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What is Subluxation?

We at Cleary Family Chiropractic understand that accidents happen. A slip, bump, fall, or another sudden trauma can all cause a subluxation, a misalignment in your spine. Your Woodstock, GA, chiropractor are readily available to get you on a personalized treatment plan when or if an accident occurs. While the main goal is to correct the misalignment of your vertebrae and alleviate discomfort, we also work to prevent future subluxations by building up your spinal health. If you have a subluxation, symptoms include: - Swelling - Numbness and tingling - Limited mobility - Pain or discomfort - Degeneration of surrounding muscles, nerves, and bones Did you know that a subluxation is a partial dislocation of the spinal cord? You can probably guess that the pain is no walk in the park. Subluxations are identified through a chiropractic exam, which consists of manual palpation and x-rays. During the manual exam, Dr. Cleary will check the alignment of your pelvis, joints, and spine. Depending
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Lifestyle Changes for a Healthier Spine

When it comes to your spine’s long-term health, chiropractic care goes hand in hand with certain lifestyle decisions. Simple things like lifting properly or standing occasionally while working at a desk can make all the difference. Dr. Matthew Cleary at Cleary Family Chiropractic in Woodstock, GA, is dedicated to educating his patients about the importance of mindfulness when it comes to your spinal wellness.  Resting and Sleeping Neck and back strain are common during rest and sleep. Sometimes we fall asleep in strange positions or angles and wake up asking ourselves, “did I sleep the wrong way?” It’s important that your pillow supports your neck and head so that everything is neutral with your spine. Lifting Lifting objects improperly is the most common way to injure your spine. Always use your legs to lift, never your back! Keep your back straight and hold the object close to your body. Never twist while picking something up and always set the object down the same way you lifted it
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Chiropractic Treatment for Auto Accident Injury

Some car accidents leave a driver in debilitating pain if the crash is forceful enough. But that doesn’t mean you have to live out the rest of your life in pain! Cleary Family Chiropractic in Woodstock, GA, is there for you when accidents happen. Dr. Matthew Cleary is experienced in finding the right treatment plan unique to a patient’s problem.  Whiplash is the most common injury from an auto accident. According to Mayo Clinic, “whiplash is a neck injury due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck, like the cracking of a whip.” When a part of the body is whipped back and then forward beyond its normal range of motion, micro-tears form in the surrounding ligaments. Usually, it’s when the micro-tears start to swell that the symptoms begin. Symptoms of whiplash include: - Neck pain and stiffness - Low back pain - Blurred vision - Headache - Dizziness - Shoulder pain - Limited range of motion of the neck - Arm pain Chiropractic care not only treats these symptoms but corre
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Warm Ups and Cool Downs

We talk a lot about preventing overuse injuries, but exercise is essential for a healthy body. You need a strong core to support your back and flexible hips to avoid pulling on your lumbar spine. So how do you minimize the risk of strain? Every exercise has its proper form, and we at Cleary Family Chiropractic in Woodstock want everyone experiencing back pain to get the approval of one of our biomechanical experts before engaging in a work-out. But one feature every routine has in common is properly warming up and cooling down. When your muscles have blood pumping through them, they are less likely to be strained or frayed. But stretching a muscle while it’s still cold puts it at much greater risk. Warm up stretches should be dynamic, meaning they should increase blood flow to a muscle while loosening it. Part of the reason for yoga’s popularity is that there are a lot of poses that do this. Other dynamic stretches include arm and hip circles, butt kicks, lunges, and leg swings. It wi
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Tips for Avoiding Back Pain at the Office

People who sit all day have high rates of back pain. This isn’t surprising, since not only is it hard to get enough exercise while working in an office, but many people also don’t understand how to properly support their backs. At Cleary Family Chiropractic in Woodstock, we relieve people’s back pain, but we want everyone to increase their overall wellness by taking better care of themselves. We thought we'd offer a few pointers regarding office ergonomics. While sitting at a computer, you want to avoid slouching forward or backward into your chair. Position your desk and chair height so that when your feet are flat on the floor and your back is straight, your monitor is directly at eye level. Your elbows should be at ninety degree angles when your hands are resting on the desktop. You should be able to sit all the way back in the chair, so your lower back is supported by the chair’s back cushion. Don’t have anything in your back pockets while you’re sitting, and place your armres
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Upper Back Pain

Do you suffer from soreness in your upper back? You’re not alone; although the condition is not as common as lower back pain, it is still widespread. Upper back pain is usually a condition that builds up over time. We can treat it safely and quickly at Cleary Family Chiropractic in Woodstock, but we want our patients to understand why preventive care and lifestyle changes are so important for avoiding relapses. The twelve vertebrae of the thoracic region have less mobility than those in the neck or lumbar region. Their connection to the ribs makes them more stable, and the powerful muscles of the shoulder wrap around the upper thoracic vertebrae. Still, they may develop arthritis or degenerative disc disease, and irritation in the shoulder muscles may be felt in the upper back. People also commonly wear out the connective tissues in their upper backs by slouching in cars or office chairs and neglect to keep the muscles there strong. If a nerve root in the thoracic spine is compressed,
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Spine Spurs

Back pain can get worse when it’s left untreated. Many of the problems in people’s spinal columns are due to degenerative conditions causing chronic inflammation. Although inflammation is triggered by the immune system, it causes problems of its own when it persists, including the development of bone spurs in the spine. Fortunately, we at Cleary Family Chiropractic in Woodstock provide holistic, low-risk treatment, preventing bone spurs from growing and minimizing the problems caused by ones already present. Bone spurs are protrusions from bone that build up in places with prolonged inflammation. They are common in people with osteoarthritis, whose joint-cushioning cartilage is wearing away. The facet joints of the spine connect the vertebrae to each other, and as their cartilage erodes, they rub against each other, causing irritation and new bone growth. Spinal spurs also commonly develop around herniated discs, which put pressure on the nearby soft tissues and are unable to function
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