Cocoa Beach Chiropractic Orthopedist

Millions of people are injured in car crashes each year in the US, and many of these “minor” collisions result in long-term symptoms and disability. In fact, research shows that a significant number of people have pain from a crash even 10-15 years later. Chiropractic is one of the best ways to treat and heal from these types of injuries. Chiropractic works by restoring the normal function of your spine, allowing the tissues to heal and become pain-free. If you’ve been in a car crash, here’s how chiropractic can help you: 1. Chiropractic Reduces Inflammation During an auto collision, the ligaments and muscles that make up your spine can be stretched or experience micro-tears. X-rays or MRI scans usually aren’t sophisticated enough to diagnose these kinds of injuries, but this tissue damage causes the area to become inflamed. Many times, an auto injury patient won’t feel much discomfort immediately after the crash, but t...

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Inflammation, & Treatment Options Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) belongs to a group of disorders called “entrapment neuropathies” and as the name implies, it is caused by the trapping of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel of the wrist. There are MANY ways to treat CTS, with some of the most effective focused on reducing inflammation. Inflammation (from the Latin inflammatio) is commonly referred to as “swelling” and is a sequence of biological responses to harmful stimuli that include pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, damaged cells, and other irritants. It is a protective response to something abnormal that has occurred and involves our immune cells, blood supply, and more. Inflammation helps to eliminate the cause of cell injury, clean up necrotic or dead cells from area, and initiate the tissue repair process. The hallmarks of inflammation include heat, redness, swelling, pain, and loss of function. With CTS, inflammation can arise fr...

Our feet are the most abused parts of our bodies, absorbing forces generated simply by our body weight and gravity as well as more intense actions like sports and exercise.  In order to take care of your feet, you need to support them! Your feet are the foundation of your body. When your feet don’t get proper support from your footwear, simple activities like walking and running can cause stress and fatigue to your muscles and joints.  This results in pain and poor performance.  Other conditions such as low back pain, neck pain, hip pain and knee pain can all be a result of unsupported feet. To keep your feet and body balanced, custom orthotics may be recommended.  Although there are many over-the-counter options, they may not be the best option for your feet, as they are mass-produced and typically address only one of the arches in your feet.  There are actually three arches in each of our feet, and everyone’s feet are different.  This means one ortho...

Many women start losing bone mass in their mid-30’s.  By the time menopause is reached, most of these women have developed osteoporosis!  A proper diet along with optimal absorption of essential nutrients is necessary in preventing and even reversing bone loss, but calcium is not the only contributing dietary factor.  For the majority of Americans, our diet consists of refined, processed foods and sugar, which inhibit the body’s ability to absorb calcium. Here’s what you should include in your diet to insure the health and strength of your bones! Bone is primarily composed of protein, calcium, and phosphate. Of the three, protein is the major essential nutrient for growth, healing and maintenance of your skeletal system throughout your lifetime.  Therefore, adequate protein in the  diet, along with optimal absorption is essential to maintain proper levels of these nutrients in your bones.  Consume lean protein-rich foods such as poultry, eggs...

Can receiving spinal adjustments make a person healthier? If so, how would you measure it? Treating patients with chronic, long-term disabling back pain is truly a challenge. A commonly utilized medical approach to treating these patients (after the initial less invasive course of treatment has failed) is the use of opioid pain relievers (OPR). Opioid pain relievers are commonly used when treating patients who experience long-term pain. This group of medications includes oxycodone, methadone, hydrocodone, and others. Guidelines published on the treatment of chronic low back pain are clear: ALL other less dangerous approaches should be used first (and for obvious reasons). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that in 2007, nearly 100 people died DAILY from drug overdoses in the United States, with most caused by prescription medications. This is three times more than the rate calculated in 1991! Also, there was a 98.4% increase in Emergency Room (ER...