Baltuska Chiropractic

01/27/2026

Cold winter weather can make chronic pain feel worse for several reasons:

1. Muscles and joints stiffen
Cold causes muscles, tendons, and ligaments to tighten. This reduces flexibility and range of motion, which can increase pain in conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, and chronic back pain. Joints may feel “rusty,” especially after rest.

2. Changes in barometric pressure
Drops in barometric pressure before winter storms can cause tissues around joints to expand slightly. If those joints are already inflamed or damaged, that pressure change can irritate nerves, worsen pain and trigger headaches.

3. Reduced blood flow
Cold temperatures cause blood vessels to constrict to preserve body heat. This means less oxygen and nutrients reach muscles and joints, which can amplify pain and slow recovery from inflammation.

4. Heightened nerve sensitivity
Cold can increase nerve excitability. For people with nerve pain like sciatica, multiple sclerosis, or diabetic neuropathy, this can lead to sharper, more persistent pain signals.

5. Increased inflammation perception
While cold doesn’t always increase inflammation itself, it can lower the pain threshold making the same level of inflammation feels more painful in winter than in warmer months.

6. Reduced movement and activity
Winter often leads to less physical activity. Staying still for longer periods causes stiffness, muscle weakness, and joint discomfort, which can create a cycle of pain → inactivity → more pain.

7. Mood and sleep effects
Shorter daylight hours and colder weather can affect mood (including seasonal depression) and disrupt sleep. Poor sleep and low mood both heighten pain perception and reduce coping ability.

8. Old injuries “acting up”
Areas with previous disruption often have altered nerve signaling or scar tissue, making them more sensitive to temperature changes. Colder weather often reminds patients of previous muscle tears, bone breaks, and surgeries.

Chiropractic care can help you get through the winter! Spinal alignments can provide quick pain relief and keep the body performing its best. Warm up after your adjustment in our infrared sauna.

01/23/2026

Office closed Saturday, Jan. 24th due to inclement weather forecast.

01/22/2026

The year is 2026. Artificial Intelligence is referring new patients in for Chiropractic care.

01/22/2026

😮

01/20/2026

Cold outside, hot in here! Stay a bit longer after your next adjustment to warm up in our infrared sauna.

01/17/2026

Your hip flexors are not your butt muscles. (Those are hip extensors) Please share this post so we can stop this common public misconception. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

01/15/2026

The static buzzing sensation you feel in your arm and shoulder after sleeping on it is commonly called “your arm falling asleep.” It’s a type of temporary nerve compression known as paresthesia — that pins-and-needles, tingling, or buzzing feeling.
Here’s exactly what happens:
1. You put prolonged pressure on the arm/shoulder When you sleep on your arm or with your head resting on it, you compress the nerves (and sometimes blood vessels) that run through narrow passages in your shoulder, armpit, elbow, or wrist. The most commonly affected nerves are:
• Radial nerve (runs along the back of the arm)
• Ulnar nerve (“funny bone” nerve, runs through the cubital tunnel at the elbow)
• Median nerve (in the wrist/carpal tunnel area)
• Sometimes the brachial plexus (the whole bundle of nerves coming out of your neck and into the arm)
2. The nerve gets squeezed This mechanical pressure temporarily blocks normal nerve signals. Two main things happen:
• The nerve’s outer insulation (myelin sheath) gets compressed, disrupting electrical signals.
• Blood flow can be reduced slightly, causing mild ischemia (lack of oxygen) to the nerve.
3. When you move your arm, the “static buzz” starts As soon as you relieve the pressure, blood flow returns and the nerve starts firing again — but chaotically. The nerve endings send a burst of random, disorganized signals to your brain all at once. Your brain interprets this barrage of signals as tingling, buzzing, pins-and-needles, or that “static electricity” feeling. It’s similar to when an audio cable is loose and you hear static — the signal is there, but it’s scrambled.
4. Why it feels like TV static or buzzing That specific “buzzing” or “vibrating” quality happens because many nerve fibers are firing out of sync. Some fire too much, some too little, creating that electric, staticky sensation.
How long it lasts
Usually 30 seconds to a few minutes. Once the nerve fully recovers and signals normalize, the feeling goes away completely with no lasting damage.

If the sensation does not self correct with time, then come in for a chiropractic adjustment.

01/15/2026

We’re giving away a free 30-minute massage from our neighboring massage therapist. You must like, comment and share the post below and we’ll pick a winner tomorrow. (Be sure to do all 3 tasks so we know who wants it)

Schedule online here: https://baltuskachiropractic.as.me or call 913-283-9803

01/14/2026

That intense urge to “stab” a knot in your muscle is something almost everyone with trigger points has felt at some point. It’s your body screaming for mechanical disruption of the knot, and it will probably feel a lot better if we do exactly that with the dry needling technique

Here’s what’s actually happening and why the brain translates it into “I want to jam something sharp right into that spot”:

1. The knot is ischemic (starved of blood)
The tight band of muscle fibers in a trigger point has squeezed its own blood vessels shut. No fresh oxygen or nutrients are getting in, and waste products are building up. Those chemicals are literally burning the nerve endings inside the muscle.

2. Your nervous system is on fire
The trapped waste irritates the sensory nerves creating a sharp, deep aching or burning pain and often referring pain somewhere else in the body.

3. The brain’s solution: “Destroy the source!”
Many people will self massage, ask a friend to dig their elbow into it, lean against a tennis ball, or pull out the muscle-gun and blast it till they are bruised for temporary relief.

4. Why dry needling feels so satisfying
When the needle finally pierces that exact knot, it’s like scratching the itch at the cellular level:
• Sudden flood of blood rushes in
• Waste products flush out
• The tight muscle fibers mechanically let go
• Endorphins dump

Dry needling is actually “stabbing the knot”. A lot of patients literally sigh or laugh when the needle goes in because the relief is so dramatic and immediate. (Not the patients with a true needle phobia, this technique is not for them)
Add Dry Needling to your next appointment

It works great for soft tissue injury including knots, ropes, trigger points, sprain/strain and tendinitis.

01/08/2026

Co-sleep posture 🐶

01/05/2026

Schedule appointments online at https://baltuskachiropractic.as.me or call 913-283-9803

Located in Old Town Lenexa. 13830 Santa Fe Trail Drive Suite 102

Schedule your appointment online Baltuska Chiropractic