Achilles tendinitis is an overuse injury of the Achilles tendon, the band of tissue that connects calf muscles at the back of the lower leg to your heel bone.

Achilles tendinitis most commonly occurs in runners who have suddenly increased the intensity or duration of their runs. It’s also common in middle-aged people who play sports, such as tennis or basketball, only on the weekends.

Common injuries occurring in the ankle, foot, and heel areas come about as a result of unequal bearing of weight by the legs and feet. These imbalances can often cause undue stress to be exerted on the joints of the feet and ankles.

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more of your joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis causes cartilage — the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint — to break down. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that first targets the lining of joints (synovium). Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones wears down over time.

Although osteoarthritis can damage any joint in your body, the disorder most commonly affects joints in your hands, knees, hips and spine.

Osteoarthritis symptoms can usually be effectively managed, although the underlying process cannot be reversed. Staying active, maintaining a healthy weight and other treatments may slow progression of the disease and help improve pain and joint function.

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor or miss work and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Most people have back pain at least once. There are obviously many causes of back pain. Once we pin down what yours is caused by, we will make sure you understand every facet of what ails you and ways to improve.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a hand and arm condition that causes numbness and tingling. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by a pinched nerve in your wrist or neck which is a condition known as “Double Crush”.

A number of factors can contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome, including the anatomy of your wrist, certain underlying health problems and possibly patterns of hand use.

Bound by bones and ligaments, the carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway located on the palm side of your wrist. This tunnel protects a main nerve to your hand and the nine tendons that bend your fingers.

Compression of the nerve produces the numbness, tingling and, eventually, hand weakness that characterize carpal tunnel syndrome.

A herniated disc refers to a problem with one of the rubbery cushions (discs) between the individual bones (vertebrae) that stack up to make your spine.

A spinal disc is a little like a jelly donut, with a softer center encased within a tougher exterior. Sometimes called a slipped disc or a ruptured disc; a herniated disc occurs when some of the softer “jelly” pushes out through a tear in the tougher exterior.

A herniated disc can irritate nearby nerves or even the spinal cord and result in pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg. On the other hand, many people experience no symptoms from a herniated disc if is not putting pressure on any nerves.

Despite its name, degenerative disc disease is not a disease, but the degradation of the joints in the spine. Injuries, car accidents, and immobility are all examples of things that can cause your joints to begin to breakdown over a period of time.

The rubbery discs between the vertebrae normally allow for flexing and bending of the back, like shock absorbers. In time, they become worn, and they no longer offer as much protection as before.

Without protection, it can continue to progress and cause pain, stiffness, decreased mobility and overall decrease in quality of life.

Injuries to the elbow, wrist, and hand areas commonly occur as a result of poor posture, physical injury, or repetitive physical strain. Once we find the exact nature of your injury, we will make a game plan to not only get you out of pain; but to ensure it doesn’t return.

Common injuries occurring in the ankle, foot, and heel areas come about as a result of unequal bearing of weight by the legs and feet. These imbalances can often cause undue stress to be exerted on the joints of the feet and ankles.

Pain is your body’s normal reaction to an injury or illness, a warning that something is wrong. When your body heals, you usually stop hurting.  But for many people, pain continues long after its cause is gone. When it lasts for 3 to 6 months or more, it’s called chronic pain. When you hurt day after day, it can take a toll on your emotional and physical health.

About 25% of people with chronic pain will go on to have a condition called chronic pain syndrome (CPS). That’s when people have symptoms beyond pain alone, like depression and anxiety, which interfere with their daily lives.

70% of all headaches are caused by muscles or joints. It is estimated that nearly every American will experience head and/or neck pain in his or her lifetime. Ironically, unlike lower back pain, most people do not actively seek treatment. Instead, they self-medicate or depend on prescription drugs for what is, at best, only temporary relief without addressing the underlying causes.

Heel spurs don’t always cause pain. In fact, heel spurs often show up unexpectedly on X-rays taken for some other problem.

Heel spurs occur in at least half the people who have plantar fasciitis, a painful condition involving the thick tissue that runs between your heel bone and your toes.

Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves inflammation of a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects your heel bone to your toes (plantar fascia).

Plantar fasciitis commonly causes stabbing pain that usually occurs with your first steps in the morning. As you get up and move more, the pain normally decreases, but it might return after long periods of standing or after rising from sitting.

Plantar fasciitis is more common in runners. In addition, people who are overweight and those who wear shoes with inadequate support have an increased risk of plantar fasciitis.

Pelvic imbalances can lead to an inordinate amount of stress on the legs and consequent serious injuries. These types of injuries are usually best treated with an effective regimen of chiropractic care.

Cervical discs absorb shock between the bones. The bones, ligaments, and muscles of your neck support your head and allow for motion. Any abnormalities, inflammation, or injury can cause neck pain or stiffness and decreased motion. Helping the spine regain this mobility helps ensure the body heals without any loss of motion.

Peripheral neuropathy, a result of damage to your peripheral nerves, often causes weakness, numbness and pain, usually in your hands and feet. It can also affect other areas of your body.

Your peripheral nervous system sends information from your brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) to the rest of your body. Peripheral neuropathy can result from traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic problems, inherited causes and exposure to toxins. One of the most common causes is diabetes mellitus.

People with peripheral neuropathy generally describe the pain as stabbing, burning or tingling. In many cases, symptoms improve, especially if caused by a treatable condition.

The nerve damage interferes with the messages sent between the brain and other organs and areas of the autonomic nervous system, such as the heart, blood vessels and sweat glands.

Piriformis syndrome is a neuromuscular disorder that is caused when the piriformis muscle compresses the sciatic nerve. The piriformis muscle is a flat, band-like muscle located in the buttocks near the top of the hip joint. This muscle is important in lower body movement because it stabilizes the hip joint and lifts and rotates the thigh away from the body. This enables us to walk, shift our weight from one foot to another, and maintain balance. It is also used in sports that involve lifting and rotating the thighs — in short, in almost every motion of the hips and legs.

Piriformis syndrome usually starts with pain, tingling, or numbness in the buttocks. Pain can be severe and extend down the length of the sciatic nerve (called sciatica). The pain is due to the piriformis muscle compressing the sciatic nerve, such as while sitting on a car seat or running. Pain may also be triggered while climbing stairs, applying firm pressure directly over the piriformis muscle, or sitting for long periods of time.

The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder joint, keeping the head of your upper arm bone firmly within the shallow socket of the shoulder. A rotator cuff injury can cause a dull ache in the shoulder, which often worsens when you try to sleep on the involved side.

Rotator cuff injuries occur most often in people who repeatedly perform overhead motions in their jobs or sports. Examples include painters, carpenters, and people who play baseball or tennis. The risk of rotator cuff injury also increases with age.

Sacroiliitis is an inflammation of one or both of your sacroiliac joints — situated where your lower spine and pelvis connect. Sacroiliitis can cause pain in your buttocks or lower back, and can extend down one or both legs. Prolonged standing or stair climbing can worsen the pain.

Sacroiliitis can be difficult to diagnose, because it can be mistaken for other causes of low back pain. Treatment might involve physical therapy and pain-management treatments and chiropractic adjustments.

Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which branches from your lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg. Typically, sciatica affects only one side of your body.

Sciatica most commonly occurs when a herniated disk, bone spur on the spine or narrowing of the spine (spinal stenosis) compresses part of the nerve. This causes inflammation, pain and often some numbness in the affected leg.

Although the pain associated with sciatica can be severe, most cases resolve with non-operative treatments including chiropractic adjustments.

Common injuries of the shoulder/arm area are often the result of poor posture, muscle imbalances, or repetitive strain from daily activities such as carrying a shoulder bag. It is important not only to rehabilitate the affected muscles and joints, but also to provide the patient with alternatives for postures and movements that cause the problem.

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the open spaces within your spine, which can put pressure on your spinal cord and the nerves that travel through the spine to your arms and legs. Spinal stenosis occurs most often in the lower back and the neck.

While spinal stenosis may cause no signs or symptoms in some people, other people may experience pain, tingling, numbness, muscle weakness, and problems with normal bladder or bowel function.

Spinal stenosis is most commonly caused by wear-and-tear changes in the spine related to osteoarthritis. In severe cases of spinal stenosis, doctors may recommend surgery to create additional space for the spinal cord or nerves.

Sports injuries refer to the kinds of injury that occur during sports or exercise. While it is possible to injure any part of the body when playing sports, the term sports injuries is commonly used to refer to injuries of the musculoskeletal system.

Most experts now use the term tendinopathy to include both inflammation and microtears. But for many years most tendon problems were called “tendinitis.” Many doctors still use this familiar word to describe a tendon injury.

Most tendon injuries are the result of gradual wear and tear to the tendon from overuse or aging. Anyone can have a tendon injury. But people who make the same motions over and over in their jobs, sports, or daily activities are more likely to damage a tendon.

A tendon injury can happen suddenly or little by little. You are more likely to have a sudden injury if the tendon has been weakened over time.

Tendinopathy usually causes pain, stiffness, and loss of strength in the affected area.

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is a painful condition that occurs when tendons in your elbow are overloaded, usually by repetitive motions of the wrist and arm.

Despite its name, athletes aren’t the only people who develop tennis elbow. People whose jobs feature the types of motions that can lead to tennis elbow include plumbers, painters, carpenters and butchers.

The pain of tennis elbow occurs primarily where the tendons of your forearm muscles attach to a bony bump on the outside of your elbow. Pain can also spread into your forearm and wrist.

Rest and lifestyle changes along with rehabilitation help alleviate this type of pain.

Thoracic Spine Anatomy and Upper Back Pain. The thoracic spine refers to the upper- and middle-back. It joins the cervical spine and extends down about five inches past the bottom of the shoulder blades, where it connects with the lumbar spine.

The thoracic spine is made up of twelve vertebrae, labeled T1-T12. While the cervical spine is built for flexibility (e.g. turning the head) and the lumbar spine is built for power and flexibility (e.g. lifting heavy objects, touching the toes), the thoracic spine is built for stability. This stability plays an important role in holding the body upright and providing protection for the vital organs in the chest.

The upper back is not designed for motion, and subsequently, injuries to the thoracic spine are rare. However, irritation of the large back and shoulder muscles or joint dysfunction in the upper back can produce very noticeable back pain.

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) acts like a sliding hinge, connecting your jawbone to your skull. You have one joint on each side of your jaw. TMJ disorders — a type of temporomandibular disorder or TMD — can cause pain in your jaw joint and in the muscles that control jaw movement.

The exact cause of a person’s TMJ disorder is often difficult to determine. Your pain may be due to a combination of factors, such as genetics, arthritis or jaw injury. Some people who have jaw pain also tend to clench or grind their teeth, although many people habitually clench or grind their teeth and never develop TMJ disorders.

Whiplash is a neck injury due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck, like the cracking of a whip. This motion can damage the structures of the neck including muscles, ligaments and discs. Whiplash most often occurs during a rear-end auto accident, but the injury can also result from a sports accident or other traumas.