Tag Archives: chiropractor sauganash

Driving and Butt Pain

Driving and Butt Pain

One of the most common reasons people come to see me at my office in Chicago is because they spend a lot of time in the car and they start experiencing pain. These patients often ask me, “Driving and butt pain, can this be happening to me?” The answer is yes. The positioning of the seat in your car may be largely responsible for why you are having the butt pain. Oftentimes it can become even more than just butt pain, it can turn into sciatica.

Sciatica is a pain in the butt that also travels down the leg, sometimes as far down as the toes. It can be a sharp pain, a dull ache, or sometimes even numbness, tingling or burning. If you have ever suffered from sciatica you know just how debilitating it can be!

Sciatica has ended many careers of truck drivers or others who spend a lot of time in cars. This includes you police officers!

Watch the video below for a quick tip on how to position your car seat better. Most importantly, get checked by a chiropractor. We are specialists when it comes to helping those suffering with sciatica. Pelvic misalignments, tight hips, lower back subluxations and muscle imbalances can all contribute to the pain you are experiencing. It is critical to have these issues corrected, not only so you feel better, but so we fix the underlying problem and your sciatica doesn’t become chronic and a long-term issue.

The only thing worse than a pain in the butt, is a long-term, chronic pain in the butt.

 

Yours in Health,

Dr. Steven Bourdage DC

Selfie With The Doc

Selfie With The Doc

Our Selfie With The Doc competition is in full swing! Take a selfie with the doc while you are in the office and then post it on Facebook. Tag Bourdage Chiropractic and whoever receives the most likes will win a $100 gift card to Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants!  Continue reading →

Jaw pain? We Can Help

Of the many areas of the body that Chicago chiropractors are able to help, most people are surprised to learn that the jaw is on the list. It’s easy to associate back pain and neck pain with chiropractic treatment, but people who suffer from TMJ or Temporomandibular Joint Disorder in Chicago can also find relief.

What Is TMJ?

Temporomandibular Joint Disorder refers to conditions that affect the temporomandibular joint in the jaw. This joint connects your jaw to your skull. The muscles and ligaments that connect to this area are very powerful and are used constantly throughout the day. When you are talking, eating, chewing gum, yawning, drinking, etc… This area of your body is very important in everyday functions.

Some common symptoms of TMJ include pain in your jaw, cheek, teeth or front of the ear when you chew or yawn, clicking noises in the jaw, an inability to open your mouth wide or having your jaw lock when you are able to open it. Some patients experience headaches, hearing issues, dizziness or earaches as part of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder.

Causes of TMJ Disorder

TMJ Disorder has a long list of potential causes that your Sauganash chiropractor will explore when you book your appointment. Some of the known causes of TMJ may include jaw trauma or dislocation, physical or emotional stress, even sitting in a dentist’s chair for long periods of time with your mouth wide open. The emotional stress doesn’t end up causing TMJ on its own, but if you tend to clench your teeth as a result, this may end up causing it. Statistics show that women are four times as likely to suffer from TMJ as men.

One of the most common findings we see with people who suffer from TMJ issues are changes in the alignment of the neck bones or loss of the normal curvature in the neck, which creates postural changes that effects the TMJ joint.

Can Chiropractic Help TMJ?

Once your chiropractor confirms that you do have TMJ, you’ll be given a treatment plan based on the specifics of your situation. Our team at Bourdage Chiropractic will get to the cause of your problem, so every angle is explored before a thorough plan is created. Usually, a treatment plan for TMJ will include chiropractic adjustments, special exercises and possibly muscle work to the area involved.

If you have any of the symptoms of TMJ, schedule a consultation with a chiropractor as soon as possible. It’s also important that you follow any advice or recommendations given during that consultation and subsequent appointments. Every exercise and treatment is designed to remove the underlying cause of the problem and restore your jaw function back to normal.

At Bourdage Chiropractic in Chicago our team is here to help answer your questions.  Please feel free to contact us today.

Chiropractic and Back Pain

Chiropractic and Back Pain

Patients and Friends of Bourdage Chiropractic, please enjoy this guest post by my good friend and amazing Chiropractor, Dr. Gene Fish.

Back Pain affects 85 out of 100 people at some time in their lives and is one of the most common health concerns. In fact, the leading cause of disability for Americans under the age of 45 is back pain. The number of Americans who experience frequent back pain is in the millions.

Your back is designed to be strong and able to protect the spinal cord and nerve roots that are highly sensitive. It is also supposed to be flexible so that a wide range of motion is attainable. The anatomy consists of a combination of vertebrae, muscles, flexible tendons, and ligaments – along with highly sensitive nerves such as your sciatic nerve. When the nerves or muscles are irritated or strained, it will lead to back pain. Acute back pain generally lasts between a few days – but can last a few weeks or longer. This is typically due to a trauma. Chronic back pain can last for more than three months and the cause is typically trickier to determine. The longer the back pain persists, the weaker the back muscles can get. Weaker back muscles can also result in more pain because the muscles can’t properly support the spine structure.

The best equipped type of doctor to diagnose and treat your back pain is a chiropractor. Rather than masking pain, chiropractors will try to get to the true cause of your problem and have effective and natural solutions to fix it permanently – not merely patch it like with a pain medicine.

by,

Gene Fish D.C.

Chiropractor at Genesis Chiropractic Clinic in Horsham PA

Chicago Chiropractor Talks Exercise

Chicago Chiropractor Talks Exercise

Chicago Chiropractor Talks Exercise Here:

In my office I discuss all aspects of health with my patients. One of the most popular topics that always comes up is exercise. In this blog post I’d like to talk exercise; exercise is a broad topic and there are many different ways to exercise. It is important that before you embark on an exercise program you take into consideration your current fitness level, age, injuries and other factors that you may have to work around.

Exercise is a great way to keep your body healthy and strong. Unfortunately, as Americans we do move our bodies enough or get enough exercise. I feel this is because most people assume that to get a good workout you need to go to the gym and spend an hour each time you are there to get an effective workout. This couldn’t be further from the truth! The key is to incorporate movement into your every day life. Whether it be taking the stairs instead of the escalator, parking further from the door at the grocery store, carrying your children instead of using a stroller, etc…

If you look around there are many opportunities to create more movement in your day. Now that the weather is getting nicer it is time to get outside. I use the summer months as a chance to get out of the gym and into nature. Activities like kayaking, biking, hiking, sprinting up hills, and other things that you maybe don’t get the chance to do during other times of the year. Do something new. When you challenge your body in new ways you become stronger and healthier.

Get outside and get moving. Do something new, learn a new skill, take your kids along and make it a family affair. Let me know in the comments what new ways you have come up with this summer to move your body!

Yours in Health,

Dr. Steven Bourdage

14 Ways to Avoid Back Pain

14 Ways to Avoid Back Pain

Back pain is the second most common reason people visit their medical doctors, behind the common cold. Unfortunately, modern medicine only can offer us medications to mask the pain and do very little to truly correct the reason why the pain is there in the first place. Here is a list of 14 things you start doing not to avoid back pain:

  1. Get adjusted! Come on, you knew this would be #1. Keeping your spine in alignment, mobile and healthy will help you to avoid back pain.
  2. Move you body — every day!
  3. Stretch — particularly your hips.
  4. Do planks — Research shows holding for 2 minutes is the sweet spot.
  5. Do side planks
  6. Don’t do Sit-ups — This exercise is hard on your lower back and there are many other ways to get your stomach stronger that are much better.
  7. Stand up straight — Posture is the window to health.
  8. Sit up straight — We sit more than ever, make sure you do it properly.
  9. Don’t sit for longer than an hour at a time — See #2
  10. Stay hydrated – Drink half of your bodyweight in ounces of water. Example: I weigh 190lbs so I drink 95 ounces of water a day.
  11. Use proper form in the gym — If you don’t know what proper form is, hire a trainer and learn.
  12. Do kettlebell swings — This is the best dynamic exercise to strengthen your back and core while opening up your hips. If you don’t know how to do these properly see #11.
  13. Don’t wear flip-flops — This provides a poor foundation and like any house with a poor foundation, it eventually will have problems.
  14. Don’t self adjust your back — It may feel good temporarily, but in the long run it creates instability. Leave the adjusting to a chiropractor. We are spine specialists.

Following these 14 tips will not only drastically lower your odds of suffering from back pain, but will overall make you a much healthier and stronger person.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Steven Bourdage DC

 

 

Chicago Chiropractor Helps Stress

Chicago Chiropractor Helps Stress

June 9, 2016

I love success stories and this one is just too good to not share! Three months ago a 22 year old man came to our office with all types of symptoms. He was experiencing digestive issues, lack of appetite, difficulty concentrating, neck pain and shoulder pain. Continue reading →

Chiropractic and Vertigo

Chiropractic and Vertigo

I had a patient come to see me for his lower back pain, but during his consultation it came to my attention that he was also suffering from vertigo for the past 3 years. He was not as concerned with his vertigo as he was his lower back pain because he thought there was nothing that could be done to correct it. He knew chiropractors fix back pain, but didn’t think vertigo was a “chiropractic issue” He had already been evaluated by the “specialists” and was given no answers.

One of my early mentors in Chiropractic taught me to always offer your patients hope. I know I have had many patients with vertigo get better, so I asked him if he would mind if I worked on improving his vertigo too? “Sure doc, just help me to feel better” was his response. After a careful examination I discovered not only did he have subluxations (vertebrae out of alignment) in his lower back, but he had a subluxation in his neck too. We got him set up on a treatment plan and after two weeks of adjustments, voila!! No more lower back pain or vertigo! He was amazed! For the first in many years he was able to check his blind spots while driving without getting dizzy!

Form Effects Function

Any time there is a mis-alignment or restriction in the spine it causes stress to the body. In this particular case, the subluxation in the cervical spine was causing vertigo. After specific spinal adjustments were applied, the vertigo disappeared. The best part of this story is that this patient has been vertigo free for over one year now! That is the power of chiropractic and a healthy spine and nervous system.

Be well!