It’s easy to dismiss muscle tension as just a minor inconvenience, but leaving it untreated can lead to more serious health problems over time. Muscle tension not only disrupts your daily comfort but can also escalate into chronic pain, mobility issues, and even stress-related conditions.

The good news is that you can effectively manage and reduce muscle tension with chiropractic care and simple daily practices. 

Let’s explore why you shouldn’t ignore muscle tension and what you can do about it.

1. The Hidden Dangers of Ignoring Muscle Tension

Muscle tension might seem harmless at first, but if left untreated, it can lead to chronic pain and even mobility problems.

Over time, your body can adapt to the tension, causing long-term issues that affect your overall health and well-being. For example, what starts as mild shoulder tension can turn into chronic back pain that disrupts your daily life.

Take 5 minutes to assess your current muscle tension by gently stretching your neck and shoulders.

2. How Muscle Tension Affects Your Body

Muscle tension can disrupt your body’s natural alignment, leading to headaches, back pain, and fatigue.

When muscles are constantly tight, they pull on your bones and joints, throwing your entire body out of balance. For instance, tension in your shoulders can trigger frequent headaches, making it hard to concentrate or relax.

Spend 5 minutes doing a simple tension-relieving exercise, like shoulder rolls.

3. The Role of Chiropractic Care in Relieving Muscle Tension

Chiropractic care targets the root cause of muscle tension by realigning the spine and joints. This not only relieves existing tension but also prevents it from coming back.

Patients who receive regular chiropractic adjustments often find significant relief from chronic tension-related issues, like headaches or back pain, and enjoy improved overall well-being.

Schedule an appointment today to learn about our approach to treating muscle tension.

4. Simple Daily Habits to Reduce Muscle Tension

Reducing muscle tension can be as simple as making a few daily changes, like maintaining good posture, taking regular breaks, and staying hydrated. 

These habits help prevent tension from building up throughout the day, keeping your muscles relaxed and your body aligned. For example, taking a five-minute break every hour can drastically reduce tension and improve your comfort.

Set a timer to remind yourself to take a stretch break every hour today.

5. Preventing Muscle Tension Through Stress Management

There’s a strong connection between stress and muscle tension.

When stressed, your muscles tend to tighten up, leading to discomfort and pain. Managing stress with techniques like mindfulness, deep breathing, and relaxation exercises can significantly reduce muscle tension.

For instance, practicing deep breathing for just a few minutes can relax your shoulders and neck, relieving stress-related tension.

Spend 5 minutes practicing deep breathing to relieve stress-related muscle tension

Muscle tension might seem like a small issue, but as we’ve seen, it can have a big impact on your health if ignored. By understanding the risks, incorporating simple daily habits, and seeking chiropractic care, you can prevent tension from taking over your life. 

Don’t wait until the pain becomes unbearable—start taking steps today to relieve muscle tension and improve your well-being.

Call our Broken Arrow office at 918-940-4630 to learn how we can help you manage muscle tension and get back to feeling your best.

The post Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Muscle Tension – And What to Do About It first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

Pain reminds us that something’s amiss, whether it’s a persistent twinge in your neck or an aching back that refuses to let up. But here’s a comforting thought: just like how a mechanic tunes up a car, a chiropractor can help tune up your body. 

So, the burning question is, how often should you see a chiropractor for your pain?

Understand Your Body’s Signals

Picture this: you have a garden. If you see a couple of plants starting to droop, you wouldn’t wait for the whole garden to die off before doing something about it, would you? 

The same goes for when you feel uncomfortable or achy. It’s your body’s way of telling you, “Hey, something’s up.” 

Ignoring those signals can lead to bigger problems later on.

The Initial Phase: Finding Relief

When you’re in the throes of acute pain, a chiropractor becomes your best ally.

Think of this as the rescue phase. During this time, it’s not uncommon to see your chiropractor 2-3 times a week. The goal here is straightforward: pain relief.

In this stage, which usually lasts a few weeks, your chiropractor examines the root cause of your pain. With precise adjustments and treatments, they work to alleviate the immediate discomfort. 

It’s like dousing flames before rebuilding a structure.

The Corrective Phase: Strengthen and Heal

After the pain has subsided, it’s time to address its underlying causes. 

It could be a postural issue, or it could be a deeper spinal misalignment. This phase is more spaced out, often involving visits once a week or every two weeks. 

Think of this as rehabilitating that garden, ensuring the soil is nutrient-rich and the environment optimal for growth.

Maintenance Phase: Keep the Balance

Now, your pain is under control, and underlying issues have been addressed. 

But just like you wouldn’t abandon that garden after the flowers bloom, you shouldn’t neglect regular check-ins with your chiropractor. Monthly visits, or sometimes even longer intervals, can be sufficient.

This is about maintaining the good health you’ve achieved catching any potential issues before they escalate.

Listen to Your Body and Your Chiropractor

The frequency of visits varies for everyone. 

It’s based on your specific pain, your body’s needs, and the recommendations of your trusted chiropractor. After all, everyone’s garden is unique.

At Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic, we’re dedicated to understanding your needs and crafting a care plan that brings out the best in your health. Just as a garden thrives with regular attention and care, so does your body with chiropractic adjustments.

If pain is disrupting your life or you’re curious about preventative care, don’t wait.

Give us a call at 918-940-4630. Let us be the guiding hand that helps your body blossom to its fullest potential.

The post How Often Should You See a Chiropractor for Your Pain? first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

Common Injuries from Working Around the House

Most of us know that falls are a leading cause of injury in the home. But it’s also common to hurt yourself in less dramatic ways while doing everyday tasks such as carrying groceries, doing yard work, or cleaning your bathroom.

These injuries may include:

• Strains, sprains, or knots in various muscles
• Joint pain in hips, knees or shoulders
• Tendonitis or bursitis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Rotator cuff injury
• Spinal stress fractures
• Other spinal conditions such as pinched nerves, sciatica or herniated disc
• Hip or shoulder dislocations
• Fractured bones in hands, feet, or limbs

Safety Tips for Doing Chores

Repetitive motions, prolonged gripping, bad posture, overreaching/twisting, and poor lifting techniques are some of the ways we can run into trouble while working around the house.

Here are some safety suggestions:

Stretch before doing tasks. Stretching promotes the flexibility of muscles and ligaments, helping to prevent injuries.

Avoid twisting. Walk straight forward while mopping or vacuuming. To avoid twisting and overreaching, make one side of the bed, then walk around to make the other side.

Move closer to objects you’re reaching for. Use your back and shoulders along with your arms. Use a step stool (carefully!) for high objects.

Maintain good posture.  Keep shoulders and back straight while doing dishes or other tasks.

Lifting tips:

• Don’t lift too much weight. Ask someone to help if an object is too heavy.
• Break down your load into smaller parts if possible.
• Turn in the direction of the object you’re lifting. Don’t twist your body.
• Use your legs rather than your back, and bend at your knees.
• Tighten your core muscles as you lift, holding the load close to your body, and don’t hold your breath.
• Carry loads close to your body, not holding them out in front of you.

Avoid muscle strain from overuse: switch hands while doing tasks like scrubbing the bathtub. Take frequent breaks. Variety is good; break up tasks into smaller parts and spread them throughout the week.

Be mindful while working and don’t rush through chores: a trip or slip can cause a bad fall in an instant.

Chiropractic Care to Protect Joints and Muscles

A strong spine and core play a central role in preventing injuries.  Regular care from your chiropractor–including spinal adjustments, massage, and other non-invasive treatments–helps build up that core strength, mobility, and flexibility.

Chiropractors can diagnose the source of your symptoms, create a treatment plan, and work with any other care providers you require. Be proactive; trying to push through the pain and delaying treatment will only make your symptoms worse and possibly harder to treat.

Contact our Broken Arrow Office for Your Complimentary Consultation

Start being proactive with your spinal health today by giving Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic a call at 918-940-4630.

The post Protect Your Joints and Muscles While Doing Chores first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

The model reflects human biomechanics. The most important structures in the body contain arcs. The human spine comprises the most importance arches of all. The spine requires three important curves (as viewed from the side) for optimal health. The curvatures make the spine stronger and more durable. Losing curves in the spine alters function in the body and predisposes the bones and discs to unnecessary wear and tear.

Loss of spinal curves usually occurs slowly over years or decades due to poor posture and ergonomics. Spinal curves also reduced due to trauma such as whiplash or other forms of natural or unnatural impact. Abnormal spinal curves create cosmetic changes which affect appearance and posture but the most harmful result of losing curvature degrees comes from the damage done to nerve and blood flow. Loss of neck curve alone associates with decreased vertebral artery hemodynamics. This means a loss of appropriate neck curve reduces blood flow to specific parts of the brain and body.

Patients entering Chiropractic or medical offices with a loss of neck curve experience greater risk for increased spinal cord and nerve tension, pain, disability, poor health, and lowered quality-of-life. The increased stress points stemming from a reduced spinal curvature lead to increased vertebral stress, providing the basis for vertebral compression, osteoarthritis, and even bone spur formation. The muscles and soft tissue which supports the neck must work harder to compensate for biomechanical instability. Soft tissue weakness and damage eventually begin to materialize and amplify the original problem.

Chiropractors pay close attention to the health of spinal curves by evaluating the structure and range of motion of the spine. X-rays prove valuable in locating trouble spots and assessing the need for care. Most Chiropractors specialize in evaluating and correcting spinal curvature and motion to restore proper nerve and blood flow. Clinical trials show that correction of the cervical curve improves a vast array of symptoms and conditions. A 2019 study utilized Magnetic Resonance Angiogram (MRA) to measure cerebral blood flow before and after taking steps to improve the neck curve. Decreased neck curvature also reflected decreased blood flow on MRA reports. Correction of the neck curve resulted in an immediate and significant increase in the amount of cerebral blood flowing to and from the brain. The results proved consistent with the notion that biomechanics influence physiology.

Scientific evidence continues to emphasize the value of Chiropractic care for those with or without the manifestation of negative health symptoms. Proactive care for the spine and nervous system prove essential to long term health care. The curves in the spine play an important role in spinal health, spinal longevity, and whole-body health. Every spine in every person deserves the care and attention needed for a vibrant future full of life and health.

The post Improvement in Neck Curve Increases Brain Blood Flow first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

Being able to accurately assess the difference between these two sets of circumstances is crucial to your success and short- and long-term outcomes. An overlooked injury will get worse and, ultimately, the type and amount of treatment required will be more serious and the recovery time considerably prolonged.

Of course, pain itself does not necessarily mean stopping what you’re doing. Everyone who does strength training knows that performing the last couple of reps with heavier weights often involves some form of discomfort — occasionally intense discomfort. But in order to progress, it’s important to tolerate and work through the discomfort, and even pain, associated with temporary muscle fatigue and failure. Similarly, those doing interval types of cardiorespiratory training may experience the intense pain of anaerobic fatigue toward the end of a very fast sprint. But such pain is expected and temporary, and being able to work through such pain represents the training benefit. Working through the pain implies that your strength and endurance are improving. However, the blithe philosophy of “no pain, no gain” needs to be consistently contrasted with the intelligent ability to clearly acknowledge when the experienced pain represents a problem.¹

How are you able to recognize when the pain you’re experiencing is a problem? First, the pain you feel during intense effort is temporary and should subside fairly quickly as you move on to your next exercise activity. In contrast, pain that persists or increases during a workout or training session is probably not a good thing. If you continue to feel that pain throughout the course of the day and into the next day, then you should likely interpret that pain as an injury. In this context, it’s important to distinguish the pain of an injury from that of normal muscle soreness. Normal muscle soreness is generalized, not local. You feel such soreness in the entire muscle, rather than in a specific spot. Additionally, muscle soreness resolves within 24 to 48 hours with most usually resolving within a day. Pain that persists beyond 48 hours should be reasonably interpreted as an injury.

Importantly, not all injuries require treatment. Less severe injuries such as mild muscle strains may heal on their own with appropriate rest. In general, any injury that persists beyond seven days should be evaluated by a health care professional. Your family chiropractor will be able to accurately assess your health problem and answer questions regarding the nature of the injury and the recommended course of care.^2,3  

¹Gisselman AS, et al: Musculoskeletal overuse injuries and heart rate variability: Is there a link? Med Hypotheses 87:1-7, 2016

²Faizullin I, Faizullina E: Effects of balance training on the post-sprained ankle joint instability. Int J Risk Saf Med 2015;27 Suppl 1:S99-S101. doi: 10.3233/JRS-150707

³Cools AM, et al: Evidence-based rehabilitation of athletes with glenohumeral instability. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 24(2):382-389, 2016

As always, if you ever want to sit down and discuss your current condition, we are just a phone call away at 918-940-4630.  Thank you for allowing us to be your chiropractor.

The post Is This Good Pain or Bad Pain? first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

One such doctor we continue to neglect until the very last moment is our chiropractor. Let’s face it, if we don’t feel pain in our back, then we’re convinced we don’t need a spinal adjustment, but there are other benefits to be gained from a visit to a chiropractor that can drastically improve our emotional and physical well-being. Below are seven signs that you should make an appointment with your chiropractor today.

1. Chronic back pain

The most obvious telltale sign that you need to go see the chiropractor is if you are experiencing back pain. There are several factors that can contribute to chronic back pain, including your posture, type of work, and how many hours a day you are on your feet. A chiropractor can provide you with relief from this pain without the use of invasive surgery or prescription medications.

2. Muscle or joint pain.

Chiropractors can do more than just relieve back pain. They are trained in both non-invasive spinal manipulation and massage therapy and can relieve pain in your muscles or joints by increasing blood flow and nerve conductivity in those areas.

3. Headaches

Headaches can be caused by a number of things, including oxygen deprivation, dehydration, and malnutrition. How much blood is able to reach the brain can also have a big impact. A chiropractor can help relieve headaches by improving your blood flow and increasing your brain’s oxygen supply. They may also recommend a change to your diet in order to improve your overall health.

4. Range of motion becomes limited

If you find you cannot turn your head/neck as far as you used to, or if you experience pain in doing so, it may be a good time to see the chiropractor. Stiff muscles and limited blood flow can contribute to a decrease in your overall flexibility. Stiffness or less flexibility in your extremities is another indicator of an issue, so be sure to have yourself checked out if any of these begin to occur.

5. A recent accident

An auto accident or a sports-related injury is one of the many scenarios where you can encounter an “invisible injury,” meaning that you may appear fine on the surface, but you are actually dealing with a serious internal injury. A chiropractor should be able to diagnose such an issue and be able to help you relieve it, although additional medical consultations may be suggested.

6. Arthritis diagnosis

“If you have recently been diagnosed with arthritis, your chiropractor may be able to help,” said Dr. Holly Westbrock, an Eden Prairie, MN chiropractor.  “Chiropractors work to relieve pain from arthritis without using invasive surgery, but rather through physical therapy.  They may be able to help you maintain the condition and prevent it from spreading to other muscles or joints in your body.”

7. Your “health-conscious” lifestyle needs improving

If you feel your lifestyle needs improvement or you just want to be more aware of taking care of your body, your chiropractor is an excellent source of information. They can provide you with appropriate exercise habits, nutritional guidance, and stress-relief techniques to improve both your emotional and physical well-being.

The post When Should I Go To a Chiropractor? first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.