Magazines extol them. Women want them, but are they really worth it? Ask the 1 million women who have big breasts and you might be surprised at the answer you get. Large breast sizes have been linked to a number of physical complaints including neck and back pain, and numbness in the fingers. They can also cause migraines and in some cases, shortness of breath. Women have avoided doing everything from aerobic exercise to picking up their children and even sitting at a desk. These women are at risk for spinal deformity and other repetitive stress injuries to their shoulders and upper extremities due to their large breast size.

The excess weight of the breast combined with weak muscular support, create these problems by changing the normal anatomical structure of the woman’s body. Some women try to hide them by rolling their shoulders forward. This is not a normal posture and will create undue pressure on an area in the upper body near their shoulders, known as the “thoracic outlet”. The pressure then compresses a bundle of nerves and blood vessels, which causes pain and discomfort down her arms to her fingers.

These large breasts that are worshipped in the media, in print and on TV can also affect the natural curve of a woman’s mid to upper back, potentially causing severe lower back pain. If the upper vertebrae of the spine are altered in an attempt to compensate for the extra weight up front, the lower vertebrae pick up the slack and assume more of the load. Proper posture is imperative to these women.  Finding that correct pose can be found through proper strengthening and “CORE” stabilization exercises.

Exercise is Killing Me

Imagine the pressure on the spine of a woman who is small in stature and is carrying around exceptionally large breasts. Those muscles in her back bear a tremendous burden attempting to support the top-heavy weight during vigorous exercise. In addition, the constant movement from any high-impact exercise can create intense pain due to muscular oxygen deprivation and fatigue.

Customized or sports bras that are built to distribute the weight across a larger area are often recommended. This could help in reducing muscle strain and improving the overall positioning of the breasts.

Exercise May Just Save Me Though

Before a woman begins an exercise program that is built to address her back pain, it is imperative that she has a full physical assessment. This diagnostic exam will document any postural dysfunctions and their associated muscle imbalances. This will help generate the right exercise regimen that is needed specifically for her issues.

In many cases, lower back pain is a type of chain reaction where several things occur to create the pain. There is no specific machine that can diagnose each problematic area. A Doctor of Chiropractic focuses on balancing the entire body and can follow the dysfunctional areas of the spine to the source.

These physical assessments are critical to the overall health of the spine. From there, a comprehensive plan can be created to eliminate those muscle imbalances. This may not be the type of exercise program a woman is used to, but it can help her get back to a more balanced state where her body can support the extra stress, throughout the rest of her life.

A Possible Last Resort

An increasing number of women are opting to use breast-reduction surgery to deal with their back pain. This article is not an approval or denial of this option, but does want to introduce the topic as a conversational piece. As with any surgical procedure, there are many potential risks and possible negative side effects from this operation.

Both external and internal scarring can occur from this procedure. There are arguments both for and against the surgery in terms of how it can interfere with a mammogram. Some doctors are concerned that the scarring could affect the accuracy of the exam, increasing the risk of breast cancer. On the other hand, other doctors have expressed concern that it may be more difficult to spot any small lesions in a woman with very large breasts.

Breast-reduction surgery could affect the sexual response in the breasts due to a lack of sensitivity in the nipple. For women considering the procedure and still looking to have children, they should be aware that there could be a significant reduction in milk supply after the reduction. For some women, their ability to breastfeed has completely gone away.

Please seek the help and guidance of a medical doctor before making such a life altering decision. It may be the right one for you, but spending the time to confirm that can never hurt. If surgery is not an option, find a local Chiropractor and try a spinal adjustment program combined with specific exercises to restructure the thoracic spine and  have the low back take on its proper weight and not distribute it to the neck and upper back.

 If you have questions or need further information about this topic, please go to http://www.lynnkerew.com. Other great articles about the spine and body can be found on our fantastic blog (that you should join!) at http://www.lynnkerew.com/blog. If you wish to contact Dr. Lynn Kerew directly, you can email her at lynnkerew@gmail.com.

Fantastic News at Dr. Lynn’s office for patients with Chronic Pain, Cervical, Thoracic or Lumbar Disc Pain, Facetal Pain, Spinal Stenosis and Sciatica/Cervical Radiculopathy

Our office has just put into service the newest advancement in pain therapy – the Kennedy Spinal Decompression Table. This highly advanced system combines technology with technique. The KDT system is the FIRST Spinal Decompression system to incorporate advanced position concepts into care. This is critical when we do our systematized clinical analysis to know exactly how to position you based on which way your disc has migrated. MRI’s do not tell the whole story and often pain may come from other structures known as facet joints, ligament instability and also cracks/disruptions in the disc structure itself called Annular Fissures and Nucleus Propulsus migrations causing irration to the spinal nerves.

“The Kennedy Decompression Technique, KDT, KDT Systems are registered trademarks of Mir Com Products. All references to KDT in print must include an acknowledgement of the registered trademark with the (r) symbol and proper notice in print on the printed piece.”

What is Chiropractic Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Chiropractic Spinal Decompression Therapy is a non-surgical traction-based treatment outcome for herniated or bulging discs in the neck , mid-back and lower back. Anyone who has back, neck, arm or leg pain may be helped by Spinal Decompression Therapy. Spinal Decompression Therapy reduces disc pressure by creating a “negative pressure” in the disc naturally opening up the disc space and allowing necessary disc contents to migrate back into the disc.

Since the disc itself is an “avascular” structure (ie there is no blood supply to it but of course there is a nerve supply – hence why we feel pain) – Spinal Decompression therapy is more clinically appropriate than regular Traction to “imbibe” or pump blood and nutrients back into the disc to reduce inflammation, reduce pain and enliven/accelerate disc healing.

In almost all cases, the treatments are completely painless. In fact, with our advanced Chiropractic Spinal Decompression equipment, some patients fall asleep during the treatments which generally last 12-15 minutes.

Our detailed and comprehensive examination will locate the source of your pain and how we will manage to address it. It may be solely with the Spinal Table or with a series of specific intrinsic core exercise machines specifically for people with disc and severe injuries. This piece of equipment is not available at gyms..it is specifically for doctors trained in injury rehab and used in combination with our laser, ultrasound, electrical stim and muscle therapies to fully address pain management and rehabiltation to your injured area.

“The Kennedy Decompression Technique, KDT, KDT Systems are registered trademarks of Mir Com Products. All references to KDT in print must include an acknowledgement of the registered trademark with the (r) symbol and proper notice in print on the printed piece.”

So – what is the name of this advanced table? After a significant amount of research, our office chose what we believe to be the most sophisticated, technologically advanced, State-Of-The-Art Spinal Decompression equipment in the world, the Kennedy Decompression Table.  Jay Kennedy, DC is well known for his research on disc related pain and treatment.  The table is a collaborative effort between Mir Com Products and Armedica Mfg . The Kennedy Decompression Technique, KDT, KDT Systems are registered trademarks of Mir Com Products.

It is fine to have tests and results..but often the therapies are not successful. Dr. Kennedy has provided upteem number of hours of analysis in “provoking” the level of the spine to determine the source of the pain and via this information, our clinic is able to treat your body in any position and with a variety of modalities to address and ideally resolve your pain once and for all!

Who can benefit from Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Anyone who has back pain or neck pain caused in whole or in part by a damaged disc may be helped by Spinal Decompression Therapy. These conditions include herniated, protruding, extruded or bulging discs, spinal stenosis, sciatica , cervical radiculopathy and chronic pain due to overuse or due to Failed Back Surgery.

Do most patients receive therapy and rehabilitative exercises in addition to Spinal Decompression Therapy?

To reduce inflammation and assist the healing process, supporting structures are treated with therapies (laser, ice, ultrasound, and muscle stimulation). We also provide gentle chiropractic adjustments (as indicated) and active intrinsic core spinal muscle rehabilitation in order to provide the basics you need to get out of pain and back into your life on your terms…at whatever level of activity you want to enjoy.

We have found that the rehab portion of our care plan is often what is weak , undeveloped or completely missing in most offices providing this type of care. This part of your treatment plan is key in our office and you will have one on one attention to this throughout the duration of your care during your most acute days and into the more advanced treatments when you are out of pain and solely doing intrinsic core rehabilitation.

Please feel free to call our office to set up your examination. We look forward to seeing you and please spread the word so noone else you know has to “just live with it”. Our motto is “Get Out of Pain ASAP – safely, gently, intelligently!”

There is a specific set of rules that every injury follows. A Doctor of Chiropractic must develop an analytical program that covers everything about the patient in front of them. In order to create a true assessment of an injury and the treatment program to correct it, every major joint in the patient must be examined.

The psoas is possibly the single most overlooked muscle despite the fact that it can be the cause of a decrease in the range of motion in the neck, shoulders, lower back and also the hip joint. The psoas muscle begins in the lumbar, or lower spine.  It anchors both sides of the spine. It travels down into the pelvic area and attaches at the knobby part of the hip with several strong tendons.

The psoas muscle is crucial among the hip flexor muscles. Hip flexors give people the ability to bend their bodies into their hips and to pull their hips into their bodies. The psoas has two primary functions:

• When the leg is free to move, as when walking, it is a strong flexor of the thigh at the hip joint.
• When the leg is planted firmly, as when standing or sitting still, it bends the lower spine forward. This action is used to maintain the balance of the trunk when sitting.

When a person sits, the psoas is in a shortened position. When sitting for long stretches of time, as many of us do, the muscle stays “short,” even after standing up. The shortened psoas then pulls the lower spine forward. The muscles around the lower back counter this pull by tightening, like ropes anchoring a tent pole. This battle forces the spine down and compresses the discs of the lumbar spine. This irritation causes a nagging, aching low back. The discs degenerate over time, making them more susceptible to bulging or tearing. It’s possible that the disc could herniate and press on the sciatic nerve. This causes unbearable pain down one or both of the legs.

The psoas is involved in many patient issues that are seen in the office of Dr. Kerew. Many chiropractors don’t see this as a major source of the problem or don’t know how to recognize it as such. The exploratory procedure appears very simplistic, yet other doctors of chiropractic rarely ever bother to check it. The end result is that the patient is left with recurring chronic problems.  The psoas causes low back pain, sciatica, sacroiliac pain, scoliosis, disc problems, hip degeneration, knee pain, menstruation pain, infertility, and digestive problems.

Gentle stretching can help relieve back pain from psoas tightness. It can also help strengthen the muscle. The most basic psoas stretch involves lying on your back on the floor. Make sure that your pelvic position is neutral, your shoulder blades are flat on the floor, and that your spine and head are in perfect alignment. This will form a smooth, straight line in your body. Slowly bring one knee up to your chest while extending the other leg along the floor. Breathe deeply and evenly as you do this. Hold the knee in that position for several breaths before switching sides, and repeat several times.

Yoga poses such as One-Legged Pigeon, Wind-Relieving Pose, Crescent Lunge, Warrior One and Reverse Plank target the area and can also help relieve lower back pain. Chiropractic techniques that focus on the psoas rather than the spine itself, have the best results in relieving tightness.

Those suffering from lower back pain may be able to find relief that they may not have thought possible. For further information about this topic or to schedule a consultation, please contact Dr. Lynn Kerew directly at drlynn@lynnkerew.com or visit her website at http://www.lynnkerew.com.