Electrical Muscle Stimulation

 Dr. Jay McClanahan of the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center offers electrical muscle stimulation in Nitro, WV to help relieve pain and aid in the recovery process.

What is Electrical Muscle Stimulation?

Electrical muscle stimulation is also known as E-stim and EMS. It is a treatment during which electrical impulses are sent to a targeted area to speed up the natural recovery process and address pain.

 

How Does it Work?

Dr. McClanahan will connect electrodes to the area being treated. The E-stim device sends electrical pulses through the electrodes, which causes the muscles to contract repeatedly. The contractions help strengthen the muscles as well as promote blood flow to that area. The pulses also block receptors from sending pain signals to the brain. Treatment can be used at different points in the treatment process. However, it is often beneficial for people who cannot yet comfortably manage physical therapy or exercise.

 

Benefits of Treatment

Electrical muscle stimulation in Nitro, WV provides several benefits, including the following:

-Aids in recovery

-Reverses or prevents muscular atrophy

-Promotes the production of endorphins, which improves the mood and encourages relaxation

-Reduces swelling and soreness, including after a rigorous workout

-Relieves pain associated with arthritis and fibromyalgia

-Relieves body aches, fatigue, chronic headaches, and chronic pain in muscles and joints

 

Conditions Electrical Muscle Stimulation Treats

There are many conditions that electrical muscle stimulation is used to treat, some of which are listed below.

-Loss of motor skills

-Tendonitis

-Bursitis

-Spinal cord injuries

-Inflammation of the nerves

-Joint pain

-Muscle weakness

-Stroke

-Fibromyalgia

-Arthritis

-Chronic stress and muscle tension

-Sports injuries

-Muscle spasms

-Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

If you suffer from a condition that electrical muscle stimulation can help, Dr. McClanahan will discuss the benefits and the treatment process with you.

 

Who Should Not Receive Treatment?

Electrical muscle stimulation is generally a safe process. However, there are some situations in which treatment is not recommended. For example, patients who have skin sensitivities, have pacemakers or other heart devices, and women who are pregnant. Dr. McClanahan will help determine if you’re a good candidate by gathering the necessary medical information.

 

If you are considering electrical muscle stimulation in Nitro, WV, book an appointment with Dr. McClanahan by calling (304) 776-1520. The Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center proudly serves patients from Nitro, Charleston, Teays Valley, Cross Lanes, and St. Albans.

Custom Foot Orthotics

 When you suffer from various problems with your feet, it’s important to explore proper relief. Dr. Jay McClanahan offers custom foot orthotics in Nitro, WV at the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center.

How Custom Foot Orthotics are Beneficial

Walking can be uncomfortable when you are having issues with alignment. Often, foot pain can cause other problems from head to toe. By exploring foot orthotics, such as shoe inserts and arch supports, you will find that they compensate for deformities and help redistribute your weight properly. While there are over-the-counter orthotics that you can buy, custom ones work more effectively and efficiently. They can address foot abnormalities and be tailored to meet any specific conditions or demands that you might have. Depending on what the orthotics are meant to do, they can help relieve pain, prevent injuries, and even improve sports performance.

When you wear custom orthotics on a regular basis, you will find that you can improve posture and reduce your lower back pain. You may find that you’ll have better balance and be able to walk and stand for longer periods of time without feeling foot fatigue. An added benefit is that, due to proper weight distribution, you won’t encounter bunions, corns, or calluses.

How to Know When You Need Custom Foot Orthotics

You may find that you run into a number of problems when you spend too much time on your feet. Some of the warning signs that you may need extra help include:

-Pain in the back, neck, shoulders, and hips

-Bunions

-Blisters

-Circulation problems

When you talk with Dr. McClanahan about custom foot orthotics in Nitro, WV, he’ll determine what issues are present and what needs to be done. Depending on your condition, the orthotics can be customized to take pressure off of other parts of the body and even realign the bones inside of your feet and ankles.

Anyone and everyone can benefit from orthotics. Additionally, these can be used as part of a more comprehensive plan with chiropractic care. It can help realign your body so that you can stand, walk, and run without putting any additional stress on your body. Quality orthotics should be prescribed by a chiropractor, so let our office help you determine if it’s time to make this investment.

Talk to Your Chiropractor About Custom Foot Orthotics

Don’t experience foot pain any longer than necessary. Start exploring the benefits of custom foot orthotics with Dr. McClanahan in Nitro, WV today. We can schedule an appointment so that you can come in for a consultation. Once the chiropractor has had a chance to perform a visual inspection and talk to you about your condition and pain levels, recommendations can be made.

Call for your appointment today at (304) 776-1520.

Auto Injuries

 

Auto injuries are one of the most common reasons for people to seek chiropractic care. If you’ve recently been in a car crash, we urge you to make an appointment with the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro. Our non-invasive, non-addictive treatments not only relieve injury symptoms, they also address problems before they become advanced enough to require more extensive interventions. Whiplash, the most common injury from car crashes, is of particular concern to chiropractors, so we want our prospective patients to understand how serious it is.

Whiplash is the term to describe injuries to neck tissue when the head is snapped forward and then suddenly snapped back. The soft tissues of the neck often become frayed, the cervical discs may rupture, and the cervical vertebrae themselves may be displaced. This would cause soreness and stiffness in the neck, but can have implications beyond it, as well. Nerves leading to the shoulders and arms, as well as back into the skull, emerge from the spinal cord in the cervical region, and pressure on their roots can cause pain or numbness to radiate along them. The muscles of the neck also connect to the shoulder bones, and if they fray, a person’s shoulders may tighten. 

At our office, we can help determine whether a patient is suffering from a dislocation in their neck that may be contributing to a pinched nerve or pressure on soft tissues. Treatment options include chiropractic adjustments, which are gentle uses of force to realign bones and soft tissues, as well as soft-tissue manipulation such as therapeutic massage and electric muscle stimulation. We can also help patients recover from other upper body injuries, such as shoulder sprain, through therapeutic exercise and extremity adjustments.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

Backpack Usage

 

With school back in session, children are wearing backpacks again. And for many, that means an increase in neck, back, and shoulder pain. At the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, we are happy to provide safe, fast-acting pain relief, but we also want to provide for our patients’ holistic health and to address underlying problems. Sparing children from shoulder and spinal column trouble is possible when backpacks are used correctly, so we wanted to provide a brief guide on how to do that.

To be clear, backpacks are the best option for carrying school supplies, causing much less strain than handbags or single-strap bags. But they need to be fitted so they rest on the midpoint of a student’s upper back, not dangling down to the lumbar region or off to the side. They should have wide, padded straps, and students should also use a strap across their chests. A backpack should not be loaded enough to equal more than ten percent of the bodyweight of the person wearing it. Heavier objects should be loaded first so they won’t shift around as the wearer moves, and all compartments should be used so that weight will be distributed as evenly as possible.

A backpack’s straps should not be tight enough to cause pins-and-needles sensations in the wearer’s arms. If possible, it’s best to get one with a pull-out handle and wheels, but if school rules don’t allow those to be used, they’re just dead weight and should be avoided. If a child does experience aches in their upper body, they need to stop putting as much in the backpack and not try to power through it. If they experience longer lasting symptoms, we can provide treatments such as therapeutic massages, but the problem will not go away until they use their backpack more efficiently.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

Pulling a Lower Back Muscle

 

Have you pulled something in your lower back? If you’re looking up the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, it’s probably because you suspect you have. Although chiropractors tend to emphasize problems such as herniated discs and subluxations, the most common back injuries are simple sprains to the soft tissues. But just because they are common does not mean they are not serious or that you shouldn’t seek help for them. This week, we’re going to take a closer look at what it means to pull a lower back muscle and what kinds of non-invasive, non-addictive treatments are available.

Muscles, tendons, and ligaments are all soft tissues that are made up of bundles of threads. Those threads may become frayed gradually, in the case of a chronic injury, or several may tear at once, during an acute injury. Injuries to muscles and tendons are known as strains and injuries to ligaments are known as sprains, although in practice, there is little difference and a person who has over stretched a tendon may have also over stretched a ligament. When soft tissues are injured, the body’s inflammatory response is triggered as a normal part of the immune system. This prevents blood that may contain pathogens from circulating as quickly through the body and makes cellular walls more permeable to antibodies, but also results in stiffness, swelling, and soreness.

Much of our treatment for strains and sprains is focused on pushing blood out of swollen areas so that nutrient-rich fresh blood may move in. This is what therapeutic massages are meant to accomplish, as are higher-tech options such as electric muscle stimulation. Therapeutic exercises are also recommended as a way to increase blood flow while strengthening injured muscles. Chiropractic adjustments can be used to take pressure off blood vessels, and if the underlying problem is that a displaced joint is contributing to wear, we can adjust the joint back into place.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

Raking Safety

 

With fall officially here, the leaves have started to change color. Soon, we’ll be raking them up. Yard work is an excellent way of getting exercise, and at the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, we encourage all our patients to find fun ways of staying active. But every form of exercise requires us to take safety precautions, and if raking is done improperly, it can put strain on our spinal discs and shoulder muscles. To help our patients avoid injury, we wanted to remind them of some raking protocols.

The first part of healthy raking is the rake itself. It should be lightweight and have a long enough handle that you don’t need to bend over to use it. Before you start raking, put on clothes that are warm, but breathable, and that are close-fitting enough that nothing will get caught or tangled. Rake while standing with one foot forward and one back, and pulling the leaves into a pile to your side. You should be changing which side of the pile you are standing on and which hand is higher on the rake about every five minutes.

Before you start raking, do a warm-up of dynamic stretches to loosen your muscles. You can further reduce strain on your back by squatting down to pick up leaves or bending by tilting over at your hips instead of bending at the waist. Be careful to avoid putting more in the leaf bag that you are able to carry, and try to rake when the leaves are dry so less of your energy will be wasted moving water. If you do feel sore while raking, stop, and we can help you determine whether it is safe to continue at another time. We also are available to help people feeling tightness or stiffness by providing chiropractic adjustments and therapeutic massages.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

Stingers

 

The nervous system and the musculoskeletal system are closely linked. As chiropractors, we at the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro spend a lot of time treating nerve impingements in the back that have consequences along the nerve’s length. But the spinal column isn’t the only place where nerves can be compressed, and our practice is devoted to the entire body. A stinger, also known as a burner, is a kind of radiating pain that moves along the arm due to a nerve injury, and since our own Dr. Jay McClanahan commonly encounters them as a sports physician, we wanted our patients to understand how they work.

The nerves that run down our arms and hands emerge from the bones in our lower neck, which are called cervical vertebrae. Although they emerge separately, they bundle together in the shoulder before dividing again. A stinger is what happens when those nerves are stretched by the head being suddenly forced to the opposite side while the shoulder is being forced down. Electricity discharges from the nerves and pain radiates along the arm. Usually, stingers don’t last long, and if one occurred during a sports competition, the patient quickly returns to play. But suffering one stinger puts a person at greater risk for additional ones. Repeated stress to the nerves, neck, and shoulder tissues can accumulate into tears, and stingers may be accompanied by subluxations of the cervical vertebrae that impinge the nerve roots.

An athlete who has suffered a stinger should not return to play until their neck pain is completely gone. Even afterward, they may need to wear extra padding on their neck and shoulder. However, if a person is suffering long-term pain, we can assist them with relief and help get them in a position to play again. We provide electric muscle stimulation and therapeutic massages to reduce inflammation in the neck and shoulder and improve those muscles’ flexibility. We also perform chiropractic adjustments to the neck to reduce pressure on nerve roots and the muscles running from the head to the shoulder. Athletes will need to stay active while recovering from stingers to prevent their muscles from stiffening, so we also provide advice on physical therapy.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

Lower Back Pain and Deep Muscles

 

Back pain isn’t always caused by problems in the back itself. At the J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, our experts in integrative medicine regard the musculoskeletal system holistically, and are trained to consider how each of its components interact with the others. Pain in the lower back, specifically, is often related to problems in the hips and upper legs. This week, we’re going to take a closer look at one kind of muscle dysfunction, Piriformis Syndrome, and how it relates to the spinal column.

The piriformis muscles are deep, wedge-shaped muscles that connect the lumbar vertebrae of the lower back to the tops of the femurs. There is one piriformis muscle on each side of the body. These muscles help to rotate the leg outward and stabilize the lower back when a person is walking on an incline or up stairs. The sciatic nerves, which run from the lumbar vertebrae down each leg, pass around or directly through the piriformis muscles. Swelling in the piriformis muscles could not only cause them to pull more on the lumbar vertebrae, resulting in local soreness when they are in use, but could also compress the sciatic nerves, leading to radiating pain down the lower half of the body.

Piriformis Syndrome is diagnosed largely through the process of elimination, although one tell-tale sign is that it tends to only show up on one side of the body. For immediate pain relief and removal of pressure on the sciatic nerve, we use techniques including spinal adjustments, deep tissue massages, and electric muscle stimulation. But for sustained reduction in strain on the piriformis muscles, patients will have to build up the strength and flexibility of other muscles supporting the lumbar vertebrae and femurs. This will mean doing core-strengthening exercises and hamstring stretches, as well as stretches that target the piriformis muscles themselves.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

Spinal Spurs

 

If you regularly struggle with back and neck pain, spinal spurs may be to blame. These nubs of bone commonly develop in vertebrae as people reach middle age, and although many of them are harmless, they can put increased pressure on soft tissues and interfere with the spinal column’s integrity. At ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, our quality of life specialists provide a variety of non-invasive, non-addictive treatments for back pain, including helping people to live more comfortably with bone spurs without the need for surgery.

Bones are living tissue, and as such, they are constantly breaking down and regrowing. But there are certain conditions in which bones are more likely to grow back mishapenly, such as when they are exposed to inflammation or a bone needs more surface area to distribute its weight. One of the conditions that puts people at high risk for developing bone spurs is osteoarthritis. As the cartilage cushioning and lubricating their facet joints degenerates, the interlocking portions of their vertebrae grind into each other and develop spurs. People are also more likely to develop bone spurs when they have degenerative disc disease, meaning that the spongy discs between their vertebrae are losing water. As the ligaments connecting to the vertebrae become more strained due to the discs’ inability to bear their share of the weight, the ligaments become inflamed and spurs develop where the ligaments attach to bones.

Spurs may put pressure on nearby arteries and nerve roots and stretch muscles that are already overly tight. People with spinal spurs sometimes feel a dull, aching pain, but may find it gets better when they bend down. Spurs may appear on images such as x-rays, but we would want to perform range-of-motion tests before determining that they are the cause of the patients’ pain. If we determine they are, we may provide chiropractic adjustments to realign the patient’s joints and provide anti-inflammatory treatments such as low level laser therapy. Patients would also need to engage in therapeutic exercises to increase their back muscles’ flexibility, making spinal spurs less of a strain on them.

If you suffer from persistent back or neck pain, you may be a good candidate for chiropractic treatment. Visit Dr. Carmelino Caratozzolo at ACT Wellness Center, 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. Call 703-491-9355.

Protecting Runners from Lower Back Pain

 

Lower back pain is a particularly common problem among runners. Although there is much to be said in favor of running as a form of exercise, it does subject the spine to a lot of jostling, and that strain can accumulate into soft tissue damage. At the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, we’re dedicated to providing non-invasive, non-addictive solutions to musculoskeletal pain and helping our patients to develop lifestyles that improve their overall health. To that end, we wanted to discuss some of the reasons runners are particularly at risk for back pain and what they can do to protect themselves.

When we engage in sports such as running, our lower spinal columns are swaying from side to side. This increases strain on the lower back’s supporting muscles and can cause them to spasm, which results in localized pain. In more severe cases, strain can also damage the spinal discs separating the vertebrae. If the disc swells and impinges one of the roots of the sciatic nerves that emerge from the lumbar vertebrae, a patient may experience radiating pain, tingling, or numbness along the length of their leg. Long term damage to the sciatic nerve may even make it more difficult for someone to lift their foot. Additionally, the vertebrae may start to move out of place, which can result in a condition called spondylolisthesis, in which the body of one vertebra slips over another.

We use spinal adjustments to return herniated discs to their usual position, taking pressure off the sciatic nerve roots and putting the body in the best position to heal itself. Our other treatment options include massage therapy for overburdened muscles and electric muscle stimulation to reduce inflammation. But to lower their risk of back pain, runners will have to give their lumbar vertebrae more support. This could mean wearing a brace, but in the long-term, they will need to build up their core muscles and make sure they’ve adequately stretched before each work-out.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

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. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, WV, is dedicated to educating 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.

Talking and Texting on the Phone

If you need to speak on the phone for an extended period of time, using the speaker function or a headset is recommended to keep your neck aligned with your spine. Tilting your head towards your shoulder will damage muscles and vertebrae. Similarly, when you’re texting, keep your neck and back straight with the device at chest or eye level. Never hunch!

Working at a Desk

Make sure that you’re getting up every thirty minutes to stretch out your body. Also be sure that when you’re sitting, your feet are flat on the floor with your knees at a ninety-degree angle. Your computer screen should always be at eye-level.

Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center is located at 642 Cross Lanes Drive in Nitro, WV 25143. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit drjbackdocwv.com or call the office at 304-776-1520.

Pinched Nerve

Have you ever accidentally contorted your body in a way that resulted in a sharp pain that decreased mobility in your neck or arm? If so, you might have experienced a pinched nerve. Pinched nerves can occur anywhere along the spine, including the upper, mid, and lower back. They can even happen in any joint of your body. Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, WV, knows all about the dreaded pinched nerve and how painful it can make doing the simplest tasks. Sometimes the nerve can move back into place naturally. However, if the pinched nerve is severe enough, you will need spinal adjustments to correct it.

Symptoms of a pinched nerve include:

-Lower back pain

-Numbness, tingling, or burning sensation in your arms, legs, fingers, or toes

-Pain radiating along your spine

-Severe headaches or migraines

-Pain that shoots down your arm or leg

-Neck pain

A pinched nerve can be caused by subluxation, disc degeneration, osteoarthritis, or disc herniation. These are silent afflictions in their beginning stages, which is why it’s important to see a chiropractor regularly. An experienced chiropractor at Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center will realign your spine in an effort to correct your pinched nerve, but also prevent one from happening again in the future.

Do you think you could benefit from safe chiropractic treatment? We will address any questions or concerns you may have. Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center is located at 642 Cross Lanes Drive in Nitro, WV 25143. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit drjbackdocwv.com or call the office at 304-776-1520.

Treating Personal Injury with Chiropractic

When bodily harm occurs from being involved in any type of accident, specifically outside of your workplace, it is considered a personal injury. Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, WV, recommends coming in for a visit as soon as possible so that Dr. J can assess the damage and get you on the road to recovery. Whether it be a single or series of adjustments, your West Virginia chiropractor is one of the best options for uncovering underlying issues from your accident.

Examples of personal injuries include:

-Auto accidents

-Motorcycle accidents

-Bicycle accidents

-A slip, trip, or fall

While a doctor treats symptoms with prescriptions, a chiropractor works to correct the problem with focused stretching of the affected muscles and careful adjustments. Dr. J recommends against letting your injury go untreated since this can cause more problems down the line and affect your quality of life even more than your accident already has. If you find that everyday tasks cannot be done without significant pain, it may be time to schedule an appointment with our office.

Have you suffered a personal injury and want to get it assessed by a trained chiropractor? We are happy to address any concerns or answer any questions you have! Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center is located at 642 Cross Lanes Drive in Nitro, WV 25143. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit drjbackdocwv.com or call the office at 304-776-1520.

Causes of Back Pain

Back pain. Maybe you’re lucky enough to not have experienced it yet, but as you grow older, your chances become higher. Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, WV, recognizes that while back pain is common, it doesn’t mean you have to suffer through it. Your trusted chiropractor is skilled in chiropractic care and pain management and will help get you back on the road to a pain-free life. 

Some common causes of back pain include:

-Lack of exercise

-Arthritis

-Improper lifting

-Excess weight

-Skeletal irregularities

-Muscle or ligament strain

-Osteoporosis

-Bulging or ruptured disks

-Age

There are other risk factors associated with back pain, such as certain diseases, psychological conditions, and smoking. In some cases, back pain can be severe enough that only a chiropractor’s adjustments and treatment plan will help. If your back pain does not improve with rest and over-the-counter prescriptions or radiates down either of your legs, causing weakness, numbness, or tingling, it’s time to book an appointment with Dr. J. 

Are you suffering from back pain and think you can benefit from safe chiropractic treatment? We are happy to address any questions or concerns that come up. Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center is located at 642 Cross Lanes Drive in Nitro, WV 25143. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit drjbackdocwv.com or call the office at 304-776-1520.

Kyphosis

Kyphosis is a condition where a patient develops a rounded middle back. Dr. Jay McClanahan of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center offers nonsurgical and pharmaceutical-free treatment. At our office in Nitro, WV, we work with you to find the cause of this abnormal appearance. In most cases, it is traced back to poor posture. Certain patients can be born with kyphosis or develop it in response to trauma. By finding the exact cause, Dr. McClanahan helps you get the appropriate treatment.

At your appointment in Nitro, WV, Dr. McClanahan will start by asking you some simple questions about your medical history. The next step is a physical examination, where he touches the spine to feel for tenderness and mobility. Imaging tests like an X-ray or MRI might be necessary.

A big aspect of treatment is correcting your posture. Dr. McClanahan works with you to reduce your inflammation and muscle spasms, optimize spinal health, slow further degeneration of the spine, and treat your intervertebral discs. Undergoing spinal manipulation, also known as spinal adjustment, is the first step. This will improve your joint movement by minimizing inflammation. Dr. McClanahan uses his hands or a tool to gently stimulate the nervous system, returning normal motion to the spine. Manual therapy treatments are another possibility. This targets tightened or painful muscles through direct pressure. This relieves tension and pain due to the kyphosis symptoms.

Dr. Jay McClanahan provides chiropractic treatment for patients in the Nitro, WV, area. If you are suffering from Kyphosis, schedule an appointment at Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center today. Call 304-776-1520 or visit https://www.drjbackdocwv.com/meet-the-doctor.

DOT Physical

If you’re a bus or truck driver, you’ve most likely heard of the Department of Transportation (DOT) physical. Required to ensure the public’s safety and your safety, this check-up verifies employees are in the best of health to work safely. Located in Nitro, WV, Dr. Jay McClanahan has all your DOT physical needs covered at his clinic, Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center.

Who Needs a DOT Physical?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) mandates a DOT physical for everyone applying for a commercial vehicle driver’s license. This includes people who operate:

-Vehicles that carry more than 15 people or more than eight people if the driver is paid
-Vehicles that transport hazardous material and have a placard
-Vehicles that have a gross combination weight of 10,001 pounds or more

What Does a DOT Physical Consist Of?

Dr. McClanahan is licensed by the FMCSA to perform DOT physicals. In the first part of the physical, you will need to fill out a medical examination form with your detailed medical history. This form can also be filled before the appointment to save time.

For the medical checkup, Dr. McClanahan will test:

-Hearing
-Vision
-Blood pressure
-Urinalysis (drug testing)
-External and internal health including, but not limited to: motor skills, lungs, neurological reflexes, heart conditions, sleep apnea, and limb impairments.

What to Bring to a DOT Physical

Before you come to your physical, bring a complete list of all medications with dosage amounts and the prescribing doctors’ names and addresses. If you’re a driver with medical issues, you’ll have to bring documentation from your physician. Contact Dr. J Chiropractic Wellness Center for more information on what documents to bring.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520.

Tips To Prevent Back Pain While Working From Home

With over a million Americans working from home due to coronavirus stay at home orders, more and more chiropractors are reporting a rise in clients with back pain problems. At Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center located in Nitro, WV, Dr. Jay McClanahan specializes in non-invasive procedures that help alleviate back pain and body aches. Here are some tips to practice while working from home to save your body from aches, pain, and long term health issues.

Avoid the Bed or Couch

While it may seem like one of the perks of not attending meetings in a traditional office, using your bed or couch as a workplace can wreak havoc on your posture and allow for back pain, especially if you’re doing this daily. Instead, try to create a separation from your work and rest spaces by using a desk and chair and mimicking your normal workstation at the office as much as possible. When sitting in a chair, make sure your feet can rest flat on the floor for blood to flow throughout your body without restriction. If your chair doesn’t have good lower back support, add pillows or a cushion for more comfort.

Incorporate Standing Work

Sitting for long hours at a desk and chair may strain your back and neck. A good way to lessen this strain is to alternate between sitting and standing while you work. Whether it's taking calls while you walk or installing a standing desk to rotate with a desk and chair, the important idea is to reduce the amount of time you’re spending in one work position.

Take Breaks

Frequent breaks to stretch and move around are beneficial for lessening the strain that comes from staying in a sitting position for long hours. Your Nitro, WV chiropractor states that simply taking a 15-minute break to stretch or to walk around the house will help relax your muscles, increase blood flow, and reduce numbness. Others recommend a change of scenery, like moving to a different workspace in the house.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520.

Gout

According to Medscape, about 8.3 million people in the United States suffer from gout, and this rate is only growing. A debilitating form of arthritis commonly found in feet, gout interferes with a fulfilling life. But at Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center, Dr. Jay McClanahan is here to help manage this pain. Here are four different types of treatment we offer at our Nitro, WV office to empower gout patients!

What is Gout?

Gout develops from increased levels of uric acid in the body. When your kidney produces too much or not enough uric acid, uric acid crystals build up in your joints, producing hard needle-like shards in the body. This is why gout is characterized by intense pain and inflammation.

Treatment Options

Massage Therapy

Dr. McClanahan and his staff provide a variety of massage therapies at their Nitro, WV location. Designed to alleviate the inflammation caused by gout and stimulate blood circulation in the joints, massage therapy is a beneficial treatment plan to manage gout and other forms of arthritis. From Swedish and sports massage to deep tissue, we work with patients to select the best massage for their needs.

Laser Therapy

Many patients opt for laser therapy because of its painless procedure and healing results. At Dr. J Chiropractic Wellness Center, we use a low-level laser to target your irritated tissues and nervous system.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS)

Using comfortable levels of electric currents, EMS is a technique known to treat inflammation and swelling by healing tissue and relieving pain. While other traditional treatments for gout focus on the symptoms, this technology uses non-invasive treatments to target the root of the issue.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520.

How Electric Muscle Stimulation Works

 

Spinal adjustments are an important technique for chiropractors working to relieve back pain. But they’re far from the only service we provide at the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro. Our office is dedicated to non-invasive, non-addictive complementary therapies that will enable the body to fully use its natural means of healing. Among our tools is electric muscle stimulation, so to get patients comfortable with it, we thought we’d pass along the basics of how it works.

Inflammation is a part of the body’s natural immune response. When tissues are swollen with blood, pathogens will have a harder time flowing out, and weakness in the cellular walls will allow antibodies to move between them more easily. But prolonged inflammation risks long-term damage to tissues, and is uncomfortable and may not be helping the patient. Electric muscle stimulation is a means of reducing inflammation by forcing the muscles to contract, pushing old blood out and allowing new, nutrient-rich blood in. This also signals the muscles to produce natural pain relievers called endorphins.

Electric muscle stimulation works by delivering a pulse generated in a machine through wires connected by sticky pads to a patient’s skin. The pads are placed over the part of the body that is inflamed, which would typically be the back or a limb. In addition to reducing pain and inflammation, electric muscle stimulation can also help train an atrophied muscle to respond to the sorts of electric signals that come from the nervous system. It is often used as a complementary therapy for people in physical therapy following strokes.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

Shoes for Good Posture

 

If there’s a problem with your feet, your ankles, pelvis, and lower back might all be thrown out of alignment. This could make you sore after a single day, and cause long-term pain if you’re constantly having to adjust yourself to try to get comfortable being forced into a strenuous posture. At the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, we value preventive care and want all our patients to lead healthy lifestyles. Next time you go shopping for shoes, there are a few things you should keep in mind in order to provide your musculoskeletal system with support.

It’s very important to get shoes that fit. You shouldn’t need to “break them in,” to be comfortable in them, and you shouldn’t get any that will force your toes into a narrow or pointed box. This could cause them to curve inward or become permanently bent, which would prevent them from distributing your weight efficiently. Keep in mind, too, that your feet may not be the same size. Get them measured while you’re wearing the kinds of socks you’ll be pairing with them, and if you plan to wear them for long periods, get them later in the day, after your feet have spread out a bit from having borne your weight.

You may still be a bit confused about what it means for a shoe to offer good support. A supportive shoe will have a bit of a heel so that it will form an arch under the natural one in the wearer’s foot. But the sole of the shoe should not be easily bendable. The cuff of a sneaker should fit snugly around the wearer’s ankle, somewhat restricting it from rolling. It should also have treads, particularly if it’s meant to be worn in a workplace. Preventing jostling from slips can go a long way toward reducing strain on a person’s backs and hips.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

What are Subluxations?

 

If you’re interested in learning more about spinal health and the importance of musculoskeletal alignment, you have probably encountered the term “subluxation.” Understanding subluxations is one of the key components of chiropractic, a philosophy of treatment that emphasizes non-invasive, non-addictive means of correcting misalignments. At the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, we offer several therapies for correcting subluxations and associated problems, and we want everyone to know why they should get examined for them.

A spinal subluxation is when a vertebra has become dislocated. Although this may be minor enough to not be noticeable to the patient for a while, it is often responsible for serious problems. A subluxated vertebra could compress a nerve, causing pain and numbness and interfering with the signals it sends the body. A subluxation in the lumbar, or lower spine, could cause pain along the leg, and a subluxation in the neck could cause pain along the arm or in the head. Even if a displaced vertebra isn’t affecting a nerve, it may be distorting the shape of the spinal discs, which cushion the vertebrae bodies, and compressing the surrounding muscles, ligaments, and blood vessels. This can cause soreness and inflammation.

The body has great potential to heal itself, but sometimes in order to do so, the dislocated vertebra has to be adjusted back into place. Chiropractors are trained to do this without harming the patient; many people even enjoy getting adjustments. We also offer several anti-inflammatory therapies, including therapeutic massage and electric muscle stimulation to ease blood flow into tissues that have been compressed.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

Weightlifting Safety

 

Weightlifting is an excellent way to maintain musculoskeletal fitness. As a fitness instructor as well as a chiropractor, Dr. Jay McClanahan of the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro has coached many people recovering from injuries to their backs and joints. And while weightlifting may not be suitable for everyone with an injury at every point in their recovery, it does strengthen the bones as well as the muscles, and decreases the risk of a person suffering an additional injury in the future. We can help patients to develop fitness plans for their individual circumstances, but there are a few safety rules for weightlifting everyone should follow.

As with any workout, you’ll need to start out with an aerobic warm-up. You should spend at least five minutes getting your blood pumping through your body (not doing static stretches, which could strain a cold muscle). Your fitness instructor can guide you through the proper form for each lift, but you should increase the length and strenuousness of your workouts slowly. Stop doing anything that hurts, and don’t attempt to lift heavy barbells without someone else present in the room. At the end of your workout, you’ll also need to do a five minute cooldown.

While lifting, you should keep your back straight and avoid turning your head. Control your breathing so that you inhale when you lower the weight and exhale while lifting or pressing. You’ll need to balance your workouts so you don’t work the same muscle group two days in a row or more than twice in a week, or you’ll risk incurring an overuse injury. However, keep in mind that your muscles and tendons can also become fatigued from a sedentary lifestyle, and that lifting weights properly will ultimately make you more flexible and resilient. 

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520. 

Vitamin D and Spinal Health

 

We hope you’ve been getting a chance to enjoy the longer days this spring. Getting adequate sunlight is essential for maintaining healthy bones. That may seem a bit strange, but at the Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Nitro, we take a holistic approach to musculoskeletal care. That includes helping patients understand which conditions best facilitate the body’s natural healing, such as getting plenty of Vitamin D.

Our bones, including the vertebrae, are largely made up of calcium. There are various sources of calcium in our diets, including dairy and foods that are artificially fortified with it, such as breakfast cereals. But our bodies cannot process calcium on their own. For that, our guts need to be activated by a chemical called Vitamin D. Our skin creates Vitamin D when it is directly exposed to sunlight (as opposed to through a glass). When a person is not getting enough calcium or not getting enough Vitamin D to process it, their bones may resorb tissue faster than they are able to replace it. If that happens, they will gradually become thinner and honeycombed, at which point a person is said to be suffering from osteoporosis. 

People with osteoporosis may incur small fractures in their vertebrae from ordinary activity. They may not be able to feel this happening, but if they accumulate enough fractures, the bodies of the vertebrae will begin to collapse, causing the patient to lose height and stoop forward. Getting at least fifteen minutes of sunlight three times per week is recommended as a precaution against this, although people who are older or have darker skin may require more. Even if you’ve already experienced problems with your back, it’s never too late to improve your sunlight and calcium intake.

Dr. Jay McClanahan is the owner and chiropractor of Dr. J Chiropractic & Wellness Center. Our office is located in Nitro, WV. To schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan visit our website or call 304-776-1520.