Conditions we treat

Whatever brings you in, care starts the same way: a conversation about your symptoms, your history and your daily routine, then an exam of your posture, movement, joints, muscles and nerves. X-rays are taken only when they are clinically needed.

Your chiropractor explains what they found and suggests a plan. Most plans combine gentle adjustments with soft tissue work, massage, stretching and exercises you can do at home. Some offices also offer therapies such as shockwave, laser, red light or spinal decompression, and your chiropractor will suggest them only when they suit your condition.

Your plan changes as you improve, and your chiropractor will tell you if your exam suggests you need to see your doctor or a specialist instead.

Care focuses on restoring healthy movement through gentle adjustments, massage and exercises that strengthen the deep muscles at the front of the neck. We also look at your workstation and how you sleep, because those habits often keep neck pain going. Progress is checked as you go so your plan can change with how you respond.

A herniated disc often causes severe pain, sometimes enough that walking into the office is hard without a cane, a walker or help from another person. Pain can spread down the leg to the foot, sometimes with weakness in those muscles, and bearing down, such as during a sneeze, tends to make it worse.

An MRI gives a clear picture of a herniation. Based on your findings, care may include decompression techniques, gentle adjustments and stretching of the muscles around the area. Herniations take time to heal, and we explain that clearly at the start.

If you have been hurt in a car accident or are dealing with whiplash symptoms, our offices can help with your evaluation and recovery. Symptoms can take hours or days to appear, so it is worth being checked after any crash, and anyone with a head injury, loss of consciousness or severe neck pain should go to an emergency room first.

During a knee evaluation we look at the whole leg. Tight muscles behind the joint, imbalances in the muscles around it and arch problems in the feet are common contributors. Care may include gentle adjustments to the feet, ankles and knees, custom orthotics or arch exercises, and specific exercises such as side steps, walking backward and strengthening the shins, quadriceps and hamstrings to stabilize the joint.

Carpal tunnel syndrome can develop from repeated hand and wrist movements, especially computer work. Sometimes the symptoms also come from nerve irritation in the neck, creating pressure in more than one place.

Your evaluation looks at your symptoms, posture, neck, wrist and daily work habits. Care may include gentle adjustments of the neck and wrist, stretching, strengthening exercises and workstation changes, with follow-up visits to track your progress.

Vertigo in many people comes from small crystals lodged in the inner ear canals, and many improve with the Epley maneuver, a repositioning technique that sometimes needs repeating. Vertigo can also come from tension or joint problems in the upper neck, near the top vertebra at the base of the skull, bringing on dizziness when you turn your head.

Your evaluation includes posture and habits such as sleeping face down with your head turned, since these can add ongoing tension in the neck. Dizziness from other causes needs a medical evaluation.

Tennis elbow usually comes from repeated wrist extension at work, at home or in sport. Care may include gentle adjustments of the elbow and wrist, soft tissue work, forearm exercises, a counterforce brace and activity changes. Shockwave therapy is offered at Lake Forest and San Diego and laser therapy at Lake Forest.