Thursday, November 30, 2023

Chiropractic Care and Headaches

 If you’re suffering from headaches and migraines, it’s a good idea to schedule an appointment with a chiropractor. The right types of hands-on treatment may be enough to provide lasting pain relief without the need to rely on medication. Folks living in or near Nitro, WV, who are struggling with headaches should come to see Dr. Jay McClanahan at the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center. He may be able to provide lasting pain relief even when other treatment methods fall short.

How Chiropractors Approach Headache Treatment

A chiropractor can work with you to try to figure out the cause of your headaches and what might be triggering them. Many different things can trigger headaches, including poor nutrition, bad posture, stress, and problems with your spine. Once the source of your headaches is uncovered, your chiropractor can work with you to develop a custom treatment plan.

Tension headaches are one of the most common types of headaches. Most adults will experience at least a few of these throughout life, according to the National Institutes of Health, and many will suffer from them chronically. If your spine is not properly aligned, it could cause the muscles in your neck and face to tense up. This, in turn, can put pressure on your cranium, which can result in a tension headache. 

A chiropractor can use soft tissue massage therapy to loosen up muscles. Meanwhile, chiropractic adjustments can be used to realign the spine, which may prevent muscle tension in the future. If tension headaches are a problem, hands-on treatment may be the best course. Folks who live around Nitro, WV, and are struggling with headaches can work with Dr. McClanahan at the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center.

Dr. McClanahan can also use electric muscle stimulation and other techniques to relieve tense muscles and thus potentially tension headaches. Further, correcting your posture might also reduce muscle strain. Adjustments to your nutrition and lifestyle may provide lasting relief as well. Ultimately, a holistic approach often produces the best results.

The Benefits of Chiropractic Treatment for Headaches

Pain medications can cover up your headaches. However, they will eventually wear off. Sometimes, you’ll find that the headache has gone away. Yet you may find the pain returning as soon as the medication wears off. Sadly, pain medications often fail to resolve the underlying issues causing your pain.

A chiropractor will seek to address the underlying things triggering headaches. That may mean adjusting the spine or relieving muscle tension. It may mean something else. What’s crucial is addressing the root causes. If you live near Nitro, WV,  and headaches are disrupting your quality of life, Dr. McClanahan may be able to provide lasting relief. Call (304) 776 1520 to reach the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center.

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Lifting Weights Correctly

 Working out is often a great idea. Strength training can help you build muscle, lose excess weight, and improve your overall well-being. However, there are some catches. Perhaps most importantly, if you lift weights incorrectly, you could quickly injure yourself. If you’re going to be hitting the gym, it’s crucial to learn how to work out properly. If you’re thinking about getting into weight lifting in Nitro, WV, come see Dr. Jay McClanahan at the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center. He can teach you how to properly lift weights and can provide other pointers for safely working out.

How Lifting Weights Can Strain the Body

When you lift weight, it makes your muscles work. As you lift the weights, you’ll actually create tears in your muscles. This isn’t necessarily bad if you’re lifting weights correctly. The tears will be very tiny and when they heal, you’ll build muscle mass. However, if you lift weights incorrectly or try to lift too much, you can cause more substantial tears. This could result in pain and your muscles may struggle to heal correctly.

Lifting weights incorrectly could strain other tissues, including ligaments and tendons. You may also damage your spine and knock it out of proper alignment. Back problems due to poor gym habits and incorrect form are all too common. Once this damage has occurred, your body may struggle to heal. You may find yourself suffering chronic pain, and you might be forced to skip the gym and other activities.

The good news is that Dr. McClanahan can show you the proper form and techniques. If you live in or near Nitro, WV, and want to get into weight lifting, schedule an appointment at the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center.

Healing Weight Lifting Injuries

Unfortunately, it’s possible that you’ve already suffered an injury. If you worked out and felt a sudden, sharp pain while lifting, something may have been damaged. Likewise, if your back is sore after hitting the gym, or other muscles seem strained, you may have suffered a lifting injury. Unfortunately, your body may struggle to heal on its own. The good news is that a chiropractor can help.

If you or a loved one recently suffered a weight lifting injury in Nitro, WV, it’s time to work with Dr. McClanahan. He can provide hands-on treatment and teach you how to avoid injuries in the future. Call (304) 776 1520 to reach the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center so you can schedule an appointment.

The Role of the Hip Flexors

 Curious about the hip flexors and worried you may have strained or injured them? The good news is that a chiropractor may be able to help. If you’re suffering aches or mobility issues, including problems with your hip flexors, and you live around Nitro, WV, come by the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center to speak with Dr. Jay McClanahan. For now, let’s take a closer look at these muscles and how they could impact your overall well-being. 

A Closer Look at Hip Flexors

The human body is immensely complex. There are 206 bones in the average adult’s body and  over 630 skeletal muscles. Then there are tendons, ligaments, and various other tissues, all working together to make things go. Many of these tissues play crucial roles. 

The hip flexors are a group of muscles that flex your hip during swing. This means they play a crucial role in everyday mobility. The hip flexors actually include five different muscles found toward the front of your hip that all work together, including:

  • The psoas major: connects the legs to the spine.
  • The iliacus: Found inside the pelvis and connects to the femur.
  • The rectus femoris: Attaches the pelvis to the knees and helps facilitate knee extension.
  • The pectineus: AKA the groin muscle, it sits at the top of the inner thigh.
  • The sartorius: Runs all the way from the hip and the knee. It’s responsible for flexing your knee and leg and is the longest muscle in the human body.

As you can see, there are lots of different tissues in the hip flexor group. The details are rather complex but if you want to learn more about how these muscles function, it’s a good idea to speak with a chiropractor like Dr. McClanahan. He can help with hip flexors in Nitro, WV. These muscles all play a crucial role in allowing people to walk and move around. Sadly, they can be strained, torn, or otherwise injured. The good news is that a chiropractor may be able to help relieve pain and improve the functioning of your hip flexors.

Treating Hip Flexor Pain and Issues

Your hip flexors can end up injured while playing sports, doing work around the yard, or simply while walking. In some cases, the injury may be related to your spinal column and posture. If so, chiropractic adjustments may help. Massage therapy, therapeutic exercises, and electric muscle stimulation may also relieve strain and help strengthen the muscles. Custom orthotics, meanwhile, may help prevent strain and injury within these leg muscles.

If you want to learn more about the role of specific muscles or need help with pain, it’s time to see a chiropractor. Folks who need assistance with hip flexors and live near Nitro, WV, can call (304) 776 1520 to reach the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center. From there, you can schedule an appointment with Dr. McClanahan.

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

When Can a Chiropractor Help You?

 If you’re in pain, there’s a high chance that a chiropractor can help. At the end of the day, reducing and eliminating pain is number 1 priority for many chiropractors. That said, they can also help you improve mobility, increase sports performance, lose weight, and accomplish many other things. If you’re looking for a chiropractor serving Nitro, WV, and other communities nearby, come see Dr. Jay McClanahan at the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center.

The Chiropractic Approach to Wellness

Chiropractors focus on providing pain relief and resolving other issues without having to rely on medication. They use a variety of treatments, many of them hands-on, to resolve the underlying issues that are causing you pain, limiting your mobility, or otherwise, disrupting your quality of life.

Chiropractors are sometimes thought of as back doctors because one of their main forms of treatment is chiropractic adjustment. They can use their hands to help ensure that your spine is properly aligned. This can relieve strain throughout the body. Problems with your spine could put pressure on your sciatic nerve, for example, causing numbness in your leg. Tense muscles in your neck could contribute to tension headaches and jaw pain.

These days, many chiropractors can provide treatment outside the back and spine. They can help with your posture, nutrition, and more. Electronic muscle stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound, and massage therapy can be used to treat various parts of the body. Custom foot orthotics and various other types of treatment may also help with your aches and pains.

Not every chiropractor can provide all these services, but Dr. McClanahan has steadily built up his skill set so he can best serve the community. If you live in or near Nitro, WV, and want to work with a chiropractor, visit the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center.

The Benefits of Chiropractic Care

Crucially, chiropractors can treat pain without relying solely on medication. Unfortunately, many pain medications fail to fully address the underlying issues causing you pain. This means the aches typically return after a short period of time. A patient might try simply taking more medication, but this runs the risk of fueling dependency.

By resolving the underlying issues causing your pains, it may be possible to reduce, if not eliminate, the need for pain medications. Resolving issues can also improve your well-being as you enjoy increased mobility. This may help you better manage your weight and nutrition.

Ultimately, chiropractors can treat a variety of conditions and can help you develop a holistic approach to healthy living. If you reside near Nitro, WV, and need to see a chiropractor, call (304) 776 1520 to reach the Dr. J Chiropractic and Wellness Center. You can then schedule an appointment or chat with Dr. McClanahan.