Dr. Gregory is a Sports Chiropractor in San Carlos, CA and San Francisco, CA.  She is an athlete and is Certified as a Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner by the Council of Extremity Adjusting so she can make sure the whole body is addressed along with the spine.  Extremity chiropractors can work on any joint in the body.

• Shoulders
• Elbow issues (golfer's elbow, tennis elbow)
• Wrists
• Knees
• Ankles
• Feet
• Hips
• Toes
• Fingers

We want to make sure your whole body is balanced and working together harmoniously as a unit.  This will enable you to achieve total wellness and prevent problems in the future.

Working out helps your stress level, decreases depression and makes you feel good. However, keeping fit and healthy may sometimes mean that athletic injuries can occur. If they do, we can get you back on your feet and keep doing the things you love.  Staying active increases your heart rate, keeps your blood pressure down, decreases risk of diabetes, cancer and other diseases. 

When you are injured you lose your ability to get the kind of workout you need for overall health and we want to get you back to doing activities that allow you to remain healthy and thrive.

Your spinal cord sends signals to your arms, legs, feet, shoulders, knees, elbows, wrists and any other joint in the body. The extremities then send messages back to the brain letting it know if the area is working correctly or in "danger".  Your brain thinks you are in danger if an area of the body is not functioning correctly. It will then shut off or send pain to areas it deems as not safe.  That is how our brain works.  So, it is essential to keep all of these signals working properly.  Keeping the  spine moving correctly and efficiently make sure those signals are received, not blocked or distorted and utilized properly.

How does Chiropractic help with my shoulder pain? Don't they just work on necks and backs?

Neck and back pain is very common for first time patients to our office.  However, your back and neck are the trunk leading to all other functions of your body.  Movement starts with your brain and spine.  Most exercise usually involves some type of neck and spinal movement. Runners, cyclists, swimmers, Crossfit workouts and weekend warriors all have the potential to place undue stress on their neck and back.  Your body works as a unit and sometimes in sections.  Commonly, knee pain is not really the knee at all.  It is a problem with something in the kinetic chain that helps the knee move (thigh, foot, low back).  

Knee and ankle issues are prevalent in most sports but more common in running and jumping. The knee and the ankle work together in a system called the lower kinetic chain. 

What is the kinetic chain?

The kinetic chain means that joints and areas of the body will work together and affect one another.  Here is an example:

When you are walking, the kinetic chain consists of the foot, ankle, knee, hip, lumbar spine, sacrum and pelvis.  Anytime you injure one of these structures an examination to rule out injuries in areas above and below is necessary. Even though you have an ankle injury,  checking the knee, hip and low back need to be evaluated to make sure they are working properly and not part of the problem. 

Low back pain is prevalent in almost any sport. Anytime you perform a weight bearing activity strain is placed on your spine. In the winter months we see many skiers and snowboarders with low spine related injuries from excessive twisting, turning and an occasional hard landing.

Shoulder injuries are more common than you think. The shoulder is a very complicated joint because it is a ball and socket joint which means it moves in many different directions and has several muscles attached that perform many different functions.  The shoulder joint rests on a shallow plate/ joint on your scapula bone. The humerus (arm bone) attaches to your shoulder with muscles, ligaments, and a circular configuration of ligamentous tissue called your rotator cuff.   

What muscles are involved, included in the rotator cuff?

There are four muscles that are included in the rotator cuff:
1. Supraspinatus: Holds the humerus in place and helps lift your arm
2. Infraspinatus: Helps to rotate and extend your shoulder
3. Teres Minor: Rotates the arm away from the body
4. Subscapularis: Holds upper arm to shoulder blade, rotates arm, holds arm straight and lowers arm.

Rotator cuff muscles are used with computer work, athletic activities and are even involved in posture.  If one of these structures is injured tissue surrounding the area will work harder to keep normal movement. With time these secondary structures can breakdown causing further injury.  That is why it is necessary to figure out what is breaking down and work on not only the area involved but other areas that may be contributing to the situation. 

Dr. Gregory not only address the spine, but finds out if any other area may be contributing to physical problems.  

If you are having shoulder, wrist, arm, foot, ankle, knee, hip or low back pain, contact us.  We will not only make sure that signals are working properly from the spine all the way to the extremities but also make sure your kinetic chain is working properly by adjusting needed areas, providing soft tissue work and cold laser if necessary.  Sports chiropractors can help any joint in the body move correctly!

Find out how your brain sends signals to your arms, legs and how they send signals back to the brain below:

Dr. Amie Gregory, DC, CCEP is a specialist in sports and wellness chiropractic in San Francisco and San Carlos, CA.  Since your muscles are attached to your spine and get message from the brain, she will work on your spinal column and extremities with safe, accurate and light adjustments, soft tissue tools like SASTM (Graston) and use Cold Laser therapy to help your nerves heal and decrease inflammation.  Make an appointment today!

References: 

https://www.healthline.com/health/4-kinetic-chain-exercises

https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/what-is-my-rotator-cuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DEtdFMTblA&ab_channel=AnatomyZone

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Infraspinatus?lang=en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yxB4VP2EvY&ab_channel=nabilebraheim