Health Topics

Achilles Tendonitis

Achilles Tendonitis is inflammation of the Achilles tendon, the band of tissue that connects calf muscles at the back of the lower leg to your heel bone. Development of tendinitis depends on the type, frequency and severity of exercise or use. Achilles tendinitis is a common injury in sports that involve lunging and jumping. Symptoms can vary from ache or burning sensation with localized swelling around the joint area. Pain is usually worse during or after activity and can become stiffer the following day.

Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain is pain that has been present longer than three months an or the pain from an injury that has exceeded the normal expected healing time. Isolation of the cause of the pain from a neurologicalor stimuli is critical to the diagnosis and treatment. Chronic pain can lead to many associated health related problems such as anxiety, depression, obesity, and many more. Acupuncture fitness, nutrition, and chiropractic adjustments, are just a few ways that ARC Chiropractic can help with pain relief. Call ARC Chiropractic today to find out how we can be “Your Bridge To Better Health”

Corns and Callous

Corns and callous are areas of thickened skin on the plantar surfaces of the foot and/ or inter-phalangeal joints. This is a secondary injury most commonly due to abnormal foot mechanics.

A corn is a form of callus of dead skin that usually occurs on thin, hairless and smooth skin surfaces, especially on the upper surfaces of fingers and toes. Corns form from pressure points that trace an elliptical or semi-elliptical path against the skin during the rubbing motion. Even after surgery for removal of the corn, if the cause of the stimulation of the tissue that produced the corn is not eliminated, the skin may continue to grow as a corn.

A callus is a toughened area of skin that becomes thick and hard from repeated rubbing, pressure, or other irritation. If the rubbing is too frequent or forceful, blisters will form instead of calluses. Since they are caused by repeated contact, calluses are most often found on feet because of frequent walking. Calluses are usually not harmful, but sometimes lead to other issues such as skin ulceration or infection.

Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM) or simply diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person’s blood sugar levels are high. There are many causes that cause each type of diabetes and high blood sugar.

Type 1 DM results from the body’s failure to produce insulin. Most common referred as insulin-dependent diabetes or juvenile diabetes.

Type 2 DM results from insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to use insulin properly, sometimes also with an absolute insulin deficiency. In the past this was referred to as noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or “adult-onset diabetes”. Today we it is commonly referred to as acquired diabetes.

Gestational diabetes, is the third main form and occurs when pregnant women without a previous diagnosis of diabetes develop a high blood glucose level. This is a common condition for women and after the baby is born, a woman’s guar levels return to normal, thus alleviates the diagnosis of diabetes. Education and nutrition are the two strongest avenues to learning to live with or beating diabetes.

Call ARC Chiropractic today to find out how we can be “Your Bridge To Better Health”.

Diet/Weight Loss

Diet by definition is a short term goal for a long term problem usually to address weight-loss. At ARC we advocate a life-style change, to promote long term relief to a long term problem. We understand that sometimes the ability to lose weight is out of a person’s control. We will listen to your story and determine if there may be metabolism, nutritional, or hormonal imbalance that may be hindering your ability. The key to weight lose is finding the cause of the gain or loss, eliminating the barriers, and educating the patient on what they can and cannot control. Using a combination of diet analysis, nutritional counseling, and work-out guidance the doctor while prescribe a unique plan to not only facilitate weight-loss but to keep it off as well. Call today and let us be “Your Bridge To Better Health”.

Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland overproduces the thyroid hormone. The condition is often called overactive thyroid. Common symptoms include difficulty concentrating, irritability, increased sweating, increased appetite, restlessness, and heat intolerance.

Joint Pain/Inflammation

-itis is the suffix term for inflammation. Depending on which joint is inflamed will determine the name of the condition. Lateral epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow) is inflammation of the outside of the elbow at the lateral epicondyle of the humerus where your wrist extends. Any organ or muscles that have inflammation will have the suffix itis. Chronic vs acute inflammation will determine the treatment plan and the type of treatment that you will need. The key to eliminating joint pain is to first determine if the cause of the inflammation is structure or function. Is there an internal cause of dysfunction that is leading to inflammation and pain? There are many conditions such as an auto-immune disease, nutritional diet, an injury, and many more. Chiropractors are primary care physicians and can prescribe all the necessary tests needed to find an accurate diagnose. We work with many labs and doctors in the Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Palatine, Arlington Heights, and Vernon Hills areas when a referral to another doctor is needed. We believe that working with other professionals in the area helps bridge the healing time for the patient so that an acute pain is quickly healed or a chronic condition under control. Call ARC Chiropractic today to find out how we can be “Your Bridge To Better Health”

Leg Pain

Tired, Aching Legs

Definition: Muscular leg pain and fatigue in the calf areas and behind the knees.

Lower Back Pain

Lower Back Pain (Lumbo-Sacral Pain) is muscular tightness in the lumbo-sacral region, an area made up of 5 lumbar vertebrae and the sacrum in the small of the back and the back part of the pelvis between the hips.

Sever’s Disease | Pediatric Foot Pain

Sever’s Disease / Calcaneal Apophysitis (Pediatric heel pain) is a disruption of the growth plates causing inflammation and pain at the back of the heel bone and is caused by repetitive stress to the heel and is thus particularly common in active children. Pediatric heel pain is common with children between the ages of 8-14 years, especially during or after sporting activity. Symptoms of this condition is heel pain that is usually aggravated by physical activity such as walking, running or jumping.

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar Fasciitis is inflammation of the plantar fascia. This fascia is a thick band of fibrous tissue that originates at the base of the foot (calcaneous) to the heads of the metatarsal bones (the bone between the toe and the mid-foot) of each toe. The function of this fascia is to support the arch of the foot, support the load of the foot, and in the active component of all phases of gait. This condition Over-stretching of the fascia leads to excess traction and inflammation. The development of the scar tissue makes the fascia less flexible and may lead to secondary conditions in other parts of the foot such as a Heel Spur (calcaneal spurs) or a Bunion (hallus abducto valgus). There are many treatment options for plantar fasciitis from acupuncture, GRASTON, ART (active release therapy), massage therapy, and chiropractic adjustments. Call ARC Chiropractic today to find out how we can be “Your Bridge To Better Health”

Runners Knee or Knee Pain

Runners Knee or Knee Pain is a common injury among new and old runner is “Runner’s Knee”. This pain can be found from the front, back, side, and underneath the knee cap itself. Most commonly it is found on the front left or right of the knee. The clinical symptom is knee pain while running. It may also be found when walking up or down stairs. There are many causes of this pain. It may be due to overuse causing muscle fatigue, direct or indirect trauma to the knee, disruption of normal knee cap (patella) movement, improper mechanics of the ankle or feet, or weak muscles. Call ARC Chiropractic today to find out how we can be “Your Bridge To Better Health”

Shin Splints

Shin splints are an inflammation of the muscles, tendons, and or bone tissue around your tibia. Pain typically occurs along the inner border of the tibia, where muscles attach to the bone. This running injury often causes pain along either side of the lower leg. Symptoms vary greatly from dull tightness to a painful area along the lower leg. Injuries have a higher incidence of occurrence in athletes starting a new running or aerobic program. When evaluating shin splints, the first step is to visually watch a patient’s walk and running gait, and see if the hips and arms are moving as well. Call ARC Chiropractic today to find out how we can be “Your Bridge To Better Health”

Stress Fracture

A stress fracture is a small break in a bone with a common mechanism of injury due to overuse or from high-impact sports like distance running or basketball. Most stress fractures occur in the weight-bearing bones of the loot and lower leg. Studies show that athletes participating in tennis, track and field, gymnastics, dance, and basketball are at high risk for stress fractures. In all of these sports, the repeated stress of the foot striking the ground can cause problems. When evaluating the cause of stress fractures it is important to recognize that each sport has different positions that a player may play and each position has its own kinetic chain of fluid movement. Starting with a standing gate and moving through the action of movement of each sport follow through will help determine the underlining cause of the stress fracture. Call ARC Chiropractic today to find out how we can be “Your Bridge To Better Health”.