Blog - Page 2 of 3 - Elite Sports and Spine Chiropractic

16Sep 2019 by Nathan Merhaut

Risks for Developing ACL Injuries

Chiropractic

Most people have heard of someone tearing his or her ACL, but what does that mean? Let’s take a look inside the knee to shed some light on this common injury. Football, soccer and basketball athletes – be sure to pay close attention, your sports have the highest risks for developing ACL injuries! Below, you can see the location of the ACL and the differences between normal and injured anatomy. Normal vs. Torn ACL What Does ACL Mean? ACL stands for anterior cruciate ligament. This is a ligament in the knee that helps stabilize it. It connects the thighbone (femur) to the shinbone (tibia). More specifically, it prevents the tibia from slipping too far forward. This injury often occurs in sports where there are sudden stops, changing direction, jumping…

06Sep 2019 by dchiroholmes

3 Things Every Athlete Should Do Before Participating in Sports

Chiropractic, Uncategorized

Get a Scoliosis Screening Most people are familiar with scoliosis screenings that are typically done by a school nurse. These are great to get done during adolescent years, while the body is still growing. Scoliosis can progress and get worse during growth spurts, so it is important to get checked every sports season to ensure safety while playing sports. Our chiropractors at Elite Sports and Spine Chiropractic are trained to perform scoliosis screenings, and employ scoliosis rehabilitation when this problem is identified. Get checked today! Participate in a Functional Assessment Screening Functional assessment screens are used to identify imbalances that could possibly lead to injuries. It is a reliable tool to determine if an athlete may be prone to certain injuries. A functional assessment screen consists of performing athletic movements such as…

04Sep 2019 by dchiroholmes

Our Chiropractors Are Now Accepting UPMC

Chiropractic, Uncategorized

We're now considered in-network with most all UPMC insurance policies! This has been a long-awaited opportunity that we are pleased to be a part of. Our focus is to help anyone walking through our door that is in need of our services, and this provides one more step in fulfilling that duty. What does this mean for our patients? We're still in network with all other major carriers, including but not limited to the following list: Highmark and all major Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiaries Aetna and all major subsidiaries United Healthcare and all major subsidiaries Worker's Compensation Policies Auto Insurance Policies Medicare and all major subsidiaries/secondaries Medicaid and many subsidiaries/secondaries Since our chiropractors are now accepting UPMC policies, we are very excited to make a huge impact surrounding our offices…

12Dec 2018 by dchiroholmes

Common Causes of Plantarfasciitis

Chiropractic

Plantarfasciitis is the most common foot related complaint we see in our clinics. Before we dive in and review common causes of plantarfasciitis, let's take some time to review a bit of anatomy of the foot, to better understand why symptoms occur. We have three arches in our foot, all of which need to be functioning properly in order to support pain free motion. In this image provided by foot levelers, you can see a great illustration on where these three arches are within the bottom, or plantar surface of the foot: [caption id="attachment_1020" align="aligncenter" width="196"] (A-C) - the medial longitudinal arch (B-C) - the lateral longitudinal arch (A-B) - the anterior transverse arch[/caption] These arches act as a cantelever, or vault. When they are strong and working appropriately, the…

12Dec 2018 by dchiroholmes

Neck Pain and Headache Treatment

Chiropractic

Without a doubt, neck pain and headache treatment is in demand. Not too long ago, the primary reason for seeking care at any medical facility was for lower back pain. Today, more and more patients are seeking care for upper back and neck pain. Here’s why we think it’s changed - Reality is, most of us spend several hours a day hunched over a cell phone and other media devices. Most of the patients subjected to these concerns are young and may be setting themselves up for recurring problems in the future. Though, no age is immune. Unmistakably, looking down for extended periods of time has a dramatic effect on the function of your spine and surrounding muscle tissues. Don’t be fooled – this physical effect is not positive in…

11Dec 2018 by dchiroholmes

Explaining Knee Pain

Chiropractic

Explaining Knee Pain Here's a video to demonstrate what we do in our offices for patients experiencing knee pain: Follow us here. Why do I have knee pain? The body is designed to have both stable and mobile joints. Some injuries occur due to the lack of stability or an increase in mobility of a joint. Understanding how the knee relates to other structures in the body is the key for explaining knee pain, and how it evolves. Understanding relationships in the body If we look at the lower extremity, we have the ankle, knee and hip joints. The ankle and hip are considered mobile joints and the knee is considered a stable joint. We often see people in the office that have knee pain, but have never injured their…

05Dec 2018 by dchiroholmes

Treatment for TMJ Pain

Chiropractic

Symptoms of TMJ Disorders Have you ever experienced pain or clicking in your jaw with chewing, talking or movement? Becoming more prevalent in our society, jaw or temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain has been reported to effect between 5 and 12% of the population! This stat was retrieved from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Before we start talking about treatment for TMJ pain and other forms of jaw pain, let’s take a look at the anatomy of the jaw. This will help to understand possible causes of your symptoms. Anatomy of the Temporomandibular Joint [caption id="attachment_1246" align="alignleft" width="300"] The temporomandibular joint, highlighted in red color[/caption] The TMJ is formed by the skull and the jaw bone, or mandible. It is the main joint involved in opening and closing…

31Oct 2018 by dchiroholmes

Treatment After an Auto Accident

Chiropractic

Have you ever been in a fender bender, or more serious car accident? If so, you most likely sustained a whiplash injury. You may have even sought out treatment after an auto accident. Interestingly, even when the fender bender is less than 10mph, it can still have a dramatic effect on the spine. If it is not treated properly, you can deal with these injuries for the rest of your life. Why Don't you Hurt Immediately Following an Auto Accident? Most people who are in car accidents do not have a lot of pain at the time of the accident because of the adrenaline rush you get. After the adrenaline wears off the next day or a week after the accident, people start to feel pain throughout the body. Common…

24Oct 2018 by dchiroholmes

What is a CCSP ®?

Chiropractic

[caption id="attachment_1058" align="alignleft" width="174"] Retrieved from ACBSP.com[/caption] As you may have noticed a few of our chiropractors have the letters “CCSP ®” after their names, but didn't know the relevance to the care you receive. What is a CCSP ®? It refers to a Certified Chiropractic Sports Practitioner (or Physician, depending on the state board). We're often asked by patients 'what is a CCSP ®? This certification gives chiropractors specialized knowledge of sports injuries, in turn helping athletes to optimize their athletic performance. Overall, a CCSP ® has a well developed and advanced understanding of neurological and musculoskeletal function. Additionally, they possess a greater understanding of how it affects performance when an tissue has been overly stressed or injured. The CCSP ® is the initial certification in sports related care for chiropractic.…

20Sep 2018 by dchiroholmes

5 Common Symptoms of Lumbar Disc Herniations

Chiropractic

5 Common Symptoms of Lumbar Disc Herniations To understand why we see these 5 common symptoms of lumbar disc herniations, we must first understand what a disc herniation is. Let's take a more in depth look at the structures of the spine and discover what a “hernia” really is. [caption id="attachment_970" align="alignleft" width="416"] Illustration: Lumbar Spine disc herniation[/caption] The spine, or vertebral column, is made up of 33 bones known as vertebra. In between these vertebra are disk-shaped cushions of connective tissue known as the intervertebral discs, which helps to maintain alignment and permits movement of the spine. It is important to maintain good intervertebral disc health and joint space between each vertebra to avoid the development of degenerative joint disease. The term “hernia” refers to a part of…