7003 S Howell Avenue Suite 1300, Oak Creek, WI 53154
414-762-8626
Chiropractic Services
At Gavric Chiropractic, we take great pride in providing the finest chiropractic wellness care to our patients. Below is a sampling of the different chiropractic services we offer in our Oak Creek office.
Chiropractic Care
We provide spinal correction utilizing gentle chiropractic techniques. Never in the history of chiropractic have we been able to provide the level of help and expertise that now exists. These newer correction methods are even safer, more comfortable, and more effective than ever before. As a Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Greg Gavric has years of training and experience in spinal adjustment.
Corrective Exercises
We teach our patients special "blueprint" exercises to help strengthen and correct their own unique problems. These exercises can be performed in the comfort of your own home and can improve the effectiveness of your spinal correction. In addition to skeletal misalignment, muscles and connective tissues can be out of place or strained by improper alignment and use. Specific exercises and stretches can help your body stay in balance and health.
Lifestyle Advice
We often find it helpful to "coach" our patients on certain activities they should avoid or do differently to avoid aggravating their particular health challenge. Our goal is to help every patient achieve a fulfilling and happy lifestyle full of the activities they enjoy most. We recognize that each patient is a whole person, and helping them reach true health and wellness is a collaborative effort between our professionals and our patients.
Nutritional Counseling
We recommend specific nutritional supplements and healthy food choices to enhance our patient's return to optimal health. Do you know which supplements and vitamins are good for you? Do you know how these supplements and vitamins interact with one another? Dr. Greg Gavric can provide a structured nutritional program based on your individual needs.
Spinal & Postural Screenings
Posture and spinal screenings can reveal important health information and unlock the door to improved health and well-being. We provide screenings at area malls, community events, health fairs, and places of employment. Contact us today to arrange a screening at your event or workplace.
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Shoulder Pain
Created in We May Help You With, Back and Shoulder Pain
Chiropractors will always seek to treat shoulder pain with the most gentle and drug-free methods possible. The ultimate goal of chiropractic care for shoulder pain is to bring the patient's shoulder back to full function while reducing and eliminating the pain caused by the injury.
Shoulder pain can have a number of different causes, ranging from an injury like a car accident, to a chronic problem like arthritis. Patients who experience shoulder pain may be surprised by the intensity and duration of the pain. The shoulder area is so essential for completing daily activities that it makes sense that the shoulder pain injury should be taken seriously and treated to avoid worsening your condition.
Symptoms
Some signs that shoulder pain needs immediate attention may include a decreased ability to hold objects, decreased functioning of the arm, shoulder pain that persists even while at rest, shoulder pain that lasts more than a day or two, and unusual twinges or aches in the shoulder area.
Diagnosis
Chiropractic care can be an extremely effective treatment for shoulder pain regardless of its cause. A chiropractor will often begin with an examination of the patient's neck area since shoulder pain can frequently be the result of "referred" pain from the neck. Whether the shoulder pain is connected to the neck or is limited to the lower part of the shoulder, it can generally be treated with non-invasive methods of natural healing such as chiropractic care.
Treatment
Care for an injured shoulder may include application of heat, application of ice packs, gentle manipulation from the chiropractor to help the shoulder return to its original state of functionality, and gentle stretching and strengthening exercises that the patient can perform at home.
Back Pain-Upper/Neck
Created in We May Help You With, Back and Shoulder Pain
Most neck and upper back pain is caused by a combination of factors, including injury, poor posture, chiropractic subluxations, stress, and in some instances, disc problems.
Most people do not realize how much they move their neck during the day until they are unable to do so. The degree of flexibility of the neck, coupled with the fact that it has the least amount of muscular stabilization and it has to support and move your 14 - 16 pound head, means that the neck is very susceptible to injury. You can picture your neck and head much like a bowling ball being held on top of a stick by small, thin, elastic bands. It doesn't take much force to disrupt that delicate balance.
The spinal cord runs through a space in the vertebrae to send nerve impulses to every part of the body. Between each pair of cervical vertebrae, the spinal cord sends off large bundles of nerves that run down the arms and to some degree, the upper back. This means that if your arm is hurting, it may actually be a problem in the neck! Symptoms in the arms can include numbness, tingling, cold, aching, and "pins and needles".
These symptoms can be confused with carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful condition in the hands that is often found in people who work at computer keyboards or perform other repetitive motion tasks for extended periods. Problems in the neck can also contribute to headaches, muscle spasms in the shoulders and upper back, ringing in the ears, otitis media (inflammation in the middle ear, often mistaken for an ear infection in children), temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), restricted range of motion and chronic tightness in the neck and upper back.
We associate the neck and upper back together, because most of the muscles that are associated with the neck either attach to, or are located in, the upper back. These muscles include the trapezius, the levator scapulae, the cervical paraspinal muscles and the scalenes, as well as others.
The Causes of Neck and Upper Back Pain
Most neck and upper back pain is caused by a combination of factors, including injury, poor posture, chiropractic subluxations, stress, and in some instances, disc problems.
Injuries
By far, the most common injury to the neck is a whiplash injury. Whiplash is caused by a sudden movement of the head, either backward, forward, or sideways, that results in the damage to the supporting muscles, ligaments and other connective tissues in the neck and upper back. Whether from a car accident, sports, or an accident at work, whiplash injuries need to be taken very seriously. Because symptoms of a whiplash injury can take weeks or months to manifest, it is easy to be fooled into thinking that you are not as injured as you really are. Too often people don't seek treatment following a car accident or sports injury because they don't feel hurt. Unfortunately, by the time more serious complications develop, some of the damage from the injury may have become permanent. Numerous studies have shown that years after whiplash victims settle their insurance claims, roughly half of them state that they still suffer with symptoms from their injuries. If you have been in a motor vehicle or any other kind of accident, don't assume that you escaped injury if you are not currently in pain. Get checked out by a good chiropractor.
Forward head posture is very common for people who are stooped over their computers all day long. If not taken care of with chiropractic care, subluxations like this can worsen over time.
Poor Posture
One of the most common causes of neck pain, and sometimes headaches, is poor posture. It's easy to get into bad posture habits without even realizing it - even an activity as "innocent" as reading in bed can ultimately lead to pain, headaches, and more serious problems. The basic rule is simple: keep your neck in a "neutral" position whenever possible. Don't bend or hunch your neck forward for long periods. Also, try not to sit in one position for a long time. If you must sit for an extended period, make sure your posture is good: Keep your head in a neutral position, make sure your back is supported, keep your knees slightly lower than your hips, and rest your arms if possible.
Subluxations
Subluxations in the neck and upper back area are extremely common due to the high degree of stress associated with holding up your head, coupled with the high degree of instability in the cervical spine. Most subluxations tend to be centered around four areas: the top of the cervical spine where it meets the skull; in the middle of the cervical spine where the mechanical stress from the head is the greatest; in the transition where the cervical and thoracic areas of the spine meet; and in the middle of the thoracic spine where the mechanical stress from the weight of the upper body is greatest. Signs of subluxation include looking in the mirror and seeing your head tilted or one shoulder higher than the other. Often women will notice that their sleeve length is different or that a necklace is hanging off center. If someone looks at you from the side they may notice that your head sits forward from your shoulders. This is known as FHP - forward head posture - and is very common for people who are stooped over their computers all day long. Subluxations are a debt to the body. If they are not taken care of soon after they occur, then they can get much worse over time due to the accumulation of compounding interest.
Stress
When most people become stressed, they unconsciously contract their muscles. In particular, the muscles in their back. This 'muscle guarding' is a survival response designed to guard against injury. In today's world where we are not exposed to physical danger most of the time, muscle guarding still occurs whenever we become emotionally stressed. The areas most affected are the muscles of the neck, upper back and low back. For most of us, the particular muscle affected by stress is the trapezius muscle, where daily stress usually leads to chronic tightness and the development of trigger points.
The two most effective ways you can reduce the physical effects of stress on your own are to increase your activity level - exercise - and by deep breathing exercises. When you decrease the physical effects of stress, you can substantially reduce the amount of tightness and pain in your upper back and neck.
Disc Herniations
The discs in your cervical spine can herniate or bulge and put pressure on the nerves that exit from the spine through that area. Although cervical discs do not herniate nearly as often as lumbar discs do, they occasionally can herniate, especially when the discs sustain damage from a whiplash injury. Contact us today!
Back Pain Treatment With Chiropractic Care
At Gavric Chiropractic, one of the most common conditions we treat in Oak Creek, WI is back pain. Learn more about how chiropractic care can provide back pain relief!
Back Pain: Conditions Treated by a Chiropractor
Among the various reasons why patients come to see us, back pain is one of the most common. The vast majority of people are going to suffer from back pain at some point in their lives, either for acute or chronic concerns. Furthermore, back pain is one of the most common causes of disability across all age ranges.
Sadly, there are a lot of people who think they need to take prescription medications or undergo surgery to treat their back pain. The good news is that this is not always the case. As a chiropractor, we are able to treat back pain due to a myriad of causes. Some of the most common causes of back pain include:
- Paraspinal Tenderness: This is the name used to describe a pulled muscle in the back. This can take place due to sports, an auto accident, or even a workplace accident. This back pain causes pain on the sides of the spinal column.
- Herniated Disc: A herniated disc can lead to shooting pain down the legs. The most common location for a herniated disc is between either L3 and L4 or L4 and L5.
- Compression Fractures: A compression fracture will lead to point tenderness directly on top of the spinal column. This type of injury can develop either in an auto accident or from a fall from a great height.
These are some of the most common causes of back pain. We have a variety of treatment options we can use as well.
Treatment Options from a Chiropractor
As a chiropractic practice, we have a variety of treatment options that we can employ to help people with back pain. First, we want to figure out how the back pain started. Then, we will do a complete physical exam. After this, we can use several techniques including adjustments, traction, massage therapy, physical therapy, and more. We will use a well-rounded treatment approach to make sure that everyone can recover from back pain with as few complications and side effects as possible. We aim to eradicate the root causes of back pain to help not only treat the discomfort but prevent the symptoms from returning.
Call Gavric Chiropractic Today to Make an Appointment!
At Gavric Chiropractic, we provide chiropractic care for back pain relief in Oak Creek, WI. Call us today to make an appointment with a chiropractor from our team!