Poway Chiropractor Dr. Kip Rode of Rode Chiropractic

Hello
Welcome to my page. I am a chiropractor located on Poway Road at 13248 Suite B. We help patients who suffer from neck pain, back pain, headaches, migraines, numbness and tingling in the hands, sciatica, musculo-skeletal problems and many other ailments.

Many times people feel as if they have some muscle problem that may be going on for years and what they don't realize is that it is really a nerve problem that just seems like a muscle problem. So they will take pain medication, get a massage, stretch their muscles and it might help temporarily but ultimately the problem returns. What I do through chiropractic adjustments is to help realign the spine so that the nerves are not pinched and then the nerve impulses can go where they are supposed to go.

Please visit my website at http://www.rodechiropractic.com

"I thought it would go away" I often hear this from patients when I talk to them for the first time. Sometimes the pain has been going on for many years and they either get feed up with it or it is progressively getting worse. What people don't realize is that if there spine is out of alignment and it is causing the problems, then the problems will continue until their spine is realigned. The body is self healing but the spine is not self correcting if it get to far out of alignment. If it stays out of alignment for to long then degeneration will begin in the spine. Degeneration is a permanent process it cannot be restored to its original state. So if your pain is continuing don't wait to long to get it check out.

When we grow up more often than not we don't learn how the spine and there nervous system affect our health. Sure we know the nerves move our muscles but we don't learn about the relationship between the importance of uninterrupted nerve impulses and the health of our organ function and general over all health. I didn't learn about this until I went to chiropractic college. You never see it on TV or read about it in magazines like Time or Newsweek. What people want these days is a quick fix but what they don't realize is that the body takes time to heal itself. You can't really speed up the process and taking pain pills just cover up the symptoms (pain) and don't get to the cause (decreased nerve flow) to the affected areas.

One of the reasons why patients may suffer from low back pain is because the have what is called an anatomical short leg. There are two types of short legs anatomical and functional. A functional short leg is when one of the muscle is contracted and causes the feet to be different on a leg length check. An anatomical short leg is something that shows up when an X-ray film is taken. Some times if the difference is large enough a heel lift for the shoe may be warranted. When you put in heal lifts and there is a large difference say 15 mm it is important to start off slowly. Start with a 3 mm lift then go to a 6 mm lift then 9 mm and then a 12 mm lift. If start of with the 12 mm lift you can actually be causing more problems in the low back because the body in no use to such a sudden change. That is why it is always important to gradually increase the lift height. For more information about your chiropractic needs call Dr Rode at Rode Chiropractic in Poway CA 858-391-1372

There are times in the life of a chiropractor when the diagnosis of subluxation is not necessary to state the fact that a patient suffers from degenerative disc disease. Oftentimes described by sufferers as excruciating shooting pains that originate in the lower back, this condition affects the discs that are cushioning the vertebrae or segmental portions of the spine. Many tend to think of these discs as simply being round in shape but this is a somewhat misleading idea. Consider the fact that these discs not only lie between the vertebrae, but that they also form ligaments which in fact hold the vertebrae in place rather than allowing too much of a range of motion.

In the young and unharmed body, the discs are squishy and readily give way a time of movement. Yet with the years that age the body, the discs do not remain flexible and easily move, but instead they degenerate and suddenly they become a large liability to the healthy functioning of the spine. Take for example the dreaded ailment known as spinal stenosis which presents as a compression of the spinal cord and will cause the sufferer to not only experience the lower back pain aforementioned, but might even cause discomfort in the legs, which is usually the warning sign that causes a sufferer to look for some treatment. Oftentimes, it is the chiropractor who gets the call for an appointment, and with the help of medical imaging, this ailment can be quickly diagnosed.

Another form of degenerative disc disease occurs when the discs slip and slightly change their positions. This in turn will lead to a rubbing of vertebrae against one another or even the pinching of nerves between them. This is quite possible one of the most often observed problems in the chiropractor's office. Sufferers will sometimes report that they experience an odd tingling or a dull pain while walking. The pain may not be enough to keep the sufferer from doing daily exercising or engaging in activities, but it does present a painful reminder that all is not well. Chiropractics are usually sought out to either supplement a regimen of traditional medical intervention, or in extreme cases it might be an effort to avoid painful back surgery.

While chiropractics do not offer a magic bullet for those suffering from degenerative disc disease, it does provide a number of services that spell hope even for the most extreme sufferers. Take for example the fact that since chiropractics are a form of alternative medicine, and many in this field are familiar in an interdisciplinary way with nutrition and exercise. In addition to manipulating your spine, a skilled chiropractor will be able to also suggest a dietary regimen that will aid your discs to such an extent that some regeneration may occur. In addition to the foregoing, because of the close ties between the athletic community and the field of chiropractics, there is a good chance that your chiropractor will be provide you with a number of exercises that you need to follow to keep yourself limber, and your spine healthy.

The education of today's chiropractic doctors is highly regulated and requires four years of intensive study. Part and parcel of the chiropractic curriculum are basic sciences. Some students wonder whether or not the amount of time spent in these endeavors could not be spent better by learning the core applications that will later on help them in their practice with patients. While at face value this might be a reasonable request, it soon becomes obvious that basic sciences is actually a most crucial aspect in the training of the next generation of chiropractors.

Basic sciences within the chiropractic curriculum usually refer to the study of biochemistry, pathology, physiology, anatomy, and even microbiology. These subject areas appear to only be tangentially related to chiropractics as a field, but under closer scrutiny they soon make it quite apparent that in fact a well rounded chiropractic cannot be accomplished without them. After all, how better to teach a student the many different ways in which abnormalities in a patient's body might present. Sure, every student will be able to recognize an abnormally curved spine, yet the fine points of abnormality, especially beginning abnormalities in their early stages, usually require significant training that can only be had by mastering the basic sciences.

Add to this the fact that some abnormalities can be detected as early as they appear on the cellular level, and the notion that biochemistry as well as microbiology are requires suddenly does not appear as such a waste of time anymore. Of course, anatomy is a mainstay in the chiropractic field, since it will help the student to understand the proximity of organs to the nerves of the spine, and will also help the aspiring chiropractor to have a healthy respect for the many problems that could arise from improper care, thus stressing the need for interdisciplinary knowledge when treating the patient as a whole rather than just a problem area.

For the chiropractic doctor who will be practicing in the United States, the basic sciences are an integral part in the process of becoming a primary care physician and will help the health care professional to read, understand, and use the information provided by other medical professionals. In addition to the foregoing, as part of a medical team treating a patient, she or he is now able to adequately communicate with the other medical professionals as well, thus increasing the patient's chances of receiving quality medical care and attaining a healing that will last in the long term rather than receiving a short term fix.

To be sure, basic sciences are very much the basis on which the chiropractic curriculum builds itself, and develops the aspiring chiropractors' understanding and appreciation of the physical aspects she or he will be dealing with in the clinical setting. Any chiropractic student who thinks they can make do without this information will be sadly mistaken and find that a lack of knowledge in basic sciences will usually lead to a lot of catching up in the higher courses.