If you live in Wisconsin then you know that over the past 3 weeks we’ve seen some record breaking snow fall. And while its certainly a site to behold actually moving all that snow can be a major pain in the back, literally!

Have you ever noticed that shoveling snow has a sneaky ability to absolutely destroy your back? Ever wonder why that is? Well, the reason is quite simple. Shoveling snow combines two of the most difficult things for your back to do at the same time. Lifting and twisting.

Either one on its own is not necessarily a big deal. We can lift heavy amounts of weight without damaging the spine. We are also built to be able to twist. However when combined the two movements spell trouble, especially for the low back.

This is because the combined movements of lifting and twisting create a “shearing” pressure on the spinal discs. This motion dramatically increases the risk of both muscle injury and pinching of the nerves exiting the spine in the low back. This is why it is not uncommon for low back injuries resulting from snow shoveling to have both muscle pain and shooting or tingling pain. The risk of injury is further increased if the person has a pre-existing herniated disc, degenerated disc or history of low back trauma.

The bottom line is to be very careful when shoveling snow. Lift only lighter loads and fully lift the snow before turning to dump it. The more aware you are of what you are doing the better your chances of getting all that white mess moved without hurting yourself.

If you do manage to injure yourself, fortunately chiropractic can help you fully heal quickly. If injury does occur schedule your appointment as soon as possible. The longer a spinal injury goes without being addressed the longer it takes to fully heal once treatment begins. Be safe out there!

*To make an appointment call either my Glenwood City or 4 Corners office or message the clinic on Facebook.

Whether you have never seen a chiropractor, you go frequently or your somewhere in between now is the perfect time to start receiving regular chiropractic care. Why? Here are several of the key benefits of chiropractic care

Effectively manage pain- maybe you have a problem with headaches or some tight shoulders. Maybe your problem is a bit more intense like sciatica or numbness or tingling in the hands or feet? Whatever the pain chances are good that chiropractic can help improve it if not get rid of it completely.

Preventing long term joint problems- your spinal joints do wear out over time. Cartilage between the spinal joints thin, discs between the vertebrae wear out, bone on bone causes arthritis. It happens. It’s a slow process that often takes years for symptoms do show but it happens to everyone. Receiving regular chiropractic adjustments slows these problems down dramatically. Remember, what’s annoying today is a crisis tomorrow.

Promotes overall health- nerves don’t just go to muscles. They also travel to all the organ systems as well. Pressure on a nerve exiting the spine that goes to the liver causes decreased liver function. Ditto for the heart, stomach, intestines and… well I think you get the picture. Overall chiropractic just helps the body work better.

Ok, so what does a chiropractic visit look like? Let’s say your totally new to my office. The first visit will entail some simple paperwork telling me a bit about your overall health, anything in your health history I should be aware of and some specifics about your problem. This takes only a few minutes to fill out plus we’ll go over any insurance you may have (remember we accept Forward Health, Medicare and most commercial insurances).

After that I will do a spinal examination. Depending on your problem this could be as simple as a range of motion test and palpating (feeling)the spine or could involve reflexes, muscle testing or other examining techniques as needed. In rare instances I will refer out for imaging if I think it is needed.

Last, I will ordinarily do a few chiropractic adjustments. The spinal exam will show me where you have subluxations (bones of out of place) in your spine. These are the root problems causing your symptoms. The adjustments are generally done by hand. I will then push the bones back into place. Afterwards I usually have the person being adjusted lay on our spinal traction table to further relax the spine following the adjustment.

This simple but profoundly beneficial treatment takes only a few minutes per visit after the first time. I will also make home care recommendations as well as provide your with a treatment plan in order to help your specific condition.

Need to make an appointment? You can reach my Glenwood City office at 715-265-7500, the 4 Corners at 715-246-7500 or message me via the Arvold Chiropractic Facebook page messenger.

The most common cause of back pain is a spinal subluxation, or a bone out of place. Once a bone is not in the proper alignment it places stress on the spinal joints which if not corrected leads to degeneration of cartilage between the joints, degenerative disc disease and the formation of arthritis.

Most problems are caused by repetitive stresses that we place on our bodies. These can range from poor postures, movements associated with our jobs or recreational activities or other minor things we don’t even know we do.

Enter our feet! One of the most common signs I see in my practice that people have spinal problems is chronic foot pain. These poor people usually have long standing, aching to sharp pain in one or both feet that is a daily struggle. Some days it might be better other worse but it almost always there. This tells us two things.

Something is stressing the tissues of the foot daily
The foot is not adequately supporting the rest of the body, including the spine

This scenario often leads to a situation where each problem is negatively affecting the other. The foot doesn’t support the spine leading to spinal problems. In order to compensate for this the body shifts in such a way as to add more pressure to the feet by rotating the pelvis and the femur. This often leads to collapsed arches (flat foot). Adjustments often provide relief, but the problems often return in these people because the underlying problem with the feet is not being addressed.

In order to properly treat this condition, the use of specialized orthotics is usually necessary. Orthotics are custom made shoe inserts that support the persons foot in the areas where it is not supporting the weight of the body correctly. Combined with chiropractic care to address the subluxations in the spine many people can completely recover from this condition.

Does this sound like you? We offer free foot scans that will show us if indeed you suffer from this problem. Call us to set up a scan at 715-246-7500 today or contact us via Facebook messenger.

Being a parent is hard work. We don’t always get enough sleep, are usually in a hurry and have multiple places to be and generally have uber-busy lives. One aspect of this that is often overlooked, especially for parents of very young children is back pain resulting from carrying babies, hauling around car seats and falling asleep in odd positions getting children to sleep.

Most conditions I see are the result of repetitive stresses on the spine. And guess what!? Everything I mentioned above is a repetitive stress on your spine! Let’s look at moving a car seat around. First, its heavy. The combined weight of the seat and the child are involved. It’s also awkward. Most people tend to carry it on one side with occasional shifts to the other side when it begins to hurt their arm or back. If you’re on the go this can amount to several hours a week of lifting and carrying around car seats!

Over time this repetitive lifting causes subluxations, or misaligned spinal joints caused by the repetitive stress on the spine. This leads to achy joints, tight muscles and potentially more severe problems like headaches, sciatica, tingling or numbness in the hands or others if the underlying cause is not addressed. By the way, research suggests that if a subluxation is no addressed within 8 weeks of occurring some of the damage to the joint becomes permanent. Something to think about the next time you want to just fight through the pain.

To be clear, I recommend regular adjusting (1-2 times per month) for all my patients in order to prevent the wear and tear on their spines. If you are a busy parent, I urge you to consider getting on a regular chiropractic program to help you feel better and prevent any long-term damage to the spine. It’s quick, easy and extremely safe.

*To schedule an appointment my offices can be reached at

Glenwood City – 715-265-7500

4 Corners- 715-246-7500

Or you can contact us via Facebook Messenger

As a chiropractor I see many different presentations of pain every day in my office. And while many cases present with the most typical kinds of pain associated with musculoskeletal injuries (dull, achy and tight pain) often patients present with symptoms that immediately make me suspect a more severe nerve injury as well.

Injuries causing dull, aching pain indicates muscle injury. Since many muscles attach directly to the vertebrae in the spine treating them is important to insure proper healing of the area involved. However, when a patient presents with one of the major 3 types of nerve pain things can escalate quickly if the condition is not treated promptly.

The big 3 types of nerve pain are

Burning Pain

Numb/Tingling Pain

Shooting Pain

When one or more of these types of pain is present it usually means that a nerve exiting the spine is being pinched by a vertebra that is out of alignment. Have you ever hit you “funny bone”? What happened is you hit your unprotected ulnar nerve and the weak, numb burning feeling you experience is the result of direct nerve injury. The same thing happens in the spine when nerve tissue is compressed by a subluxation (bone out of place).

The good news is that these conditions are readily treatable with chiropractic care since chiropractic adjustments gently move the problematic joint back into its proper alignment. This usually must be repeated several times as the muscle tissue needs time to heal and will usually pull the bone back out somewhat but typically the problem resolves quickly with appropriate care.

Nerve injury is significant not only because of the pain it causes but also because the nerves do not only go to muscles. They also go to the organs as well. If you have a subluxation bad enough that you are experiencing one of the 3 types of pain above rest assured, it is affecting the organ associated with those nerves as well. An example of this I see often is the nerves exiting the middle back go the stomach. I see some patients simply to make their stomach stop hurting because whenever their mid back is out, they experience upset stomach and increased stomach acid.

Getting the spine adjusted not only gets rid of pain. It also helps the whole-body work better. Since some degree of degeneration occurs when a subluxation persists for more than a month or two regular adjusting is also recommended to make sure the spine ages gracefully thereby preventing many of the symptoms listed above.

*To make an appointment call either my Glenwood City or 4 Corners office or message the clinic on Facebook.

As a chiropractor I see patients suffering from headaches literally every week. Often when I ask what precipitated the headaches or if there is a certain cause they are aware of the answer is “No, it just came out of nowhere.” Or the famous “I must have slept wrong”.

Now anyone who suffers from regular headaches knows just how debilitating the pain can be. And the awful feeling when the headache continues for not just a day but multiple days in a row. They almost seem to get worse and worse until finally the person breaks down and takes medication or in the case of the people who come see me, get the neck adjusted.

In almost every single case of headaches I see the neck exam reveals joints in the neck are painful to the touch, are not moving properly and often refer pain up into the head. This is the resulting injury from a subluxation, or a joint in the neck that is out of alignment and therefore causing abnormal movement of the joints in the neck.

When a joint is not working properly it puts undue stress on not only the joint involved but the muscles in the neck and in upper back and head. When the condition persists over days, weeks or months it gradually worsens until one day the headache “just comes out of nowhere.” The seeds of the headache have been growing for quite some time but have just now started to present with actual symptoms.

Most people will have some degree of subluxation in the spine after 2-3 weeks from their last adjustment, assuming they are being adjusted at all. If the condition remains untreated after about 8 weeks (2 months) some of the damage to the spine from the lack of normal motion can become permanent. This can present as degeneration of cartilage between the joints, thinning of the disc between the actual vertebrae or the accumulation of calcium deposits where there is bone pressing on bone which eventually becomes arthritis.

The headaches are simply a beacon that something is not right and needs correcting. Regular chiropractic care corrects spinal subluxations that lead to the accumulation of wear and tear on the spinal joints that ultimately results in the headaches. Addressing this underlying issue not only resolves the headaches but sets the person up for a healthy spine now and in the future.

Smoothies have long been one of the easiest and healthiest things to make for breakfast. Usually they have greens, some berries or other fruit but this recipe is anything but ordinary and is super healthy.

Oh and did I mention this smoothie is seriously healthy? It supplies vitamins, minerals, fiber, healthy fat and the goodness of cinnamon and nutmeg. This time of year its a great breakfast or quick meal to not only taste great but give your immune system a nice boost so you don’t get sick.

It’s great weather your looking to sooth an irritated gut lining, add fiber or make an easy meal replacement shake. It also works well for keto dieters provided you don’t go too high on the pumpkin.

Also, it’s very easy to make. It literally takes 1-2 minutes. All you need is some canned pumpkin, coconut milk, nutmeg and cinnamon and a little water.

The Recipe

1/2 cup pumpkin

1/3 cup whole coconut milk

1 cup water

3-4 dashes each of cinnamon and nutmeg

Place all ingredients in blender and pulse until smooth.

That’s it! Just blend and enjoy!

Its cold out. Its flu season. Some days it feels like almost everyone is fighting a cold, cough or sore throat. Its times like this people crave… hot soup!

While many commercial soups are absolutely loaded with sodium, artificial flavors and sometimes questionable meat sources home made soups tend to be much healthier and much more flavorful making them a much more desirable option than normal canned soups.

This year try this simple (it literally takes 10 minutes to make) and healthy soup that warm you up while providing your body with all the nutrients it needs to fight off those nasty bugs all season long.

Ingredients:

1 can of butternut squash

4 cups chicken bone broth

2 tablespoons of ghee or virgin coconut oil

¼ onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make:

Add the ghee or coconut oil to medium heated pan. When oil is hot (2-3 minutes) and fully melted add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add ½ cup of the bone broth to mixture. Transfer mixture to a blender, Nutra bullet or other blender. Pulse mixture until smooth.

Meanwhile, add the can of squash and remaining broth to pan and whisk until smooth. Now, add the onion/garlic mixture to squash and broth and continue mixing until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

*I recommend Redmond REAL salt. It is available in most grocery stores. This is salt mined in Utah out of an ancient salt deposit. It has a much higher mineral content than normal salt.

I like making a batch of soup and then eating is over the nest 2-3 days. It’s loaded with healthy ingredients that boost your immune system, are easy to digest yet still has plenty of protein and healthy fat (bone broth has 9g of protein per cup) to nourish your body. You can also make modifications easily. Try adding ginger, turmeric or other spices to vary the flavor. You can also add chicken or other meats too.

There is a great quote that if your health problems disappear on vacation, then your body isn’t the problem. Your life is.

Stress is a very real part of modern life and experts now believe it contributes or causes something like 90% of all disease. Think about that for minute. Stress is the underlying cause of virtually all disease. Things I see almost weekly are headaches caused by stress, aches and pains flared up from stress and just overall body soreness for no real reason (Hint: It’s probably stress).

So how does stress cause so many negative effects? Well its easy really. Seriously think in your mind of three people you know right now who have zero stress, are never worried, have no lingering health concerns and who never or rarely complains about life. Did you even get to 1?

The truth is everyone is stressed out. TOO stressed out. As a society we have become stressed to the point where virtually everyone has some stress related condition and it’s getting worse, not better.

It works like this. The body can be in either fight or flight stress mode, or it can be in relaxed wine and dine mode. There is no in between. This served us well when the main stress was avoiding getting eaten or capturing dinner. But now in modern life? Not so good since you can’t fight a bill, a deadline or a family problem and then its just over. The question “what if?” leads people down the road of hypothetical possibilities that can trigger a stress reaction. This leads many people into a cycle of stress reactions caused by thoughts.

This is important because the moment the body enters stress mode digestion comes to a halt, healing of tissue is stopped, the normal replenishing of hormones and enzymes stops. The body is ready for it’s emergency and when nothing happens it more or less stays in fight or flight mode until the next event happens. If you don’t watch your body and take steps to relax frequently during the day you run the risk of being in an almost perpetual state of fight or flight which leads the to gradual but steady breakdown of body systems.

This is why de-stressing is so important. You can eat all the organic produce and exercise daily but if you are always stressed, you go to sleep stressed, you wake up stressed you are only delaying the inevitable. If you want to experience true health you will need to start to assess the stress in your own life. What people or events trigger a stress reaction? How easily to thoughts turn to worries that become a chronic stress for you? What steps can you take to reduce stress in your life?

If you can’t answer these questions bring it up to me at your next chiropractic visit (Fun fact: chiropractic helps reduce stress by improving the functioning of the entire body). I can help you assess your personal stress levels. We can begin to look at natural ways for you to lower stress and make changes in your life that will facilitate lower stress levels.

If you have ever had a pinched nerve believe me, you knew it. Of all the many musculoskeletal conditions I have treated in my almost 10 years of clinical practice few conditions present with as much pain and ability to disrupt a person’s day to day life.

Pinched nerves commonly occur in the spine where a misaligned vertebra, called a subluxation, puts pressure on the nerve root. The nerve root is simply where the nerve exits the spinal cord and becomes a peripheral nerve. They can range in severity from relatively minor to severe.

The spine is a complex system of joints which allow us remarkable freedom of movement. As such however it can also cause many different problems when things don’t work the way they are supposed to. So how do you determine if you do in fact have a pinched nerve?

In my experience the top three things to look for which distinguish a pinched nerve from other problems in the spine are

Shooting Pain- when pain shoots down the arms or legs on either or both sides from the spine chances are very good you are experiencing a pinched nerve. The nerves that exit the spine in the lower neck/upper back and the low back merge once they leave the spine to form the nerves in the arms and legs. This is why problems in the neck or back can cause the shooting pain down the arms or legs.

Muscular Weakness- one of the places the nerves serve in the body is the muscles. If a nerve is being pinched it is akin to stepping on a garden hose to stymie its flow. In similar fashion when a nerve is pinched the full signal from the brain to the muscle is diminished and muscle weakness can be the result.

Numbness, Tingling or Burning in the Extremities- Pain caused by nerve injury is different than muscle or other soft tissue injury. Instead of aching pain nerve pain commonly manifests as numb, tingling or burning pain. If you have ever struck your “funny bone” you know what this can feel like. The funny bone is not a bone at all but the relatively unprotected ulnar nerve. Upon striking it you also probably experienced the other 2 types of symptoms listed above, shooting pain and weakness as well.

What do you about it?

While medical treatments such as steroids and injections are sometimes use these simply mask the problem, which is physical in nature. In cases of pinched nerves chiropractic is the treatment of choice since it removes the cause of the problem, the misaligned bones pressing on the nerves. Expect treatment for a condition such as this to last up to several weeks depending on the severity of the condition when treatment is started. Also, icing the affected areas of the spine can be beneficial. Be consistent with your treatment plan and adopt a maintenance policy once healed and you should be able to resume a pain free life.

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Arvold Chiropractic Blog

How to Avoid Injury Shoveling Snow

Walking Through the First Visit for a New Patient

Getting to the Foot of the Problem

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