Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience, but it is also the body’s way of warning you that something isn’t right. No one enjoys pain – especially back or neck pain – yet there is value in the fact that the body has a way of signaling that something is wrong. Experiencing pain is…
A concussion, a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI), is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or body that makes the brain move rapidly inside the skull, disrupting how it normally functions. Concussions are common: the CDC has estimated that hundreds of thousands of young people are treated in emergency rooms…
The Achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon in the body. It runs down the back of the lower leg and connects the calf muscles to the heel bone, raising the heel off the ground every time you walk, run, or jump. Because it carries such high loads, it is also one of the…
The AC joint, short for acromioclavicular joint, sits at the top of the shoulder where the collarbone meets a part of the shoulder blade called the acromion. It is held together by a capsule and several ligaments, and it helps position the shoulder and control its motion and strength. When those ligaments are sprained or…
Movement is one of the simplest and most powerful things you can do for both your body and your brain. Regular physical activity supports memory and thinking, lifts mood, and is associated with a lower risk of depression (Neural Plast, 2020; PMID 33414823; JAMA Psychiatry, 2022; PMID 35416941). It even has measurable benefits as a…
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the most important and most common risk factors for heart disease, stroke, and premature death. It often has no symptoms, which is why it is sometimes called the silent killer, and a large share of adults will develop it by later life. The good news is that…
Most people know that exercise is good for them, but the part many skip is strength training. Lifting weights and other resistance exercise tends to get neglected, even though only a small fraction of adults meet the recommended minimum of at least two muscle-strengthening sessions per week. That is a missed opportunity, because strength training…
During the COVID-19 pandemic, two questions came up constantly: what can I do to support my immune system, and what might be working against it? Alongside a lot of useful information, there was also a great deal of misinformation, and claims about chiropractic care and immunity were part of that mix. This article looks at…
If you have ever had nagging back, neck, or knee pain, your first instinct was probably to blame the part that hurts. It feels logical: sore back, focus on the back. But the body does not work in isolated pieces. The ankle bone really is connected to the knee bone, and a problem in one…
Tight hamstrings are one of the most common complaints we see, and they often show up alongside back pain and stiffness. The hamstrings are a group of three muscles running down the back of the thigh that bend the knee and help pull the leg back as you walk, run, and climb stairs. When they…
