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We treat many car accident cases in in our Falmouth, Greater Portland, ME office, and a common symptom we see in our patients is shoulder pain. What causes shoulder pain after an auto injury? How can chiropractic help?

There are at least two different ways that you can develop shoulder problems after an accident: by direct injury to the shoulder joint or by referred pain from the neck.

Direct damage can be caused by striking your shoulder on a hard object in the car during the impact, or can occur if you have a tight grip on the steering wheel during a rear end collision. With this type of trauma, you'll often be aware of the pain shortly after the wreck.

More frequently, Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power finds that shoulder or arm pain does not immediately appear after a crash, but begins a few days or weeks after the accident. This type of shoulder pain actually starts in the cervical spine. Injured soft tissue in your spine can squeeze nerves in your neck, causing tingling, numbness, or pain in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist.

We've treated both kinds of shoulder problems in our Falmouth, Greater Portland, ME office. This care involves chiropractic adjustments to restore your spine's natural mobility and exercises that strengthen your neck and shoulder.

Let us help you recover from shoulder pain. Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power has helped many patients with the same problem, and we can probably help you, too. Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power will first determine what's causing your pain and then work to restore your body to its natural functioning. Give our office a call today at (207) 781-7911 to make an appointment.

If you suffer from thoracic outlet syndrome after an auto injury, don't despair. Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power sees this type of problem very often in our Falmouth, Greater Portland, ME office. Chiropractic can be very helpful for thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms after a crash. Let's see what causes thoracic outlet syndrome and why chiropractic works.

The thoracic outlet is a bundle of blood vessels and nerves that pass through your neck and shoulder to your arm. These vessels don't have a lot of room, so they travel underneath and between the strong bands of muscles that support your head.

In a crash, these muscle groups can be stretched and strained. If injured, the muscles become swollen and sore, and they can develop scar tissue which limits motion and puts stress on the tissues of the thoracic outlet. Pressure on the nerves can cause tingling or pins and needles in the shoulder, elbow and even the wrist. Pressure on the blood vessels can also cause problems in the arm.

Falmouth, Greater Portland, ME Thoracic Outlet Treatment

Chiropractic can be an effective way to treat thoracic outlet syndrome, as Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power will help improve mobility in your spine and restore normal nerve function in your neck and shoulder.

You don't have to suffer from thoracic outlet syndrome. Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power is conveniently located in Falmouth, Greater Portland, ME to help you heal, whether you've been in an auto collision or not. The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis to determine what's causing your pain and then we will determine an appropriate treatment strategy. Give our office a call today at (207) 781-7911 to make an appointment.

Approximately 2.3 million people are hurt every year in auto accidents in the U.S. While most people are able to heal from their injuries fairly quickly, many folks are left to deal with chronic pain and disability. We see many of these patients here in our Greater Portland, ME office. Fortunately, Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power is here to help you recover from your auto injury.

The science confirms what we see in our office: A British study was conducted on 28 men and women diagnosed with chronic whiplash syndrome. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments and 93 percent of them found relief following their adjustments, even though 43 percent of whiplash sufferers overall usually never find relief. This confirms that chiropractic care is a great way to avoid chronic pain after a crash.

It's important to note that research has also found that putting off treatment after a car crash can adversely affect recovery time, so getting in to see Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power at the earliest opportunity is key to having a quicker recovery.

Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power has worked with many auto injury patients, and we're here to help you, too. Call our Greater Portland, ME office today for more information or an appointment.

References

• Association for Safe International Road Travel. Retrieved from http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics
• Dies S & Strapp J. (1992, September). Chiropractic treatment of patients in motor vehicle accidents: a statistical analysis. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 36(3), 139-145.
• Woodward M et al. (1996, November). Chiropractic treatment of chronic 'whiplash' injuries. Injury, 27(9), 643-645.

Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power works with countless sciatica patients here in our Portland and Falmouth, ME office, and many of these individuals were concerned that they might need surgery to treat their pain. The latest research reveals that many people don't require surgery for this common issue, and that chiropractic is more successful at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.

A common surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, specialists examined 80 individuals with sciatica who were referred for this procedure.

Forty patients were then randomly placed in one of two groups. The first group was to receive surgical microdiscectomy and the second group was given chiropractic care.

Both groups improved; however, no obvious difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Additionally, roughly 60 percent of the participating subjects who could not find assistance from any other treatment method "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

In other words, chiropractic offered the same positive benefits as surgery without having to go through the greater amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often associated with that type of treatment method. Plus, you also don't run the risks associated with surgical microdiscectomy, including nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery ought to be the last option for sciatica pain. If you live in Portland and Falmouth, ME and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power a call today at (207) 781-7911. We'll help pinpoint the origin of your pain and work hard to get you relief.

References

• McMorland, G et al. Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2010;33(8):576-584.
• Solberg TK, Nygaard OP, Sjaavik K, Hofoss D, Ingebrigtsen T. The risk of "getting worse" after lumbar microdiscectomy. European Spine Journal 2005;14(1):49-54.
  

We help a lot of patients with back pain in our Portland and Falmouth, ME office, and Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power has noticed that many cases of back pain start in the sacroiliac (SI) joint. Investigation has revealed that roughly twenty-five percent of all back pain starts out in the SI joint, and now fresh research corroborates what we see in our office: chiropractic is an effective method for treating this pain.

In the study released in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, thirty-two women with sacroiliac joint syndrome were separated into two groups and asked to take part in one of two treatment methods. one group received a chiropractic adjustment only at the sacroiliac joint, and the second group received an adjustment to the sacroiliac joint and the lumbar spine.

Scientists observed greater improvements in both pain and movement immediately following treatment, two days later, and 30 days later for the individuals who underwent high-velocity low-amplitude manipulation to both the sacroiliac joint and the lumbar spine. This asserts that chiropractic manipulation applied to these two areas offers both prompt and long term benefits for sacroiliac joint pain sufferers—even after just one treatment round.

Therefore, if you are dealing with sacroiliac joint pain, or cope with back and leg pain and want to find out if your sacroiliac joint is the root, a consultation at our Portland and Falmouth, ME office could be the first—and best—step towards feeling better. Give our office a call today at (207) 781-7911.

Kamali F, Shokri E. The effect of two manipulative therapy techniques and their outcome in patients with sacroiliac joint syndrome. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies 2012;16(1):29-35.

Although some people are still uncertain about chiropractic, even the American Medical Association (AMA) recommends that adjustments should be tried prior to surgical treatment--the one option that should be a last resort.

Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power has seen many back pain patients in our Portland and Falmouth, ME office who have been suffering for years and who are worried that they might need an operation for their back pain. Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power has had great success in helping patients recover and avoid risky surgery, and the science backs up our experience.

Recently, in one study conducted on almost 2,000 Washington State workers who suffered from a back injury while at work, more than 40% who saw a surgeon first following their injury found themselves having back surgery within three years. That compares to just 1.5% of the individuals who first sought treatment with chiropractic, demonstrating that this non-invasive approach is very effective at keeping you out of the operating room.

There are alternatives to risky medical procedures. Chiropractic is a proven effective and safe way to improve the function of your spine, which is the root cause of back pain. Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power has helped many patients in Portland and Falmouth, ME recover. Give our office a call today at (207) 781-7911 for an appointment.

Goodman DM, Burke AE, Livingston. Low Back Pain. The Journal of the American Medical Association 2013;309(16);1738.

Keeney BJ, Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, et al. Early predictors of lumbar spine surgery after occupational back injury: results from a prospective study of workers in Washington State. Spine 2013;38(11):953-964.

We work with many auto injury cases in in our Portland and Falmouth, ME office, and a common symptom we see in our patients is headache. Let's look at the root cause of headache after an auto collision and see how your chiropractor can help.

There are many different kinds of headache. Headache that's caused by an auto injury, though, usually begins as tension or strain in the muscles of the cervical spine. In a wreck, the neck muscles can be damaged, which results in swelling and discomfort. These types of headache can be felt in different places, including the back of the head or even the temple.

Another frequent cause of headache after a crash that we see in our Portland and Falmouth, ME office is cervicogenic headache, or headaches that start in injured ligaments of the neck. Ligament injury is very common after a crash, and it's important to get treatment for this type of problem to protect against the development of scar tissue.

Chiropractic is an effective way to treat headaches, including those caused by car crashes. Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power can help reduce the inflammation and tension in your neck, which will help relieve the headache pain.

If you've been hurt in a car crash and you're struggling with headache, Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power is here to help. First, we'll do a careful evaluation to establish the root cause of your problem, and then decide how to restore your body's natural functioning. Call us today at (207) 781-7911 if you have questions or would like to make an appointment.

If you are suffering from back pain after an auto collision, don't despair. Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power sees this type of condition frequently in our Portland and Falmouth, ME office. Your chiropractor can be very helpful for back pain symptoms after a crash. Let's see what causes back pain and why chiropractic works.

During a rear-end car crash, your car and car seat are rapidly accelerated forward against your body. Since car seats don't perfectly align with the curve of your spine, the car seat can put inconsistent force on your lower back. This can cause some of your spinal vertebrae to move in one direction while an adjacent vertebrae might move in another direction. This differential movement can sprain or strain the tissues that hold your spine together. This kind of injury can cause chronic back pain if not treated right away. Thankfully, chiropractic is one of the most effective ways to treat back pain.

If you've been injured in a car crash and you're suffering from back pain, Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power is here to help. The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis to determine what's causing your symptoms and then we will determine an appropriate treatment strategy. Give our office a call today at (207) 781-7911 to make an appointment.

We manage many car accident cases in our Portland, ME office, and a widespread symptom our patients report is neck pain. Let's look at the root cause of neck pain after an auto injury and see how chiropractic care can help.

It's not surprising that neck pain is the most common symptom experienced after a crash. During even a low velocity wreck, your head is subjected to extremely rapid acceleration. In such crashes, a head that normally weighs about 10 pounds can suddenly weigh 80 or more pounds. This force exerts an extreme strain on the tissues of the cervical spine. The bones of your spinal column are held together with strong bands of tissue called ligaments, and these ligaments provide stability for your neck. These ligaments can be sprained during a collision, just as the ligaments in your ankle can be sprained. A sprain means that the ligament is stretched or torn.

When you experience a sprained ligament, the injured tissues gets inflamed and sore, and that's what happens after a car crash. Chiropractic helps by increasing flexibility in the injured area, which helps the ligaments heal and helps minimize scar tissue.

If you've been hurt in a car crash and you're experiencing neck pain, Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power is here to help. The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis to determine what's causing your symptoms and then we will determine an appropriate treatment approach. Call us today at (207) 781-7911 if you have questions or would like to make an appointment.

Regrettably, a large number of our Portland, ME patients are familiar with the pain caused by a herniated disc all too well. On a positive note, Dr. Jay Woodward & Dr. Abby Power has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of research studies have verified that chiropractic can help patients recover from this kind of problem.

Research on Chiropractic for Disc Herniations

In one report, a group of doctors from Switzerland recruited 148 patients who were dealing with pain in their lower back and legs due to a disc herniation (which was confirmed through magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI). Each individual then received chiropractic adjustments that focused on the location of his or her disc problem.

Data was collected after the preliminary treatment session at set intervals--namely, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year--to ascertain what kind of short-term and long-term effects, if any, chiropractic care offers when it comes to resolving this particular problem. Among the data gathered was the person's self-reported changes in both lumbar and leg pain.

Investigators found that, as a whole, the patients reported "significant improvement" for both types of pain every time the results were collected. In fact, over 90% of the study participants stated that their pain "improved" within the first three months, with 88% still citing improvement one year after their first treatment session.

Even those test subjects who were defined as "chronic" still reported an improvement in pain at a rate of 89% one year beyond when treatment first began. This is the same positive effect that was found in the following case study.

Case Study Results

In this study, a 26-year-old male had presented with disc herniation symptoms such as pain in the low back, left leg, and left groin area, along with left foot drop and muscle weakness. He had suffered with these symptoms for more than two years after sustaining an athletic injury, and his disc herniation was confirmed via MRI.

After receiving chiropractic, "The patient responded favorably and his multi-symptom complex resolved within 90 days of treatment." Furthermore, the patient was still experiencing relief one year after the chiropractic intervention.

Studies like these show how helpful chiropractic can be when it comes to alleviating herniated disc pain and treating the symptoms they cause. So, if you are suffering from back pain caused by a herniated disc and want to find some relief, chiropractic can be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our Portland, ME office a call today at (207) 781-7911 for a consultation or appointment.

References

• Leemann S, Peterson CK, Schmid C, Anklin B, Humphreys BK. Outcomes of acute and chronic patients with magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed symptomatic lumbar disc herniations receiving high-velocity, low-amplitude, spinal manipulative therapy: a prospective observational cohort study with one-year follow-up. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2014;37(3):155-163.
• Polkinghorn BS, Colloca CJ. Treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation using activator methods chiropractic technique. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1998;21(3):187-196.