Our Murfreesboro chiropractor, Dr. Stewart frequently treats patients for common injuries such as upper back pain, low back pain, migraines, and neck pain relief. Although sometimes there is nothing that you can do to avoid the injury, there may be other times that back pain, neck pain, carpal tunnel or other injuries are entirely avoidable. It may be as simple as making your office more ergonomic!

Top Three Ergonomic Workplace Tips

Our chiropractor has three tips for making a more ergonomic workplace, no matter where it is that you spend your work hours!

1.Start with taking a look at the chair in which you sit to do most of your work. You may need to make some adjustments to the back and to the chair height to achieve the correct arrangement, but it can really help in the relief of back and neck pain. Make sure that your knees will be kept bent at a 90 degree angle, and that your feet will consistently hit the ground flat.

2. Next, we recommend that you pay attention to your computer keyboard, since this often causes serious issues with wrist pain, arm pain, and can result in carpal tunnel. Remember that your elbows should be flat (the elbows should be at a 90 degree angle to the keyboard.) This can really help in lowering the amount of stress is placed on your hands, wrists, and arms.

3.Finally, don't forget about your head! This can be key in upper back pain relief, low back pain relief, and in neck pain relief. Remember to keep your head a bit forward as you work. When your head is leaned forward you will reduce any stress or tension that you may have accidentally been putting on your spinal column.

We want to be here to help our Murfreesboro patients, no matter what type of pain condition they are dealing with. If you are suffering back pain, neck pain, or any type of chronic pain, call us today.

Have you made any adjustments to your workplace with ergonomics in mind?

Your Murfreesboro Source For Headache Relief

Our Murfreesboro chiropractor cares about your whole-person health. Using the latest techniques and services, we discover the underlying source of discomfort to move you beyond pain. If you are experiencing any of the common headache types, we can help you find relief now!

Three Of The Most Common Causes Of Headaches

1. Auto accident injury. One of the most common causes of headaches is from the force of impact an auto accident injury can leave behind. Whiplash can create upper back pain, strain and compression of tendons, ligaments, vertebrae, muscles and fascia causing pain in the neck and head. In many cases a pinched nerve will result from the compression also causing pain. Our chiropractor can provide adjustments by seeing you immediately after your accident for immediate head and neck pain relief.

2. Environmental sensory stimuli. Sensory stimuli such as bright lights, loud sounds and environmental fluctuations all contribute to migraines. While the exact cause of this type is still largely unknown, researchers and clinicians can agree that environmental and genetic factors play a significant role. Because serotonin levels drop during the acute phase due to sensory stimuli, the trigeminal pathway responsible for pain responds by sending a neurochemical message to the outer part of the brain where the pain is experienced. Chiropractic adjustments, nutritional suggestions and lifestyle recommendations are effective treatments.

3. Poor nutrition or diet. There are countless reasons why maintaining a healthy diet is beneficial to your overall health, with pain relief and prevention making the list. Not eating regularly, not eating enough throughout the day or certain foods can all create fluctuations in blood sugar which may contribute to pain. Specific foods such as caffeine can have an effect on blood vessel dilation of the head and neck sometimes contributing to pain. Other foods that may trigger pain in the head are heavily processed foods, condiments found in restaurants containing monosodium glutamate and most fast foods.

Do you suffer from chronic headaches? Do you know what is causing them?

Traffic and safety experts agree that many car accidents could have been avoided by at least one of the drivers involved. To keep our patients safe on the roads, our Murfreesboro chiropractor would like you to please consider these safe driving tips the next time you get behind the wheel:

Five Tips to Help You Avoid an Auto Accident

1. Mind the speed limit. Speeding gives you less time to react to obstacles in your way, and less chance of avoiding an auto accident.

2. Never drink and drive. Alcohol consumption is a factor in nearly one third of car accidents. If you are going to imbibe, make sure that you have arranged in advance for someone else to hold the keys. Remember, even one drink can dull your reflexes and can lead to you, your passengers, or the passengers of another vehicle being seriously injured or worse.

3. Always wear your seatbelt. A number of the injured people we see at our chiropractic office after accidents were not wearing seatbelts. While only front seat passengers are required by law to wear seatbelts in Murfreesboro and the rest of Tennessee, all passengers should always buckle up. Wearing your seatbelt every time you get into the car, no matter how close to home you'll be, is your number one protection against injury.

4. Check your mirrors frequently. Look in your rearview and sideview mirrors on a regular basis to check on the behavior of other drivers and the position of other cars. Being aware of your surroundings means that you are better able to avoid an accident and the resulting injuries such as whiplash.

5. Drive defensively. By avoiding aggressive behavior on the road, you can avoid trips to our chiropractor to treat painful car accident injuries. If you are ever unsure whether you have the right of way, allow the other driver to go first. Think someone may have forgotten to turn on their turn signal? Wait and see. Losing a couple of minutes of drive time can mean keeping yourself and others safe from injury.

What safe driving tips would you like to share?

Avoid Back and Neck Pain with These Tips
from Murfreesboro Chiropractic Clinic

Providing healthy, pain-free living is part of the mission of Rutherford Clinic of Chiropractic, and we fulfill our mission in various ways. Our Murfreesboro chiropractor Dr. Wesley Stewart offers many services that alleviate pain and correct the underlying cause of pain. We also strive to educate patients on lifestyle changes and habits you can use to keep pain at bay in the first place.

Pain Prevention Starts with a Strong and Healthy Back

Exercise can help prevent back pain by increasing endurance, strength and muscle function. Low-impact aerobic exercise supplemented by core-strengthening exercises are ideal choices. Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can also take a lot of stress off your back as it helps reduce the pressure that excess weight causes.

Standing, sitting and lifting are three activities that require proper support and alignment. Standing with your pelvis in a neutral position helps distribute your weight, while sitting on a chair with solid lower back support and arm rests can do the same. Proper lifting posture involves keeping your back straight and using the power of your legs to hoist up the load, bending at the knees and holding the lifted item as near to your body as possible.

Chronic neck pain often comes from chronic poor posture, while other neck pain can come from keeping your neck in a static or awkward position. If you spend hours driving or staring at your computer screen, you can help avoid pain with regular breaks. Getting up to walk around can help, as can stretching your neck muscles by shrugging your shoulders, pulling your shoulder blades back, and keeping your shoulders square while stretching your neck to either side. Our chiropractor advises keeping computer screens at eye level so you can keep your head and directly over your spine instead of hunched forward. Scrunching your neck to support a telephone and sleeping on your stomach can also cause pain by adding stress to your neck.

What other pain-prevention tips can you share?