One thing professional athletes do not have to worry about is healthcare. Teams want their players healthy so that they can get their money’s worth. Longevity on the playing field is paramount, because for every year a player remains competitive, millions of dollars may be earned.

Chiropractic’s integration into professional sports medical teams has resulted in the creation of the Professional Baseball Chiropractic Society (PBCS). The first annual PBCS workshop was held in March 2015. Many of the team chiropractors in Major League Baseball were in attendance as well as a few from Minor League Baseball. This first seminar even included a surprise visit from former MLB manager Joe Torre, who took some time to address those in attendance on how beneficial chiropractic was not only to him, but also to the players on the teams he managed.

Anticonvulsant drugs are increasingly being used to treat low back pain, but a new study in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) finds they are ineffective and can have adverse effects.

Clinically, the prescription of anticonvulsants for back and neck pain, including radicular
pain in primary care, has increased by 535% in the last 10 years.

Brandon Drury plays baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays, having been traded in July 2018 from the New York Yankees. Prior to his stint with the Yankees, he had been afflicted for years with migraines and blurred vision. He finally told the Yankees and their medical team identified the issue—a nerve between the back of Drury’s head and neck—and established a plan to manage it.

The human neck is composed of 7 bones. These bones are coupled together by delicate joints. Injury to the neck can result in one or more of the neck joints locking out of position. This causes pressure on the delicate nerves that are situated close by these joints. The result is pain!

Pain spreading to your shoulders and arms is one of the most common types of neck pain and is usually caused by pressure on the joints and nerves at the bottom of the neck. Here are some tips to avoid neck and shoulder pain while using a tablet computer:

The answer is likely yes—especially if you’re a young adult or a woman. “iPad neck” persistent pain in the neck and upper shoulders caused by slouching or bending into extreme positions while using tablet computers—is a growing problem among Americans, according to a new UNLV study.

The American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society have issued a Joint Clinical Practice guideline. The key recommendation: “For patients who do not improve with self-care options, clinicians should consider the addition of nonpharmacologic therapy with proven benefits for acute low back pain, such as spinal manipulation; for chronic or subacute low back pain, intensive interdisciplinary rehabilitation, exercise therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, spinal manipulation, yoga, cognitive behavioral therapy, or progressive relaxation.”

The goal of chiropractic care for degenerative disc disease (DDD) is to improve joint mechanics by improving spinal motion and reducing inflammation. The chiropractor may also work on improving the function of the intervertebral discs—but that’s only if you do not have advanced disc degeneration.

At your initial exam, you’ll go through your past medical history with the chiropractor, and he or she will determine areas of restricted joint motion, disc injury, muscle spasm, and ligament injury by performing a few simple tests.

Your chiropractor will also look at how you walk, as well as your overall posture. Those details will help him or her understand your body mechanics and how your spine moves.

Researchers have reported that one-third of people 40-59 years of age have image-based evidence of moderate to severe degenerative disc disease and more than half had moderate to severe spinal osteoarthritis. Beyond that, the prevalence of disc height narrowing and joint osteoarthritis increased 2- to 4-fold in those aged 60-69 and 70-89, respectively. Furthermore, scientists observed that progression of these conditions occurred 40 - 70% more frequently in women than in men.