Cleary Family Chiropractic: Blog

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...

Pain in your back may be due to a problem further down your body. When people have knee pain, they’re likelier to adopt poor posture, keeping pressure off their aching joint by thrusting out a hip and bending their back to the other side to keep their balance. This is terrible for the lower back and pelvic muscles, and while we at Cleary Family Chiropractic in Woodstock can provide safe and minimally invasive treatment, we want people to better understand how knee pain develops. When a person is suffering from stiffness and soreness in the knee, we call that “patellofemoral syndrome.” The kneecap is a sesamoid bone, which means it does not connect to the rest of the skeleton in the way most bones do. Instead, it rests on cartilage in a trench at the bottom of the femur and is held in place by muscles and ligaments. When those tissues become inflamed and the kneecap is displaced, it may erode its supporting cartilage. Patellofemoral Syndrome tends to be worse when a person is walking u...

Imagine this: when you lean backward, a muscle spasm starts in your back. It travels down the back of your leg or into your shoulder and up to your skull. The pain is dull and throbbing, but it’s hard to predict how long it will last. If this sounds familiar, you may be suffering from Facet Joint Syndrome. We frequently treat this problem at Cleary Family Chiropractic in Woodstock, but it remains little known and many people don’t ask for help with it. In the back of our vertebrae is a hollow, bony protrusion that the spinal cord runs through. The protrusions attach to each other at something on either side called a facet joint. Unlike the spinal disc, the facet joints are made up of bones cushioned by cartilage and lubricated by synovium produced by a capsule. They are mobile enough to allow the spine some degree of torsion and to move back and forth, but they also prevent the vertebrae from sliding out of place. A person could feel symptoms of Facet Joint Syndrome if the tissues of ...

Do you suffer from back pain or neck pain? Do you often feel fatigued or weak? You may benefit from Electric Muscle Stimulation. Also known as EMS or e-stim, this is one of several complementary treatments we offer at Cleary Family Chiropractic in Woodstock for soft tissue ailments. It can be used to loosen tight muscles, reduce inflammation, and speed workout recovery time. E-stim devices generate an electric pulse through mechanical vibration. The pulse is transmitted through wires ending in pads that are placed on the patient’s body. Muscles convulse rapidly when electric current enters them. This flushes out old blood, letting in new blood that is rich in nutrients. The nutrients allow the muscles to heal more quickly. Stimulation also releases endorphins, the pain relief hormone produced naturally by the body. A stronger current can be generated to reach deeper muscles. The process only takes ten to fifteen minutes, although injured patients may undergo it several times. Most peop...