Jamie Lee Harris, DC, DABCO

Hello,

I am sorry to hear that your husband suffers from chronic low back pain. This is a very common complaint that often brings patients into a chiropractic office. Your husband is wise to avoid long-term use of pharmaceuticals as all do have potential undesirable side effects. Chiropractic care would be an excellent alternative to deal with this chronic pain. It is safe, effective, and cost-effective. Find an experienced chiropractor and make him an appointment.

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your health issues and pain. You don't mention how long you have been having these symptoms. A good chiropractor can look at your health history, X-rays, and perform an examination to determine the degree to which the degenerative condition is contributing to your pain. Degenerative changes take long periods of time to develop and generally predate any symptoms by a long time. I often see patients who attribute their pain to "arthritis or degeneration" who, after beginning treatment and a good home care program including the use of exercise and ice, see significant pain relief and increased function. I would urge you to seek care from a good chiropractor and try to avoid pain medications if at all possible.

Good luck and good health,

J.L. Harris, D.C., D.A.B.C.O.

Hi,

Sorry to hear your mother is having problems. Hunching of the upper back and shoulders in the absence of a trauma is almost always due to poor posture and abnormal head forward carriage. This can result from chronic pain and pain avoidance behaviors, weak postural muscles, or bad habits. A chiropractor can analyze her posture and identify any abnormal motion segments of the spine and suggest posture correction exercises and appropriate adjustment to restore normal motion to the "stuck" or fixated segments. This will take active participation on her part maintaining a regular stretching and exercise program in addition to the chiropractic care recommended.

J.L.Harris, DC, DABCO

You mention a lump behind your neck but don't say exactly where. I assume that you are speaking of the "bump " or more prominent bulging area at the base of your neck at midline about the same height as the tops of your shoulders. If so, this is a normal anatomical structure called the "vertebral prominence" and is just the elongated spinous process of the C7 vertebrae. It is larger than that of the vertebrae, both immediately above, and below it. This part of the 7th cervical vertebrae exists because of the larger number of ligaments and muscles that attach there. As you said, it does not hurt and is perfectly normal. If you do a web search, you can see images of the skeleton and spine in particular and get an idea what it looks like.
J.L. Harris DC, DABCO

Hello,

I am sorry to hear about your father. You don't give enough information to be able to make an informed response to your question. The cause of his pain, location and whether he has any pain or other symptoms into his lower extremities all need to be better understood before one could begin to give an opinion. Over the years I have treated many patients in severe pain with good results. The type of treatment must be tailored to the patients tolerance and the specific nature of the complaint. Has he had a diagnostic workup by any physician yet? He is right in wanting to avoid invasive treatment like surgery whenever possible, and starting with a chiropractor is a good idea. The chiropractor can evaluate the underlying cause of hes pain and determine if manual spinal adjustment is the best approach, and if not will be able to direct him to the appropriate specialist for further evaluation and care. Always start with the least invasive approach and keep surgery as the last resort. There are a number of things that the chiropractor can do prior to adjustment that might make the actual adjustment more comfortable for him as well. Good luck and I hope he gets well soon.

J.L. Harris DC,FACO

Thank you for asking. To address your complaint specifically I would need
to know more information about you and the nature of your complaints in
more detail. No one has a crystal ball that allows one to diagnose a
particular patient without directly examining that patient, but I can
answer your question in general terms. Tightness, stiffness, or chronic
low level pain in the neck are common complaints that bring people to the
Chiropractor. These complaints generally respond well to Chiropractic
care. However, it is important to determine the underlying cause of the

An x-ray is a diagnostic tool and as such is generally used, like any other
diagnostic tool, when clinically indicated. Most routine x-rays that are
taken in the absence of clinical signs and symptoms will be negative and
yield little additional evidence or information that might impact clinical
decision making. Routine x-rays by Chiropractors, in the absence of solid
clinical indications, are much less common than they were two or three
decades ago. Generally, in the absence of trauma, chronicity or severe
symptoms an adequate history and examination will allow an experienced
doctor to arrive at a diagnosis and formulate an appropriate treatment
plan. Should the patient fail to respond to the treatment as expected, an
x-ray would then be appropriate for further investigation. The use of
x-ray as a routine screening tool exposes the patient to doses of ionizing
radiation that are unnecessary and potentially harmful, and adds to the
cost of care. Not having any more information about your own reasons for
visiting the Chiropractor I can not comment on the efficacy of the x-rays
taken or the doctors reasoning for doing so. Something noted in your
health history or current clinical symptoms might have prompted the DC to
obtain the x-rays to aid in the diagnosis or formulate a treatment plan. I
hope you are getting the help you need.

Sincerely;

J.L.Harris DC, FACO

Many offices offer a free or complimentary consultation for prospective new
patients or to previous patients that have a new condition. A consultation
does not take the place of a history or examination but the Doctor can
often determine if the specific type of condition or problem someone is
experiencing is something likely to respond to the type of care that
practitioner is able to offer. Remember that not all Chiropractors
approach a problem in the same manner and there are a number of sub
specialties within the profession of Chiropractic.

Yours in health,

J.L. Harris DC, FACO

Back surgery is not necessarily a contraindication to adjusting. You mention you had the surgery "months ago" . It would depend on the nature of the surgery and exactly how long ago the surgery was. There are different recovery and stabilization periods for various types of back surgery. If you are having symptoms presently the nature of those complaints need to be taken into consideration as well. My advise would be to make an appointment with a Chiropractor and discuss your present situation and the specifics pertaining to the surgery so an informed decision could be made based on the specifics of your situation. Most experienced Chiropractors treat patients who have had previous surgeries after an appropriate healing and stabilization period.

I hope this information is of some help to you.

Sincerely,

J.L.Harris DC, FACO