Problems we encounter
Conditions
Tackling the problem
In our years of practice, it has become very clear to us that combining traditional and alternative medicine together leads to better results! The benefits to you, as our patient, include a more comprehensive analysis, more treatment options, and an entire team over-seeing your progress!
Lower Back Pain
Eighty percent of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. There are many different conditions that can result in low back pain, including: sprained ligaments, strained muscles, ruptured disks, trigger points and inflamed joints. While sports injuries or accidents can lead to injury and pain, sometimes even the simplest movements, like picking up a pencil from the floor, can have painful results.
Our doctors are experts in diagnosing the cause and determining the proper treatment for low back pain. Because we combine chiropractic care, physical therapy and traditional medicine protocols, we have many different treatment options for you. Chiropractic care serves to re-establish normal vertebral motion and position in the spine while physical therapy provides the strengthening and stability to get you back to your life pain-free.
Whether you come to see us at the first hint of pain or after years of suffering, we can help you!
Sciatica
Pain that radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg is the hallmark of sciatica.
Sciatica is a sign that you have an underlying problem putting pressure on a nerve in your lower back. The most common cause of this nerve compression is a bulging or herniated lumbar disc. Piriformis syndrome is another common cause of sciatica. The piriformis is a muscle that lies directly over the sciatic nerve. If this muscle becomes tight or if you have a spasm in this muscle, it puts pressure directly on the sciatic nerve.
Sciatica is one of the most common problems our doctors treat. And we see great results! By combining chiropractic care, deep tissue muscle work, specific stretches, and an anti-inflammatory technique called ultrasound, sciatic pain is relieved.
Neck Pain
Most neck and upper back pain is caused by a combination of factors, including injury, forward head posture, misalignment of the neck joints, stress, and in some instances, disc problems.
The nerves that originate in the neck travel 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”.
Our doctors are experts in diagnosing the cause and determining the proper treatment for neck pain. Because we combine chiropractic care, physical therapy and traditional medicine protocols, we have many different treatment options for you. Chiropractic care serves to re-establish normal vertebral motion and position in the spine while physical therapy provides the strengthening and stability to get you back to your life pain-free.
We perform an extensive examination to determine the cause of your pain and design a personalized treatment plan that gets you back to the activities you love.
Pinched Nerve
When nerves become ‘pinched’, injury, spasm, and inflammation of the surrounding muscles causes the nerve to become compressed, resulting in pain.
In most cases, nerves become irritated and inflamed when the bones, joints or muscles of the spine are not in their proper position or are not moving properly.
Symptoms of a pinched nerve include sharp, shooting, traveling pain or neurological symptoms such as numbness, tingling, or burning.
If a nerve is pinched for too long, there is a risk of nerve damage. Therefore, it is imperative that symptoms are addressed in a timely manner. Our doctors combine chiropractic, physical therapy, and traditional pain management treatments to effectively decrease the pain and symptoms of a pinched nerve and prevent future progression of the condition.
Headache
Most headaches have a spinal, muscular, or postural component that can be treated effectively with chiropractic care.
We find many of the headaches we treat actually originate in the neck and upper back, which is why the most comprehensive treatment plan must include the head, neck, and upper back in order to be effective. Our doctors are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of all types of headaches.
In addition, our doctors address both nutritional and hormonal factors that may be contributing to the headaches.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a condition that can interfere with your day-to-day functioning and severely limit your sleep. Common symptoms include chronic fatigue, heightened sensitivity to pain, depression, anxiety, and irregular sleep patterns.
Our doctors provide a comprehensive treatment plan for Fibromyalgia that includes chiropractic, nutritional counseling, laser therapy, low-impact exercise, and muscle release techniques that addresses both the pain and inflammation. We also teach effective at-home strategies to improve your quality of life.
Scoliosis
Scoliosis is a chronic condition where the spine is unnaturally curved from side to side, either in the shape of an “S” or a “C”. Scoliosis causes the hips, pelvis and shoulders to become uneven and can also cause consistent back pain and spinal fatigue.
Our doctors use muscle release techniques, laser therapy, traction, and scoliosis-specific exercises to alleviate the pain of scoliosis and slow down the progression of the curve.
Shoulder Pain
The shoulder is the most complicated joint in our body. When someone has shoulder pain that is chronic it sets off a pattern of compensatory actions that affects the neck, elbow and mid-back. This is why when addressing shoulder issues, it is important to examine and treat all the other underlying problems.
Using soft tissue techniques along with physical therapy modalities and exercises that are specific to your condition, is imperative for longstanding results and stabilization.
Carpal Tunnel
The median nerve becomes entrapped in the carpal tunnel hence the name carpal tunnel syndrome. Sometimes we will have a patient who had carpel tunnel surgery, and still have symptoms of the median nerve entrapment. This usually indicates that the nerve is entrapped along the kinetic chain at the elbow, shoulder or neck. More often the case its entrapped in multiple areas, which why the whole kinetic chain needs to be addressed for full amelioration.
The use of soft tissue techniques, manipulation, laser therapy, physical therapy modalities and exercise are very effective for relieving carpal tunnel symptoms. Our doctors also suggest modifications to their patients’ daily habits at home or work to help prevent the problem from reoccurring.
Sports Injuries
We see many sports injuries. It’s important to rule out any breaks/fractures or severe sprains from the beginning. Using our X-ray unit on site, and referring out to for an MRI if needed is important in determining the significance of the injury. If the problem can be addressed conservatively, it will be imperative for us control the acute nature of the injury with the use of soft tissue techniques, modalities and cold-laser therapy which will help expedite the healing process.
Besides helping with the pain, it is important that exercises and rehab are performed to ensure that the injured area is stable so when the athlete returns, the likelihood of re-injuring the area is much less.
Auto Accident Injuries
One of the more common themes we see in practice is a person was involved in what they determine is a minor accident and they had some neck or low back pain. They took some pain medication and it went away only to return months later. It is important to be examined and have x-rays taken to determine if you have any spinal ligament injuries that may not be very painful at the moment, but can lead to years of chronic pain down the road.
We perform X-rays at our office and send them out for computer mensuration analysis(CMA), to help determine if that is the case or not. It is important from the beginning to determine if there is a problem, which can be addressed immediately and not wait for it to become chronic which makes it much more difficult to help.
We will work with your insurer and or attorney.
Work Injuries
The incidence of reported injuries has fallen from 4.7 to 2.7 per 100 employees from the year 2003 to 2017, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics. That’s over a 42% drop. That is due to the many OSHA regulations along with private corporations being proactive in the safety of their employees.
In most cases, you can choose your own doctor after an on-the-job injury in Illinois. However, if your employer is part of a Preferred Provider Program (PPP), you may choose a doctor within that group.
If your employer is part of a PPP network, but you do not want to visit doctors from the network, you only have the choice to see one doctor outside the network, which limits your options for a second opinion. If your employer has not joined a PPP, you can choose any two doctors of your own selection. Please keep this in mind in choosing a doctor that can navigate the Workman’s comp arena and has experience working with employers and if attorneys are involved.
Nutrition/Weight Loss
Dr. Hovig Vartanian is a Diplomate in Clinical Nutrition with over 20 years of experience in addressing chronic health conditions via nutrition.
When helping with weight loss invariably the most important aspect is to address the patient’s health. To address the whole person. We use questionnaires to help determine if symptom patterns are leading to certain conditions, and we can help determine via traditional and non-traditional lab tests how we will address the problem.
Dietary interventions, supplements, exercise, relaxation techniques. What is important is determining how are we going to use all these tools at our disposal for each individual. Our plan of action is specific to each individual based on our findings.
We can help with food sensitivities, gastrointestinal issues, autoimmune issues, fibromyalgia. Memory and attention span. Many of these problems are intertwined in a complex web that we help untangle.