Does Your Shoulder Hurt? Our Chiropractor Can Help

If you suffer from pain in your shoulder, you may wonder what is causing your pain. While some conditions such as a fracture will seem obvious enough, others will lurk hidden without a professional diagnosis. To complicate matters further, many cases of shoulder pain actually stem from an underlying neck problem.

Here are four common causes of shoulder pain:

1. Tendonitis. Strained or swollen tendons can cause shoulder pain, especially a specific type of problem called a rotator cuff injury. Several tendons make up this structure that allows you to lift or rotate your arm from the shoulder, and an injury to these tendons can painfully restrict your range of motion.

2. Bursitis. Your shoulder joint has a bursal sac that surrounds and protects it. An injury can tear this protective sac, leading to pain and stiffness.

3. Whiplash. An auto accident injury or other sudden trauma can “whip” your head forward and backward in such as way as to damage your neck vertebrae or discs, muscles and ligaments. The pain from this injury can radiate to your shoulder, while an impinged nerve in the area can also cause limb pain or tingling.

4. Arthritis. If the cartilage cushioning your shoulder joint starts to deteriorate, you may feel the grinding pain and stiffness of arthritis. Arthritic deterioration in your spinal vertebrae can also affect your shoulder as “referred pain.”

Relief for Chico Shoulder Pain

If you would like to get some answers -- and solutions -- to your shoulder problem, come visit us at Masula Chiropractic. Our Chico chiropractor, Dr. Larry Masula, can diagnose the cause of your discomfort and prescribe the right combination of mechanical adjustments, massage and other therapies to help relieve pain and encourage healing. We can also help you with back pain or other discomforts, so give your pain the cold shoulder today by contacting our office for an appointment.

Have you recently recovered from shoulder pain? What caused the shoulder pain?

Chiropractic Adjustments Help You Get Healthy for Life

If you suffer from chronic back pain or have sustained an injury, you may already have experienced the difference that a chiropractor can make. By restoring proper alignment to the musculoskeletal system, a chiropractor can help your body naturally heal and relieve pain. But did you know that chiropractic care can also make a difference for your overall well being?

Chico Wellness Doctor Helps Patients Get Healthy for Life

At Masula Chiropractic Neurology and Family Wellness, our Chico wellness doctor is committed to optimizing your overall health. We believe that good health is more than just the absence of pain or injury – well being is when the entire body operates in harmony and balance. Dr. Larry Masula, can help you not only enjoy long-lasting pain relief, but also enhance your overall health. Here are 3 ways that chiropractic care can make a difference for your well being:

1. Managing stress and fatigue. When the body is not properly aligned, the nervous system is unable to send and receive messages for normal functionality. For example, when our bodies are constantly under stress, we are flooded with cortisol, a hormone that contributes to weight gain. Together, a misaligned body and daily stress is a recipe for increased blood pressure, weight gain, fatigue and general exhaustion. Chiropractic adjustments, coupled with complementary treatments like massage therapy, bring balance back to the body – centering our minds, relaxing muscles, and increasing energy.

2. Enhancing athletic performance. If you are a competitive athlete or just enjoy the occasional run, a misalignment in the musculoskeletal system may be setting your body up for injury. When our body is out of alignment, exercise places unnecessary strain can be placed on the knees, ankles and low back. Spinal adjustments correct these misalignments before they cause a serious problem.

3. Changing unhealthy habits. Whether you need to quit smoking, turn off the TV and start exercising, or simply make better food choices, Dr. Masula’s lifestyle and nutritional counseling can help.

What roadblocks are you facing on your wellness journey?

Chico Chiropractor Gives 5 Tips to Prevent Back Pain

Dr. Larry Masula, our Chico chiropractor, is passionate about helping people overcome back pain, pinched nerves and herniated disc pain. But beyond helping people beat pain in the back, we counsel our patients to try and avoid future pain by taking some preventative steps, such as concentrating on proper posture.

Avoid an Aching Back

Besides standing up straight and tall, paying attention to how you perform daily tasks, what you eat and how you sleep can all keep your back feeling great:

1. Lifting—Improper lifting techniques frequently result in backache or back strains. When lifting something heavy, bend the knees and use your legs to bear the brunt of the weight while holding the object close to the body. Keep the abs tight and the back as straight and neutral as possible.

2. Sitting—An ergonomic office setup can prevent back, neck and shoulder pain. Invest in an ergonomic chair with proper lumbar support, and sit straight back into it. Position the computer monitor so that your neck remains in a neutral position.

3. Weight Loss & Nutrition—Excess weight can put enormous strain on the spine, pulling it out of its natural position and causing pain. Talk with us about a nutrition and weight loss program that can help eliminate this common cause of backache.

4. Exercise—Staying fit, strong and flexible, particularly in the core (back and abs) is one of the best things you can do for your back. Be sure to talk with us about proper form during exercise and always warm up and cool down to prevent injury.

5. Sleeping—Sleeping on a mattress that is too hard or too soft can also strain the back. Find a comfortable sleep position where your back can remain neutral, and a mattress with the right level of support. Sleeping with a body pillow between the knees can take stress off of the back while sleeping.

If you try these tips and your back still hurts, come in and we can find solution. Or tell us if one of these suggestions helped!

What steps do you take to prevent back pain?

We often joke about something being a “pain in the neck,” but neck pain can actually be very uncomfortable and affect overall mobility. It can be felt in the muscles and nerves of the neck, the cervical vertebrae from the spinal column, and the disks in between the vertebrae. Although there are many causes of neck or cervical pain, Dr. Masula can provide healing relief for whatever is causing your neck to ache.

Sometimes the cause of a pain in the neck can be quite simple. Poor posture while standing, watching television, reading, or sitting at a desk can cause undue pressure in the neck area. Patients sometimes say they “slept wrong,” meaning they had a pillow which didn’t provide enough support or slept in a position which caused their neck shift out of alignment. Other patients strain neck muscles trying to pick up something at an awkward angle or when performing exercises, such as stomach crunches, improperly.

There are also many serious causes of neck or cervical pain. The most common of these is whiplash caused by a violent impact, such as a car accident or sports injury. Other patients may have a pinched nerve, herniated disk or a condition such as fibromyalgia, arthritis or rheumatism that is the source of their pain.

Spinal Decompression and Other Sources of Relief

Our chiropractor has a variety of treatment options to provide relief for patients living with Chico neck pain. After an initial examination to determine the exact cause of your neck, cervical or back pain, Dr. Masula recommends a treatment plan to provide relief care for your pain, corrective care, and wellness care to help you continue living pain-free. He may prescribe chiropractic care including decompression to relieve pressure on any pinched nerves, realignment of the spine, physiotherapy, or exercises to relieve the pain and help restore mobility.

What do you think is causing your neck or cervical pain? Leave a comment below and let the pain professionals at Masula Chiropractic, Neurology and Family Wellness help you find relief from your pain in the neck.

Herniated Disc Pain Relieved by Chico Chiropractor

If you are experiencing back pain or occasional bouts of weakness or numbness in the neck, arms or legs then it may be caused by a herniated disc. The spine is made up of small bones that are cushioned by tiny sponge-like discs. Over time the pressure placed on the discs can cause the discs to tear, slip or break which leads to the painful back aches or symptoms of weakness in the body.

At our Masula Chiropractic, Neurology and Family Wellness, we can help diagnose and treat the source of your back pain, which may or may not be caused by a herniated disc. Through the use of massage and chiropractic services we can help develop a course of treatment that relieves the pain without having to resort to invasive surgeries or prescription medications.

Chiropractic Care Lessens Pain from Herniated Discs

Pain that is associated with herniated discs can often be relieved with chiropractic care. Many times when the disc has slipped, broken or torn it can cause pressure to be placed on a nerve which causes extreme aches and pains. Our wellness doctor and chiropractor, Dr. Masula can help to relieve these aches and pains by gently manipulating the spine and slowly moving the disc back into proper alignment.

At our Chico chiropractic clinic we will work to diagnosis and treat back pain that has happened as a result of the rupturing, damage, slippage or breaking of the spinal disc. Whether the damage to the disc happened as a result of an injury or as a result of aging, working closely with our team will get you back on the right track to a pain-free lifestyle.

Have you tried chiropractic care or other alternative treatments to cure or treat your herniated disc?