People with Low Back Pain

Many people with low back pain, who receive chiropractic care to get relief, fail to understand a fundamental truth.

Because they have always responded well to adjustments, and rapidly, they believe that all they have to do is make it to the office and get up on the table and everything will be fine. It has always been the case for them. No matter how bad their pain has been: from the first visit to the last, over years, and even decades. When they get adjusted they feel a lot better. The back pain goes away. And they can return to thinking that they do not have a ‘problem’.

The truth that they fail to appreciate is that their pain is not their problem: their problem is that they have a spinal subluxation complex.

It is a progressive condition if not corrected. Which means that it gets worse over time, if not corrected. And however bad the symptoms, they can get a worse too. Possibly a lot worse.

The answer: everything this Blog is about. Prevention. Correction. And maintaining good healthy habits, breathing, bracing, bending and lifting. It also means not going 6 months (or several years) between visits to the chiropractor.

That is our message. But sometimes the aid car comes in handy; the surgeons gets to do their work; and the pharmaceutical companies get a little richer.

Finally, the media is saying it, and it is true…

Some would say that if the national, mainstream, media say it, it must be true.

Others would say that if the mainstream media said it, it can’t be true.

Well, there is a middle ground. Sometimes, some of what the mainstream media says is somewhat true. This article highlights the media, finally, giving some coverage of a national disgrace, a crime actually. But all of that is old news if you have been reading this Blog (search the main topics, or words from the article, here by using the Search box, and you will find many, many Posts covering these very same issues – going back 13 years).

“You have ruined me for using other Chiropractors.”

The words of a patient on Friday.

Nice to know.

Another Health Care Professional Who Doesn’t Know How to Bend Over

 

Chiropractic Better Than NSAIDS and PLACEBO

Von Haimann, W et al. (2013) Spinal High-Velocity Low Amplitude Manipulation in Acute Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Double-Blihnided Randomized Controlled Trial in Comparison With Diclofenac [Volteran] and Placebo. spine 38 (7): 540-548

“In a subgroup of patients with nonspecific LBP, spinal manipulation was significantly better than non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclorfenac (Volteran) and clinically superior to placebo.”

Chiropractic IS Effective, Cost-Effective, and Safe

Bishop, et al. (2010) The Chiropractic Hospital-based Interventions Research Outcomes (CHIRO) Study: a randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of clinical practice guidelines in the medical and chiropractic management of patients with acute mechanical low back pain. The Spine Journal 10: 1055-64

 

“This is the first reported randomized controlled trial comparing CPG-based treatment, including spinal manipulative therapy administered by chiropractors, to family physician-directed usual care in the treatment of patients with acute mechanical low back pain.”

“Compared to family physician-led usual care, full clinical guidelines-based treatment including chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy is associated with significantly greater improvement in condition specific functioning.”

Chiropractic IS Effective, Cost-Effective, and Safe

Schifrin, L.G. (1992). Mandated Health Insurance Coverage for Chiropractic Treatment: An Economic Arrangement with Implications for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Richmond, Virginia. 

“A fair interpretation of the evidence accumulated to date indicates that the impact of chiropractic mandates comes close to the “best case” scenario of low costs and high benefits.”

“Accordingly, the continuation of mandated chiropractic provider services in health care appears both reasonable and sound. It is a cost-effective provision in health insurance, and one that also serves the important goal of health care cost containment.”

How To Get Out Of Bed

The other day I talked about some stretches to do before getting up. Here I will describe the safe getting up process. The first assumption is that you are sleeping on your back: sleeping on your stomach is an absolute no-no; sleeping on your side (though we all love it until we break the habit) will also be a problem for most people at some point (Neck, upper back, or shoulder issues develop from sleeping on your back, and sleeping on your side after you have a neck, upper back, or shoulder issue is going to complicate any recovery).

So from the supine position, first turn onto your side (in this case we will use the left side). Now bend the knees up and make a fist with the left hand, leaving the hand up in the air. Put the right hand over the left hand and push hard with the right hand; that will lift you up and as you come up extend the knees, the feet will come down, and you will be in the sitting position. Presto!

There are numerous Posts on this Blog about mindfulness, and how mindful movement has so many great benefits; well mindless movement can have many negative consequences. This is an opportunity to pay attention getting out of bed. That can help you avoid the “I was only putting on my shoes” lower back pain episodes in the future.

We have an on-going joke (it’s not really a joke) in tai chi class: A student asks how to do something, and I show them. Then I usually say something like, “Now do that 972 times and you will start to learn it.” Everyone smiles, they get the point. And those who follow my implication: do lots of them, lots and lots of them, often, experience the benefits. But think about the implications of moving poorly thousands of times over the course of years: not is going to have consequences, whether it is how you get out of bed, how bend over, or how you get up and down off the ground. These things have cumulative effects: they can be positive or they can be negative. It’s a choice.

 

This Week’s Trend in Low Back Pain

Things always seem to happen in series: not too long ago there was a series of patients presenting who had ‘I fell’ stories; this past week it was, “I was just putting on my socks”, then “I just bent over to pick up my shoes”, then, “I was putting on my pants when…”.

It occurs to me to share a few just-before-getting-out-of-bed-in-the-morning tricks. These will prepare your back for getting up and (whether you get up correctly/safely or not), will increase the likelihood that you will not experience back pain then or shortly thereafter. I will also share a little wisdom on what to do and what not to do immediately after getting out of bed; and how to do it.

So you have just woken up, and you are thinking of getting up out of bed. First, take minute to practice ‘bracing’. We teach new patients how to do that, it is easy enough to learn; and it is a basic skill for safely performing many of the other activities of your day. Here is your chance to rehearse it a little.

Then pull the covers off your legs and bend one knee and then the other so both feet are flat on the bed. Then extend one leg so the foot is up in the air – gently. Next flex and extend the foot/ankle a few times and gradually flex the toes toward your knee. When you have done that a few times comfortably, gently allow the straightened, now vertical or nearly so, leg to come back toward your head.

Do that on both sides several times, then put the ankle of the up leg over the bent knee of the other leg. Let’s say it’s the right ankle over the left knee; now let the knee/ankle combination gently lower to the left, then gently lower to the right.

By now you should be getting the idea: ‘gently’ is a guiding principle and necessary component of this procedure. When you are all done with that, get up. (I will cover how to do that safely tomorrow… .)

DrD

Back Pain Facts & Questions

 

Mechanical low back pain is one of the most common patient complaints expressed to emergency physicians in the United States, accounting for more than 6 million cases annually. Approximately two thirds of adults are affected by mechanical low back pain at some point in their lives, making it the second most common complaint in ambulatory medicine and the third most expensive disorder in terms of healthcare dollars spent, surpassed only by cancer and heart disease.

Low back pain is considered chronic after 3 months because most normal connective tissues heal within 6-12 weeks, unless pathoanatomic instability persists. A slower rate of tissue repair in the relatively avascular intervertebral disk may impair the resolution of some persistent painful cases of chronic low back pain. An estimated 15%-20% develop protracted pain, and approximately 2%-8% have chronic pain. Of those individuals who remain disabled for more than 6 months, fewer than half return to work, and after 2 years of low back pain disability, a return to work is even more unlikely.

You can lower your risk of getting back pain; call to find out how: (425) 348-5207.

And, of course, if prevention is not your thing and you find yourself in the middle of an episode, we can help with that too!

101 Benefits of Exercise.78

 (This photo is from a State of Washington website dedicated to the subject of Safety: they just forgot to tell this guy how to bend over safely. Do you wonder why?)

Research overwhelmingly shows that regular exercise lowers the risk for many diseases, enhances the functioning of virtually every physiological system in the human body and improves psychological well-being.

78. Reduces your likelihood of developing low-back problems.

(This blog has over a thousand Posts, the vast majority of which address that very issue. Feel free to ‘search’ around, there is a Search Box over on the right: follow your interests – you will be amazed at what you will find. Or you could ask questions: all comments are forwarded to me and I will respond. For example, you could search “nurses”.)

I will be Posting a benefit every day – well, most days – from a list put together by Dr. Dave Phillips, M.D. He is an M.D. from Atlanta, GA who specializes in Sports Medicine. As a former All-American swimmer he knows a few things about exercise. He is also on the JuicePlus+ Health Advisory Board. He is also all over YouTube doing videos on JuicePlus+, exercise, and other health-related topics.

You can be healthier: this is list of ways exercise affects the body; think of them as motivational if you like.

101 Benefits of Exercise.57

Research overwhelmingly shows that regular exercise lowers the risk for many diseases, enhances the functioning of virtually every physiological system in the human body and improves psychological well-being.

57. Helps to alleviate low back pain.

 

(Boom!! We have a winner!)

 

(Search low back pain, back pain, exercise or back injury prevention on this Blog and mine any one of the hundreds of Posts on the subject.)

 

I will be Posting a benefit every day – well, most days – from a list put together by Dr. Dave Phillips, M.D. He is an M.D. from Atlanta, GA who specializes in Sports Medicine. As a former All-American swimmer he knows a few things about exercise. He is also on the JuicePlus+ Health Advisory Board. He is also all over YouTube doing videos on JuicePlus+, exercise, and other health-related topics.

You can be healthier: this is list of ways exercise affects the body; think of them as motivational if you like.