Morgan Chiropractic

Pinched nerves aren’t just a problem in the back; they can also cause pain and numbness along the arm and shoulder. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is one of the most feared conditions among people whose jobs require them to make repetitive hand motions or expose them to vibration. Because treatments are more effective if it’s caught early, we at Morgan Chiropractic want our patients to be able to recognize it.  The carpal tunnel is a canal in the wrist made up of bones and sturdy connective tissue. Through it runs the median nerve, which travels from the neck to the thumb and first three fingers. If something becomes inflamed and presses down on the carpal tunnel, it will compress the median nerve. This could result in pain, tingling, numbness, or loss of function between the fingers and the shoulder. One distinctive trait of CTS is the sensation of shocks traveling up the arm. Tingling in the fingers is often the first sign of CTS. While people can reduce their risk of it developing fur...

Slipped discs are such a common injury it’s unsurprising we see a lot of them at Morgan Chiropractic in Anchorage. Usually the accumulative result of wear and tear, slipped discs are one of the leading causes of missed work and back pain. However, we offer safe treatments and tips for prevention. With the exception of the atlas and axis vertebrae at the top of the spinal column, each of the vertebrae are separated by a spongy disc. These discs are made up of fibrous rings with a gelatinous center. They function as shock absorbers that are flexible enough to allow the spine to bend. A slipped disc, also known as a herniated or ruptured disc, is one that has become misshapen, and the gelatinous center may be pushing the fibrous ring out of place or have broken through it. This will make the disc far less effective at absorbing shocks and may result in pain and inflammation, particularly if the protrusion compresses a nerve. Slipped discs don’t always cause pain, but when they occur in th...

Massage is a general term for pressing, rubbing and manipulating your skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The technique itself may range from light stroking to deep pressure. At Morgan Chiropractic, Dr. Loren Morgan has diagnosed your condition he may recommend that you benefit from one of our many different types of massage therapy. Studies have found that massage therapy is helpful for anxiety, digestive disorders, headaches, fibromyalgia, soft tissue strains or injuries, sports injuries, temporomandibular joint disorders, and many more. Beyond the benefits for specific conditions or diseases, some people enjoy massage because it often produces feelings of calm, comfort and connection. In addition to relaxation, massage therapy is medically beneficial for improving posture, lowering blood pressure, improving flexibility and range of motion, as well as improving rehabilitation after injury. If you have questions or concerns regarding chiropractic massage therapy, please give us a c...

As we enjoy the fall foliage, it’s important to make sure we’re raking properly. Many of the injuries we see at Morgan Chiropractic in Anchorage could have been prevented with better safety protocols. To help our patients stay healthy, we wanted to pass along some advice. Anytime we do yard work, we should avoid wearing jewelry or other dangling objects. While clothing should be breathable and unrestrictive, it should also be form-fitting. Shoes should be close-toed and have non-skid soles. Prior to raking, spend about five minutes warming up by doing dynamic stretches that will increase blood flow to your limbs. Use a rake that is lightweight, but with a long enough handle that you don’t have to stoop down. One of your hands should be near the handle’s top, the other mid-way down. Stand in a scissor position next to the leaf pile and avoid twisting your torso. About every ten minutes, switch hand positions, and be sure to keep your head up. Take care not to fill the bag all the way to...

One of the most visible back ailments the spinal curvature that often appears in older people. Although common, this condition is not natural. We at Morgan Chiropractic in Anchorage want our patients to understand the value of preventive care. With proper nutrition and exercise, it is possible to keep the back strong and supportive throughout life. An overly rounded upper back is referred to as “kyphosis.” There are several potential causes, including infections and blockages. But in the elderly, the likeliest cause is osteoporosis. In people over fifty, the bones may begin losing density. This is a condition called osteopenia. Bones are living tissue, constantly being resorbed and rebuilt, but in people with osteopenia, the rate of resorption has outpaced the rate of new growth. When osteopenia develops into osteoporosis, the bones have developed enough gaps to resemble a honeycomb. Weakened bones are at risk of developing tiny fractures. These breaks might not even be noticeable to t...

The common goal of most chiropractic techniques is to restore and enhance joint function, with the general goals of resolving joint inflammation and reducing pain.  A chiropractic adjustment, also known as spinal manipulation, is a common therapeutic treatment for lower back pain, neck pain and more. With spinal manipulation, Dr. Loren Morgan of Morgan Chiropractic uses his hands to apply a controlled, sudden force to a specific joint to treat affected areas.   Dr. Loren Morgan of Morgan Chiropractic adapts treatment plans to meet the specific needs of each patient. Typically, chiropractic treatment plans involve some forceful and less forceful spinal adjustment techniques during the same visit, or over the course of treatment. Overall, adjustments are an excellent way to keep the body functioning at its highest level. When the body is in alignment, the body is able to respond and perform as it was designed too. If you have questions or concerns regarding spinal adjustments, please giv...

Chiropractors often tell people to be careful about overdoing high-impact sports, and that’s good advice. But the athletes who rank among the most frequent sufferers of lower back pain are cyclists. We want patients at Morgan Chiropractic in Anchorage to understand the importance of varying their routines, which is why we’re devoting this week’s blog post to common cycling mistakes. A bike shop should be able to adjust a bike to fit a new owner. While lower back pain is common even among professional cyclists who can afford the best equipment, a bicycle that forces the rider to extend their back too much isn’t doing them any favors. Getting a hand-me-down bike and not getting it adjusted is false economy, since frequent riders will pay for it in physical therapy later. Regardless of their equipment, cyclists need to maintain their core strength. When the muscles supporting the lumbar vertebrae are weak, they give out faster, particularly when pushing uphill. This allows the spine to sw...

The beginning of the school year is a great time for kids to start healthy habits. We value preventive care at Morgan Chiropractic in Anchorage, and we see too many young people struggling with back pain. One of the most important ways they can prevent injuries and wear-and-tear is by using backpacks safely. A backpack should be selected on the basis for school usage. Features such as wheels and pull-out handles are likely to only be dead weight. We don’t recommend a backpack be filled to the point of weighing more than 15% of its wearer’s weight, so smaller is usually better. Students should plan when to swap items out and not carry anything they don’t expect to use. If a child strains while lifting a backpack, it is too heavy. The advantage of using a backpack is that the shoulder straps can evenly distribute weight across the body, but only if both are worn. Shoulder straps should be wide and padded. The best backpacks also come with a strap across the chest. The backpack should be ...

Stretching is important to keep the muscles flexible, strong, and healthy. Without stretching on a daily basis, you may experience limitation in flexibility and range-of-motion. If a muscle isn’t “warmed up” even a little bit before performing your daily activities or a sport, you’ll pose a bigger risk of injury. Dr. Loren Morgan of Morgan Chiropractic encourages patients to stretch each muscle group for at least 10 minutes a day. Regular stretching is one of the most relaxing and beneficial things that people can do to rehabilitate their bodies on a daily basis. You don’t need a partner or a trainer, all you need is yourself. When muscles and limbs become looser due to stretching, you can move more actively without injury. In addition to improving flexibility, stretching on a daily basis improves posture, decreases stress, and improves circulation. If you have questions or concerns regarding therapeutic exercise or chiropractic care, please give us a call. To learn about services we p...

Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) is a therapy that is utilized at Morgan Chiropractic to handle injuries related to muscle tissue. EMS therapy may help reduce stiffness, swelling, and pain, increase endorphin production, and promote pain-free movement. If you are suffering from any discomfort due to injury, Dr. Loren Morgan will utilize this treatment to make you feel good as new. To initiate EMS therapy, Dr. Loren Morgan will place sticky pads over the affected part of the boy. The EMS device will be turned on and convert kinetic energy into an electric charge. The charge is delivered through the pad into the muscles, which will rapidly contract, loosening them up. Patients often describe this sensation as a "tingle." The muscles will be flushed with fresh blood, increasing their oxygen supply and providing them with nutrients. This will enable them to repair themselves faster and with less pain. If you have questions or concerns regarding electric muscle stimulation, pleas...

When someone is involved in a car accident that isn’t a major collision, it may seem more like a nuisance than trauma.  People typically worry more about being late for work or an insurance claim, and don’t always stop to assess what damage may have been done to their bodies. At Morgan Chiropractic, w e know some drivers and passengers feel the effects of whiplash injuries immediately following an accident, while others may walk away not feeling injured and experience pain later. This is why you should always visit a chiropractor for evaluation. Whiplash occurs when a person’s head moves backward and then forward very suddenly with great force, causing the tendons and ligaments in your neck to tear. The most common site of pain and stiffness for passengers involved in an accident are the neck and back.  A chiropractor can evaluate these injuries, as well as treat damage to both hard and soft tissue. Depending on a patient’s evaluation the chiropractor may perform an adjustment or assig...

Morgan Chiropractic helps patients rehabilitate from all kinds of injuries.  The method of icing an injury, called cryotherapy, is well known to provide cooling relief and help numb painful soft tissue injuries. Applying ice safely by using an ice pack or cold compress is an excellent way to treat muscle spasms and injuries like sprains and strains.  If icing an injury does not provide relief or your pain worsens, contact us for help. After an injury, affected soft tissue will be inflamed and icing the area reduces inflammation and pain, as well as cools the skin to constrict blood vessels and heal the area.  The healing effects of ice pack therapy can also be helpful after a flare-up in chronic pain like in the back or knee, and is a cheap option or at-home relief. Cryotherapy is an effective way to manage pain at home without medication, and we also provide custom cryotherapy in the office. To learn more about cryotherapy and all the services provided by Dr. Loren Morgan, in Anchor...

Whiplash is a term that describes an injury to the neck that occurs as a result of a motor vehicle or car accident. The most common type of car accident is the rear impact, and most typically, the occupant in the vehicle that gets “rear-ended” is at the greatest risk of injury, including whiplash. To treat whiplash at Morgan Chiropractic, Dr. Loren Morgan may suggest spinal manipulation therapy that involves gently moving the involved joint into the direction in which it’s restricted. Chiropractic care can help you cope with whiplash because it can help return proper mechanics to the cervical spine (your neck). During a consultation, Dr.  Loren Morgan will evaluate your spine as a whole – even if you go to the office complaining of neck pain following a trauma. He will examine the entire spine because other regions of the spine may be affected (not just your neck). After the examination, Dr. Loren Morgan will be better able to diagnose your condition accurately, helping to create a tre...

Chiropractic care is typically sought out by people seeking relief from neck or back pain. The staff of Morgan Chiropractic is also skilled in treating extremities like the knees, elbows, and the shoulders. The shoulder joint is the body’s most mobile joint. It is surrounded by nerves, tendons, bursa, and other tissues which can all experience irritation and cause pain. This complex structure means that shoulder pain can have many causes and may require your chiropractor to assess your overall health and condition to target the root of the problem.  Whether pain began after an injury or has increased over time, chiropractic treatment is a safe and effective way to treat damage to both hard and soft tissue.  When shoulder pain is caused by joint irritation, relief can often be achieved through an adjustment.  Pain in the muscles can be addressed by massage or stimulation therapy, and your chiropractor will recommend exercise and stretches if needed.  If you are suffering from pain in th...

At Morgan Chiropractic we are happy to welcome first-time chiropractic patients.  New chiropractic patients often arrive frustrated, having tried other treatment methods and not found relief from their pain or discomfort.  Chiropractic takes a systemic approach to care, meaning the whole body and the body’s ability to heal itself are considered in every case. This is why your initial consultation and assessment with a chiropractor is especially important.  We will work to understand your goals for treatment, and take a very detailed record of your current condition using a physical exam and sometimes x-rays.  From there, we can form a treatment plan to target any issues and improve overall health. What surprises most new patients is that chiropractic does not incorporate drugs as part of treatment.  Chiropractic focuses on treating the root cause of any pain, rather than masking symptoms with medication.  Whether you are in serious pain or looking to restore your body’s natural balance...

Microcurrent therapy is used by the doctors of Morgan Chiropractic to help patients who are healing from injuries to the soft tissue or dealing with chronic pain. The treatment resembles electrical stimulation therapy, as electrodes are placed onto the skin in affected areas.  But the microcurrent is so small patients don’t feel it. A body’s natural electric current is disrupted when injury or disease occurs. The microcurrent used in this therapy works by simulating the electrical signals that occur naturally in a healthy body. This helps an injured body heal faster, and is also an effective way to decrease inflammation and relieve pain.  Microcurrent therapy is a great treatment for muscle spasms occurring in the back or neck. It works by gently relaxing the muscle and allowing it to return to its normal state.  This treatment is typically scheduled in short therapy sessions spread out over a course of weeks. To see if microcurrent therapy could help you, p lease contact us .  To lear...

At Morgan Chiropractic , we heal patients dealing with problematic spinal discs using spinal decompression therapy.  Non-surgical spinal decompression therapy is a safe, targeted treatment for any herniated discs in a patient’s spine or nerves.  Injured discs in the neck and back cause pain, but can also affect the rest of the body.  Herniated discs often have a direct impact on the central nervous system, causing more pain to the extremities.  Our doctors can determine if spinal decompression is an appropriate solution for your pain. Spinal decompression is performed with equipment that resembles a table but has moving parts.  Patients lie on their back or stomach, depending on the location of the issue, and are attached to the equipment with padded straps so distraction forces can be applied to the spine.  A typical treatment alternates between applying distraction forces to the vertebrae and periods of partial relaxation.  The result is the vertebrae slowly and gently separating fro...

Part of our mission at Morgan Chiropractic in Anchorage is to educate the public about how they can prevent and treat back problems. When people understand how their backs are structured, they can better understand various problems and communicate more easily with doctors. The backbone is not really a bone at all but is a structure made up of thirty-four bones linked together and a number of spongy discs. The bones of the back are called vertebrae, of which twenty-four move separately from each other. Among those, all but the top two are separated by discs. The seven top vertebrae are the neck bones and they are called “cervical vertebrae.” The twelve middle vertebrae connect to the ribs and are called “thoracic vertebrae.” The lower back is made up of the five “lumbar vertebrae,” which are the largest. There are two structures below the lumbar vertebrae which are made up of vertebrae fused together without intervening discs: the sacrum and the coccyx. The vertebrae have facet joints b...

Chiropractic is a comprehensive approach to pain relief that does not rely on surgery or drugs. Since arthritis is one of the most common causes of pain, we at Morgan Chiropractic in Anchorage wanted to observe National Arthritis Month by educating the public about what arthritis is and how chiropractors approach it. The statistics on arthritis are sobering. About 53 million adults and hundreds of thousands of children have it. But when you consider that “arthritis” actually refers to many different joint disorders, the high numbers make more sense. The most common forms of arthritis have very different causes. Osteoarthritis is caused by wearing away of cartilage, which is what keeps the bones in the joints from rubbing against each other. Rheumatoid arthritis results from the immune system attacking a part of the joints. Both these conditions cause inflammation around the facet joints, which are what connect the bones of the back together. There are less common forms of arthritis whi...

At Morgan Chiropractic we have a pain solution for every patient.  Electrical muscle stimulation is recommended for patients with muscle or soft tissue injuries because it reduces pain and swelling and can reduce overall recovery time.  When disease or injury occurs, a body’s natural electric current is disrupted.  Electric muscle stimulation mimics the electrical current that occurs naturally in a healthy body.  During a treatment, electrodes are placed directly on the skin in the affected area and the machine is turned on.  The gentle current causes the muscles to contract and relax, which relieves pain and can release locked up muscles.  These contractions also trigger the release of endorphins, the body’s most powerful natural pain reliever.  Most patients describe the treatment feeling like a tingling sensation and aren’t uncomfortable during the process. The treatments are short in length and can be scheduled over a series of weeks. To learn more about electrical muscle stimulat...