Beat Back Pain by Strengthening Your Core

At ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, VA, we find that the majority of our patients with back pain lack core stability. A weak core can increase the risk of disc bulges and nerve damage. There are numerous exercises that can be done, even in the comfort of your own home with little to no equipment needed, to steadily build your core, relieve back pain, and ultimately prevent future back pain.

Some core-building exercises include:

- Plank

- Clamshell

- Bird Dog

- Glute Bridge Single-Leg Progression

- Pelvic Tilt/Glute Bridge

- Side Plank

- Tabletop Leg Press

- Superman

- Dead Bug

- Cat Stretches

- Reverse/Forward Lunge

These exercises can also help with balance, function, stability, and limit the chances of getting seriously injured. Dr. Caratozzolo wants to inform his patients with new knowledge about their back pain and how they can treat it with an at-home regimen on days when they do not come into the office. However, it is important to remember that if any of these exercises increase pain, numbness, or weakness, you should immediately stop doing them and speak to your chiropractor.

Consistent chiropractic adjustments can help your back pain. We are happy to address any concerns or answer any questions you have! ACT Wellness Center is located at 14111 Minnieville Rd. in Woodbridge, VA 22193. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit actwellness.com or call the office at 703-491-9355.

 

Treating Personal Injury with Chiropractic

When bodily harm occurs from being involved in any type of accident, specifically outside of your workplace, it is considered a personal injury. ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, VA recommends coming in for a visit as soon as possible so that Dr. Caratozzolo can assess the damage and get you on the road to recovery. Whether it be a single or series of adjustments, your Georgia chiropractor is one of the best options for uncovering underlying issues from your accident.

Examples of personal injuries include:

- Auto accidents

- Motorcycle accidents

- Bicycle accidents

- A slip, trip, or fall

While a doctor treats symptoms with prescriptions, a chiropractor works to correct the problem with focused stretching of the affected muscles and careful adjustments. Dr. Caratozzolo recommends against letting your injury go untreated since this can cause more problems down the line and affect your quality of life even more than your accident already has. If you find that everyday tasks cannot be done without significant pain, it may be time to schedule an appointment with our office.

Have you suffered a personal injury and want to get it assessed by a trained chiropractor? We are happy to address any concerns or answer any questions you have! ACT Wellness Center is located at 14111 Minnieville Rd. in Woodbridge, VA 22193. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit actwellness.com or call the office at 703-491-9355.

 

Managing Your Tension Headaches

When you combine poor posture, stress, and constant errand-running (which definitely causes stress), a tension headache can happen out of the blue. This is a signal that your body is taking on a lot at once! There are many things that can bring on a tension headache, such as constantly looking down at your phone, staring at a screen all day, or driving for several hours without rest. We at ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, VA feel that it’s important to recognize what your body is telling you and then take care of your body accordingly.

There are two types of tension headaches: chronic and episodic. Chronic tension headaches happen frequently, with pain developing on both sides of the head, the forehead, and at the base of the skull. Our chiropractic treatments can help decrease the severity and frequency since these headaches are more associated with tightness and misalignment in the neck vertebrae. Episodic tension headaches occur from stressful events and can often be treated with over-the-counter medication.

6 ways to prevent tension headaches:

- Minimize stress

- Use over-the-counter medicine

- Take breaks

- Adjust the way you sleep

- Stretch and exercise

- Consistent chiropractic appointments

Are you interested in treating your tension headaches with chiropractic treatment? We are happy to address any concerns or answer any questions you have! ACT Wellness Center is located at 14111 Minnieville Rd. in Woodbridge, VA 22193. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit actwellness.com or call the office at 703-491-9355.

 

10 Tips to Prevent Neck Pain

Neck pain happens, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with it forever. With some lifestyle adjustments, you can prevent neck pain altogether. We at ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge, VA take pride in educating our patients about good spinal health. Since many of our patients experience neck pain, it's important to take a step back and see what causes it. Only then can you take the necessary steps to treat and ultimately prevent neck pain!

 

Prevent neck pain by:

 

- Sleeping on your back

- Drinking plenty of water

- Making sure you are using a comfortable and supported pillow

- Making sure your computer monitor is at eye level

- When texting, keeping your mobile phone at eye level, taking breaks, or using talk-text

- When making a phone call, using a headset or earpiece

- Stretching, exercising, and strengthening your neck muscles

- Carrying weight on your person so that it is evenly distributed

- Practicing a supportive posture (no slumping or hunching!)

- Holding your phone at a distance rather than right in front of you

 

It’s important to seek professional help if you ever experience numbness, tingling, and pain in your arms, or headaches and weakness. Ineffective pain medication is another indicator that you should see a chiropractor. Dr. Caratozzolo offers an array of therapies to help patients with neck pain.

 

Are you interested in treating your neck pain with chiropractic adjustments? We are happy to address any concerns or answer any questions you have! ACT Wellness Center is located at 14111 Minnieville Rd. in Woodbridge, VA 22193. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit actwellness.com or call the office at 703-491-9355.

 

What is a Subluxation?

We at ACT Wellness Center understand that accidents happen. A slip, bump, fall, or the accumulative effect of wear can all cause a subluxation, a misalignment in your spine. Your Woodbridge, VA chiropractor is readily available to get you on a personalized treatment plan when or if an accident occurs. While the main goal is to correct the misalignment of your vertebrae and alleviate discomfort, Dr. Caratozzolo also works to prevent future subluxations by building up your spinal health.

 

If you have a subluxation, symptoms include:

 

- Swelling

- Numbness and tingling

- Limited mobility

- Pain or discomfort

- Degeneration of surrounding muscles, nerves, and bones

 

Did you know that a subluxation is a partial dislocation of the spinal cord? You can probably guess that the pain is no walk in the park. Subluxations are identified through a chiropractic exam, which consists of manual palpation and x-rays. During the manual exam, Dr. Caratozzolo will check the alignment of your pelvis, joints, and spine. Leaving a subluxation untreated will create more issues for the individual, such as the degeneration of the discs. Your body will try to compensate for the subluxation as well, taking on a new, unhealthy shape. Don’t wait to seek treatment, ACT Wellness Center can help!

 

We are happy to answer any and all questions you may have about treatment at our facility! ACT Wellness Center is located at 14111 Minnieville Rd. in Woodbridge, VA 22193. For more information about back pain or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Caratozzolo, please visit actwellness.com or call us at 703-491-9355.

 

Introduction to Herniated Discs

Lower back pain affects tens of millions of people in the United States and is a major contributor to missed workdays. There are several reasons for it, but one of the most common is a herniated disc. Also known as a slipped disc or ruptured disc, this ailment has potential implications for the spinal nerves, so we at the ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge want people to understand why they should take treatment seriously.

 

The spinal discs are shock absorbers located in between the flat bodies of most vertebrae. They have tough fibrous outer rings and gelatinous centers. Discs become dehydrated with age and suffer wear and tear throughout a person’s life. When the gelatinous center pushes against the fibrous walls or leaks out, the disc is herniated. The resulting pressure on the surrounding tissues causes pain and triggers the body’s inflammatory response, and nerves branching out of the spinal cord nearby could be compressed. This would result in pain or numbness along the pinched nerve, which could extend the length of the arm or leg.

 

Herniated discs can occur as a result of acute injuries or wear-and-tear, but they are more common in people over the age of sixty. Although frequent in the lower back, they can occur higher up. Chiropractic adjustments can help put the spinal column back into alignment, and we can use techniques such as low-level laser therapy to reduce painful swelling. We can also advise patients on nutrition to ensure their spinal discs get the vitamins and minerals they need to stay supple, and on strengthening exercises that will allow their back muscles to take on more of the weight bearing down on their discs.

If you suffer from back or neck pain, contact ACT Wellness Center at 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia by calling 703-491-9355 or visiting ACT Wellness. Dr. Carmelo Caratozzolo, or Dr. C, has been designated Prince William County's best chiropractor for ten years in a row.

 

 

Tailbone Injuries

Have you recently been injured, and suffered a dull, throbbing pain in the rear? You may have coccydynia, known colloquially as a bruised tailbone. We can help you determine the nature of your injury at the ACT Wellness Center in Woodbridge and set up a minimally invasive, nonaddictive pain treatment plan and that will get you back in working order. But we also want you to understand how tailbone injuries happen and how to stop them.

The tailbone, also known as the coccyx, is made up of several small, fused vertebrae. It is suspended from the bottom of the sacrum, which is the part of the lower spine the hip bones connect to. The tailbone is surrounded by thick muscles and ligaments and is rarely fractured, but its supporting tissues may be bruised and swollen. This can happen as a result of blunt force trauma, as could occur while mountain biking or horseback riding, or during childbirth.

Although coccydynia usually heals well, an untreated person could be in pain for several weeks, especially when seated. We can ameliorate that by providing ring-shaped pillows or chiropractic wedges, which keep pressure off sensitive areas. We can also reduce swelling through practices such as low level laser therapy and electric muscle stimulation, and we can perform adjustments to ensure all the bones of the pelvic region are in the right place. Patients will also be advised on therapeutic exercises they can do to ensure their deep muscles will be strong and support their lower spine in the future.

We treat lower back injuries and tailbone pain at the ACT Wellness Center at 14111 Minnieville Road, Woodbridge, Virginia. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Carmelo Caratozzolo, call 703-491-9355 or visit ACT Wellness.