 This Danbury Chiropractor Has Seen a Lot!And when it comes to common injuries, they aren’t all as “common” as they may seem. What appears to be a shoulder strain at first can end up deteriorating and causing complications down the road. It’s always best to exercise caution. But with consistent treatment, Danbury Chiropractor Dr. Shawn Carlin has noticed that common injuries can be prevented by regular chiropractic treatment. Our children participate in a lot of athletic activity these days. And most of those activities involve lower body movement- think about soccer, lacrosse, tennis, football, basketball players, etc. It’s become alarmingly common for young athletes to sustain some type of lower body injury. Young players have found themselves sidelined not only during practices, but games as well. It could be anything from a sprained ankle, a tweaked knee, a sore hip, and more. Fortunately, chiropractic care from doctors like Dr. Shawn Carlin in Danbury, CT can help prevent some of these lower body injuries from occurring. The Research Backing Up Chiropractic Care & Injury PreventionIt might be on the other side of the world, but young athletes are pretty similar no matter where you go. In a study published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, researchers from Macquarie University in Australia studied 59 semi-elite Australian Rules footballers. These are serious athletes. Roughly one-half were placed in a control group and the other half were put in a treatment group that received sports chiropractic care at regular intervals. During the first six weeks, this meant engaging in care once per week. The following six months of the study, the frequency of care was incrementally decreased. After looking at the data, Researchers noted that there was a “significant” difference between the two groups of athletes. In the group that received chiropractic care, the number of lower limb strains the players received in the treatment group was decreased when compared to the control. Furthermore, they also noticed that the subjects who engaged in chiropractic care also had fewer weeks of missed practice and games as a result of non-contact knee injuries. It doesn’t take an Australian research paper to tell you: Chiropractic care can help prevent many common sport injuries. Most of those injuries are lower body injuries. The body is a complex machine! And the spine connects it all! Chiropractic care from Dr. Shawn Carlin in Danbury CT can help prevent lower limb injuries for lots of young athletes. That means more game time and less time spent on the bench!  I’m In Pain Already, Can a Chiropractor Help?The odds are, the answer to that question is yes. Obviously a chiropractor cannot help fix a broken bone, or perform miracles on any other sports injuries. However, lots of the time the source of pain isn’t necessary that something is injured. It’s that there is an imbalance within the body. A lot of the time, an aching shoulder or bothersome lower back could have a host of causes: Bad habits, poor posture, etc. These imbalances manifest themselves when we ask our bodies to perform, like when we play sports. That’s where the pain comes in. The primary goal of chiropractic care is to keep body mechanics working the way they are supposed to. When all the parts of the body are doing their jobs correctly, there is no pain. It is only when we are injured or there is an imbalance that people experience pain and reduced function. This is especially true for sports, when young athletes are constantly asked to do their absolute best. Take it from Dr. Carlin here in Danbury: Your young athlete can benefit from chiropractic care whether they are in pain or not! Chiropractic Care is More Than Just Managing PainSure, pain is generally the reason you end up seeing your local chiropractor. But pain relief is not the sole benefit that athletes, and any active person for that matter, can achieve from chiropractic treatment. Post-injury chiropractic treatment has been show to reduce inflammation in order to help restore function to the muscles, nerves, ligaments, etc. All this adds up to speeding the healing process. That means getting the body parts aligned and functionating normally again. The Three Most Common Sports Injuries:Shoulder Injuries are very common. Not only is the shoulder a complicated joint, but it is also often a crash pad or landing pad in contact sports. Knee Injuries are usually due to the repetition of bad habits. Chiropractors like Dr. Shawn Carlin in Danbury CT see lots of patients who are rehabilitating from knee injuries. That’s because knee injuries are often wear and tear injuries. After repeating bad habits enough, an injury is like a bomb with a lit fuse. It’s just a matter of time. After a knee injury there is a lengthy process. A Chiropractor help with exercises to help with any over-compensation. Also, a Chiropractor can help the healing process by helping to further cure over-compensation in order to bring the body into balance. And that means peak performance! Lower Back Injuries are all too common, especially among taller athletes. Taller athletes can sometimes have a more pronounced “S” curve in their spine that can often result in lumbar spine issues. More commonly, however, are overuse injuries. These are the injuries caused by running or cycling. They aren’t immediate and happen over time. But without proper Chiropractic care and rehabilitation, minor injuries can become major ones. Hip Injuries are also common overuse injuries, in rowers and runners especially. It’s not always the best idea to just tough it out. Sometimes listening to your body is the right thing to do.  No matter what the injury may be, the help of a Chiropractor can put you back on track to recovering and performing your absolute best. Whether you’re an aspiring young athlete, or at the top of your game, Dr. Carlin has the latest technological equipment and years of valuable experience to help anyone who walks in the door. You can trust that Dr. Shawn Carlin and his Chiropractic Care in Danbury CT can help you heal faster and stay injury-free.
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 What if I told you that depression was related to your spinal health? And that chiropractic care could be an integral part of treating depression in a holistic manner? Evolution Chiropractic of Danbury has been helping depressed individuals fight back their sadness with chiropractic care. We hope this article helps you understand the dynamic relationship between the two. Dwelling on the past, when people talk about the depression that is what they are talking about. It’s quite the opposite of Anxiety which is considered fear of the future. Both conditions can be linked to an imbalance of the Central Nervous System. The Central Nervous System is made of two parts the Limbic system and the autonomic nervous system. I will be focusing on the Limbic system because primarily it is responsible for our emotional life and the formation of memories. It is in this area that we pull from in our heads, our fears, and concerns that can allow us to focus on the past and also give us the fear of the future. While it is impossible to erase this area of the brain we can redirect our thought process and try to replace these negative thoughts with better memories. Our brains have been referred to as computers but unlike computers, we cannot just erase our hard drives or our memory boards. Sometimes it takes medication, therapy, or alternative care, such as chiropractic care, to redirect our thoughts towards understanding these fears of past and present. While some of us may not understand what goes on in someone’s mind when feelings of Depression or Anxiety creep up, we must accept that some people are better at coping with everyday issues whether past or present. Does anyone understand why some people are better at math, computers, writing, or playing sports? As a child, I dreamed of becoming an athlete, and while I feel I was good I didn’t have that extra stuff. Similarly, I remember sitting in math class and struggling while others seem to just breeze through. The point here is that we cannot judge others without understanding. Sometimes we don’t understand, but we can, instead of focusing on the traumatic issue that may have caused this fear, refocus the limbic system to create better memories to replace those that we dwell on. How can Chiropractic help with depression?Some chiropractors focus on one bone, the atlas, the first vertebra in the neck. It is the only bone where the brain stem interacts with the spine. It is this reason why it is considered one of the most important bones. It can affect so many processes in the body. When information is sent through the body it passes through the brain stem and if the atlas is misaligned it can greatly affect the many stressors that are affecting the neurological system of the body. When we adjust the atlas we are removing these stressors and allowing the body to find balance. When the body is balanced the brain can focus and regulate. As a gentle safe and effective chiropractor I can use instruments to specifically adjust this vertebra and take pressure off the nerve that is helping to create this stress and relieve it. Opening up both blood supply and nerve flow allowing the body to function as it was meant to. Come get your spine checked and let’s work on alleviating this stress and depression.
 Are You in Constant Pain? Look to Evolution Chiropractic of Danbury, CTOne of the most sought after benefits people look for from a Chiropractor is Relief from pain. People are constantly saying “what I wouldn’t give to make this pain go away.” Headaches, Low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, knee pain etc. are all common complaints from many of my patients. I try not to focus on the pain. I want to understand why they are feeling this discomfort. Pain is just the symptom.It’s the warning sign the brain gives us to express something is wrong. The relief doesn’t only come from the elimination of pain but the removal of the interference that is causing it. Prior to going to a Chiropractor I hear people say “I just take an Advil, Tylenol, or Aleve and the pain just goes away.” If pain is the symptom that tells you something is wrong and you just take a pill to stop the pain are you really eliminating the problem or are you just hiding the symptom? I can absolutely tell you the problem still exists. Essentially you are just sweeping the problem underneath the rug or putting it off for another time. My father used to tell me why put off for tomorrow what you can do today.We need to listen to our bodies, and instead of procrastinating, we need to find out what is causing the pain and give our bodies the best chance of repairing it. Putting off a problem can lead to much bigger problems down the road. When our brain communicates with the body it is working like a computer, running system checks on a regular basis. When there is pain the brain will try to analyze how to fix it. If the pathway is blocked then there is no way for the brain to send the proper information on how to fix it.
As a Chiropractor, I identify the interference, (spinal misalignment) remove it, and allow the information to flow from the brain to the body. Sometimes there is instant relief from pain or discomfort and sometimes the misalignment takes some time to be removed. Not everything can be solved with Chiropractic care but by being adjusted (removing spinal interference with spinal manipulation) we give the body the best chance to relieve pain and reverse the problems that are causing it. Imagine a pain free life! Call 203-830-3003 to schedule your appointment today! Ever find yourself so tired during the day? Do look off into space only to snap back to reality and wonder what happened? Do you get in bed at night feeling as tired as can be, and just stare at the ceiling, you may have Insomnia. Insomnia affects an estimated 30%-50% of the general population10% have chronic insomnia. Insomnia is sometimes related to neurological conditions such as emotional disorders like depression, anxiety and even post-traumatic stress syndrome, but these are just a few of the conditions that have been linked to Insomnia.  I have heard it from my patients time and again prior to care with me, Doc I had trouble sleeping last night so I took a pill and it knocked me right out. While temporarily you may have solved the issue at that moment in time, nothing was done to figure out what the cause was. How to bring relief to your tired brain and body so you can fall asleep without the use of chemicals that don’t just alter your brain chemistry but can affect other areas of your body.
A lack of sleep doesn’t just make you feel tired though. Other effects it has on your body is a decreased immune system, slower reaction times and slower healing to name a few. Our bodies need rest to catch up. Just like a battery needs to be recharged, so does our body. When we sleep our body goes to work to repair all the damage done by the days events. Without the proper rest our body breaks down and continues to break down. Just an FYI “catching up” on sleep is not a remedy. Our bodies are not like Netflix where we can just binge sleep and our bodies will catch up. Everything has its own process and it needs to be done with precision. So how can Evolution Chiropractic help? An adjustment to your cervical spine can open up pathways to and from the brain to allow for a more relaxing body and a lower stress response for the brain. While it can’t make you forget your troubles, it allows your body to release chemicals to start the process of sleep so that you can rest better and get a well needed night of sleep. There are other therapies, but I have found that with a well aligned brain body connection anything is possible. Getting adjusted can repair the brain body connection and get you moving in the right direction of a full night sleep. The body as a whole works together for a common goal, to create balance and live in peace; in a perfect world without outside stressors this can be completely possible. As we know this isn’t a perfect world and only we have the ability to control what stresses us and what calms us. Even if we were able to control everything we would still have difficulty. Our minds work in many different ways but one thing that it does in everyone is control every chemical process that goes on in our bodies. That information flows through our nerves to help release chemicals to help balance when there is an imbalance. If there is interference then the body may know there is a problem but nothing can be done about it and this intern can alter the way we feel, the way we act and can also change the way our bodies function.  If you have ever suffered with Anxiety you will completely understand some of the symptoms I am about to list. If you never have then you might be surprised that you sometimes experience anxiety without even knowing it. It’s possible you may be better at controlling these symptoms, but that doesn’t mean that you should live with them. Some of these symptoms may include; light headed, slightly dizzy, difficulty swallowing, tight chest and difficulty breathing, feeling closed in, excessive worry, fear, feeling of impending doom, insomnia, nausea, poor concentration, sensation of an abnormal heartbeat, or trembling just to name a few. How is anxiety linked to Chiropractic care?How can a Chiropractor help relieve some of these symptoms? Anxiety is an expression of our lifestyle and how we handle stress. Stress is translated to an imbalance in our Central nervous system which is then expressed as anxiety or fear of the future. I’m trying not to get too technical here so what it boils down to is that stress is the beginning, it’s the starting point that leads us to a condition called Subluxation, or a misalignment of the spine. There are three glands that are affected by stress, the adrenals, the thyroid, and the pituitary. A shift in any one of these can cause many different disorders but specifically what I’m focusing on are the “mood disorders”. The adrenal glands, otherwise known as the stress glands, when overworked become fatigued and rely on the thyroid gland to take over. When the thyroid takes over, responsible for metabolism and weight regulation, it cannot handle the job of both so it too becomes fatigued and the pituitary gland is called on to release stimulating hormones to try to boost the endocrine system to repair the other failing systems. When misalignments in the spine occur they will create a weakness in these glands making it impossible for any of them to aid the other. A decrease in their production can affect mood very easily. A Chiropractor removing this interference can reset these glands and help them function on their own. Bringing the body back into balance has so many great effects. Understand that making changes does not always happen with one adjustment. If you are taking medication for AnxietyYou may remember that the first pill didn’t alleviate all the symptoms or any for that matter. It took time and constant communication with your doctor. Chiropractic results can take time too but benefits can come without the changing of the chemical makeup of your body.
Most people have been in this situation before. You are stopped at a red light listening to their favorite song or news report or podcast and without warning a car hits you from behind, or you are traveling down the Highway and someone changes lanes without a care and hits you. While the act of the car accident is unfortunate the aftermath is what is most troubling. The term Whiplash gets thrown around a lot but do people really understand the issues that arise from it?  Whiplash is a neck injury Whiplash is caused due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck. Whiplash most often occurs during a rear-end auto accident, but the injury can also result from a sports accident, physical abuse or other trauma. Putting aside auto accidents for now, when we were young we would jump and play without care. We would fall, tackle, and trip without any thought of what it could do to our bodies. Those movements too can create problems that over time can show up like the symptoms we feel after being in a car accident. The difference here is Whiplash from a car accident happens immediately and whiplash from repetitive activities will show up after repeated trauma. We tend to look at pain as that deciding factor as whether or not we see someone. When you get whiplash from a car accident it doesn’t take long before the symptoms of pain start to show up, but it can take years for someone to figure out that these mini traumas we self-inflicted as kids are what is causing our pain.
Within the first 24-48 hours scar tissue starts to form to protect the body from further motion that may injure the body even more. While this may seem very helpful, and it is, the body that has been stopped from hurting itself has created a problem that could create further damage. Our bodies need motion to survive. When our bodies are not in motion they start to break down. Systems start to fail and the body cannot function as it’s supposed to. You wouldn’t try to move your car without oil would you. This is essentially how our bodies feel after a whiplash injury, frozen in place without any movement. This is another duty of a chiropractor, to break up the scar tissue by manipulating the spine. We are able to break up those adhesions (scar tissue) and bring in fluid to create more movement into each and every joint. This is not any easy task. We don’t just move everything once and get the perfect result and our bodies are happy. This process takes time to ensure that the body eliminates all the muscle memory it has stored from this unfortunate incident. Whether you are going 5mph or 50mph our bodies react similarly. Once the trauma is introduced motion is necessary. If you have been in an accident or you remember how active you were as a child make sure you get your spine checked! To learn more about Dr. Shawn and his gentle and effective approach, CLICK HERE  What to do when you have lower back painLower Back Pain: Everybody at one point or another has experienced it: that movement that doesn’t seem just right that follows with “ouch my back!” and then “what did I just do?!” Truth is it wasn’t just done in that one moment, it comes from possibly years of either improper movement compacted over time or that muscle that just was so strained it couldn’t hold its position any longer. Either one of these can cause intense lower back pain and can really put a cramp in your day. How do I manage my lower back pain or make it go away?The best way I know is through chiropractic adjustments. Our spines are made to be like shock absorbers for the body; but everything has its limits and when our spines don’t function like they are designed to, a breakdown in the system prevails. Our spinal curves are built from birth. We learn to crawl to build certain curves and walk to build others; but as we grow it is very easy for our bodies to develop patterns that may not be beneficial to our lives. Its from these patterns that our bodies learn improper movement and can cause strain on the vertebra, leading to lower back pain.. When strain is applied misalignments happen and this can put pressure on the nerves that present the symptom of pain. As a Chiropractor in Danbury, CT, I am not looking at the symptom but looking for the cause of the lower back pain. My job is to identify which vertebra is impinging on which nerve and adjust the spine to alleviate the pressure on that nerve and allow the body to heal itself. If I can continually point the vertebra back to its original position I can attempt to reverse the effects of pressure and bring the body back to its symptom free self. While for the patient being symptom free is their goal, and initially mine too, I want to take things a step further and re-educate the spine to follow a new pattern of proper movement to prevent the symptoms from returning. While there are many factors fighting against my hopes I try to educate each and every patient on proper diet, exercise and nutrition in giving them the best hopes of optimal health. Together we can get your body back on track and living the live you always dreamed of...free from lower back pain. Call 203-830-3003 to schedule your appointment now. |
Our AuthorWritten our own Dr. Shawn Carlin - Evolution Chiropractic of Danbury. In Pain?
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