In my 35 years of chiropractic practice I have seen thousands of patients seeking pain relief. I found that even though they have pain in one area of the body, the real cause of the discomfort comes from somewhere else. This article will discuss three cases of patients seeking pain relief. The actual source of the bread was located elsewhere. Often times, pain relief comes from an associated area.
Our first case study involved a patient who had tension headaches. Kevin came to me noticing that he had frequent daily headaches. His headaches started in the back of his head, and as the pain worsened, he felt it in his temples and forehead. The headaches had appeared out of nowhere two months earlier. They made it difficult for him to get involved with his wife and his three young children and make a living from a busy job as a bartender. He had seen his doctor, had a negative brain MRI, and tried medication, but his headaches persisted.
When I saw him, I discovered through an examination of his upper neck and x-rays of that area, that he had misalignments in his upper vertebrae. These were causing pinching and irritating nerves and joints in that area which was the cause of her associated headaches. Once these misalignments were corrected through chiropractic care, his headaches were completely eliminated and he was able to resume his busy life as a husband, father, and bartender. He was very happy to get relief from his pain.
Our second case study was Karen, who had shoulder problems. She initially told me that she had limited movement and pain in her left shoulder. It was difficult for her to put on her bra and lifting a heavy object like a gallon milk container was almost impossible. She took care of her little granddaughter during the day and could barely hold and carry her. Karen’s problem had been going on for about six months and was getting worse. When I examined Karen, she had definite shoulder problems, including tendonitis, bursitis, and ligament sprains. However, she also had misalignments of the vertebrae in her lower neck and upper back, which was the cause of the associated shoulder pain. Her chiropractic care for her spinal misalignments, as well as care for the shoulder joint itself, restored full shoulder motion, normal strength, and pain relief.
The last case study in our discussion is that of Patti, who had pain in her right hip. She had constant pain in her hip and found it difficult to lie on her right side to sleep. She also found it difficult to use her right leg to apply pressure to the brake and gas pedals while she was driving. Her problem had been gradually getting worse for over a year. Upon examination, we discovered that she had misaligned an associated area of the pelvis called the sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joint and the hip are closely associated. Through chiropractic care we were able to realign the sacroiliac joint in the pelvis, which relieved Patty’s pain. She was able to sleep and drive her vehicle normally.
Many patients have painful areas of the body that are associated and related to other areas that are the actual cause of the pain. Chiropractic care can help uncover these related and associated painful areas and relieve pain.