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Disc Centers of America - Lakeland, Lakeland Highlands, FL (2025)

09/29/2023

When we have neck pain, most patients instinctively reach for that bottle of ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Is that the best option? Who can we trust for the answer? Since between 10-20% of the population suffer from chronic or persistent neck pain, this is a VERY IMPORTANT question!
If we look at the literature published in peer-reviewed journals by authors who have no financial incentives in the outcome of the study, we can find accurate, non-biased information to answer this question. So, let’s start with a landmark study published in SPINE, a leading medical journal that reviewed ALL the publications printed between 2000 and 2010 on neck pain—a total of 32,000 articles with over 25,000 hours of review. (Haldeman S, Carroll L, Cassidy JD, et. al. The Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders: Executive Summary. Spine 2008,33(4S):S5-S7). This resulted in a 220-page comprehensive report from a multidisciplinary International Task Force involving seven years of work from 50+ researchers from 19 different clinical scientific disciplines worldwide looking at the MOST EFFECTIVE approaches available (both surgical and non-surgical) for patients suffering from neck pain.
Highlights from the study include the following:
1) Manipulation/mobilization are safe, effective, and appropriate treatment approaches for most patients with disabling neck pain (both traumatic and non-traumatic).
2) Neck pain patients should be informed of ALL effective treatment options so they can choose effectively.
3) The very rare risk of vertebrobasilar artery (VBI) stroke is NO DIFFERENT when comparing patients consulting a doctor of chiropractic verses a primary care medical physician as the stroke event, in most cases, has occurred prior to the visit.
4) The treatment option(s) available should consider the potential side effects and personal preferences of the patient.
5) For most neck pain patients, treatments that were found to be safe and effective include manipulation, mobilization, exercise, education, acupuncture, analgesics, massage, and low-level laser therapy.
6) For non-neurological neck pain, ineffective treatments (poor choices) include surgery, collars, TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), most injection therapies (including corticosteroid injections and rhizotomy).
7) For neck pain WITH nerve compression, there is very little research published on non-surgical care. Here, in the absence of serious pathology or progressive neurological loss, start with the most conservative (like chiropractic!) followed by more invasive treatments like epidural steroid injections (ESIs) and surgery.
8) Whiplash patients should follow similar guidelines as described above.
9) Some benefit from the chosen treatment should be seen within the first two to four weeks of care.
10) Be realistic about treatment goals—neck pain is often recurrent (comes and goes) as most people (50-80%) will NOT experience complete resolution of symptoms and will have neck pain again one to five years later.
Another study published in The Annals of Internal Medicine (“Spinal Manipulation, Medication, or Home Exercise with Advice for Acute and Subacute Neck Pain: A Randomized Trial. 3 January 2012, Vol.156, No. 1, Part 1) reports similar information favoring spinal manipulation and exercise, as these were found to be SUPERIOR to medication use. Another study reported excellent results for 27 patients utilizing chiropractic care who had herniated cervical disks WITH spinal cord compression verified on MRI (70% improved after an average of 12 visits)! TRY CHIROPRACTIC FIRST!!!

09/28/2023

Neck Pain – When Should I Come In?
Neck pain is one of the most common complaints patients have when they come to a chiropractic office for the first time, second only to low back pain. Neck pain affects all of us at some point in life, and for some, it can become a chronic, permanent problem that can interfere with many desired activities and lower their quality of life. There are many different causes, and prompt evaluation and treatment is important in some cases.
Neck pain and stiffness are the two most common symptoms that present for evaluation and treatment. This can be located in the middle of the neck and/or on either side and can extend down to the shoulders and/or chest. It can contribute to or cause tension headaches that can travel up the back of the head and sometimes behind the eyes. Pain often increases with neck movement, such as when turning the head to check traffic while driving and/or it can hurt at rest while held in static positions, such as when reading a book. Neck pain can come on gradually or quickly and often cannot be traced to a specific injury or cause making it a challenge to figure out. While neck pain is often not serious or life-threatening, there are causes that should be evaluated promptly. If you wake up with acute neck pain associated with very limited range of motion, this may be due to torticollis, or wry neck, and prompt treatment helps it resolve more quickly than “waiting it out.” Torticollis can be caused by exposure to a draft, changes in weather, trauma, or after a cold or flu. When in doubt, come in for an evaluation and treatment, as anxiety associated with the “fear of the unknown” only adds to the stress associated with neck pain and it’s ALWAYS best to be “…safe than sorry!”
Numbness or tingling may accompany neck pain and can be located in the face, arms, hands, and/or fingers. This is one of those times to come in promptly, as these symptoms may indicate the pinching of a nerve root in the neck. There are MANY chiropractic treatment approaches that effectively treat nerve root pinching, and treatment should NOT be delayed. Other common symptoms may include clicking, crunching, or grinding noises, technically called crepitus, which may or may not be benign. If the noise is accompanied by pain, especially if it radiates down to the shoulder blades or arms (either side or both), it’s time to promptly come in. Any time symptoms occur acutely or come on fast, it’s best to get evaluated as soon as possible.
Dizziness is another common symptom that can result from neck problems and is often associated with movement such as rising from laying or sitting. Certain positions of the neck can also bring on dizziness. This is sometimes caused by the “stones” in the inner ear shifting out of position and is technically called BPPV or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. When this occurs, we can usually manage it very well with treatment and specific BPPV exercises. Other times, dizziness may be due to a restriction in blood flow reaching the brain. In which case, a prompt evaluation is VERY appropriate, especially if blackouts occur.
Sleep interruption or difficulty falling asleep are other good reasons to seek prompt evaluation and treatment. Sleep loss can lead to many problems such as excessive fatigue, tiredness, irritability, and just generally feeling poor! Remember, prompt care usually results in prompt resolution!
Schedule a free consultation today: www.LakelandBackandSpine.com

09/27/2023

Chiropractic Care and X-Rays for Low Back Pain
Low back pain (LBP) is the most common complaint for which patients seek chiropractic care. X-rays are a common diagnostic tool utilized by most healthcare providers. Let’s take a look at the role of x-rays and how they are used by both medical practitioners and chiropractors.
X-rays are a form of radiation (similar to light or radio waves) that focuses a beam on a subject such as a person or specific body part. The x-rays mostly pass through softer tissues while hard tissues like teeth and bones do not allow the beam to pass through, which leaves a “white” image on the film. More dense soft tissues, like muscles and organs, will appear as various shades of gray while less dense areas, like the lungs or bowel, will appear black on an x-ray.
Spinal x-rays are basically pictures of the spine that are taken to help the doctor determine a diagnosis as to the cause of the patient’s particular problem. Typically, a patient provides a medical history and the doctor performs a clinical examination to establish a primary diagnosis. When necessary, the doctor may order diagnostic tests like x-ray (or a CT, MRI, bone scan, PET scan, ultrasound, blood tests, tissue biopsy, and so on) in attempt to verify or validate the diagnosis. Spinal x-rays include the bony spine, the disk spaces (between each vertebra – but not the actual disk), and often the pelvis (with or without the hip joints), and extend up to the lower thoracic spine where the lower few ribs are located, depending on the patient’s height. Usually, frontal and side views are taken. Other views may include a “spot” (close up), obliques, or flexion/extension stress views. So, what is your doctor looking for?
The FIRST order of business is to make sure they’re not dealing with something potentially dangerous like fractures, infections, dislocations, tumors/cancer, and so forth. They look for other things like bone spurs (“osteoarthritis”), the disk heights (disks narrow as they degenerate, usually accompanied with bone spurs), joint spaces, bone density, and alignment – like scoliosis. Chiropractors typically take spinal x-rays in a weight-bearing position (standing) while most medical facilities take their x-rays with the patient lying down. The “pro” of a weight bearing x-ray is the ability to measure for things like scoliosis, leg length deficiency (a short leg), and joint space narrowing favoring the standing approach. The “con” of weight-bearing x-ray is something called “movement artifact” or a blurred image. Recumbent films tend to be clearer and more detailed but with less of an ability to accurately take measurements to evaluate things like leg length or the extent of spinal misalignment. Both MD’s and DC’s take scoliosis films standing, but otherwise, MD’s favor laying down x-rays while DC’s favor standing. Regarding the “safety vs. harm” factor of taking an x-ray or not, most guidelines favor waiting if there is no suspicion of pathology (cancer, fracture, infection, etc.) for both professions. However, when a significant biomechanical problem is suspected, especially if a treatment decision is driven by the test’s outcome, it may be appropriate to take x-rays. For example, the use of heel lifts to correct a short leg is also measured on the x-ray. There are also some chiropractic techniques that rely on assessing the bony alignment, which include taking measurements from an x-ray. Patient safety is first and each case must be individually assessed.

09/26/2023

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09/25/2023

Learn more and schedule a free consultation by visiting: www.LakelandBackandSpine.com

09/22/2023

Low Back Pain – What To Do & NOT Do!
Low back pain (LBP) can strike at any time or place, often when we least expect it. There are “self-help” approaches that can be of great benefit, but many of these approaches can fail, or worse, irritate the condition. Here are some “do’s and don’ts” when self-managing low back pain!
Ice vs. Heat? Typically, people are almost always confused about which is better, ice or heat? This decision can be significantly helpful or hurtful, depending on the case. Generally, “ice is nice,” as it vasoconstricts and pushes out inflammation or swelling, which usually feels relieving and helpful even though the initial “shock” of ice may not be too appealing to most of us! This is probably why MOST people will wrongly choose heat as their initial course of self-care.
This is usually wrong because heat vasodilates, which draws blood into the injured area that is already inflamed and swollen, thus adding more fluid to the injured area—sort of like throwing gas on a fire! Heat may feel good initially, but often soon after, increased pain intensity and frequency may occur. When LBP is chronic or NOT new/acute, heat can be very helpful, as it relaxes muscles and improves movement by reducing stiffness (but never use heat more than 20 minutes per hour).
The biggest mistake about the use of heat is leaving it on too long—some people even burn themselves with a heating pad they’ve left on for hours of continuous use—sometimes overnight (PLEASE DON’T DO THAT!). When using ice, there are MANY ways one can apply it. If you only have 5-10 minutes, that is better than nothing! However, an ideal approach is to apply the ice pack or bag as follows: On 15 min. / off 15 min. / on 15 min. / off 15 min. / on 15 minutes (total time: 1:15 hr). The “off 15 minutes” helps the area to warm up by allowing the blood to come back into the low back area, which avoids frost bite and sets up a pump-like action.
Even better is an approach called “CONTRAST THERAPY” where we start and end with ice and use heat in between as follows: ICE 10 minutes / HEAT 5 min. / ICE 10 min. / HEAT 5 min. / ICE 10 min. (total time: 40 minutes). This approach creates a stronger pump-like or “push-pull” action that pushes out fluids/inflammation (with ice) followed by pulling in fluids (with heat). Both approaches are effective! If you ever feel worse after icing, PLEASE STOP AND CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR OF CHIROPRACTIC, as you may have a unique case or situation.
How active should I be? Here too, most people usually try to do too much even after they feel “warning signs”. It’s human nature to want to “…get things done,” so sometimes we push ourselves beyond the limits of our tissue’s capacity, resulting in an injury. Once we’ve hurt our back, we STILL try to stay with our daily routine, ignoring our LBP the best we can. Generally, it’s BETTER to be a little active than it is to be too sedentary, but there is also a limit, as too much activity is like “…picking at a cut,” only prolonging healing and recovery.
Learn More by visiting: www.LakelandBackandSpine.com

09/21/2023

What’s Causing My Low Back Pain?
Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common reasons patients seek out Chiropractic care, and they appreciate being told what is causing their back pain. This is why doctors gather a careful and complete history from new patients and perform a physical examination. Once the “pain generator” is determined, a doctor can discuss various treatment options and develop a plan for managing the patient. Let’s review some causes of LBP!
If we divide the various conditions into three categories, it significantly improves diagnostic accuracy. These include: 1) Mechanical LBP; 2) Nerve root pain; and 3) “Red Flags” (serious conditions). The most common conditions are those belonging to the first group. The following is a partial list of conditions that belong to each category:
1) Mechanical LBP: Causes of mechanical LBP include Lumbar and sacroiliac (SI) sprains, lumbar muscle strains, facet syndrome, degenerative disk disease (DDD) and/or injury to the disk without nerve pinch, osteoarthritis (this can affect different parts of the spine), spinal instability, spondylolysis and/or spondylolisthesis, and more. The pain pattern is usually localized to the low back and may spread into the buttocks, hips, thighs, but rarely extends past the knee. Usually, there is NO numbness or weakness in the leg or foot because that symptom suggests a spinal nerve pinch.
2) Nerve root pain can result from herniated disk (from either direct nerve pinching and/or chemical irritation inflaming the nerve), central or lateral spinal stenosis (usually caused by a combination of things including DDD), arthritis, and/or calcification of ligaments near the nerve. These can be managed very successfully without surgery but the careful monitoring of numbness, muscle weakness, and treatment satisfaction is important!
3) Red Flags: These are the potentially dangerous conditions such as cancer, fracture, infections, cauda equina syndrome (spinal cord pinch creating bowel and/or bladder weakness). Referred pain from organs may be included here as well. As you can see, these carry potentially lethal consequences and require immediate referral and specialty management.
The majority of patients suffering from LBP fall into the first two categories, and the HISTORY can tell us a lot! If the patient complains of pain that stays mostly in the low back but may spread into the buttocks or thigh without numbness/weakness in the leg and feels better with leaning forwards or curling up in a ball, it probably is a Group 1 (mechanical) diagnosis. If there is numbness, tingling, and/or weakness in the leg to the foot and bending over hurts, it’s most likely disk derangement (bulge, herniated, etc.) with a nerve pinch. If there is unexplained weight loss, a past history of cancer, non-responding LBP to treatment, sleep interruptions, and age >50 years old, we may now be in category three and further tests are needed!
The IMPORTANT point is that spinal manipulation (chiropractic) can manage the most common causes of LBP as a non-surgical, low-risk form of care.
Schedule a free consultation by visiting: www.LakelandBackandSpine.com

09/20/2023

Neck Pain, Headaches, and Low Back Stability
Researchers have found that doctors of chiropractic can significantly improve neck pain, balance, and headaches in chronic neck pain patients by strengthening the deep neck flexors, or the muscles that attach directly to the front of the cervical spine. We also know that treatments that promote movement such as spinal manipulation, when rendered early-on, can results in better outcomes for the whiplash patient. Therefore, the “key” to the greatest success is chiropractic adjustments + cervical range of motion exercises + cervical stabilization exercises + lumbar/pelvis stabilization exercises! Traditionally, “rest and heat” are commonly prescribed for neck pain patients, or worse, they are placed in a cervical collar and taken off work and told to rest. The evidence published, especially since 2008, STRONGLY disagrees with this approach favoring a treatment plan that incorporates motion, “usual” activity (including work), manipulation, and exercise as soon as possible. Chiropractic embraces not only spinal manipulation but also patient specific range-of-motion and strengthening/stabilization forms of exercises as “main ingredients” to care when patients present for neck pain and headaches. Schedule a free consultation today by visiting: www.LakelandBackandSpine.com

09/19/2023

Neck Pain Causes and What To Do
We all know what it feels like to have limited neck motion, as most of us have had neck pain at some point in time. It makes doing simple things like backing up a car, rolling over in bed, reading, and watching TV difficult-to-impossible. The goal of this article is to review some of the many causes of neck pain and what to do about it! Let’s take a look at the various types of tissues that can generate pain:
MUSCLES: There are MANY layers of muscles in the neck. There are the very small, deep “intrinsic” muscles that are important for stability of the spine and fine, intricate movements while the larger outside “extrinsic” muscles are long and strong, allowing us to sustain stresses like playing football, rugby, hockey, or falling on the ice. Long car drives/rides, computer work, studying/reading, or having a conversation with someone not sitting directly in front of you are just a few examples of how these muscles can experience overuse that can generate neck pain!
LIGAMENTS: These are tough, non-stretching tissues that hold bone to bone and can tear in trauma like whiplash, while playing sports, or in a fall. Because ligaments are important in keeping our joints stable, disrupted ligaments can lead to excessive “play” in a joint and can wear down the cartilage or the smooth, silky covering at the ends of bones, which can lead to premature osteoarthritis (OA) – the “wear and tear” kind that everyone gets eventually.
WORN JOINTS: There is something called “the natural history of degeneration” that naturally occurs if we live long enough. As previously discussed, ligament tearing leads to instability of the involved joint(s), and excessive motion in the joint leads to OA. In the neck, there are two sets of small joints between six of the seven vertebrae called facet joints and uncinate processes that are vulnerable for OA and are frequent pain generators.
DISK INJURY: The disks rest between the big vertebral bodies and act as shock absorbers. They are like jelly donuts, and when the disk’s tough outer layers tear, the jelly can leak out and this may or may not hurt, depending on the direction, the amount of the leaked out “jelly,” and if the “jelly” pinches pain-sensitive tissues. A “herniated disk” is the most common cause for a pinched nerve (see next entry).
NERVE COMPRESSION: The nerves in the neck travel into the arms, and nerve compression or pinching can result in numbness/tingling/burning pain in the arm and/or hand with or without weakness. Each nerve has a different role, and by mapping the numbness area and testing reflexes and muscle strength, it can help your doctor identify the specific nerve that is injured.
DISEASES: Though significantly less common, neck pain can arise from certain diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, meningitis, and/or cancer. When these are suspect, blood tests and special tests such as bone scan, CT/MRI, and/or biopsy can help to specifically identify the condition.
WHAT TO DO: Make an appointment and your doctor of chiropractic will perform a history, physical examination, and possibly take x-rays to help determine what is generating your pain. Once the diagnosis is understood, he or she will put together a treatment plan for you. This usually includes procedures done in the office as well as those that they will teach you how to do at home and/or work to help you manage your neck pain back and return to normal activities as quickly as possible!
Schedule an appointment today by visiting: www.LakelandBackandSpine.com

09/18/2023

Does Sitting Cause Back Pain?
Sitting is hard on the back! The pressure inside of our disks, those “shock absorbers” that lie between each vertebra in our spine (22 disks in total) is higher when we sit compared with simply standing or lying down. It’s estimated that when we lay down, the pressure on our disks is the lowest at 25mm. When lying on one side, it increases to 75mm, standing increases disk pressure to 100mm, and bending over from standing pushes disk pressure to 220mm. When we sit with good posture, our disk pressure may reach 140mm but that can increase to 190mm with poor posture. To help relieve the pressure on our disks, experts recommend: 1) Getting up periodically and standing; 2) Sitting back in your chair and avoiding slouched positions; 3) Placing a lumbar roll (about the size of our forearm) behind the low back and chair/car seat; and 4) Changing your position frequently when sitting.
Because certain low back conditions “favor” one position over another, these “rules” may need modification. For example, most herniated disk patients prefer low back extension while bending over or slouching hurts. In those with lumbar sprain/strains, bending forwards usually feels good and extension hurts. Modifying our position to the one that is most comfortable is perhaps the best advice.
We realize our patients have a choice in whom they consider for health care provision and we sincerely appreciate the trust involved in choosing our service for those needs. If a friend, or family member requires care for back pain, we would be honored to render our services.

Schedule a free consultation today by visiting: www.LakelandBackandSpine.com

09/15/2023

Pickleball and Paddleball-Related Injuries
Pickleball and Paddleball are recreational sports growing in popularity in the United States. In fact, they have become two of the fastest growing sports in America, and in the past three years, the player number has soared from 3.5 to 8.9 million! It’s easy to learn, promotes competitiveness and socialization, and is an excellent form of low-impact exercise. Unfortunately, pickleball nor paddleball is not without risk, and a game can result in an injury.
In 2021, researchers looked at data from emergency department visits between 2010 and 2019 and identified nearly 29,000 pickleball-related injuries among older adults. The most common diagnoses involved sprain/strains (32.2%), fractures (28.1%), and contusions (10.6%) with older men 3.5 times more likely than older women to suffer a sprain or strain injury and older women 3.7 times more likely than older men to sustain a fracture—including a nine-times greater risk for wrist fracture! These acute traumatic injuries can arise from falls, sudden turning or pivoting movements getting hit by a racket or paddle, getting hit by a ball, sudden bending over or hyperextending the spine, rolling an ankle, and running into the net, a fence, a wall, a chair or bench, a tree, or a fellow player.
Because the physical motions are similar to tennis, frequent pickleball players may also be at increased risk for lateral epicondylitis, also known as tennis elbow, a painful condition that occurs when tendons that attach to the elbow become overloaded. Pickleball players may also be at risk for other musculoskeletal conditions associated with repetitive movements, including carpal tunnel syndrome.
As such, doctors of chiropractic may begin to notice an influx of patients with both acute traumatic musculoskeletal injuries and repetitive stress injuries over time. Treatment will typically involve a multimodal approach that utilizes manual therapies, specific exercises, modalities, nutrition recommendations, and activity modifications to restore normal motion to the affected joints, reduce inflammation, and give the injured site the opportunity to heal.
Of note, the 2021 study found that 1 in 10 emergency room visits that involved pickleball were due to cardiovascular events. This in mind, if you are getting older and haven’t been physically active, talk to your doctor before starting an exercise routine—including pickleball. Additionally, dress appropriately for play, stretch before taking the court, drink plenty of water, and take breaks as needed. Don’t push yourself beyond your limits, pace yourself, and focus on having fun and being social with the other players.

09/14/2023

How Older Individuals Can Manage Hip Pain
Hip pain is a condition that becomes more common with age. It’s reported that 1 in 7 seniors experience significant hip pain on most days, particularly with simple movements such as sitting and standing. In addition to being painful, these individuals are also likely to report a diminished ability to carry out their regular activities. As such, it’s not unusual for a hip pain sufferer to schedule a visit with a doctor of chiropractic to see if a conservative course of care can benefit them without the need for medications, injections, or surgical intervention. Visit www.LakelandBackandSpine.com

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