Could you imagine going through life every day with near-debilitating, chronic back pain? Back pain is one of the most common ailments in America - it's estimated that 8% of all adults, or 16 million people, suffer from chronic back pain in the U.S. every year. If you've never experienced a back injury or pain, be thankful. Chronic back pain affects every aspect of a person's life, from participating in sports to limitations with everyday activities, like cooking dinner. In fact, many people with chronic back pain can't even make a reliable living and put food on the table. Almost 83 million workdays are lost every year due to choric back pain.
The inability to work and provide isn't just a physical issue - it can become an emotional one too. Many people suffering from chronic back pain also suffer from depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, in the past, chronic back pain sufferers wanting to avoid addictive medications and invasive surgeries had few viable relief options. However, if you're suffering from a chronic back issue like sciatica, a pinched nerve, or a bulging disc, pain relief may be closer than you think.
Modern chiropractic care and, more specifically, a spinal decompression chiropractor in Charleston, SC, may be the long-term solution you need for chronic back pain.
A common misconception is that chiropractors only adjust your back and neck when, in fact, they treat the whole body with all-natural treatments. Here at Elite Healthcare, our doctors focus on your overall health, not just pain. We want to find and address the underlying causes of your symptoms. If you're unfamiliar with an integrative approach to medicine, this strategy may seem new. Our chiropractic care is less about putting a band-aid on the problem and more about finding a natural, long-term solution to your pain.
Fortunately, our experienced chiropractors provide the best in natural pain relief. Prescription and over-the-counter pain medications mask the symptoms you're experiencing versus getting to the cause of your pain. Pain is often the result of your spine being out of alignment, which leads to nerve issues. Once your spine is back in alignment, the nerves function correctly again.
Because our chiropractic center offers a combination of different therapies and non-surgical treatments, we provide a comprehensive approach to healing. Depending on the extent of your back problems, spinal decompression therapy may be the answer to your chronic pain problems.
Initially developed in 1985 by Dr. Allan Dyer, spinal decompression has been used by chiropractors for years. Unfortunately, spinal decompression is often passed over as a viable treatment, despite its numerous benefits.
In the past, patients suffering from chronic back pain issues like herniated discs were usually prescribed powerful medications. They were instructed to refrain from physical activities, referred to a physical therapist, and sent on their way. While physical therapy has an important role in back pain recovery, some back conditions need a more comprehensive treatment approach. For those patients, surgery seemed like the only option.
Today, patients with chronic back pain have many more options to consider. One of the most effective treatments for serious back pain is spinal decompression. This proven therapy, provided by Elite Healthcare, has been shown to significantly reduce pain and help patients live a normal, even active lifestyle once again.
Spinal decompression, also called Lumbar Cervical Decompression Therapy (LCD Therapy), is a very effective non-surgical solution to chronic back pain problems. If you're like most patients, your back pain is caused by disc issues related to your spine. This type of therapy uses computer technology and a spinal decompression machine in cityname, state, to stretch your spinal column slowly and gently, relieving abnormal pressure on the discs in your back, which sit in between your vertebrae.
This precise stretching action causes negative pressure to form inside the discs in your back, making them retract. With time, this negative pressure causes a reverse vacuum of sorts that actually draws your protruding discs into place. When pressure is removed from the disc segments in your spine, you experience much-needed pain relief.
The primary purpose of spinal decompression therapy is to provide you with immediate pain relief while creating a healthy environment to heal your spinal disc condition. Some of the most common conditions that spinal decompression therapy treats include:
This happens when spinal discs in your back are pushed outside of the spinal canal. When pushed outside of their usual space, these discs can put pressure on the nerves in your spine, resulting in localized pain and pain throughout your body. If a bulging disc is left untreated, it has a high chance of rupturing, which can necessitate surgery and longer recovery time.
Herniated discs are discs in your back that fracture or crack and leak fluid. The fluid or gel that leaks from a herniated disc may irritate the nerves in your back. When this happens, you may experience an intense burning sensation that shoots up and down your lower back and legs.
As you grow older, joints in your body, like your knees and hips, begin to wear away with time. The same thing can happen to the discs in your back. Often caused by heavy lifting or a family history of spine problems, degenerative discs are painful and can lead to serious situations. In advanced cases, bone spurs can form and affect the nerves of your spine.
When a herniated disc or bone spur begins to put pressure on the nerves in your back, it often causes sciatica. Sciatica is a common back problem that causes pain to radiate from your lower back down your legs via your sciatic nerve. Sometimes, this pain is only felt in one of your legs.
This condition is similar to arthritis of your spine, where the cartilage inside your facet joint breaks down and becomes inflamed. The result is often intense neck and back pain. It's most often caused by degenerative changes in the joints located between the bones of your spine.
This painful condition manifests when the space in your backbone is too small. When this happens, pressure impacts your spinal cord and the nerves that travel through it. Like other conditions treated by a spinal decompression therapy cityname, state, stenosis is caused by wear-and-tear in your back, which forms arthritis.
This term is often used to classify a range of back problems, most often caused by a pinched nerve root in your spinal column. This pinched nerve root may occur in different locations down your spine, like the lumbar or thoracic areas. Usually caused by a narrowing of the space where your nerve root leaves the spine, symptoms of this condition include pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness.
If you're looking for a safe way to relieve your chronic back pain, spinal decompression should be on your list of treatments to consider. This painless procedure is backed by research showing higher success rates in many patients when compared to spinal surgery. Unlike many medications, spinal decompression from Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine is designed to correct the condition you're facing while also minimizing costs and eliminating recovery and downtime.
Some of the most popular reasons why patients choose spinal decompression over surgery and other treatments include:
Invasive procedures, like back surgeries, often leave the patient racked with pain, long recovery times, and complications. Sometimes, the surgery doesn't work as intended, leaving the patient responsible for a therapy that didn't work correctly. As a non-invasive treatment, spinal decompression therapy can treat back and neck pain without needles, incisions, or harmful manipulations of the spine.
Getting back pain relief from surgery is far from guaranteed. However, because spinal decompression targets the underlying causes of your back pain, it's a much more effective long-term treatment. Spinal decompression is not a quick fix. When coupled with positive lifestyle changes like losing weight, you can maximize the pain-relieving benefits of spinal decompression.
Surgery of the back and spine requires the patient to be bedridden and uncomfortable for days and even weeks. Recovering from back surgery is no easy feat and often requires strong pain medications to help. Sometimes, back surgeries don't go as planned, causing complications and worse scenarios. Spinal decompression, on the other hand, is very effective and doesn't require much recovery time at all. Once your spinal decompression session is over, you'll probably be able to drive yourself home from our office.
One of the least talked about issues with back pain medications is that they only treat the pain, not the underlying causes. For many patients, relying on meds to relieve back pain fosters dependency on pain pills. Pain pill addiction is a very serious issue in the U.S., often leading patients down a dark path. With spinal decompression, you won't have to worry about taking pills for pain relief. That's because the root causes of your back pain are addressed, not just the symptoms.
If you were to look at the cost of surgery and subsequent years of prescription medication, you might be shocked. When compared to spinal decompression, surgery is a much more expensive treatment to consider. You've got to take the cost of surgery into account, but also the fact that you'll be forced to take time off work. By choosing spinal decompression therapy, you're choosing a safe, non-surgical treatment that doesn't require any time off work.
Spinal decompression relieves pressure on disrupted discs, causing them to retract back into place. This revolutionary treatment also lets oxygen, fluids, and nutrients re-enter your spinal discs, which provides additional healing.
By now, you probably have a better idea of how spinal decompression can help rid your life of back pain. But spinal decompression treatment does more than help with bulging discs, herniated discs, arthritis, and more. It has also been shown to provide patients with important quality-of-life benefits.
As mentioned above, harsh surgeries leave you bedridden and unable to work for long periods of time. Spinal decompression allows you to jump right back into the workforce, so you can continue providing for your family. Plus, reducing your back pain naturally increases your mobility since you won't be stressing about hurting yourself while moving. Instead, you'll be living in the moment.
One of the worst symptoms affecting people with back pain is the inability to sleep well. Sleeping with back pain can be horrible, causing you to toss and turn to find a comfortable spot. As soon as you find one and get settled, your back starts to hurt again. It's a vicious cycle, but adjusting your spine and relieving pressure with spinal decompression will help you get a good night's rest.
Did you know that when your spine is decompressed, it helps fluids circulate throughout your body? These fluids actually flush your lymphatic system, which helps support your overall immune system. Better circulation also benefits your brain and can help boost concentration and memory. The improved circulation from spinal decompression may also distribute oxygen and nutrients to your skin, creating a multi-benefit effect.
We are happy to answer your questions, and help you find the services you need. Please message us to get started.
At Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine, we practice an integrated approach to pain relief and chiropractic care. Our goal is to restore your spine to its proper alignment, which speeds up your recovery time and prevents additional injuries. If chronic back pain has taken over your life, it's time to visit our chiropractic office for a thorough evaluation.
Ask yourself this: Have you been suffering from headaches and sleepless nights due to muscle strain? Is your ability to work and put food on the table compromised due to a pinched nerve? No amount of over-the-counter pain medication can provide a long-term fix for such an issue. Thankfully, our chiropractors have years of experience providing relief to patients just like yourself.
After a comprehensive exam, our doctor will create an individualized treatment plan tailored to your body. That way, we can address the full scope of your symptoms by correcting any root causes of your back pain.
From minor chiropractic adjustments to spinal decompression treatment, we'll find the solution that your back and body need to heal correctly. If you're ready to get back on the road to better health, we're here to help every step of the way. Contact our Elite Healthcare Physical Medicine today to get started.
MOUNT PLEASANT — Downtown Charleston’s Revealed Gallery has teamed up with Mount Pleasant’s White Gallery for an upcoming rock ‘n’ roll exhibit.Scott Parsons, owner of Revealed Gallery, is one of the two artists being featured in the show, which will include portraits of famed classic rockers across a variety of media. The second participant is one of Parsons’ featured artists and friend Mauricio Sánchez Rengifo, who goes by Masáre.Both will showcase their large-scale works at W...
MOUNT PLEASANT — Downtown Charleston’s Revealed Gallery has teamed up with Mount Pleasant’s White Gallery for an upcoming rock ‘n’ roll exhibit.
Scott Parsons, owner of Revealed Gallery, is one of the two artists being featured in the show, which will include portraits of famed classic rockers across a variety of media. The second participant is one of Parsons’ featured artists and friend Mauricio Sánchez Rengifo, who goes by Masáre.
Both will showcase their large-scale works at White Gallery, 709 Coleman Blvd., for the “TripLineDrop” art show from 7-10 p.m. Aug. 25. There will be food and drink vendors, as well as music by Paul Harris, Graham Whorley and DJ Moldybrain, on-site during the show.
Parsons grew up with a brother eight years older than him who loved comic books. He experienced art from an early age and started to attempt drawing his favorite characters at age 7. In middle school, he gravitated toward graffiti and was hired for his first mural in Washington, D.C., in 1997. He moved to Charleston in 2000 and started doing murals again after a hiatus. In 2010, he transferred from spray can to brush and canvas. He also experiments with acrylic pouring.
“My subject matter isn’t easily defined,” said Parsons. “I paint images that strike me when doing figurative work. ... The pouring paintings I do are experimenting with color and are very organic. I direct the paint to a certain extent, but then it’s kind of out of my control, which is very fun for me and I hope for the viewer as well.”
Parsons said he will be bringing a “whole lot of color” to this show, as well as new pour experimentations. This is the first time he has shown at White Gallery.
Masáre studied and graduated as an architect in Colombia in 2005. He spent six months locked in his studio painting some of the works that will be on display at this exhibit, including portraits of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin.
His portraits are created from layered textures on rigid surfaces; he uses glass, fabric, wood, beads, plastic, metal, glitter, paper, petals and more. The materials used often coalesce with the story of his subject matter.
“Any material and medium the concept of who I am painting, life and work, dictates me to use,” he said. “For instance, in the Kurt Cobain paintings, there was a shotgun. Frida Kahlo, nails; Jim Morrison, fire and soot; Amy Winehouse, wine bottles and plastic roses.”
Masáre said he loves optical illusions and rock music. So this themed show was the perfect opportunity for him.
Among featured pieces will be a reimagined “Dark Side of the Moon” cover featured 16 video laser discs; hypodermic needles embedded into one work; and paintings of David Bowie’s ascending black neon star and Gustavo Cerati’s sidereal evolution.
He has been in Charleston since February. Both Parsons and Masáre have been featured muralists at the former D.B.’s Cheesesteaks on Savannah Highway in Avondale, West Ashley. Masáre has another upcoming mural along with eight other artists in Mount Pleasant.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - An extension of a storm drainage tunnel downtown is nearing completion.Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg gave an update on the Ehrhardt Street Project, Thursday morning. The project is an extension of the larger Spring-Fishburne project. The project is a tunnel that collects water and directs it to the Ashley River.“Just a few months ago, we tied in all of the surface collection systems, so the last piece for this addition will be the surface collection system over on Ehrhardt Street, right in th...
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - An extension of a storm drainage tunnel downtown is nearing completion.
Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg gave an update on the Ehrhardt Street Project, Thursday morning. The project is an extension of the larger Spring-Fishburne project. The project is a tunnel that collects water and directs it to the Ashley River.
“Just a few months ago, we tied in all of the surface collection systems, so the last piece for this addition will be the surface collection system over on Ehrhardt Street, right in the midst of the hospital district,” Tecklenburg said.
The tunnel extension was expected to cost $14 million with the other $4 million coming from the city. Tecklenburg touted the existing working portion of the tunnel as preventing flooding in commonly flood-prone areas.
“That water, when it rained heavily last night even last year, you would have had a closure of the Septima Clark Parkway just with what happened last night,” Tecklenburg said. “Guess what? The tunnel is working we didn’t have to close the parkway.”
Tecklenburg said there was one more project to be brought to city council that would add three pumps to the tunnel.
“Water will be in the whole system working and draining this part of Charleston,” he said. “It will be optimized by the final phase, which will add three pumps that will be able to pump in over a million gallons in three minutes time.
Tecklenburg said the plans for the medical district tunnel were shown to Gov. Henry McMaster during a tour of the original tunnel.
“I had the governor, and I had a little map showing that if we just extend this tunnel another few blocks, we can pick up another 35 acres of drainage basin that would serve this important part of our city,” Tecklenburg said.
McMaster was originally scheduled to attend Thursday’s tour but could not come.
South Carolina Chief Resilience Officer Benjamin Duncan said $10 million came from a mitigation grant. Duncan said the project was the highest-scoring project in their benefit-cost analysis.
“This has been the most cooperative and the most well-planned project that we’ve worked on so far even though it’s the largest,” Duncan said. “Our job is to lessen the impact of disasters or hazards to the citizens of South Carolina. This is an extremely important project that needed to happen because of the citizens that are affected in the medical district. You’re talking about workers, the economy.”
City officials have previously said one of the main goals of the project was to make sure ambulances can get to hospitals when it rains.
“That will help with the everyday and not only with our employees but help with patient access and all of the entities in the medical district,” Medical University of South Carolina Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations Rick Anderson said.
Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The local nonprofit Trident United Way is launching its Changemaker Grants program.This initiative aims to provide resources and support to local nonprofits making a difference in the community.The Changemaker Grants program will offer investments to improve and expand an organization’s mission.Trident United Way will award the grants in four cycles before June 30 of next year with a minimum pool of $100,000 dollars per cycle.Each grant cycle will have a specific focus, beginning wi...
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The local nonprofit Trident United Way is launching its Changemaker Grants program.
This initiative aims to provide resources and support to local nonprofits making a difference in the community.
The Changemaker Grants program will offer investments to improve and expand an organization’s mission.
Trident United Way will award the grants in four cycles before June 30 of next year with a minimum pool of $100,000 dollars per cycle.
Each grant cycle will have a specific focus, beginning with capacity-building grants.
This focuses on skill building for staff members, diversity and equity initiatives, leadership development, management training and strategic planning.
The total of each grant will vary based on the project and financial request from each chosen agency.
Stacy Stagliano, President of Katie’s Krops, a nonprofit that provides fresh produce to those facing food insecurities, says they will be applying for the change maker grant and shares how the nonprofit benefited from a grant earlier this year.
“This year we received a grant to host Spring Fest, which was a spring festival we held in March, and everybody got to come up to the garden and experience the garden,” Stagliano said. “We did plant giveaways. Seed giveaways. We opened our butterfly house; we gained so many new volunteers and supporters from that event.”
President and CEO of Trident United Way DJ Hampton says it all comes down to the well-being of families in the community.
“Changemaker grants will come out every quarter targeted at community needs, especially those things that are in the way of families getting ahead financially,” Hampton said. “So, the goal is to lift up families, Hampton said. This first grant is targeted at capacity building for nonprofits. What’s in the way of them financially, being able to do more of the good work we know they need to do.”
Applications will be open from Aug. 23 through Sept. 11. For Details on requirements and the application process click here.
Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.
You’re seeing The Post and Courier’s weekly real estate newsletter. Receive all the latest transactions and top development, building, and home and commercial sales news to your inbox each Saturday here.A fondue ...
You’re seeing The Post and Courier’s weekly real estate newsletter. Receive all the latest transactions and top development, building, and home and commercial sales news to your inbox each Saturday here.
A fondue restaurant chain plans to expand into the Lowcountry.
Bob Johnston, CEO of The Melting Pot, said the Tampa, Fla.-based company is looking to add two locations in Charleston and Mount Pleasant. He cited the Palmetto State’s strong tourism industry as a key reason for the expansion plan.
The chain already has a presence in Columbia, Greenville and Myrtle Beach. It said it hopes to have 15 locations in South Carolina by 2025.
Liberty Senior Living wants to add more units to its South Bay continuing care facility, but it needs an amendment to a planned development because of Mount Pleasant’s moratorium on new multifamily buildings.
3: Number of new restaurants planning to open in the fall in an expanding Charleston-area shopping center.
65,000: Size of proposed new supermarket in a new retail development beside Freshfields Village between Kiawah and Seabrook islands.
2563: Address on Ashley River Road for a fast-food restaurant that recently turned out the lights.
+ More multifamily: A 110-unit townhome development is in the works for the Point Hope area of Charleston on the Cainhoy peninsula.
+ Doctor’s orders: A medical office building is being proposed in Point Hope.
+ Sliding sales: Charleston-area home sales slipped again in July for the 23rd consecutive month.
A social venue called Ocean Club is being proposed at the site of the former Sand Dunes Club property on Sullivan’s Island.
Did a friend forward you this email? Subscribe here.
Craving more? Check out all of the Post and Courier’s newsletters here.
A meeting this week with legislative panel overseeing the financing of a rail and cargo hub for the Port of Charleston has the State Ports Authority scrambling to adjust the project’s construction schedule.The development, called the Navy Base Intermodal Facility, was supposed to be fully completed by July 2025.Barbara Melvin, the SPA’s president and CEO, told a subcommittee of the S.C. Joint Bond Review Committee on Aug. 16 that a portion of the project won’t be finished until a year later.That didn&rs...
A meeting this week with legislative panel overseeing the financing of a rail and cargo hub for the Port of Charleston has the State Ports Authority scrambling to adjust the project’s construction schedule.
The development, called the Navy Base Intermodal Facility, was supposed to be fully completed by July 2025.
Barbara Melvin, the SPA’s president and CEO, told a subcommittee of the S.C. Joint Bond Review Committee on Aug. 16 that a portion of the project won’t be finished until a year later.
That didn’t sit well with the panel and a key senior staffer, who told Melvin to find a way to get the entire taxpayer-funded project built on time.
“Come back to us and let us know in 30 days or so whether or not you can make that commitment and, if not, give us a fully detailed explanation why you can’t,” said Rick Harmon, the committee’s director of research.
Melvin responded: “Yes sir, I’m happy to take on that challenge.”
Melvin also presented a document showing the cost has increased to $468 million, up from its original estimate of $349 million.
Taxpayers are only on the hook for the $349 million, money the General Assembly set aside from the state budget. The SPA must come up with the rest from its business operations or by borrowing.
The part of the rail yard that’s been delayed is a southern access that freight trains operated by CSX and Norfolk Southern would use to enter a building where cargo containers would be loaded onto and from rail cars. Melvin said the delay is due to “challenges of engaging with the Class 1 railroads on the southern access infrastructure.”
Norfolk Southern and CSX have long had disagreements over how their trains will access the new container transfer site, which has been in the works for more than a decade. The railroad operators did not respond to a request for comment.
Legislators gave the SPA money for the intermodal project because the maritime agency had said the lack of near-dock rail service was putting Charleston at a disadvantage to other Southeast ports, Harmon told Melvin.
“We heard your cry and the General Assembly decided to put taxpayer money ... into this project to keep the port competitive,” Harmon said, adding the money was intended to ensure the rail yard was built in a “reasonable timeframe.”
He said the state is unwilling to wait three more years for the project to be fully completed, citing the risk of inflation, a decline in cargo volume at the port and other economic uncertainties.
“I think that is unacceptable to ask the state to wait until 2026 (and) take on another three years of financial risk,” Harmon said.
“It was never envisioned that it would be ’26 before we opened and had everything fully completed and functional,” added state Sen. Nikki Setzler, chairman of the committee’s fiscal oversight group.
“Taxpayers will be without that money for that period of time,” Setzler said. “It affects economic development in this state.”
Melvin said she would meet with her staff to see if there is a way to get the southern access completed in time for the rest of the rail yard’s July 2025 opening date.
“We will work diligently to execute the (committee’s) request to shave time off the 2026 timeline for completing additional tracks to bring this in line with the July 2025 facility opening,” Melvin said in an Aug. 18 statement to The Post and Courier. “We are working alongside our rail partners to build this state-of-the-art, near-port intermodal yard, which will greatly enhance our state’s competitiveness and speed goods to market for our customers.”
The rail hub was part of a $550 million deal legislators approved to help the SPA pay for projects it otherwise could not afford. The package also included $150 million to create a barge system that would allow the SPA to transport containers by water from the Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant to the two-year-old Leatherman Terminal on the Cooper River. That project is about $18.5 million under budget, Melvin said.
Another $51 million was earmarked to repay a loan from the S.C. Commerce Department to the state-owned Palmetto Railways, which had planned to build the intermodal yard before turning the project over to the ports authority.