A Recap of events at our office…

Our day began early today….actually we begin seeing patients at 5:30a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings.  It was lively on this rainy morning!  First we had a patient who works with the Cirque Du Soleil come in from San Jose for chronic pain in his right rib cage from setting up the materials for the show and directing the actors.  Because of his results, he insists on make the drive to Livermore from San Jose 3 times per week.

As the morning progresses we are taking care of patients who have complaints of lower back pain, shoulder pain after rotator cuff surgery, a patient who is suffering from a whiplash after a car accident and a patient who complains of numbness and weakness in her hands.  Each adjustment goes well and provides the patient with improvement in their functioning and pain relief. 

We all get together for our weekly pow-wow to discuss patient needs, office management and other subjects that include improving our efficiency and services to our patients.  During our meeting, we get a walk-in patient who is complaining of a stiff neck upon waking up.  After taking care of her, we see a patient who comes in from the Lifestyle Fitness who worked out with their trainer and was feeling some stiffness in her back afterwards. We get her adjusted and provide some therapy on her muscles so she can face the world.

The phone rings and a new patient comes into the office who found us on the web. She limps in after being in pain for the last few days in her lower back with pain radiating into her buttocks. She tells us that she is having difficulty moving, lifting her baby and sleeping. We examine her thoroughly and take X-rays of her lower back. 

One of my favorite parts of the day is our patients who come in feeling great. They come in on a maintenance basis to “tune-up” their joints and prevent and future injuries. It’s fun to take care of people who are making a conscious effort to take care of themselves before problems arise!

Next…getting ready for my presentation on Back Injury Prevention at Eden Villa in Pleasanton.  This one hour presentation is provided to businesses and groups around the area complimentary so that I can spread the word and preventing injuries and help to improve the health care system.

Livermore Chiropractor Encourages Clients to Support Their Health with Personal Training

There are several different types of conditions and cases that I see in my practice ranging from herniated discs to scoliosis but one common thread is that muscles and ligaments are involved in the repair of the spine.  It is for this reason that I work closely with Don Parker, owner of the personal training gym, Lifestyle Fitness which is attached to my office.  What I have found with those patients who have incorporated personal training with their chiropractic care is that they have gotten results faster, gained more strength and flexibility and have attained more stability in their spine and body from further injuries. 

A very successful hairdresser came to my office early last year with chronic pain in her shoulder and neck from the repetitive nature of her career. The constant hair drying, cutting with her right arm had caused years of scar tissue to build up that resulted in her not being able to sleep at night, headaches and decreased vitality.  After examining her and studying her X-rays, I found pinched nerves due to misaligned vertebrae in her neck and upper back.  Her treatment consisted of specific spinal adjustments, muscle therapy, stretches and postural changes.  She found relief in her pain and began to sleep at night but after working a full day at her business, she would often regress backwards and feel the symptoms appear again.  We decided to set her up for some personal training so that we could strengthen her postural muscles and get her body in better physical shape.  Only two months later did we find that she had felt and functioned better than she had in years.  The chiropractic adjustments were holding much longer and stabilizing as her body was getting stronger and more fit.

Similarly, many personal training clients at Lifestyle Fitness have found themselves into my care so that they could achieve the weight-loss results they are seeking.  Many times, people who are ready to make a lifestyle change and commit to personal training to lose weight have found that due to old aches and pains, they are unable to perform all the exercises that their personal trainer advises which hinders their results.  By addressing their chronic injuries of their back or knees, or shoulder for instance with chiropractic treatment, they have been more successful faster at getting healthier.

These examples are only a couple of the thousands of cases of success we have seen in clients/patients by with incorporating personal training and chiropractic care in Livermore.

For more information on personal training and chiropractic care email me at drhaque [at] haquechiropractic [dot] com.

Pain Free Living in Livermore, CA

As a chiropractor, I am committed to helping as many people as I can in Livermore to live a pain free life. I like to approach my client’s total health with a zero tolerance for pain.

Three areas I work with when addressing pain relief:

1. Structural – this area is the bone connections including the vertebrae of the spine as well as the bones that join together in the arms and legs.  As a chiropractor, we assess the alignment of these bones to make sure that they are able to glide properly which allows for full functioning and motion of the joint.  This way it can eliminate pain, stiffness and further injuries.  Addressing the structural alignment is done in several gentle ways that depends on each condition and patient.  There are several pain relief techniques that I use in my office to make sure that proper alignment of the joint is established.
2. Muscular – the muscles and ligaments are what surround the alignment of bones and act as a glue to keep the joints together and allow for motion.  When a muscle is not addressed in an injury, more than likely the condition will become a chronic problem.  In order to address the muscles, we examine each patient’s joints and muscles and check for which muscles contain things such as knots, inflammation and scar tissue which can be a culprit for misaligned bones.  After finding these issues, the muscles are rehabilitated in various ways including ultrasound, electrical stimulation, stretching, deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy and strengthening.
3. Chronic – this issue is one of the most important in addressing with my patients as many patients come in with conditions that are chronic pain vs. acute pain. An acute pain condition is an injury that took place in the last 48 hours. For example, a person who was recently in a car accident or just had a fall would come in with a large amount of inflammation and pain.  This type of condition is actually easier and quicker to heal as it can be addressed right away and with proper rest and treatment it will resolve.  The more difficult and dangerous condition are the chronic pain cases-the aches and pains that people have come accustomed to or have tolerated for months and years. These injuries are usually more deep-seeded since it involves several layers of scar tissue in muscles and ligaments and usually involves more time to repair and heal the joint.  The chronic case is dangerous since it can be tolerated for a length of time and gradually interferes in the life of the patient including exercise and quality of life.   It is for this reason that I always urge patients in Livermore to come in for a chiropractic evaluation as soon as an injury occurs or as soon as their body gives them pain signals instead of waiting for it to disappear magically.

If you are suffering with aches and pain or headaches, contact Haque Chiropractic in Livermore for more information so you can live a pain-free life too.