SERVICES

Leg Pain

Benefits of Chiropractic Care

One of the main causes of pain and disease in the human body can be traced to improper alignment of the vertebrae in your spinal column. This is called a subluxation. Through carefully applied pressure, massage, and manual manipulation of the vertebrae and joints, pressure and irritation on the nerves is relieved and joint mobility is restored, allowing your body to return to its natural state of balance, called homeostasis. Put another way, when the bones in your spine are allowed to go back to their proper positions, the nerve energy can resume its normal flow and your body's natural healing processes can function properly.

In general, proper chiropractic treatment of your body's lumbar, or lower back, region, involves very little risk, and the rewards can be significant.

Chiropractic manipulations can be especially helpful in relieving pain for facet joint injuries, osteoarthritis, and sacroiliac joint dysfunction, because such conditions respond well to mobilization. Moreover, scores of patients with chronic headaches, sinus problems, high blood pressure, ear infections, leg pain, arthritis, and many other illnesses have reported significant relief after chiropractic therapy.

Increasingly over the past few decades, the medical community has come to accept and recognize chiropractic care as a valid form of treatment for a variety of neuro-musculoskeletal conditions, and as a conservative treatment option for patients with lower back pain. Moreover, many medical doctors recognize a chiropractic diagnosis and accept it as the first line of treatment for functional disorders of the entire musculoskeletal system.

Studies by leading medical journals in recent years have confirmed the benefits of chiropractic care:

A 1993 report by the Ontario Ministry of Health concluded that chiropractic care was the most effective treatment for lower back pain. The agency also recommended that chiropractic care be fully integrated in the Canadian government's health care system.
In 1994, the federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research published its Clinical Practice Guidelines, which asserted that spinal manipulation was effective in reducing pain and speeding recovery among patients with acute low back symptoms without radiculopathy.
A 1996 New England Journal of Medicine study of outcomes and costs for acute low back pain found that patients treated by chiropractors were significantly more satisfied than those who saw primary care, orthopedic or managed care practitioners.
A 1996 study in the journal Spine echoed that study, and found that patients who sought chiropractic care were more likely to feel that treatment was helpful, more likely to be satisfied with their care, and less likely to seek care from another provider for the same condition, compared to those who sought care from medical doctors.
In 2001, the Center for Clinical Health Policy Research at Duke University concluded in a study that spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for cervicogenic headaches, or those that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of tension-type headache than a commonly prescribed medication.

The largest nerve in the human body may be responsible for one of the most common causes of leg pain. The sciatic nerve connects the spinal cord with the leg and foot muscles, and runs down both sides of the lumbar spine, through the buttock and back of the thigh, and down to the foot.

Many kinds of leg pain can be traced to problems with the sciatic nerve. Sciatica pain occurs when one or more of the spinal nerves become compressed. A disc herniation is often the culprit. Other causes include spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, and arthritis.

While the pain typically travels down, or radiates, along the sciatic nerve, it is often felt in the lower buttocks, the back of the leg, and even the bottom of the foot. Symptoms include numbness, tingling, and/or a burning or prickling sensation.

It is very important that you seek medical attention if you experience these kinds of symptoms, because long-term compression of the sciatic nerve can cause permanent damage. In addition, untreated sciatica nerve damage can cause such problems as loss of bladder and bowel control.

Dr. Robert Pinto
Dr. Anne Pinto
5408 Discovery Park Blvd., Suite 200
Williamsburg, VA 23188
757-645-9300

Therapeutic Massage Promotions Testimonials

We are now serving you from 5408 DISCOVERY PARK BLVD - in the Williamsburg ENT building on the second floor at New Town.

Check out our Facebook page for information on upcoming events, chiropractic articles and much more! Become a fan today!

Chiropractor - Williamsburg, Dr. Pinto, 5408 Discovery Park Blvd, Suite 200, Williamsburg VA, 23188 757-645-9300