Can Your Stomach Aches Cause Your Back Pain?

Do back pain and stomach pain go together? For many people, the answer is yes. This situation is rarely serious, but it can be difficult to live with: back pain is bad enough, but coupled with abdominal pain and intestinal distress it’s even worse. Missing work, being unable to enjoy meals with the family and not knowing what to do about the situation creates additional stress you just don’t need. Medication only relieves back pain temporarily, without addressing the underlying causes – so the pain returns again and again. But don’t despair! There’s a solution to your stomach and back pain that's 100% safe and natural.

Back pain is often caused by dysfunction of the facet joints (interlocking “fingers” on the back of each vertebra) or by degeneration such as bulging discs. Muscle strain is another common culprit. And while it may seem illogical that any of these should affect your abdomen or digestion, it actually makes sense when you understand how the back works.
When any part of the spinal structure isn’t working properly, it affects the many nerves traveling along the spinal canal. These nerves carry instructions from the brain to every single part of your body. So if a bulging disc that causes lower back pain is pressing on a nerve that serves the stomach, for example, there’s an excellent chance that the stomach will also experience pain and function at a diminished capacity. The compressed nerves may affect the intestines also, creating digestive upset along with the stomachache. And when muscles in the back are strained, compensatory muscles in the front may become overworked as well, resulting in abdominal muscle pain.

With over fifty nerves radiating from the spine, the causes of back pain are numerous. And yet the traditional approach to treating back pain is to treat only the outer symptom – ignoring the myriad possibilities for the pain and doing nothing about those underlying causes. Medications numb the body, dull the mind and offer side effects ranging from irritating to life threatening – all for just a few hours of relief. Exercises can help strengthen muscles – but often overwork already stressed structures, increasing nerve irritation and pain. Surgery involves removing portions of the spinal column or fusing them together permanently, a drastic and risky approach that often results in future problems.
But another method is available, and it doesn’t rely on quick fixes or drastic measures to create safe, natural back pain relief.

Helping the Body Heal Itself

 

Back pain targeted relief image

Lasting back pain relief depends on targeting the specific underlying cause of the pain.

“Unlike mainstream medicine, chiropractic doesn’t just treat the outer symptoms of back painbusy . “And it doesn’t cure back pain – your own body does that!”

What chiropractic does is identify and locate areas of misalignment within the spinal area that interfere with the nerves and the proper functioning of the body. Then, these areas are safely and gently adjusted, restoring proper structure and function and allowing the body to heal itself.
This natural healing is used the world over; in fact, chiropractic is the preferred form of alternative care in the world. With licensed, well-educated and highly caring professionals, chiropractic is safe and totally drug-free! And on top of that, most insurance covers it.

For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact Morris Family Chiropractic at
440-639-9171 or visit http://www.morriswellness.com/

Nerve System, Sweet Nerve System…

What do you use to see with?  If you said your EYES… you're wrong.
How about hearing?
If you said EARS… wrong again!
You don't actually see with your eyes or hear with ears.  Those are just end organs for collecting light and sound waves from the environment.
To actually see and hear, you have to interpret those waves with your BRAIN first.  
So in reality, you see with your Nerve System.  You hear with your Nerve System.  All your experiences of LIFE come from your Nerve System.
You literally LIVE in your Nerve System.
When your sense organs gather information from the environment, your Nerve System deciphers and responds to that information to keep you alive and well (adaptation).  That's a pretty important job.
Chiropractors care a great deal about your Nerve System for this reason. 
If it gets stressed or damaged, there goes your ability to respond successfully to your environment… and there goes your ability to experience a rich, healthy LIFE!
So what does that have to do with you?
Are you feeling burned out?  Having a hard time coping with stressful situations?  Or just feel disconnected from the world?
Maybe it's time for a little Nerve System house cleaning.
Chiropractic adjustments keep your Nerve System 'clear' so you can respond to life's challenges in a healthier way.  Like…

Your boss' last minute work request 10 minutes before quitting time or,
Your kids telling you at 5:45 that their soccer practice was rescheduled for tonight at 6:00…

Or any of life's unexpected surprises that make you want to pull your hair out! You deal with them better when you're under regular Chiropractic Care.

For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact Morris Family Chiropractic
at 440-639-9171 or visit our website at http://www.morriswellness.com/

And remember....A healthy spine means a healthier you!

Wear and Tear Happens....

Your doctor says you have arthritis in your spine and you're concerned with how it got there.  Was it from the physical stress of your job?  The 15 years of league bowling?  Or maybe the accident you had when you were a teenager?  It's hard to tell.

When it comes to arthritis the real problem isn't what you DID, but what you HAVEN'T BEEN DOING.   Joints wear down faster when they're 'stuck' and misaligned.  That's why it's important to keep them lined up and moving with Chiropractic adjustments.

Blaming the activities in your life for your arthritis is like blaming the sidewalk for scuffing your shoes.  Things naturally wear down when you use them over time, including your spine.  Instead, focus more on prevention with regular maintenance care.

For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact Morris Family Chiropractic at
440-639-9171 or visit our website at http://www.morriswellness.com/

And remember....A healthy spine means a healthier you!

“The Dow Jones of Healing”

Healing is like the stock market.  It never progresses in a straight line.  You've got to expect some ups and downs along the way.

You might experience a surge of relief when you first start your Chiropractic care only to be followed by a relapse.  Soon you're back on track again.  Progress continues with bouts of highs and lows, and you might even experience a plateau or dip in your improvements.  But don't make the mistake of 'pulling out of the market' early. 

Keep the big picture in mind.  Like stocks, the gains in Chiropractic care are best seen over time.  When you look back and see how far you've come since your first visit, you'll realize the dividends are paying off.

For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact Morris Family Chiropractic at
440-639-9171 or visit our website at http://www.morriswellness.com/

And remember...."A Healthy spine means a Healthier You!"

Physiologic Therapeutics and Chiropractic Care

The focus on spinal adjustment is what makes doctors of chiropractic unique in their approach to treating patients with spinal complaints. The chiropractic adjustment, however, may not be the only procedure a chiropractor may employ in managing a patient’s care. For example, chiropractic care has utilized drugless therapeutics (natural therapies) since as early as 1912.⁴⁴
Natural agents such as heat, cold, water, massage, light, and exercise are some of the physiological therapeutic measures that are often utilized by chiropractors. When controlled, these elements exert a beneficial influence on body functions and can help chiropractic problems.
There are other forms of physiologic therapeutics used in chiropractic medicine that employ the use of electrical stimulation, ultrasound, traction, dietary management and other natural procedures that are known to have specific physiological influence on the body.

For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact Morris Family Chiropractic at
440-639-9171 or visit our website at http://www.morriswellness.com/

And remember a Healthy Spine Means A Healthier You!

The next time you sneeze, it may be a good time to visit a chiropractor. Yes, a chiropractor. Most people never think about it, but chiropractic care can help provide allergy relief.
That’s because chiropractic care, often thought necessary for only back and neck problems, can help with keeping the body operating at peak performance. The body’s immune system helps with preventing disease and infection, dealing with stress and overall well being. The immune system also tackles the invasion in a body of foreign substances such as pollution, dust, dead cells, etc. Current research is showing that there is a direct link between the nervous system and the immune system. Chiropractors remove nerve interference and allow the immune system to work optimally.
The immune system is affected by nerves and hormones. An immune system not operating effectively can:

• Fail to recognize and remove abnormal cells such as those that are cancerous.
• Be unable to fight infections.
• Overreact to things such as bee stings, penicillin, certain foods, pollen etc.
• Become depressed making you more vulnerable to disease.

Allergic reactions are the most frequent immune disorders and happen when the body’s immune system overreacts to allergens such as dust, pollen, pet dander, etc. The response is that the body overproduces neutralizing chemicals such as histamines to correct the problem.
What causes allergies? No one knows for sure. Some theories say it’s our increasing sterile environment. Others suspect the overuse of antibiotics and vaccinations. The idea here is our immune system is at its best when fighting off disease, parasites, and bacteria all by itself. The more we try and help it, the weaker it becomes. It is proven that children who live on farms and are exposed to different animals and the outdoors have fewer allergies than those who are not exposed.
Traditional allergy treatments only deal with the symptom without addressing the cause. This is because western medicine has no cure for allergies. Worse yet, antihistamines used over time or combined with other medication can be deadly. More recently, Canadian researcher Lorne Brandes, in an article published in the May 1994 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, has produced research showing that certain antihistamines (Claritin, Hismanal and Atarax) make cancerous tumors grow faster in lab rodents.
But just how can chiropractors help with such problems?
The answer is simple, chiropractic care releases stress on a patient’s nervous system. This allows the immune system to operate more effectively, which is beneficial to anyone and especially those suffering from allergies.
The chiropractic approach is to remove subluxations, a term for a misaligned spinal vertebra pinching a nerve. Subluxations place stress on the nervous system. Free from nervous system stress, your body will work more effectively to neutralize the allergy-causing chemicals in your environment.
No matter what disease or condition you have, you can benefit from a healthy spine. Spinal health can be as important for your overall healing as proper nutrition. Are you and your family carrying the vertebral subluxation complex in your spines? Only a chiropractic spinal checkup will tell. A healthy spine can improve your life!

For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact Morris Family Chiropractic at
440-639-9171 or visit our website at http://www.morriswellness.com/

And remember..."A Healthy Spine Means A Healthier You!"

Why Chiropractic Care Should Be A Part Of Pregnancy......

Chiropractic during pregnancy is an important part of prenatal care. Unfortunately, not enough women know of the benefits of chiropractic care both for themselves and their unborn baby. A woman's body undergoes an amazing amount of changes during pregnancy. As her baby grows her musculoskeletal system must adjust accordingly to accommodate the growing uterus and prepare for delivery. Chiropractic care helps her body to stay aligned as these changes occur and also helps to keep the nervous system functioning at its optimal level.

Many pregnant women experience low back pain, hip pain, and pubic symphysis. These discomforts are the result of the stresses put on the body by the rapid growth of the baby and the changes the body must undergo to accommodate those adjustments. As her belly gets bigger, the woman's center of gravity changes. The growth is so quick that it is often difficult for the low back and pelvis to adjust to this change. This causes stress in those areas, resulting in misalignments, (or subluxations as they are called by chiropractors) which then causes pain and dysfunction. If a woman's low back and pelvis was out of alignment before her pregnancy it is even harder for her back and pelvis to adjust. When the pelvis is subluxated (misaligned) it affects the uterus and the position of the growing baby.

The uterus is connected to the pelvis by ligaments: the broad ligament, the uterosacral ligaments, and the round ligaments. Like a hot air balloon tethered to the ground, these ligaments work to keep the uterus in the proper place in the pelvis and allow support as the uterus grows to accommodate the growing baby. If the pelvis is subluxated, these ligaments can become torqued. When the ligaments are affected, they directly affect the position of the uterus which can result in the baby not being in an optimal position. This type of situation may result in a breech baby or a transverse (sideways) baby.

The goal of the chiropractor is to correct the subluxations in the pelvis to help balance the uterus and allow the baby to get into a better position. Chiropractic adjustments for a pregnant woman are specific, gentle, and safe. Some chiropractors are certified in the Webster Technique which is a technique that is used to relieve intrauterine constraint caused by imbalance in the pelvis and the pelvic ligaments. Webster certified chiropractors adjust the pelvis and also feel for and relieve tension in the round ligaments.

Besides increasing a pregnant woman's comfort level, an aligned pelvis can result in a quicker, safer, and easier birth. When a baby is in breech or transverse position a cesarean section is almost always performed. Because they are so common many people forget that a c-section is a major abdominal surgery and can be risky. Helping the baby to get into a proper head-down position by balancing the pelvis and ligaments helps to avoid c-sections due to baby positioning. Other variations in baby position such as a tilted head or a "sunny side up" baby (face up during delivery) can also be caused by pelvic imbalance and may result in a more difficult, painful, and longer labor and delivery.

For more information please contact Morris Family Chiropractic at 440-639-9171 or visit our website www.MorrisWellness.com

Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Take

There's a classic line in the 1960's Janis Joplin song 'Me and Bobby McGee' that goes 'freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose.'   For the pharmaceutical industry, freedom's just another word for we've got a pill for whatever ails you.  But do the prescription drugs and potions they push really free you from anything? 

A recent CNN Health News article reported that at her worst, Alesandra Rain was spending more than $900 a month on prescriptions, taking 12 different types of medication amounting to about a thousand pills a month, none able to cure her chronic insomnia and depression.  She was slowly losing herself.  When you're on that many different prescriptions it's hard to recognize where the pills end and you begin... Now that doesn't sound much like freedom. 

For Chiropractors, freedom's just another word for 'nothing left to TAKE.'   There's freedom in knowing that if you have a clear nerve system, you don't have to take prescription after prescription to keep your body functioning.  If you know someone stuck in a downward drug spiral, tell them about the freedom they can achieve with regular Chiropractic care.  Thanks for spreading the word! 

Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Take

Are Chiropractors Protecting Patients From Medical Care?

"Chiropractors might be preventing some of their patients from receiving procedures of unproven cost utility value or dubious efficacy." This quote comes from the latest study revealing chiropractic's superiority to "traditional medical approaches." Titled "Health Maintenance Care in Work-Related Low Back Pain and Its Association With Disability Recurrence," the study was published in the April 2011 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The study compares "physical therapy, chiropractic and (medical) physician services" as they relate to disability and health maintenance. As our front-page article underscores, investigators found that "the likelihood of recurrent disability due to LBP (low back pain) for recipients of services during the health maintenance care period by all other provider groups was consistently worse when compared with recipients of health maintenance care by chiropractors."

The authors state that "by visiting only or mostly a chiropractor or becoming a chiropractic loyalist, the patients do not receive other traditional medical approaches." While this is obvious, it is no less significant because those who do receive traditional medical care experienced a greater likelihood of recurrent disability.

What makes the quote at the beginning of this article even more interesting is that the "procedures of unproven cost utility value and dubious efficacy" are those offered by the MDs and PTs. What will make this point even more powerful to most readers is that the lead author of this study is himself a medical doctor.

A few paragraphs later, the authors note that "the only and mostly chiropractic group during the disability episode and health maintenance care periods and 'chiropractic loyalists' during both periods combined had fewer surgeries, used fewer opioids, and had lower costs for medical care than the other provider groups." Could low back pain "surgeries" and "opioids" (as well as other drugs) be considered among the "procedures of unproven cost utility value and dubious efficacy" the authors were referring to?

For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact Morris Family Chiropractic at 440-639-9171 or visit our website www.Morriswellness.com

And remember a healthy spine means a healthier you!