Case studies

These are anonymized examples of how our chiropractors have cared for people with common muscle, joint, nerve and spine problems. Each shows the symptoms, what the exam found, the care given and how the person responded.

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Back pain

Low back injury from a football tackle

Who
A young football player hurt during a game.
Symptoms
Low back pain and limited movement after being tackled.
What the exam found
Joint and muscle strain from the impact.
Care
  • Chiropractic adjustments
  • A home stretching routine
  • Strengthening exercises added in the first weeks
How they responded
He followed his home program closely, his movement returned and he went back to playing football.

Low back pain that only eased once home seating changed

Who
An older patient who enjoys heavy yard work.
Symptoms
Low back pain spreading into the buttock after lifting heavy bags of mulch.
What the exam found
X-rays and an exam pointed to a lifting strain. When progress was slow, questions about home life showed that an old, unsupportive recliner used every evening was straining the low back each night.
Care
  • Chiropractic adjustments
  • A home exercise program
  • Replacing the recliner with a supportive chair
  • Guidance on choosing supportive furniture
How they responded
Once the seating changed, the back pain settled. The patient learned that home support mattered as much as treatment.

Neck pain

Neck pain, headaches and hand tingling after a rear-end collision

Who
A patient who had been rear-ended in a car.
Symptoms
Neck pain, headaches, and numbness and tingling in the fingers and hand.
What the exam found
A whiplash injury to the neck. Because of the nerve symptoms, an MRI was ordered to check for a disc herniation.
Care
  • Chiropractic adjustments
  • Whiplash care while waiting for imaging results
How they responded
The neck pain and headaches eased over the first month. Some finger tingling remained and was still improving, and care continued.

Neck and wrist symptoms from computer work

Who
An office worker using a mouse and keyboard all day.
Symptoms
Neck pain, headaches, and numbness and tingling down the arm into the hand, with wrist pain.
What the exam found
Nerve irritation in two places, the neck and the wrist, sometimes called double crush. Both needed attention.
Care
  • Neck and wrist adjustments
  • A workstation setup review and changes
  • Stretches through the workday and regular breaks
  • Ice to calm irritation
  • Education on posture and positioning
How they responded
Pain and tingling eased step by step. With continued care and workday changes she returned to her normal work and leisure activities and comes in for periodic checkups.

Sciatica and leg pain

Calf tingling linked to a tight piriformis muscle

Who
An active retiree.
Symptoms
Leg pain with numbness and tingling in the calf.
What the exam found
Orthopedic tests, including the Kemp, straight leg raise and knee-to-chest tests, pointed to the sciatic nerve being pinched by the piriformis muscle in the buttock more than by the spine.
Care
  • Trigger point and soft tissue work in the buttock
  • Sacroiliac joint adjustments
  • Hip and buttock stretches
How they responded
The soft tissue work helped noticeably. The tingling no longer reached the foot, only the back of the thigh, and care was ongoing.

Leg tingling that worsened with sitting

Who
A woman in her late 30s.
Symptoms
Tingling down the left leg, sometimes to the foot, worse with long sitting.
What the exam found
Symptoms that changed with position, suggesting disc pressure or a posture component.
Care
  • Chiropractic adjustments using the Diversified technique
How they responded
Over the course of her care plan her symptoms cleared.

Sciatica from a disc herniation in a frequent driver

Who
A woman in her 40s with a desk job and long drives each week.
Symptoms
Months of nagging sciatica and low back pain, set off by more than half an hour in the car.
What the exam found
Imaging showed a disc herniation pressing on a nerve root. Sitting and driving added pressure on the disc.
Care
  • Flexion-distraction to ease pressure on the disc
  • Stretching and strengthening done consistently at home
  • A sit-stand desk and regular movement breaks
  • A lumbar cushion in the car
  • A footrest when standing and a supportive chair at home
  • Education about how discs heal
How they responded
Progress was slow but steady. She had fewer symptoms, and flare-ups from sitting or driving became easier to manage. Disc herniations can take many months to settle.

Headaches

Daily headaches in a college student

Who
A student spending long hours reading and at the computer.
Symptoms
Headaches every day that were affecting study.
What the exam found
Long periods looking down at books and screens, with neck and upper shoulder tension referring pain to the head.
Care
  • Neck adjustments, with visits tapered as symptoms improved
  • A home stretching routine
  • Posture education
How they responded
The headaches became much less frequent, and studying became easier.

Tension headaches that built through the workday

Who
A man in his 30s working long hours at a computer.
Symptoms
Regular tension headaches that got worse as the day went on, with posture slipping through the day.
What the exam found
Intense focus without breaks: the head drifting forward, shoulders rising and neck muscles tightening.
Care
  • Chiropractic adjustments in phases, with visits spaced out over time
  • Stretches and strengthening at home
  • Workstation changes
  • A phone timer for a screen break at least every hour
How they responded
His headaches became much less frequent. He now feels the ones he gets are more about stress than posture, and he continues periodic adjustments and his home routine.

Headaches and neck pain from a three-monitor desk

Who
An office worker using three computer monitors.
Symptoms
Ongoing headaches and neck pain tied to work.
What the exam found
Turning the head again and again toward each screen, combined with lifelong stomach sleeping with the head turned and watching TV with the head propped up.
Care
  • Chiropractic adjustments
  • Swiveling the chair to face each monitor instead of turning the head
  • Retraining from stomach sleeping to side or back sleeping
  • Better head support when watching TV
How they responded
She changed each habit, and her tension headaches and neck pain resolved.

Herniated disc

A severe disc herniation affecting walking

Who
A patient who needed a walker because of a disc herniation.
Symptoms
Severe pain and difficulty walking independently.
What the exam found
A disc herniation putting significant pressure on nerve tissue.
Care
  • Conservative chiropractic care with flexion-distraction over an extended period
How they responded
Over several months the pain became manageable and the patient returned to most daily activities without the walker.

Scoliosis

Muscle tension alongside a long-standing curve

Who
An 18-year-old with scoliosis since childhood that never needed a brace.
Symptoms
Tightness and pain on one side of an upper back curve.
What the exam found
A structural curve with uneven muscle tension around it.
Care
  • Soft tissue and myofascial work on the tight side
  • Chiropractic adjustments
  • A focus on comfort, not on changing the curve
How they responded
Treatment eased the tension and pain for a time. Symptoms tended to return because the curve itself does not change, so care is about managing comfort.

Athletes

Upper back ache after basketball games

Who
A young basketball player.
Symptoms
Upper back ache after games that limited play.
What the exam found
Restricted backward bending in the upper back.
Care
  • Diversified chiropractic adjustment to the restricted area
How they responded
After the adjustment he could bend backward more easily and the ache at the end of games eased.

Shoulder pain in a young pitcher

Who
A 12-year-old baseball pitcher.
Symptoms
Shoulder pain from repeated throwing that was limiting his pitching.
What the exam found
Overuse irritation of the shoulder joint.
Care
  • Gentle adjustments
  • Laser therapy over the shoulder
How they responded
The shoulder pain improved and he kept pitching more comfortably.

Neck injury from a gymnastics fall

Who
A competitive gymnast.
Symptoms
Neck pain after landing on her head, with arm numbness and tingling and headaches.
What the exam found
X-rays were taken to check the injury. The fall compressed the neck and irritated a nerve.
Care
  • Chiropractic adjustments through the healing phase
  • Home stretches
  • Pillow and sleep position changes
How they responded
Nerve symptoms take longer to settle than simple strains. She stayed with her plan and returned to full training and competition.

Pregnancy

Low back and pelvic pain late in pregnancy

Who
A working woman in her third trimester.
Symptoms
Low back and pelvic aching, worse with long standing or sitting.
What the exam found
Pregnancy hormones loosen the ligaments around the pelvis, and weight gain shifts posture, so the pelvis moves more and becomes painful.
Care
  • Weekly adjustments positioned for pregnancy, never face down
  • A stability ball in place of her office chair at work
How they responded
She stayed comfortable through the rest of her pregnancy, with relief lasting most of each week. The goal at that stage was comfort until delivery.

Children

Upper back ache after youth sports

Who
A school-age child playing team sports.
Symptoms
Upper back ache after games.
What the exam found
Restricted movement in the upper back found by gentle, age-appropriate palpation.
Care
  • Very gentle, light-force adjustments suited to a child
How they responded
The ache eased and the child was more comfortable playing.

Vertigo

Positional vertigo from the inner ear

Who
A patient with dizziness on changing position.
Symptoms
Spinning and dizziness with certain head positions.
What the exam found
Signs of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), where tiny crystals in the inner ear move out of place.
Care
  • The Epley maneuver, repeated when needed
How they responded
The vertigo improved. Some people need the maneuver more than once. Dizziness from other causes needs medical evaluation.

Dizziness when turning the head

Who
A patient whose dizziness was linked to the neck.
Symptoms
Dizziness mostly when turning the head.
What the exam found
Restricted movement at the top of the neck, along with head-forward posture and stomach sleeping with the head turned.
Care
  • Neck adjustments
  • Release of neck muscle tension
  • Workstation and posture changes
  • Changing to side or back sleeping
How they responded
The dizziness improved as the neck and posture factors were addressed.

Individual results vary.