FYI This is not an all inclusive list of what DCFM can treat
If you are curious if DCFM can help you with your condition, please feel free to send us a message (message box located on the home page) or give us a call. 803-574-9344
Other Conditions
Sciatica
Did you know that your sciatic nerve actually stems from the low back area? There are many ways in which this nerve can be irritated and cause burning, numbness, tingling, and/or pain like symptoms through the buttock/back of the leg or both.
As talked about in the low back section, disc pain can irritate the sciatic nerve right at the nerve root in the low back, this can cause symptoms all the way down to the foot, depending on the severity of the disc lesion.
Sometimes the muscles in the butt can mimic the symptoms of sciatic pain by becoming too tight and "compressing" the nerve in other areas, which we call a peripheral nerve entrapment.
We have a number of ways to help reduce/abolish the pain of sciatica and most often times you do not need surgery to help reduce these symptoms.
Tennis Elbow aka Lateral Epicondylitis
Tennis elbow is pain/tenderness described on the outside aspect of the elbow. It is generally described as an inflamed muscle(s)/tendons and/or a ligamentous injury from repetitive movement, such as swinging a tennis racquet.
What is lateral epicondylitis exactly? There is a joint formed when the arm bone (the humerus) meets the forearm bone (the radius) and forms what is called the radiohumeral joint. The joint itself, the tendons/muscles and ligaments that surround the joint as well as the proximal forearm extensor (back of the forearm) muscles get irritated.
You may also experience pain when you shake hands or grip and object, hold a coffee cup or turn a door knob.
In the office, we use soft tissue mobilization, stretching and strengthening techniques to help minimize pain. If adjustment is warranted, manipulation has been shown to help increase mobility to the joint and reduce pain at the site of injury.
Knee Pain
Did you know that almost 30% of knee pain is actually coming from the low back?
Knee pain arises from a multitude of reasons like weak muscles surrounding the knee/hip/ankle region, faulty gait patterns, wrong shoe wear, not warming up effectively before a workout, the list goes on and on.
There are many different ways to assess the knee to see if the knee itself is the culprit of your knee pain.
I hear all too often as a clinician, the x-ray shows that my knee is "bone on bone." Guess what, images cannot reliably diagnose pain in isolation. According to research, many imaging-based age-related features such as degeneration, are likely unassociated with pain.
Golfers Elbow aka Medial Epicondylitis
Golfers elbow commonly arises from a repetitive injury to the muscles/tendons and/or ligaments on the inside of the elbow. Most often times, despite its name of "golfer's elbow," medial epicondylitis occurs in non-athletes.
What is Medial Epicondylitis? The medial and distal part of the arm bone (humerus) has many attachment sites for our forearm muscles. When these muscles get aggravated or overused, they start to inflame.
Common symptoms are; pain on the inside of your elbow, elbow stiffness, hand and wrist weakness, tingling sensation or numbness in the fingers, especially the ring and little fingers, difficulty moving the elbow
Just like the lateral elbow this can be managed with soft tissue work, stretching, strengthening and if warranted, manipulation.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Did you know there are OVER 10 different places from your neck down to your wrist that can entrap your median nerve to cause symptoms of carpal tunnel?
Carpal Tunnel is defined as weakness, numbness and/or tingling down into the hand and fingers. (Most commonly this affects your thumb, index, middle and half of your ring finger.)
This is caused by irritation or compression of your median nerve. Your median nerve starts in the neck, goes down through the shoulder, arm, forearm and terminates into the hand. This is why there are so many sites where it can become "entrapped."
Often, people undergo carpal tunnel surgery at the site of the wrist because of their occupation or because of the common misconception that this is the only place that carpal tunnel can arise. If you have ever known someone to have carpal tunnel surgery and it didn't help, or it came back, that is most likely because it was not entrapped at the wrist.
There are various soft tissue techniques, nerve flosses, adjustments and manual treatments we can try before calling you a candidate for surgery.
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar Fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It is estimated that 20% of the general population will experience some type of plantar heel pain in their lives.
Plantar fascia is a fancy term to explain a thick band of tissue that starts on the bottom of your foot where your heel is and runs toward the toes. There are many reasons why this band of tissue can become inflammed but when it does, we term it "plantar fasciitis." Some of the most common reasons being overweight, inadequate shoe support, job occupation or daily activities like running.
The most common site of pain is the point of origin, near the heel. However, you can get pain anywhere along the band of tissue.
One of the most common tell tale signs of plantar fasciitis is pain that occurs with the first few steps in the morning. As you get up and move the pain starts to get better and keeps getting better throughout the day.
If this becomes a chronic issue we deem it Plantar Fasciosis and can take longer to treat.
In the office we focus on soft-tissue techniques, stretches, adjustments and strengthening exercises to help reduce your pain.
Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Pain/Dysfunction
The TMJ is a fancy way to say the jaw joint. This joint can be found if you put your fingers in front of your ear canal and draw a short 45 degree angle down toward the mouth while opening and closing your jaw, and you should run into the joint.
Believe it or not, you have a small disc that glides when you open and close your jaw. This disc sits between your mandible (jaw bone) and under your cheek bone, (zygomatic bone) of the temporal bone of your skull.
Common reasons for pain or discomfort in this joint are from teeth clenching (bruxism), recent dental work (keeping your mouth open for long periods of time), constant gum chewing, or trauma to the joint.
Common symptoms you may experience are; facial pain along the jaw or side of the face, "lock" jaw where it feels like you can't close or open your jaw, muscle soreness, clicking, or when you open/close your mouth, you may notice that your jaw juts to one side or the other, or both.
To be honest, TMJ muscle work is some of the most painful but you will often see results within 1 or 2 visits. This type of work mainly focuses on soft tissue work both inside and outside the mouth and clinical over-correction of the joint. At DCFM we do not induce a thrust into this sensitive joint.
Osgood Schlatters
This condition of the knee is most common in young athletes. Pain is very local to just below the knee. Anatomically the patellar tendon that connects the knee cap (patella) to the shin bone (tibia) becomes inflammed. Key diagnositic features would be pain/swelling at the site of the patellar tendon, pain while walking upstairs, pain with activity.
In its acute state, or beginning stage, we like to treat this condition with rest, and over the counter anti-inflammatory medications. If this condition is not in its beginning stage about 72+ hours from symptom onset, we utilize soft tissue, manipulation, stretches/exercises and k-taping to help treat this condition. A brace can be worn during activity to help with the pain (post the 72 hour inflammatory window). This particular brace is called a cho-pat brace.
Spinal Stenosis
Spinal Stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal (where the spinal cord lives) or neural foramen (that house the spinal nerve roots that come off the spinal cord) that results in not enough room for the spinal cord itself or the nerve roots. The most common areas that this condition inhabits would be the lumbar spine (low back), or the cervical spine (neck), but this condition can happen anywhere in the spine.
Symptoms could include pain, numbness, tingling, and/or weakness. Symptoms tend to be a gradual onset with forward bending posture making symptoms feel better.
Severe symptoms may include loss of bowel and/or bladder control or sexual dysfunction. If these more severe symptoms arise, a neurologist consult may be advised.
Treatment to include but not limited to soft tissue manipulation, chiropractic adjustments, corrective exercise, dry needling, etc.
