Archive for October, 2009
- ISBN13: 9780452282773
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Product Description
The phenomenon known as the McKenzie Method has helped millions of people with chronic back and neck pain. In 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life, its founder, world-renowned physical therapist Robin McKenzie, shares the innovative program that can save you from a life of pain. 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life combines and enhances McKenzie’s back and neck books that have sold more than 5.5 million copies worldwide.
The 7 essential steps that make up the McKenzie Method… More >>
7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life: How to Rapidly Relieve Back and Neck Pain
Home-Made Renewable Solar And Wind Energy Site That Pays Out $31.85 Commission! Earn $70.5 With Back-End Sale. To Discover Why Hme Is The Top Choice Of Super Affiliates In This Market Go To: Http://www.homemadeenergy.org/aff.
Lower Back Pain, affects both those unaccustomed to physical activity and regular exercisers.
The first step to understanding the various causes of low back pain is learning about the normal design anatomy of the tissues of this area. Important structures of the low back that can be related to symptoms there include the bony lumbar spine vertebrae, discs between the vertebrae, ligaments around the spine and discs, spinal cord and nerves, muscles of the low back, internal organs of the pelvis and abdomen, and the skin covering the lumbar area. Many muscle groups that are responsible for flexing, extending, and rotating the waist, as well as moving the lower extremities, attach to the lumbar spine through tendon insertions.
Fortunately, most occurrences of low back pain go away within a few days. Acute or short-term low back pain generally lasts from a few days to a few weeks. Low back pain may reflect nerve or muscle irritation or bone lesions. Most low back pain follows injury or trauma to the back, but pain may also be caused by degenerative conditions such as arthritis or disc disease, osteoporosis or other bone diseases, viral infections, irritation to joints and discs, or congenital abnormalities in the spine. Obesity, smoking, weight gain during pregnancy, stress, poor physical condition, posture inappropriate for the activity being performed, and poor sleeping position also may contribute to low back pain. Occasionally, low back pain may indicate a more serious medical problem.
Nearly everyone has low back pain sometime. The risk of experiencing low back pain from disc disease or spinal degeneration increases with age. Low back pain unrelated to injury or other known cause is unusual in pre-teen children.
A variety of diagnostic methods are available to confirm the cause of low back pain:. Discography involves the injection of a special contrast dye into a spinal disc thought to be causing low back pain. Computerized tomography CT is a quick and painless process used when disc rupture, spinal stenosis, or damage to vertebrae is suspected as a cause of low back pain. Most low back pain can be treated without surgery. Exercise may be the most effective way to speed recovery from low back pain and help strengthen back and abdominal muscles. Medications are often used to treat acute and chronic low back pain. Musculoskeletal pain syndromes that produce low back pain include myofascial pain syndromes and fibromyalgia. Other skeletal causes of low back pain include osteomyelitis orsacroiliitis infections of the bones of the spine.
Most low back pain is triggered by some combination of overuse, muscle strain, and injury to the muscles, ligaments, and discs that support the spine. When low back pain strikes, we become acutely aware of just how much we rely on a flexible, strong back. The causes of low back pain tend to be interrelated. Most people have at least one episode of recurrent low back pain. The term “low back pain” is used to describe a spectrum of symptoms. Depending on the cause, low back pain may be dull, burning, or sharp, covering a broad area or confined to a single point. Leg symptoms can be caused by lower spine problems that place pressure on a nerve to the leg; they can occur on their own or along with low back pain. Your health professional can assess acute low back pain by talking to you about your medical history and your work and physical activities, and doing a simple physical examination. However, some episodes of low back pain are signs of more serious conditions. Low back pain can result from something simple, like cleaning house or lifting a heavy box, or it can be caused by a diagnosable spine condition like a herniated disc or degenerative disc disease.
Effective pain relief may involve a combination of prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies including BioFreeze. Some type of Lumbar Support is also important for constant support for low back pain. Wonder-Roll which is a self inflating lumbar support pillow is a good solution that you can take anywhere with you.
The vast majority of lower back pain conditions will get better with time and can be addressed with non-surgical treatments, such as osteopathic or chiropractic manipulation, physical therapy, pain medications, etc.. Low back pain responds very well to appropriate conservative treatment such as physical therapy and proper medication which can be prescribed by your physician.
Author: Donna Nocero
Whittier Chiropractor
- Perfect for use at home, work, and in the car
- Ergonomic lumbar support system
- Attaches to seat with elastic strap
- Adjusts up or down for the perfect fit
- Mesh fabric allows air to flow through
Product Description
Protect and support the lumbar area of your back with the PosturePro. This lightweight support gently cradles your back and encourages correct posture. Ergonomic design gives firm and comfortable support while breathable mesh material circulates air to keep you cool. Elastic bands stretch to fit most standard-sized desk chairs. Slip the PosturePro over car seats for a more comfortable ride. Perfect for long hours of sitting, while traveling, working, watching tele… More >>
Chronic pain is a condition that lasts for about six months once the body has been healed. Usually people with chronic pain are not aware of what is causing pain to their body. One goes through a lot of discomfort, pain, anger, anxiety, depression and low self esteem due to chronic pain. The pain can even interfere in undergoing daily activities.
The good news is that chronic pain can be treated. The treatment of chronic pain usually involves certain therapies and medicines. Some of the medicines used for pain relief under these conditions include anticonvulsants, pain relievers and antidepressants.
There are also short-acting medicines that work towards treating pain. Those medicines work best on pain that live for a short moment and bounce back again.
Experts also recommend physical therapies such as stretching and strengthening activities. Low impact exercises can also be used to treat pains such as biking, walking and swimming.
However, it would be wise to consult a veteran doctor prior to indulging in any kind of physical activities.
Exercising too much can be bad for chronic pain patients. Another treatment is behavioral therapy. This therapy can help in reducing pain through different methods such as yoga and meditation.
These therapies will certainly help you relax. It can also help in decreasing stress levels in the body. One also needs to make certain changes in lifestyle. This will play a major role in treating chronic pain. One must also concentrate on getting regular sleep at night.
Make sure that you don?t take frequent naps at day time. Don?t smoke. Try to give up smoking if you can. The nicotine present in cigarettes can make the medicines less effective. According to a study, smokers suffer from more pain as compared to non smokers.
Remember that pain treatments meant for removing chronic pain won?t take away all your pain. These treatments work towards reducing the intensity of pain as far as possible.
It is important to tell your doctor about the intensity of pain as well as how frequently it occurs. You also need to tell you doctor about what makes your pain worse or feel better.
Chronic pain can be relieved with the help of exercises, stretching and several physical therapies. Exercise is said to increase blood flow, in the body. Physical activities also helps in easing joint stiffness, speeds up weight loss and eliminates stress, anxiety and depression that comes with chronic pain.
Chiropractic, massage and acupuncture are also certain alternative methods used for providing relief from chronic pain. The method of using these techniques differs according to the intensity and history of the pain suffered by the individual.
Another best option is to go for a good ergonomic office chair. It is an important equipment to provide good relief from chronic back pain.
However, prior to adopting any kind of technique or going for a strenuous exercise, it is important to consult your health care professional. The health care professional will suggest you pain relief techniques and exercises according to the condition of your body and intensity of pain.
For more Articles, News, Information, Advice, and Resources about Pain Relief please visit PAIN RELIEF BASICS and ARTHRITIS GUIDES and HEADACHE ADVICE
The Highest Converting Home Energy Site – Earn $79.85 W/ Back End Sale – Join WebSeeds.com Today! 100% Commissions + Rewards $$$ Professional Copy & Design $$$ Premium Customer Support, Low Returns. Complete Affiliate Tools: www.WebSeeds.com/aff.
Would you have back pain if every part of your body were perfect? The answer has to be… No, it’s pretty safe to say you wouldn’t have any pain if your body were perfectly aligned, perfectly balanced and in a perfect state of being.
But here’s the thing—you don’t have to be perfect to be pain-free. In fact, you can have serious conditions like Spinal Stenosis and even a Herniated disc and still have no pain—regardless of the type of job you have or how you think the condition developed or even the unique situation that you find yourself in today.
Don’t believe it? The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine just reported it.
They published a study in which researchers performed an MRI on 98 people who had no back pain. And the researchers found that nearly two thirds of them had some kind of abnormal disk condition.
The researchers conclude:
“Many people without back pain have disk bulges or protrusions… Given the high prevalence of these findings and of back pain, the discovery by MRI of bulges or protrusions in people with low back pain may frequently be coincidental.”
That’s right. They called having a bulging or protruded disc and having back pain a coincidence. Proof positive that you can have a condition and not have pain. Indeed, there are millions of people with existing back problems right now who do not even know that they have the condition and surly don’t have any pain at all.
How do you become one of those people?
Living with the condition and living pain free.
Let me say something that may be uncomfortable for you to hear. There is a good chance your condition will never go away. That may sound scary, but it is possible. Herniated disks don’t typically un-bulge themselves and then heal them self to the way they were when you were 15. Spinal Stenosis doesn’t come and go.
And yet, you can still live without pain. In fact, you probably already have.
If you have gone just one minute of one day since your last flare-up without pain, you’ve proved you can have your condition without pain.
How can this be? If the condition didn’t go away, what changes? It all has to do with the alignment of your body, the position of your pelvis, the curvature of your spine and the stability of your body as a whole as you go through your day.
Now, there are a couple of ways to try to relieve that irritation permanently. Sure, you could have surgery. That’s one option to treat your pain. But most surgeries fail within 3 to 5 years. Why? Because they don’t address the reason why the condition became symptomatic in the first place. In other words they don’t fix what’s really causing your condition to develop–they just remove the irritant that is causing the pain.
So what does? I understand you think you’ve tried everything—chiropractors, physical therapy, cortisone shots, acupuncture, massage, anti-Inflammatories and probably 20 others. But ask yourself one question. Answer it truthfully.
Has anyone ever looked at your body as a whole and told you specifically what your postural dysfunctions are and what specifically is causing your body to look like it does?
Furthermore has anyone spelled out for you why your pelvis is the way it is? Did they tell you specifically which muscles are tight, which muscles are weak and then give you a very specific and very targeted corrective program to achieve postural balance and stability, which is the single more important thing you can do to alleviate your pain and gain control of your life?
Stability is Everything when looking for pain relief
The only way to stop the irritation is to bring your body back to a more neutral, more balanced and more stable state. When you do that, everything works better—your back, your hips, your shoulders, your SI joint, everything. Once your body is balanced and stable you can do all the things you love to do and do them with the confidence that you are safe, strong and protected against further injury.
As the NEJM proved, you don’t have to be perfect to eliminate pain. You just need to work toward creating a more balanced and neutral state for your body. When you work toward pelvic stability, you help your spine maintain a neutral position. Then you can use your body as it was intended to be used.
That’s how you can have the condition and not have pain. You most likely won’t need surgery. You won’t wake up every morning stiff. You can return to your life and do all you want to do.
Why is Muscle Balance Therapy so different?
First, you should understand that there is no single set of exercises that can specifically help a Herniated disk or Spinal Stenosis or any condition for that matter. So I urge you not to search the Internet for back pain exercises and just do any old stretch or exercise without knowing the underlying reason you are doing it for.
You must also understand that the Corrective Exercise Program you will get form Muscle Balance Therapy is not based on your diagnosis but rather on corroborating evidence from both physical and visual assessments that are used to ensure you are doing the correct and safest program possible for you and your current condition.
Muscle Balance Therapy is based on the biomechanical principle—the more balanced and stable your body is the better your body will work and the less pain you will be in. So before we start we must first know which muscles are out of balance, meaning we need to know specifically which muscles are tight and which are weak. Once we know those, then we can create a very specific and targeted stretch and exercise program to restore balance. And again that only comes from doing the specific assessments…
Let me just review this point one more time, there is no such thing as a single exercise for and medical diagnosed form of back pain like a herniated disc or Spinal Stenosis. So when you ask me will, I just had and MRI and was just diagnosed with 4 Herniated Discs, Degenerative Disc Disease all levels, Spinal Stenosis and oh I was born with Scoliosis and 17 years ago I was in a major auto accident, will your system work for me the answer is will always be yes…
In fact, I tell everyone it great to know your specific diagnosis but now forget about it, you can not change the facts and you can not change the past. Rather, focus your energy on the things you know you can change and as you restore balance you will restore function.
That brings us to the third unique aspect of Muscle Balances Therapy and that is that we have to perform what we call the Unbalanced Workout. This means that you will not benefit from just blindly strengthening or stretching all your core muscles. That is not the way to do it.
The reason is that you could be stretching or strengthening muscle groups that do not need to be stretched or strengthened and you can make your condition worse. Here is the secret: The difference between having pain and not having pain is in millimeters of movement and the more specific the physical approach the faster and safer the results will be.
The fourth difference is not in our exercises, because there are no new exercises in the world. Rather, it’s the confidence you get knowing that the exercises that you are doing are working the muscles in the best way possible for you and your situation.
The Secret
Everyone understands that one approach can not be the answer to every possible circumstance, and we know that, so here is the secret, as you work with Muscle Balance Therapy and address root cause issues like physical balance and postural stability, please understand that we encourage you to seek out those same modalities that failed you before, they all have value in the process of healing but not until you address the important stuff first.
You know the list of things that you have tried; I contend that this time Massage, Inversion, Supplements, Trigger Point Therapy, Heating Pads to name a few will all work to speed your healing and help you achieve optimal health for the rest of your life.
Is Muscle Balance Therapy perfect? It’s close. Does everyone get 100% pain relief? Most do.
I can say with all honesty that there is 100% chance you will improve from your current state. We have a list of 50 ways that your body and life will benefit and 100% pain relief is by all measures a bonus. So it boils down to this: Would you be happy with 80%, 60%, even 50% reduction in pain yet able to do all the things you love to do? Would that improve your quality of life?
I have dedicated the last 15 years of my life and endured both personal and professional sacrifice to create a safe, systematic approach to addressing all forms of back pain that can be used by young and old alike. And I have never been closer then I am right now with the concept of Muscle Balance Therapy to be able to say that you have just learned one of the best lessons anyone with back pain can hear.
I’m not promising miracles, but I do promise a complete and thorough as well as safe approach to managing, treating and even eliminating your pain.
I have seen amazing results again and again for those people that put in the effort and believe in them self knowing that they are doing the right thing.
Let me leave you with this last thought and one that I believe holds the most power. The human body is intrinsically designed to heal its self, we as individuals just need to give our bodies what is needed and remove what is not needed, Muscle Balance Therapy puts that power to heal yourself back in your control.
If I could barrow a line from my good friend Bob Proctor, the cure to ignorance is knowledge and the answer to fear, worry and doubt is study, understanding and faith. Faith builds enthusiasm and enthusiasm accelerates healing. How good it that!
So if you don’t believe me that you can have your condition and not have pain let me teach you what is possible. If you worry and are filled with doubt I urge you to study what is already available to you and the more you know the better off you will become.
That is true for all things and will be true till the end of time.
Source
1. Jensen, M.C., et. al. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Lumbar Spine in People without Back Pain. N Engl J Med 1994; 331:69-73
2. Bob Proctor, The Winners Image, ©1995 -2008
Whittier Chiropractor
The evaluation of abdominal pain requires an understanding of the possible mechanisms responsible for pain, a broad differential of common causes, and recognition of typical patterns and clinical presentations. All patients do not have classic presentations. Thus, unusual causes of abdominal pain must also be considered, especially in elderly and immuno compromised patients.
The differential diagnosis of generalized abdominal pain in adults is entirely different from that in children, with the caveat that children gradually progress from infancy to adulthood and so an adolescent is more an adult than a child. A colicky pain comes and goes or at least fluctuates in intensity. The patient may writhe about during the pain, seeking a comfortable position. The pain of peritonitis is constant and the patient lies still as movement aggravates the pain.
Acute abdominal pain can represent a spectrum of conditions from benign and self-limited disease to surgical emergencies. Evaluating abdominal pain requires an approach that relies on the likelihood of disease, patient history, physical examination, laboratory tests, and imaging studies. The location of pain is a useful starting point and will guide further evaluation. For example, right lower quadrant pain strongly suggests appendicitis.
Abdominal Pain in Adults Causes
1. Diseases people worry about most are appendicitis, gallbladder disease, ulcers, infections, and pregnancy associated problems.
2. Doctors also worry about the following conditions: ruptured blood vessels, heart attack, liver and pancreas inflammation, kidney stones, problems with the blood circulation to the intestine, diverticulitis, and other diseases.
Symptoms
The type of pain can vary greatly. When abdominal pain occurs, it can:
*Be sharp, dull, stabbing, cramp-like, twisting or fit many other descriptions
*Be brief, come and go in waves, or it can be constant
*Make you throw up (vomit)
The pain may take the form of cramps that come and go or it may be constant. It may feel like stabbing, aching, or burning in your abdomen. Pain may also spread to your back or chest. Sometimes the pain may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or fever.
Abdominal Pain in Adults Treatment
Abdominal pain without fever, vomiting, vaginal bleeding, passing out, chest pain, or other serious symptoms often gets better without special treatment.
If the pain persists or if the patient believes the pain may represent a serious problem, they should see their healthcare provider.
A heating pad or soaking in a tub of warm water may ease the patient’s pain.
Over-the-counter antacids, such as Tums, Maalox, or Pepto-Bismol, also can reduce some types of abdominal pain. Activated charcoal capsules also may help.
Pain relief – your pain may not go away fully with painkillers but it should ease.
Fluids – you may have fluids given into a vein to correct fluid loss and rest your bowel.
Medicines – for example, you may be given something to stop you vomiting.
Whittier Chiropractor
Would you have back pain if every part of your body were perfect? The answer has to be? No, it’s pretty safe to say you wouldn’t have any pain if your body were perfectly aligned, perfectly balanced and in a perfect state of being.
But here’s the thing?you don’t have to be perfect to be pain-free. In fact, you can have serious conditions like Spinal Stenosis and even a Herniated disc and still have no pain?regardless of the type of job you have or how you think the condition developed or even the unique situation that you find yourself in today.
Don’t believe it? The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine just reported it.
They published a study in which researchers performed an MRI on 98 people who had no back pain. And the researchers found that nearly two thirds of them had some kind of abnormal disk condition.
The researchers conclude:
“Many people without back pain have disk bulges or protrusions… Given the high prevalence of these findings and of back pain, the discovery by MRI of bulges or protrusions in people with low back pain may frequently be coincidental.”
That’s right. They called having a bulging or protruded disc and having back pain a coincidence. Proof positive that you can have a condition and not have pain. Indeed, there are millions of people with existing back problems right now who do not even know that they have the condition and surly don’t have any pain at all.
How do you become one of those people?
Living with the condition and living pain free.
Let me say something that may be uncomfortable for you to hear. There is a good chance your condition will never go away. That may sound scary, but it is possible. Herniated disks don’t typically un-bulge themselves and then heal them self to the way they were when you were 15. Spinal Stenosis doesn’t come and go.
And yet, you can still live without pain. In fact, you probably already have.
If you have gone just one minute of one day since your last flare-up without pain, you’ve proved you can have your condition without pain.
How can this be? If the condition didn’t go away, what changes? It all has to do with the alignment of your body, the position of your pelvis, the curvature of your spine and the stability of your body as a whole as you go through your day.
Now, there are a couple of ways to try to relieve that irritation permanently. Sure, you could have surgery. That’s one option to treat your pain. But most surgeries fail within 3 to 5 years. Why? Because they don’t address the reason why the condition became symptomatic in the first place. In other words they don’t fix what’s really causing your condition to develop–they just remove the irritant that is causing the pain.
So what does? I understand you think you’ve tried everything?chiropractors, physical therapy, cortisone shots, acupuncture, massage, anti-Inflammatories and probably 20 others. But ask yourself one question. Answer it truthfully.
Has anyone ever looked at your body as a whole and told you specifically what your postural dysfunctions are and what specifically is causing your body to look like it does?
Furthermore has anyone spelled out for you why your pelvis is the way it is? Did they tell you specifically which muscles are tight, which muscles are weak and then give you a very specific and very targeted corrective program to achieve postural balance and stability, which is the single more important thing you can do to alleviate your pain and gain control of your life?
Stability is Everything when looking for pain relief
The only way to stop the irritation is to bring your body back to a more neutral, more balanced and more stable state. When you do that, everything works better?your back, your hips, your shoulders, your SI joint, everything. Once your body is balanced and stable you can do all the things you love to do and do them with the confidence that you are safe, strong and protected against further injury.
As the NEJM proved, you don’t have to be perfect to eliminate pain. You just need to work toward creating a more balanced and neutral state for your body. When you work toward pelvic stability, you help your spine maintain a neutral position. Then you can use your body as it was intended to be used.
That’s how you can have the condition and not have pain. You most likely won’t need surgery. You won’t wake up every morning stiff. You can return to your life and do all you want to do.
Why is Muscle Balance Therapy so different?
First, you should understand that there is no single set of exercises that can specifically help a Herniated disk or Spinal Stenosis or any condition for that matter. So I urge you not to search the Internet for back pain exercises and just do any old stretch or exercise without knowing the underlying reason you are doing it for.
You must also understand that the Corrective Exercise Program you will get form Muscle Balance Therapy is not based on your diagnosis but rather on corroborating evidence from both physical and visual assessments that are used to ensure you are doing the correct and safest program possible for you and your current condition.
Muscle Balance Therapy is based on the biomechanical principle?the more balanced and stable your body is the better your body will work and the less pain you will be in. So before we start we must first know which muscles are out of balance, meaning we need to know specifically which muscles are tight and which are weak. Once we know those, then we can create a very specific and targeted stretch and exercise program to restore balance. And again that only comes from doing the specific assessments…
Let me just review this point one more time, there is no such thing as a single exercise for and medical diagnosed form of back pain like a herniated disc or Spinal Stenosis. So when you ask me will, I just had and MRI and was just diagnosed with 4 Herniated Discs, Degenerative Disc Disease all levels, Spinal Stenosis and oh I was born with Scoliosis and 17 years ago I was in a major auto accident, will your system work for me the answer is will always be yes…
In fact, I tell everyone it great to know your specific diagnosis but now forget about it, you can not change the facts and you can not change the past. Rather, focus your energy on the things you know you can change and as you restore balance you will restore function.
That brings us to the third unique aspect of Muscle Balances Therapy and that is that we have to perform what we call the Unbalanced Workout. This means that you will not benefit from just blindly strengthening or stretching all your core muscles. That is not the way to do it.
The reason is that you could be stretching or strengthening muscle groups that do not need to be stretched or strengthened and you can make your condition worse. Here is the secret: The difference between having pain and not having pain is in millimeters of movement and the more specific the physical approach the faster and safer the results will be.
The fourth difference is not in our exercises, because there are no new exercises in the world. Rather, it’s the confidence you get knowing that the exercises that you are doing are working the muscles in the best way possible for you and your situation.
The Secret
Everyone understands that one approach can not be the answer to every possible circumstance, and we know that, so here is the secret, as you work with Muscle Balance Therapy and address root cause issues like physical balance and postural stability, please understand that we encourage you to seek out those same modalities that failed you before, they all have value in the process of healing but not until you address the important stuff first.
You know the list of things that you have tried; I contend that this time Massage, Inversion, Supplements, Trigger Point Therapy, Heating Pads to name a few will all work to speed your healing and help you achieve optimal health for the rest of your life.
Is Muscle Balance Therapy perfect? It’s close. Does everyone get 100% pain relief? Most do.
I can say with all honesty that there is 100% chance you will improve from your current state. We have a list of 50 ways that your body and life will benefit and 100% pain relief is by all measures a bonus. So it boils down to this: Would you be happy with 80%, 60%, even 50% reduction in pain yet able to do all the things you love to do? Would that improve your quality of life?
I have dedicated the last 15 years of my life and endured both personal and professional sacrifice to create a safe, systematic approach to addressing all forms of back pain that can be used by young and old alike. And I have never been closer then I am right now with the concept of Muscle Balance Therapy to be able to say that you have just learned one of the best lessons anyone with back pain can hear.
I’m not promising miracles, but I do promise a complete and thorough as well as safe approach to managing, treating and even eliminating your pain.
I have seen amazing results again and again for those people that put in the effort and believe in them self knowing that they are doing the right thing.
Let me leave you with this last thought and one that I believe holds the most power. The human body is intrinsically designed to heal its self, we as individuals just need to give our bodies what is needed and remove what is not needed, Muscle Balance Therapy puts that power to heal yourself back in your control.
If I could barrow a line from my good friend Bob Proctor, the cure to ignorance is knowledge and the answer to fear, worry and doubt is study, understanding and faith. Faith builds enthusiasm and enthusiasm accelerates healing. How good it that!
So if you don’t believe me that you can have your condition and not have pain let me teach you what is possible. If you worry and are filled with doubt I urge you to study what is already available to you and the more you know the better off you will become.
That is true for all things and will be true till the end of time.
Source
1. Jensen, M.C., et. al. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Lumbar Spine in People without Back Pain. N Engl J Med 1994; 331:69-73
2. Bob Proctor, The Winners Image,
Thousands and thousands of people annually seek medical care for back pain. For some, the pain is gone within 6 weeks. For others, it becomes chronic back pain.
Chronic back pain affects individuals in various ways. Most make repeated visits to physicians, seeking relief. They want to know what causes their chronic back pain. They want new tests. They want to try whatever treatment may be available.
Chronic back pain sufferers may report difficulty in performing normal daily activities. They may believe the pain is increasing. They may simply want someone to sympathize, and agree that it is not “all in your head” at all.
Although back pain is the main reason people visit orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons, and the second main reason they visit primary care physicians, an estimated 5 to 10 percent of those visitors will receive no cure. They will go from low back pain to chronic back pain.
Patients are frustrated because physicians do not cure back pain. Physicians are frustrated because they cannot cure low back pain. Many think they can do little to prevent occasional severe back pain from becoming chronic back pain.
If nothing is done, however, chronic back pain limitations can seriously impinge on daily activity.
Possible Limitations
A look at possible chronic back pain limitations reveals a long list. There are limitations placed by a physician, but there are many more limitations that patients place on themselves. They may include physical limitations, emotional limitations, or mental limitations. Of the many chronic back pain limitations we can discuss only 7 here.
1. Depression: One of the most common limitations of chronic back pain, depression affects everyone involved in the daily life of the sufferer. The type of depression experienced by sufferers of chronic back pain is not simply a matter of feeling sad or “down at the heels” for a day or so. “Major depression” and “clinical depression” are the terms used for this kind of depression.
When chronic back pain limitations include a major depression, the person feels emotionally miserable everyday for at least two weeks. He or she also may have unexplained crying spells; major appetite changes; fatigue, sleep problems; agitation; and thoughts of death or suicide. There may be little interest in activities that were normally enjoyable.
2. Social Activity: A second of the chronic back pain limitations reported is that of social activity. People suffering chronic back pain become reluctant to attend parties and other social functions. They may curtail recreational activities or outings with the family.
3. Work Time: Those who suffer chronic back pain are also more likely to take off more work time. Statistics show that back pain causes the loss of more than 83 million days of work time each year due to back pain.
4. Job Loss: Since it often means lost work time, another of chronic back pain limitations is job loss. Too many lost days, or poor performance due to chronic back pain, can result in replacement.
5. Work Ability: Chronic back pain is a leading cause of work limitations. Back pain limits workers’ ability to lift, carry, and perform other duties that are required. It places restrictions on workers, and narrows the job field for many people.
6. Low Pay: Chronic back pain limitations include financial limits for some. Those who are limited in work by chronic back pain earn, on average, only two-thirds the amount of those without back pain.
7. Housework: One of the largest limitations of chronic back pain appears to hit normal activities associated with housework, gardening, and lawn work. Patients with back pain that lasted more than 60 days often report they are no longer able to do any gardening, lawn work, or normal cleaning activities such as vacuuming, mopping floors, etc.
Clinically Proven Limitations
For the patient, it is difficult to believe that chronic back pain limitations are often unnecessary. They continue to believe that the pain has a cause that can be readily diagnosed, despite their physician’s repeated assurances to the contrary. They believe the physician can find a medical sure for their back pain if pressed often enough and hard enough. As for treatment, patients often believe that until the cure is found, the best treatment is bed rest and limited activity.
The result of such beliefs is that back pain that could initially be resolved with exercise becomes chronic back pain. Chronic back pain that might still be resolved if the patient were to exercise regularly gradually develops and produces chronic back pain limitations.
TIP: Back pain is very, very common in our society. Rather than let it lead to complications and limitations, you may want to ask your physician for gentle exercises that may resolve your back pain before it becomes chronic.
Whittier Chiropractor