Cleary Family Chiropractic: Blog

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...

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...

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,...

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...