Jul 26, 2023 | pediatric chiropractor, Uncategorized
Chiropractors can do so more than help with back pain. If your child suffers from colic, asthma, sports injuries, or other problems, a child chiropractor may be able to help.
The point of chiropractic care is prevention and restoration for all ages. And, yes, even children can have physical pains big and small. However, if you’re nervous about the idea of a chiropractor “cracking” your child’s spine, you’re not alone. It’s natural to feel a little worried about exposing your children to something new.
Though chiropractic care is safe. The Association of Chiropractic Colleges states,
“Chiropractic is concerned with the preservation and restoration of health and focuses particular attention on the subluxation. A subluxation is a complex of functional and or pathological articular changes that compromise neural integrity and may influence organ system function and general health.”
In plain English, subluxation references musculoskeletal problems. For example, when you have a pinched nerve or pain in your neck from hours of sitting slumped over the computer, your spine is out of alignment and it can be painful. This happens with kids too.
Chiropractic and Newborns
You’ve probably heard of fussy newborns. Maybe you have one yourself. It turns out there’s a host of reasons why children may be irritable. They might have pains like headaches, muscle spasms, or be colicky. Colic is described as when a newborn cries daily at predictable times. There could be many reasons why your child does this. Doctors connect it to everything from a stressed digestive system to general anxiety.
And since they’re pre-verbal, their primary means of communication is to cry, as you know.
In some cases, newborns have shoulder or neck pain from the birth experience itself. A child chiropractor can assess your child and use a small amount of pressure on acupressure points. This pressure is appropriate for a newborn and will help them release.
Many children feel better within a visit or two. Additional visits will help their tiny bodies grow in alignment with their bones and ligaments in the right position.
But what if you have older children? How can chiropractic care help them?
Child Chiropractic Care Can Help with Sports Injuries
Some kids start sports almost as soon as they can run. T-ball and kiddie soccer come to mind. Some of those kids stay in sports for the next 15 years or so. Some of them have coaches who are mindful of stretching and ways to protect their growing bodies. Others are not as aware of the benefits of child chiropractic care as a way to protect against injuries. Or help heal when injuries do occur.
Strains and sprains are some of the most common sports injuries. Sometimes kids make them worse by playing despite the pain. In some cases, these young athletes take pain-killers to mask the pain instead of using the pain as a cue to get help.
However, there’s a better way. That way is to include child chiropractic care in your child’s health regimen. We can work together to keep your child’s developing body healthy and, hopefully, avoid painful sports injuries.
Here at McQuaite Chiropractic, we’re conveniently located next to CB West High School in Doylestown, Pa. Do you have a young athlete or child who may benefit from a child chiropractor?
We offer a free consultation so why not come in and see if chiropractic care can be good for your child?
Owner & Chiropractor
Dr. Jeff McQuaite is a licensed, board certified Chiropractor in Doylestown. Jeff is a lifelong resident of Bucks County and graduated with Honors from Pennsylvania College of Chiropractic.
The McQuaite Chiropractic Center offers complete chiropractic services to treat injuries of all types – sports, work, auto accidents – as well as general family care.
Apr 10, 2020 | Uncategorized
Pandemic life is strange. All of our routines are disrupted and even simple things like going to the grocery store can feel like an epic undertaking.
It’s even stranger now that Spring is finally here. In Doylestown, Pa, the flowers are blooming and the weather is calling you to come out for a walk. Walking in the fresh air is a good idea. It gets you out in the fresh air and sunshine and can lift your mood.
Building a strong immune system is a blend of healthy mental and physical habits. You know, the standard, get enough rest and eat your veggies type of habits.
Often, people blame their busy schedules for not prioritizing healthy habits like eating real food and exercising. If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably found your life on “pause” right now. It’s a scary time, full of uncertainty, and you may want to subsist on pasta and chips.
However, if you can make a choice to take a short walk and eat some vegetables and fruits, it’ll help.
Let’s consider your immune system. Designed to fight off disease naturally, it can keep you healthy. In fact, part of what natural health care like chiropractic and acupuncture do is help your body heal itself.
It’s possible to boost your immune system with healthy lifestyle choices. That doesn’t mean you won’t ever get sick, but it can mean you may be less at risk for illnesses.
The Healthy Lifestyle Habits That Build a Strong Immune System
There’s nothing radical in these habits. They’re pretty simple actually. Yet, simple doesn’t mean easy.
- Get your rest
- Eat a variety of fruits, veggies, and lean protein
- Get outside during the day for sunshine. Sunshine is a natural mood booster
- Don’t smoke
- Maintain a healthy weight
Which of these do you already have as part of your daily life? Which can you add?
Some people find cooking therapeutic. Maybe you like making (and eating) all kinds of comfort food. No doubt, you deserve some comfort right now. And, can you work some healthy foods into your rotation?
Foods like asparagus and berries taste great and they’re even stress reducers. Check out this list of stress reducing foods. Because while it’s tempting to eat all the carbs, it’s not going to help you feel better later tonight or tomorrow.
The foods you choose to eat can also help you reduce inflammation. As you may know, chronic inflammation is linked to heart disease and other dangers, so include some anti-inflammatory foods like berries and garlic (not together!) in your meals.
What about exercise? It’s a proven mood booster and also helps reduce inflammation. If you’re looking for an at-home routine you can do during quarantine, check out our Facebook page where we’ve shared some workouts.
Or go to Youtube and type in an activity you enjoy. For example, “At home Zumba” will pull up thousands of videos.
Take it slow though. If you’re not used to exercising, don’t go full tilt and risk hurting yourself. Better to start with some gentle stretches and a short walk than overdo it.
None of these are rocket science, and that’s the good news. They’ll help you feel better now and later by building a healthy immune system. How can you incorporate them in your day today?
Sep 11, 2019 | Uncategorized
Is Chiropractic a Good Scoliosis Treatment for You?
Can Chiropractic care be an effective scoliosis treatment?
If you’ve been diagnosed with scoliosis, you probably have questions. What is scoliosis exactly? Will you have to wear a brace, how will it affect your life, and what type of scoliosis treatment will help?
As you know, scoliosis is an abnormal spinal curve.
While the spine is meant to curve in an “s” shape down your back, someone with scoliosis usually has a more pronounced curve that goes side to side. As a result, it can make for uneven shoulders, waist or hips.
In some cases it’s very obvious.
Those of us of a certain age will remember the Judy Blume adolescent classic, Deenie. In the book, the central character was diagnosed with severe curvature of the spine and had to wear a metal brace from neck to hips. While such braces have gotten lighter over the years – they’re now plastic and a little less obvious – they’re still uncomfortable and can make people feel self-conscious.
Whether or not you or a family member needs a back brace for scoliosis treatment is between you and your doctor but when it comes to pain reduction and increased mobility, Dr. McQuaite in Doylestown, Pa. has helped many patients with scoliosis over the years.
But first, how do you get scoliosis? According to the Scoliosis Institute, there are around 4 million people with scoliosis in the U.S.
In many cases, doctors don’t know what the true cause is which is frustrating and left untreated it can continue to worsen. It CAN be linked to cerebral palsy, infections, birth defects, and other such conditions, but not always.
And, to further confound things, it’s more common in teens and pre-teens during a growth spurt, yet can also show up adults. In adults, it’s usually related to wearing out of your spinal discs and joints as you age. Ouch!
What to Expect with Scoliosis?
Depending on the extent of the curve, your doctor may recommend wearing a brace. When prescribed to teens who are still growing, it’s in hopes that it will prevent the curve from worsening.
There are adult versions too though those are light weight and can be worn for shorter periods of time.
Some doctors may recommend surgery and/or physical therapy.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
Chiropractic treatment can’t correct or cure scoliosis, but it can help increase joint mobility and decrease pain. It’s also possible that you have other spinal issues in addition to scoliosis that can be helped with chiropractic care.
With chiropractic care as part of your scoliosis treatment plan, your chiropractor can help you find pain relief and improve your spinal mobility through a variety of tools and techniques. There’s more to chiropractic care than the traditional spinal manipulation. We also have gentle tools including electronic stimulation and a small “tapping” tool that uses a small amount of force.
If you have questions about scoliosis or other spinal concerns, stop by. Our office is in Doylestown, across from C. B. West. We offer a free consultation and take most insurance.
Jun 28, 2019 | Uncategorized
If you or a loved one suffer from sciatica, then you’re familiar with the sudden flare-ups and debilitating pain. It’s common too. In fact, an article from Harvard Medical School says, “As many as 40% of people will get it during their life, and it becomes more frequent as you age.”
Sciatica is also often misunderstood. Many times it’s lumped in generically with other back pain even though it’s not the same thing. However, since sciatic pain is often in the lower back, its sometimes treated as degenerative disc disease or other common back pain causes.
In this article, we’ll look at the typical causes and symptoms of sciatica along with some treatment options including chiropractic therapy for sciatica.
Common Causes and Symptoms of Sciatica
You’re probably familiar with the sciatic nerve. It’s the longest nerve in the body which means it is easily irritated. The sciatic nerve runs from the top of your spine to your feet. These are common causes:
- Tingling in the legs
- Numbness
- Throbbing pain
For some, it’s a mild annoyance while for others, it’s debilitating. It can last for years, come and go without notice, or disappear after a period of acute pain.
It’s important to be checked by a medical professional. That way you’ll be treating the right issue. As a chiropractor, we conduct a thorough physical and medical history including an x-ray right in our Doylestown, PA office.
We’ll prescribe a treatment plan once we’ve assessed that it is sciatica.
Can Chiropractic Therapy for Sciatica Help?
As you may know, many people find their sciatic pain will go away on its own – sometimes within a few hours. But for others, it can drag on and keep reappearing.
Fortunately, many patients find sciatic pain relief through chiropractic care. The entire purpose of chiropractic care is to offer an effective natural solution for our patients.
We also recommend hot and cold therapy to reduce inflammation and spinal adjustments.
Other natural pain relief treatment options include:
Ultrasound – this warm heat is gentle and goes deep into the tissues to help muscles relax.
TENS machine– (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) – We use this in our Doylestown office to help relieve pain. You’re hooked up to a machine that sends electrical currents throughout your body—concentrating on the painful area. It can be as gentle as you like or more like a deep tissue massage. However, it’s up to you.
There are smaller home units available too.
Chiropractic massage – A good massage therapist can help loosen muscles and improve blood flow throughout your body. Improved blood flow can reduce inflammation which will relieve the pain.
Low impact exercise – Walking, gentle yoga, daily back stretches, swimming, and other low impact exercises will improve your mobility while also improving blood flow. They also strengthen the back muscles which help support the lumbar spine.
As you can see, there are many ways chiropractic therapy can help sciatica. If you’re suffering from sciatic pain or any back pain, give us a call or come in. We’d like to help you feel better!
Aug 22, 2017 | Uncategorized
The best medical care starts with understanding a complete picture of your health. Here at McQuaite Chiropractic, we’ve always started with x-rays so that we can get as accurate a view as possible.
We say, “To see is to know, and we won’t guess about your health.” “We utilize x-rays to get a functional view of your spine and helps us rule out more serious conditions, which assists us in developing the most effective treatment plan for you.”
As you probably know, X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation that uses a process of radiation and light to display your bones. They also require a development process that delays the start of your treatment plan which means, you can be in pain longer.
The Advantage of Digital X-Ray
Digital X-ray (also known as radiography) has advantages over the traditional X-ray process. It’s faster since it doesn’t require chemical processing and it reduces radiation by 75%. Additionally, images can be enlarged, darkened, or lightened on demand. This makes for easier viewing which leads to a faster diagnosis for you as the patient.
Most patients are amazed to see their digital images and the images are so clear, they can see for themselves the source of their problem(s) and degeneration. Digital films can even showcase potential problems like structural issues so that we can treat them before they get worse…all without drugs or surgery.
These factors all work together to improve the level and the quality of care for you as the patient.
Another advantage of digital X-rays is that storage is simpler. There are no large floppy X-Rays to be misplaced or lost. Now, your files are digitally stored and can be easily transferred to another doctor if there’s a need for another opinion.
With digital X-rays, we can quickly assess your health and determine an appropriate treatment plan. Additionally, treatment can begin the same day so that you’ll feel better as soon as possible.
Here at McQuaite Chiropractic, we’re thrilled to offer our patients the state of the art advantage of digital X-ray. It’s just part of the reason why we’ve been voted “Best of Bucks” for 5 years in a row.
Jun 21, 2017 | Chiropractic Care, pain management, Uncategorized
Bursitis can affect your joints
If you have painful joints, it could be bursitis. As you may know, the joints are common areas to feel pain in – tendonitis, arthritis, and bursitis — these are all typical conditions.
Each can cause swelling and they certainly cause pain.
Bursitis refers specifically to small, fluid-filled sacs designed to provide a slippery surface between your muscles and bones. Their entire purpose is to absorb the friction that occurs during this movement. Imagine dragging your feet over a carpeted area again and again. You’ll feel the friction in your feet and it may not feel good. On the other hand, if you drag your feet over a tile floor, it’s smooth.
That’s what happens with bursitis. Those little sacs provide the smooth surface initially, but eventually, they’re full of friction. Bursitis can happen all over your body and you can get shoulder, elbow, hip, or foot bursitis.
It’s made worse by repetitive movements like your shoulders, knees, and hips.
What Causes Bursitis?
One cause is poor posture. Since many of us spend so much time slouched at the computer, this can take its toll on our health in the form of pain. To prevent this, you’ll want to ensure your workstation ergonomically supports you and limit working from beds, chairs, and couches.
It’s also a good idea to check your posture while at the computer throughout the day. Sit up tall and pull your shoulders back and down. Those slumped shoulders are not going to help you to feel better at the end of the day.
Other causes for bursitis include misaligned joints and irritated nerves.
All of these can be helped with regular chiropractic treatments because the purpose of chiropractic care is to re-align your body. Imagine a sliding glass door off the track, you know how hard it is to open and close. Yet, when it’s on the track, it slides smoothly.
Now imagine your body. The bursa (singular) has absorbed all that sliding back and forth and now it’s irritated which forces your muscles and nerves “off the track.”
No wonder you’re in pain!
Chiropractic Care Puts Your Body “Back on Track”
The entire purpose of chiropractic care is to re-align your spine which helps the rest of your body return to where it’s supposed to be. When everything is on the right track, you don’t feel chronic pain. Regular chiropractic treatments help you stay in alignment.
Icing the painful area and resting it will also help. But sometimes that’s not practical. Like when it’s in your shoulder and you work at a desk most days.
Diagnosing Shoulder Bursitis
Your healthcare practitioner may recommend an MRI or X-ray to see what’s happening inside your body.
At McQuaite Chiropractic, we will X-ray the area and create a treatment plan for you.
Would you like a free consultation?
