Archive for February 2016
Solving Headache Pain By Improving Sleep
A good night’s sleep is crucial to a healthy life, including the management of headaches. Inadequate sleep, oversleeping and changes in sleeping patterns are all linked to chronic head aching. There is a positive correlation between headaches and sleep disorders: As headaches become more frequent and severe, sleep disorders increase. The most common sleep disorders linked to headaches are insomnia and sleep apnea, but other disorders such as jaw clenching, restless leg syndrome and narcolepsy are also common. Restful sleep is productive sleep: a boon to your health that can be hard to find in our fast-paced lives. We want to help you sleep better to fix your headaches.
Misalignments, known as subluxations, in the cervical vertebrae are directly related to sleep disorder. Anxiety, stress and depression are leading causes of sleep interruption. Subluxations in the cervical vertebrae can interfere with proper functioning of the limbic system, which is responsible for the regulation of mood. Keeping this region correctly aligned and free of undue pressure on the nerves will go a long way in helping you sleep well. By allowing uninterrupted nerve flow to the surrounding muscles in the neck, painful muscle spasms can be eliminated and muscles will be more relaxed, promoting better sleep.
At Scorca Chiropractic Center, we offer you expertise in the treatment of sleep related issues caused by physical disharmony and emotional distress. Our treatment is centered on correcting physical abnormalities that may be blocking you from receiving the benefits of restive sleep. Your particular sleep problem requires a unique solution. We will consult with you to determine whether lifestyle habits may be contributing to your sleep impediment. Call our office in Fremont today at (510) 656-9077.
Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C.
Massage your tension headaches away
There is no uniform cause of tension headaches: stress, spinal misalignment, hormonal imbalance and fatigue, among many other factors, have all been documented to cause the dull, persistent pain of a tension headache. One thing upon which all sufferers agree is that chronic head-aching is detrimental to their well being. Many people opt for the quick fix of aspirin, treating the symptoms and postponing the pain but neglecting the causes. What if you could forego the painkillers and treat your headaches with massage? Massage is a wonderfully relaxing and powerful form of therapy that can fight tension headaches.
The main benefit of massage is that it relaxes tense muscles and improves circulation, increasing the flow of nutrient-rich oxygen to areas that may be ischemic, or lacking proper blood flow. By loosening up muscles that have learned to be permanently tight, we treat painful muscle spasms. When headaches sufferers receive massage on a regular basis, their body is supported in its endeavor to relax. Relieving tension in the muscles promotes mental relaxation and reduces stress, a key factor in chronic headaches.
A major problem that long-term sufferers of headaches must solve is determining the underlying cause of their pain. At Scorca Chiropractic Center, we are experts in the detection of headaches caused by neck, shoulder and back pain. These may be a direct result of physical trauma or a problem that has built up over time. Getting a chiropractic examination goes a long way in helping to narrow down and identify the source of your headaches. Together, we can create a wellness plan to address your headaches, combining traditional chiropractic care with the powers of massage therapy. Call our office in Fremont at (510) 656-9077 or e-mail us at [email protected] to schedule an appointment today.
Dr. Francis Scorca, D.C.
Migraines and Chiropractic Care
When it comes to the overwhelming pain of migraines, there is no sovereign remedy. At Scorca Chiropractic Center, we have expertise in treating migraines with causes originating in the spine. Misalignment of the spine, however slight, causes irritation to the associated nerves, which send and receive signals to and from the brain. When a nerve is irritated or inflamed, it causes interference with normal functioning and can lead to chemical imbalances in the brain that are linked to migraines. By returning the spine to proper alignment, we reduce and eliminate pressure on the nerve, helping to relieve migraines. Adjustments are gentle and help your tensed muscles to relax. Spinal adjustment is a positive feedback system that has been shown to reduce migraine frequency, severity and duration.
Chronic Headaches and Chiropractic
A headache is essentially your body’s way of communicating that something is wrong. People spend significant amounts of money to treat the symptoms of headaches but forget to seek out the underlying cause. Headaches become problematic when they affect normal life and limit activity. They can become chronic: tension headaches that feel like a tight band of pain behind the eyes, pounding pulsing in the center of your head and migraines which cause nausea, light sensitivity and debilitating pain.
Headaches and car accidents
Trauma from a car accident can cause pain in the head, ranging from mild and dull to pounding and pulsing, to more severe migraine type headaches. Whiplash, as it whips the neck forward and backward, damages the tissues in the neck, and the pain can manifest itself in the head. Because the head pain is originating from a neck injury, chiropractic treatment can be very useful in treating whiplash. Establishing and maintaining the proper alignment of the neck and back can reduce the pressure and pain in your head. Massage techniques can increase blood flow in the region of damaged tissues, bringing oxygen and nutrients to the healing process that increase the speed of recovery.
Post-traumatic Osteoarthritis
You have recently been in an auto accident. You are most likely now dealing with the fallout of a life-altering collision: who will pay for the damage and how? A jumble of insurance paperwork and phone calls, police reports, how to get to and from work. You are feeling out of sorts and you may not even know you have sustained an injury. It is easy to forget, during this period of hassle and headache, that it is important to seek care for your body.
At Scorca Chiropractic Center, we are on your side. We are here to provide you with a full musculoskeletal examination that will identify indicators and symptoms of the recent trauma. We provide x-rays to explore the full extent of the impact and determine whether structural damage has occurred. We are primarily concerned with providing you a high level of gentle and safe care and maintaining documentation of the proper medical reports that will ensure your rights with the insurance company. It is important to get a full examination before you sign a settlement, as your injury may not be fully healed. An example of a condition that appears and worsens, sometimes long after auto-accidents occur is post-traumatic osteoarthritis.
Auto accidents and chiropractic
Automobile accidents are an unfortunate reality for those who participate in the commuter lifestyle. Even with the smallest of crashes, there is almost always a negative physical effect on the body. Though you may not feel it, your body has absorbed the force created by several tons of material colliding. If you have been in any kind of accident, we strongly urge you to see how we can help you at Scorca Chiropractic Center.
We have seen a full range of injuries sustained from car accidents. Most commonly, our clients come in with neck, shoulder and back injuries. Whiplash is a non-medical term that describes what happens when a driver is struck, usually unaware, from behind, causing their neck to quickly thrust backward and then forward. This causes misalignment in the cervical region and damages sensitive tissues in the neck. Whiplash can result from a crash at speeds as low as 15 mph.