Scoliosis: What It Is And How It Affects the Spine

Our chiropractor and staff here at Oviedo Family Chiropractic often help patients who are suffering from scoliosis to resolve problems with their spinal column. We have been hearing a lot of questions from our patients about exactly what scoliosis is and the bearing it has on posture and overall health. We decided to focus today's blog on scoliosis since we help patients dealing with it so often.

Scoliosis is a medical condition that causes a patient's spinal column to take on a curved appearance. This spinal deformity is a complex one that chiropractors are specifically trained to recognize and treat. When you see an x-ray image of a spine affected by scoliosis, you will often be able to see the distinct "C" or "S" shape. Dr. Eric Janowitz, one of our Oviedo chiropractors, will examine your x-rays and determine the best plan of treatment for scoliosis.

Scoliosis is caused by several different things. It may be present at birth (congenital), it may be of unknown origins (these scoliosis patients are categorized by age of onset), or it may be neuromuscular in origin (developing due to trauma to the spine, to spina bifida, or to cerebral palsy for example).

What Does Scoliosis Mean For The Posture?

Scoliosis generally affects posture by making the sufferer have a stooped over appearance or by making it difficult for the person to stand upright. There are many cases in which chiropractic treatment can be helpful in dealing with scoliosis, and our Oviedo chiropractor can provide scoliosis care for patients of all ages, including pediatric patients. We use gentle and completely non-invasive spinal adjustments to help scoliosis patients feel better, walk better, and in many cases stand more upright than they could previously.

Chiropractic care has proven to be quite helpful for some scoliosis patients, and we are dedicated to doing the very most we can for each of our clients.

Do you have scoliosis questions? Please ask here so we can answer below!

Oviedo Chiropractor Offers Specials
on Kinesiology Taping and Orthotic Fitting

For the month of February, Oviedo chiropractor, Dr. Eric Janowitz, will be providing free foot, ankle and knee evaluations, along with a free orthotic fitting session. In addition, we are offering $7.00 off of a foot, ankle or knee Kinesiology taping session (regularly $25.00). Custom orthotics for footwear can be helpful in supporting proper posture and alignment of the whole body. These custom shoe inserts promote proper form while performing normal activities people do on their feet. As for Kinesiology taping, this is a great help to patients going through physical therapy for a personal injury.

Foot, Ankle & Knee Evaluation a Vital Part of Chiropractic Care

Most people think of back pain and spinal alignment when they think of chiropractic care, but our goal is the proper alignment of the whole body. When feet or ankles are unbalanced, this can affect the knees and even the alignment of the spine. Pronation (the foot rolls inward) and supination (the foot rolls outward), for example, are common causes of pain for many people. After an examination, we can create custom-fitted orthotic shoe inserts that stabilize and align the feet, ankles and knees so everything works and feels better.

As for kinesiology taping of the feet, ankles and knees, we often do this for people undergoing rehabilitation for a personal injury, but many people are still unfamiliar with it. Have you ever seen athletes wearing brightly colored strips of tape on their shoulders, arms, legs or knees? This is kinesiology taping. We apply it in differing degrees of tension over tense muscles or joints to support and pull soft tissues to their optimal position, reduce swelling, enhance fluid drainage, and to relieve pain. A patient can wear the tape from 48 to 72 hours, and it can get wet without losing its tension or stickiness. Our patients have experienced great pain relief with kinesiology taping, and it has helped them to get back on their feet faster.

Have you ever had a Kinesiology taping experience, or custom orthotic inserts? What was your experience with those treatments and how did they help your injury?

A Chiropractor Explains Your Pain

Why does it hurt so much when you try to go from sitting to standing? Why do you wake up in the morning with an aching back? What are those shooting pains running down your back to your leg? An aching back can take many forms, from neck stiffness to low back pain. Fortunately for our patients here at Oviedo Family Chiropractic, we have a detailed understanding of all of them.

When we talk about the cervical, thoracic or lumbar spine, we are actually talking three different areas of the spinal column -- the neck area (cervical), the part that supports the upper body or thorax (thoracic), and the lower section that connects to the pelvis (lumbar). You can experience pain in any of these sections, especially if one of the fragile discs that support the vertebrae becomes dislodged or ruptured due to poor posture, a skeletal irregularity or an injury.

Cervical injuries such as whiplash can cause pain and stiffness in the neck, often accompanied by chronic headaches. These injuries are common in auto accident cases or contact sports. The thoracic vertebrae are also vulnerable to disc problems or degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis. Osteoporosis in these vertebrae also leads to compression fractures. A disc herniation or pinched nerve in the lumbar region is a leading cause of low back pain. To make matters worse, if the sciatic nerve is affected you may experience pain, numbness and tingling in the legs associated with sciatica.

The Answer to Oviedo Back Pain

When your back hurts, we hope that you will come to us first. Our chiropractors will evaluate your medical history and your current physical condition to see where the problem lies. If your symptoms indicate a spinal misalignment, disc problem or nerve impingement, we can perform the adjustments necessary to realign your spinal column and relieve your pain.

What is the worst backache you have ever experienced? How did you prevent the pain from returning?

Make 2012 the Year That You Finally Lose the Weight!

“This is the year that I will finally lose the weight!” It’s easy to make a resolution on New Year’s Day to get healthy and slim down, but it is much harder to follow through with the necessary lifestyle changes. If you’ve struggled to lose weight in the past, you know just how hard it can be to take off the pounds and successfully keep them off.

At Oviedo Family Chiropractic, our chiropractor is here to help! Our approach to weight loss is different than anything you’ve ever experienced. We understand that for many individuals who struggle with their weight, making healthy food choices and exercising are not enough. If you are overweight, you body is burning sugar rather than fat. We can help you by cleansing your body from toxins and resetting your metabolism.

Oviedo patients choose our weight loss program because we understand the science behind long-term weight management. Traditional diets deprive the body of vital nutrients, sending it into starvation mode. At the same time, these diets spike cortisol levels, telling the brain to store food as fat. It’s no surprise then that when we stop dieting the pounds come right back on.

Take off the Pounds with Nutritional Counseling and Detox

We help patients change their metabolism by removing toxins and impurities from the body. When we diet without also detoxing, a smaller body mass means that a greater percentage of impurities are exposed. Your body’s natural response is to store fat to protect itself from these impurities. Our 40-day weight loss program cleanses toxins from the system and efficiently removes waste from the liver and colon. This ensures that the body can focus on burning fat, rather than storing it.

Ready to kick-start your weight loss journey? This is your year! We’ll help you drop the pounds and remove the toxins from your body that are holding you back from living your life. When you weigh less, you’ll have more energy, better posture (and less low back pain!) and walk with confidence. You will finally be the person that you were meant to be.

Are you frustrated with traditional weight loss programs? Have you tried our nutritional cleanse and lost weight? We want to hear about your experiences – share your journey below!

Pediatrics and Chiropractic Care: A Natural Combination

Many people associate what we do with auto accident victims, athletes coping with sports injuries or older folks who need pain relief for a chronic ailment. But did you know that we treat children too? Here at Oviedo Family Chiropractic, we regard pediatrics as one of our core services. Our gentle yet effective methods can be as valuable to younger patients as they are to adult patients.

Consider the many physical traumas a child faces even in the early years of life, starting with birth itself. During delivery a newborn’s bones and tissues undergo considerable pressure that can cause spinal misalignments, including neck problems and other injuries that could play a role in future health troubles. A baby’s body continues to receive a fair amount of stress as he or she learns to stand and walk. Imagine what falling down a dozen times a day could do to your neck or back. You would need spinal checkups and adjustments on a regular basis -- and that is why we recommend them for children.

Regular evaluations and adjustments can also help a child’s body keep many common childhood conditions at bay. Spinal misalignments that impair proper nerve signaling can make a child more vulnerable to earache, colic, respiratory conditions, headaches and possibly even ADHD. If we can address misalignments early on, the nervous system can do a better job of helping the body function and communicate, allowing the child’s body to heal itself faster and maintain a higher standard of health.

Let Us Be Your Child’s Chiropractor

You should only entrust your child’s spine to a family practitioner you trust and feel comfortable with -- and we would like to be that practitioner for all Oviedo parents and children. Our own Drs. Janowitz and Koch have worked with countless children over the years through family wellness events, school health programs and private practice. Let us give your child a head start on a healthy life.

Is your child learning to stand or walk right now? Talk about those special moments here!