Taking Breaks to Stretch Can Relieve Middle Back Pain

Do you feel sore after sitting for the majority of your work day?

Have you tried stretching to take pressure off your back?

Incorporating a few simple stretches in your daily routine can reduce back pain.

• Passive Backbend: This pose is great for relieving tension. Working this stretch into your daily routine can increase back flexibility, reduce tension, and improve your posture! 
• Place a rolled-up blanket or pillow under your upper back on the floor and lie down. 
• Recline back, using your hands for support, until your upper back has rested on the prop. 
• Reach your arms over your head towards the floor while straightening your legs to the floor. Your head should barely touch the ground. 
• Hold and relax into this posture.
• Seated Twist: Twists are a great way to release the mid back and improve flexibility. 
• While twisting, keep the spine long by sitting up straight. The twisting stretch is meant to elongate the spine. 
• Hold the stretch for three to five breaths. 
• Repeat as needed.

If you want to learn more stretches to alleviate middle back pain click here!

Stretch to Relieve Your Middle Back Pain in Ann Arbor

Working stretches into your daily routine is a healthy way to reduce your middle back pain in Ann Arbor. Contact us at 734-221-0362 for a free consultation with our specific correction chiropractor.

How Does a Disc Bulge in the First Place?

 From Dr.Gessert: The spine is designed to be flexible. It allows us to flex, extend, rotate and laterally bend in all directions. It’s made up of 25 movable bones called vertebras, broken up into 4 sections, the cervical (neck) 7, thoracic 12, lumbar 5, and sacral 1. 

When we bend and flex our spine, the disc material can move. The jelly inside the disc will displace in the opposite direction of spinal movement.

When this wall is stretched, it allows the disc material to bulge outward towards the spinal canal and nerves. Since the wall is compromised and weakened, the disc material can’t go back in. If the bulge is large enough, it will compress the spinal nerve in that area, causing pain and even intense, radiating pain, numbness, and tingling into the extremity.  If the disc isn’t treated, it can lead to muscle weakness and atrophy.

Spending most of your day in a state of spinal flexion is the leading cause of disc bulging and
herniation.  

Learn more about preventing a bulging disc here! 

Get Relief from Bulging Disc Pain by Seeing Your Chiropractor in Ann Arbor

If you’re experiencing a bulging disc, you know the pain can disrupt your day and keep you from doing the things you love. 

To schedule a complimentary consultation, where a conversation is never a commitment, contact us at 734-221-0362 and we’ll take care of your bugling disc in Ann Arbor.

What is a Bulging Disc? How can it be Prevented?

From Dr.Gessert: When we think of spraining ligaments or joints we usually think of the ankle or wrist. However, most neck and back pain is actually a sign of a sprain injury to one or more spinal discs.

Whether this occurs from an injury or trauma, the result is weakness in the disc’s annular fibers, causing it to bulge or herniate. 

Most often, people feel this pain as stiffness or achiness and dismiss it as muscular. However, most of the time the pain you feel in these cases isn’t due to muscle soreness.

Did you know…?

·       Over 80% of neck and back pain demonstrates characteristics of disc bulges

·       50% of healthy young adults have at least one level of disc degeneration/ bulging

·       9 out of 10 work-related back injuries involve flexion or a combination of flexion and rotation – the most vulnerable positions for a disc.

The disc is the source of pain in up to 90% of overall neck and back pain conditions. Symptoms include general tightness and achiness, severe, unrelenting pain that radiates down the arms and legs, numbness and tingling, or even muscle atrophy or weakness. 

Learn more about preventing bulging discs here!  

Prevention of a Bulging Disc in Ann Arbor

If you’re having an arm or leg pain, numbness or tingling, or even noticing weakness in your arms or legs, Pivotal Chiropractic can help. Remember: you could have a herniated or bulging disc without showing symptoms! 

To schedule a complimentary consultation, where a conversation is never a commitment, contact us at 734-221-0362 to take care of your bulging disc in Ann Arbor.

How to Keep Cool While Exercising Outdoors

From Dr. Gessert: From time to time I meet members of the community who are just as excited about helping people as I am. They’re knowledgeable in their field and do a great job at helping people to change their life. On occasion I invite these folks to share vital health information. At Pivotal, we believe that chiropractic care can work hand-in-hand with other types of healthcare to help people.

This month, we hear from Nicola Gerrett, who has researching human body temperature regulation for more than 10 years. 

When you exercise, your body produces heat and the body is able to keep its core temperature within safe boundaries through two key mechanisms; behavioral and autonomic regulation. Behavior is our first line of defense, and some obvious examples include seeking shade, turning on/off air conditioners and how we dress.

The most effective autonomic response that humans possess is the evaporation of sweat from the skin surface, which helps cool the skin and the blood below the skin surface, sending cooler blood back to the core. Sweating is a highly effective strategy and is almost unique to humans. The only other mammals that sweat across their entire skin surface are horses, camels and some cattle.
Sweating is extremely important for controlling our body temperature but if we do not replace the water we lose via sweating then we increase the risk of dehydration.

Some final tips for safe summer outdoor exercise:

• Hydrate with cold fluids containing some sodium and carbohydrates at least 4 hours before you exercise
• Avoid exercise during the hottest parts of the day (12-4pm)
• Wear loose fitting and light colored clothes
• Re-hydrate after exercise with cold fluids, containing some sodium and carbohydrates

Learn more about preventing heat-related illness while exercising on our website!

Choose Pivotal Chiropractic in Ann Arbor

Pivotal Chiropractic is a a Specific Structural Correction chiropractic office in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where we focus on correcting the cause of your condition rather than just treating the symptoms. We’ll work with you to create a plan of care specifically customized for you and your condition.

Complimentary Consultations – Always a Conversation, Never a Commitment

We offer complimentary consultations to sit down and talk with the doctor about your condition, about our unique approach to treating patients, and how we’re different from other chiropractic practices in the Ann Arbor, Saline or Dexter communities.

If Dr. Gessert determines that you’re a candidate for care, he will build a customized care plan for you. The plan will focus on the structural and neurological correction of your spine and address the causes of your condition.

To schedule a complimentary consultation, please contact us today!

 

How to Prevent Heat-Related Illness

From Nicola Gerrett, our August guest blogger! Nicola has been researching human body temperature regulation for more than 10 years.

 Summertime provides us with more opportunities to enjoy sports and exercise outside, but as air temperature rises, so does the risk of heat related incidences, such as heat syncope (fainting), heat cramps, heat strain, and heat stroke. This is exacerbated if there is little cloud cover (i.e., increased radiation from the sun) and if the relative humidity is high. But there are a few guiding principles to protect yourself from heat related incidences, and any reductions in exercise performance or recovery.

When you exercise your body produces heat and the body is able to keep its core temperature within safe boundaries through two key mechanisms; behavioral and autonomic regulation. Behavior is our first line of defense, and some obvious examples include seeking shade, turning on/off air conditioners and how we dress.

Find out how to prevent heat-related illness on our website!

Choose Pivotal Chiropractic in Ann Arbor

Pivotal Chiropractic is a a Specific Structural Correction chiropractic office in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where we focus on correcting the cause of your condition rather than just treating the symptoms. We’ll work with you to create a plan of care specifically customized for you and your condition.

Complimentary Consultations – Always a Conversation, Never a Commitment

We offer complimentary consultations to sit down and talk with the doctor about your condition, about our unique approach to treating patients, and how we’re different from other chiropractic practices in the Ann Arbor, Saline or Dexter communities.

If Dr. Gessert determines that you’re a candidate for care, he will build a customized care plan for you. The plan will focus on the structural and neurological correction of your spine and address the causes of your condition.

To schedule a complimentary consultation, please contact us today!

 

How Can a Chiropractor Relieve Lower Back Pain from Exercising?

Did you know a trainer or weightlifting coach and specific correction chiropractic can work together to help you get the best results from your workouts? Personal trainers and weightlifting coaches want to make sure your muscles engage with the correct order and timing while performing a movement.

When you feel better, you work out better, and you’ll be able to stick to your workout schedule without taking long breaks to relieve an injury. 

If you have injured your lower back, neck or any other part of your body in the gym, you have options when it comes to treatment. Everything from over-the-counter medications, massage, foam rolling, and stretching. The list goes on and on. But why would you want to see a chiropractor, especially a specific correction chiropractor?

Most people think that strength training will only aggravate injuries, but did you know strength training exercises are a great way to stay fit generally, but also improve mobility, confidence and overall health, including lower back pain?

When done properly, strength exercises do exactly that – strengthen weak muscles in your legs, core, and back, which will give you more support over time and help reduce back pain.

Read the full article about preventing lower back pain on our website!

Our goal at Pivotal Chiropractic is to make sure there are no blockages in your nervous system as a result of an injury that would cause weakness in any extremities or affect the nerve communication in your body.

Specific Correction Chiropractic care will help any active person whether it be the weekend warrior training for a 5k or the seasoned weightlifter performing at the competitive level.

As a Specific Structural Corrective Chiropractor, Dr. Gessert is dedicated to diagnosing and correcting the underlying cause of your lower back pain. If you have back pain, neck pain, or tingling or numbness in your hands and feet, it’s time to see a chiropractor. To schedule a complimentary consultation, where a conversation is never a commitment, contact us at 734-221-0362.

Is Working Out Causing Your Lower Back Pain?

Do you suffer from frequent lower back pain?

Do you notice pain more after you’ve just finished a tough workout? Are you worried that the exercises themselves or poor form while working out are contributing to your lower back pain?

Many nerves run through your spine, so lower back pain can actually lead to leg pain, hip problems, and overall decreased mobility. Protecting your lower back while working out can prevent direct injury, and control progression of a problem that may have already occurred.

Decrease your risk of a lower back injury by:

1. Strengthening your core muscles: A strong and supported core helps to support your spine! While working out, you’ve probably realized that all core exercises rely on your back in some way. Keep your spine protected by keeping your lower back flush to the floor, or during sit-ups and crunches, make sure you’re not arching your back.

Read the full article about preventing lower back pain on our website!

Our goal at Pivotal Chiropractic is to make sure there are no blockages in your nervous system as a result of an injury that would cause weakness in any extremities or affect the nerve communication in your body.

Specific Correction Chiropractic care will help any active person whether it be the weekend warrior training for a 5k or the seasoned weightlifter performing at the competitive level.

As a Specific Structural Corrective Chiropractor, Dr. Gessert is dedicated to diagnosing and correcting the underlying cause of your lower back pain. If you have back pain, neck pain, or tingling or numbness in your hands and feet, it’s time to see a chiropractor. To schedule a complimentary consultation, where a conversation is never a commitment, contact us at 734-221-0362.