Sometimes patients experience some or total relief after one session, but more often it takes a series of treatments in order to feel the full benefit of chiropractic for neck pain.

Often, a chiropractor will also recommend some type of physical therapy as a complement to their treatment for neck pain. Physical therapy, including strengthening exercises, stretching the muscles, ultrasound treatment, and learning proper posture can greatly help the sufferer, along with chiropractic.

Sometimes, chiropractors work side by side with reflexologists and acupuncturists, whose craft can help sufferers of neck pain feel further relief. These specialists are very important to the health and well-being of long-time sufferers of debilitating pain.

Chiropractic care is not often the first thought when someone begins to experience neck pain, but it can be a very important treatment option for those who suffer. Chiropractic sessions take care of the actual problem behind the neck pain instead of just masking the pain with medication and possibly causing further harm because the patient cannot feel that they’re hurting themselves. Chiropractic for neck pain is a proven treatment that has provided relief to millions of sufferers, and is an option that many people should seek out whether they have a neck injury, pain due to stress, or discomfort caused by repetitive motion at home or work.

Everyone gets the occasional headache, but some headaches get so bad they won’t go away. While drugs treat the symptoms, they often ignore the underlying cause of the problem.

Many of these severe headaches can be slow to respond to chemical treatment, which, when made strong enough to address the headache, can have negative and potentially lasting consequences on the rest of the body when used over time. This is why many people with chronic head pain look to the more natural (and often more effective) alternative solution of chiropractic.

There Are Different Kinds of Headaches

In order to better treat any type of condition, it is first important to try to understand what is causing the problem. Since there are many different types of headaches, some can be treated better by chiropractic than some of the others. Headaches can be caused by

-changes in constriction of the vascular system

-tension in the muscles

-congestion of the sinuses

These headaches can radiate pain all over the head and feel centered in many different locations, but it is most important to know that chiropractic is a great solution to those headaches centered around muscle tension and changes in vascular flow. Sinus headaches may be treated as well but the cause is likely to be more complicated.

There are three main types of headaches typically found in a chiropractic office:

-migraine headaches

-tension headaches

-cervicogenic headaches (from the neck)

The last kind of headache mentioned can sound a bit scary, but cervicogenic means a headache that is being caused by the bones, muscles, or nerves of neck.

Tension Headaches

When we become stressed, frightened, or angry, the body will respond with increased muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, or head. This reaction, often called a fight or flight response, is how we respond to stress. If stress becomes very constant in our lives, that muscle tension can become just another habit.

This can lead to some imbalances in the way we hold our body, which in turn leads to more muscle tension and pain. Chiropractic treatment can relax these muscles and realign the spine’s structure to put and end to the vicious cycle of pain. Those seeking chiropractic care for tension headaches can often see a marked improvement in just a few treatments as the nerves become less irritated and the muscles begin to relax.

Migraine Headaches

Migraines are brought about by changes in vascular flow, triggered by a variety of factors such as different smells, foods, weather, hormonal changes, and stress. These often very painful headaches do not always start off as pain. They can begin with nausea or the person may experience a halo effect called a visual aura.

Recent research has indicated that chiropractic treatment can reduce the number of migraines a person experiences. By adjusting the neck and spine with chiropractic treatment, you may be able to improve vascular flow and reduce the nerve irritation in the spine.

Types of Treatment

Chiropractic focuses on adjusting the spine and neck to improve posture and blood flow. To treat the headache, the doctor of chiropractic will perform an adjustment using his or her hands, but may also utilize trigger point therapy, massage, or other complementary treatments to approach the problem. The chiropractor will also likely recommend some basic posture education and some stretching exercises to improve how long the effects of treatment last.

It is important to keep a few things in mind when considering a visit to a chiropractic office for neck pain. Chiropractic began with the intention of working with the spine to improve health, and while most neck pain is related to the alignment of the spine, sometimes it’s not.

A chiropractic adjustment to neck or to the cervical vertebrae may carry with it some risks, even though the chance is very low. Your chiropractor should perform a thorough examination, as an improperly done neck manipulation may cause some problems ranging from stroke to severing major blood vessels.

Most chiropractors understand the risks involved and adhere to the premise that you should always outweigh the benefits versus the risks and make sure to take a complete case history to see if the patient is at risk for any problems. It would not be wise for a chiropractor to walk up to any person on the street and perform a neck manipulation. Still, it’s often the untrained person performing the manipulation that really puts the patient at risk.

Many conditions, including headaches, neck pain, and numbness and tingling in the arms, can be related back to the neck. The benefits of a specific cervical adjustment can mean the end to a lifetime of chronic problems, so people readily seek out chiropractic treatment only after they’ve exhausted more traditional methods of relief including medications and injections.

Chiropractic treatment can be very helpful in dealing with neck pain, even if it’s chronic. Many times this chronic neck pain may be caused by muscle tension or posture issues which can be fixed in just a couple of visits with a skilled doctor, even if the problem has been around for years. Because chiropractic is so effective in dealing with the spine, this can also affect how the person deals with muscle tension or how they carry their muscles and whether that translates itself into back or neck pain.

If you are concerned about whether chiropractic is right for you, you can set up a consult with a chiropractor or consider seeing your general practitioner first if you know of something in your personal medical history that you think might be a problem. He or she can help determine if chiropractic care is right for your problem, or if other treatment options would be more suitable for your problem. You can also seek out the help of friends, family members, or co-workers that have had a good experience with a chiropractor.

The doctor of chiropractic may do an x-ray examination of your neck (and maybe your entire spine) and then may suggest a regiment of chiropractic care that may include massage, heat, cold therapy, electric stimulation, or ultrasound in addition to chiropractic adjustments. These additional therapies are complementary to problems dealing with muscles and the spine.

As any mother will tell you, pregnancy takes a huge toll on the body. On average, a woman’s weight increases by 30 pounds during pregnancy, and her posture changes as a result. Carrying that extra weight around is not only strenuous, but incredibly exhausting for the body as well. To help alleviate some of the pains and pangs of pregnancy, our leading osteopaths provide some tips and exercises you can do before going through childbirth.

Work-out sessions: It is great to have a regular work-out routine when you are pregnant, but it is important that you adjust your routine accordingly depending on how much your body can take during pregnancy. We recommend doing three or four work-out sessions a week of approximately 30-minutes each during your first and second trimesters. When it comes to your third trimester, shorten your routine by 10 minutes so as to accommodate your heavier belly.

Types of Exercises: While cardio exercises can be beneficial, we recommend exercises that keep your heart rate controlled. It is good to break out sweat, but do not allow your heart rate to exceed 145 bpm. Exercises such as squats and lunges (without weights) are highly recommended, as well as swimming and brisk-walking. Swimming is particularly rewarding during your final trimester, as the water supports your body and relieves muscle tension. Cycling and gentle aerobics are also highly recommended. Carry out many short stretches before and after each work-out to stimulate the flood flow and improve the flexibility of your joints and muscles.

Movements/Exercises to Avoid: Avoid high-impact and contact sports, which range from football to squash. When stretching, do not hold a stretch for longer than 5-6 seconds. Because pregnant bodies are more vulnerable to stresses and strains, prolonged stretches causes a release of the ‘relaxing’ hormone that (while it is necessary for giving birth) is damaging to the areas around the joints. Also, abstain from carrying heavy objects so that you avoid overexerting yourself.

Dietary tips: A balanced diet is, of course key to helping you, and your baby, feel at your best. Just because you are eating for two does not mean you have to eat twice as much as you normally do – a pregnant woman needs about 2500 calories every day. In order to get the right amounts of energy and nutrition, it is advisable to eat something from each food group: fruits and vegetables, dairy products, whole grains, and protein (fish, meat, etc.).

Visit an Osteopath: In order to keep a close watch on the changes your body is going through, start seeing an osteopathic doctor early on in the first trimester. This way, if you are doing your exercises incorrectly, or if certain muscles are under too much strain, we can step in sooner than later.

It is never easy being pregnant, what with weight gain, back aches, raging hormones, and sheer exhaustion. But hopefully, with the help of an osteopath and the techniques above, your passage from pregnant woman to loving mother will not only be bearable, but enjoyable.