Posted on 2012-02-23 00:23:49
When
it comes to making important choices about treatment options for back pain,
it’s worth looking at the experiences of others who have found something that
works. In recent years, the Consumer
Reports Health Ratings Center has surveyed the magazine’s subscribers to do
just that. In April and May 2009, Consumer
Reports released some of its findings publicly. A summary appears below.
About the Survey Participants
· More than 14,000 participants who had suffered from lower-back pain in the prior year but had never had back surgery.
· More than half reported that pain severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer.
· Many reported that pain interfered with sleep, sex and efforts to maintain a healthy weight.
· 88% reported that the pain recurred through the year.
· Most had tried five or six different treatments.
How Respondents Ranked the
Healthcare Providers Who Had Treated Them
|
Healthcare Provider |
Percent Who Were Highly
Satisfied With Treatment and Advice* |
|
Chiropractor |
59% |
|
Physical Therapist+ |
55% |
|
Acupuncturist |
53% |
|
Physician, Specialist |
44% |
|
Physician, Primary Care |
34% |
*Defined as either Completely Satisfied or Very Satisfied.
+Difference in ranking for Physical Therapist and Acupuncturist were not statistically significant.
How Respondents Ranked Selected
Back Pain Therapies
|
Therapy |
Percentage Who Reported that
the Therapy Helped a Lot |
|
Chiropractic Manipulation |
58% |
|
Prescription Drugs |
45% |
|
Over-the-Counter Drugs |
22% |
In July 2011, Consumer Reports published an updated report describing how Americans use alternative approaches to healthcare as well as their experience with various therapies and their providers. Chiropractic care once again was reported to be the most popular approach to back pain relief and was ranked most highly in terms of patient satisfaction.
How
Your Chiropractic Physician Can Help Relieve Back Pain
Your Doctor of Chiropractic can help relieve back pain and restore mobility by using a drug-free, hands-on technique called “spinal manipulation” or “chiropractic adjustment”. He or she may also use other manual therapies, such as massage, to complement this primary treatment. In addition, many chiropractors are skilled in designing exercise and nutrition programs for their patients that will help their bodies resist injury and function properly. By focusing on both immediate pain relief and the underlying causes of back pain, your chiropractor can help you achieve a healthier overall lifestyle.
If you or someone you care about is suffering from back pain, call your chiropractor today.
References
Posted on 2012-02-22 19:33:26
Headaches are a common source of pain
for a large number of Americans. 95% of
women and 90% of men have had at least one in the past 12 months. And for about 45 million of us, those
headaches are chronic.
While a wide variety of over-the-counter and prescription medications have been developed to relieve this pain, they generally do little to address the underlying cause of the problem. In addition, many of these compounds can have unwanted side effects, particularly if they’re used often, over a prolonged period of time or in combination with other medicines. A growing awareness of both the limitations and risks of pharmaceuticals has led many headache sufferers to explore alternative approaches to managing them, including chiropractic.
Understanding Headaches
Headaches occur for many reasons and can vary greatly in their intensity and duration. They may arise on their own (these are termed “primary headaches” and account for about 90% of all headaches) or be triggered as a result of some other health condition (described as “secondary headaches”). Chiropractic physicians most commonly encounter three types of headaches in their work:
· Tension headaches are primary headaches that are brought on by unrelieved muscular contractions in the head, neck and shoulders, usually as a result of stress that cannot find an outlet. These muscular contractions can themselves become the source of broader tension and stress throughout the body, setting in motion a feedback loop that eventually produces a headache.
· Migraine headaches are also primary headaches. They are sometimes referred to as vascular headaches because they happen when blood vessels in the head suddenly expand, or “dilate”. However, we know that the nervous system and genetic factors are also leading contributors. Sufferers report a wide range of triggers and related symptoms. Research into the exact cause of migraines is ongoing, and the condition has stubbornly resisted efforts to find a pharmaceutical “silver bullet”.
· Cervicogenic headaches are secondary headaches produced when pain begins in the neck or back of the head and is referred to the forehead or the area behind, in and around the eyes. Trauma, chronic tension and disease are some of the more common initial sources of neck pain that is referred to the head. Trigger points in the neck, shoulder blade and spine may also be sources of these headaches, though they can be much more difficult to identify.
How Chiropractic Can Help
There is a large and growing body of medical research that suggests chiropractic care can be effective in preventing or reducing the frequency and severity of primary headaches. There is also some evidence that it may have benefits for cervicogenic headache sufferers.
Chiropractic manipulation of the spine and neck is used to improve the alignment of the spine and relieve muscle tension. It also reduces nerve irritation and improves vascular flow. Your chiropractic physician may also include massage and other therapies as part of a well-rounded treatment plan. He or she will likely suggest exercise, stretching and relaxation techniques as well as nutritional strategies designed to help prevent future headaches.
If you or someone you know is looking for lasting relief from chronic headaches, we encourage you to call your doctor of chiropractic today. The sooner you make the call, the sooner we can help you put an end to the suffering.
References
Posted on 2012-02-16 19:43:30
What You Can Learn From America’s Back Pain Experience
A June 2010 article by Associated Press Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard shines a bright light on the problem of back pain in America. In the article, entitled “Back Pain May Be Widely Over-Treated in the U.S.”, she raises some great questions about how we’re spending our healthcare dollars, what we’re getting for it and why.
“By one recent estimate, Americans
are spending a staggering $86 billion a year in care for aching backs—from MRIs
to pain pills to nerve blocks to acupuncture. That research found little evidence that the population got better as
the bill soared over the past decade.”
Ms. Neergaard’s writing hits close to home, and the situation she describes is probably familiar to anyone who’s tried to find relief from serious back pain in the past few years. But what does it all mean to you if you or someone you care about is a patient looking for relief?
Here’s a quick summary of the more important takeaways from Ms. Neergard’s article as well as some practical points to keep in mind as you consider your options and work with your healthcare provider on a treatment plan:
1. While back pain in general is a widespread problem in the U.S., the specifics always come down to the individual. There is no silver bullet—the treatment that was effective for your neighbor may not be right for you. Your healthcare provider can evaluate your symptoms and advise you on the appropriateness of alternative therapies.
2. Time is usually on your side when it comes to back pain. Up to 90% of patients will heal on their own within a matter of weeks. Unless your healthcare provider sees “red flag” symptoms, patients should generally exhaust their noninvasive options first before considering surgery.
3. “Exercise is medicine, but it has to be the right exercise.” Formal exercise programs that are designed and supervised by experts can be effective provided that the patient is able to manage and function with pain.
4. Your own motivation and attitude can make a big difference in the effectiveness of your treatment. Patients who can work through pain, stay focused on the plan and get back to normal activity as quickly as possible will generally have the advantage when it comes to recovery.
5. Make sure you have access to a neutral third party (perhaps your chiropractor or family doctor) who can help you weigh the advice of various specialists and navigate through your choices. And always get a second opinion if surgery is being considered.
Back pain is a complex phenomenon and it’s often very difficult to treat successfully. At a time when health science regularly produces new miracles and we’ve come to expect instant results, it can be difficult for us to keep this basic truth in perspective. What comes through loud and clear in Ms. Neergaard’s article is that our most advanced diagnostic technologies and sophisticated surgical procedures are not solving the back pain problem for millions of Americans. And that it’s costing us a great deal of money to fail using our most expensive techniques.
This raises two big-picture questions, not just for U.S. health care policy makers and administrators, but for anyone who’s trying to make smart decisions about back pain treatment:
1. Given the pervasiveness of back pain in America, the number of people who are likely suffering without treatment and the kinds of issues Ms. Neergaard writes about, can it really be said that we’re “over-treating” back pain? Wouldn’t it be closer to the truth to say that we’re mistreating it by using too many of the wrong tools in too many of the wrong cases? If so, what does her reporting really suggest about the direction we should be headed?
2. There are many factors contributing to our national back pain epidemic, and many of them have to do with our lifestyle choices and the way we manage our health more broadly. What should we be willing to spend for an ounce of prevention when it comes to back pain?
How
Your Chiropractic Physician Can Help
If you or someone you care about is suffering with back pain, call your Doctor of Chiropractic. Chiropractic Physicians are specially licensed and trained to diagnose and treat conditions related to the musculoskeletal system and the nerves that support it. They can help relieve back pain by using spinal adjustments. This spinal manipulation is the primary form of treatment performed by chiropractic physicians and is a widely recognized back pain therapy. Research has shown that manipulative therapy and spinal manipulation are not only safe and effective, but can also produce results more quickly and less expensively than other alternatives.
Many chiropractors are also skilled in designing and supervising exercise and nutrition programs. They’re committed to helping patients achieve a healthier lifestyle that prevents illness and promotes performance.
References
Posted on 2012-02-16 18:15:57
Healthcare researchers and providers alike
are growing increasingly concerned that American kids are suffering from back
pain earlier in their lives and in larger numbers than ever before. And experts closest to the problem believe
that overweight, improperly designed, and misused backpacks may be a big part
of the reason why.
Short-Term Injuries and
Longer-Term Concerns
With an estimated 40 million school-age children carrying backpacks in America, it’s not surprising that there are some book bag-related injuries every year. Since 2000, the U.S. Product Safety Commission has reported that children and their backpacks make roughly 7,000 trips to the emergency room annually. However, many observers believe that the real toll is actually far higher since the vast majority of such injuries go unreported and many kids are treated by a family doctor or not treated at all.
While it is not clear how many acute injuries actually result from wearing backpacks as opposed to tripping over them or being hit by them, doctors who treat back problems regularly—especially chiropractic physicians—see worrying signs that heavier backpacks are setting the stage for more serious health issues in the future, including chronic back, neck and shoulder pain. Some chiropractors estimate that as many as 75% to 80% of the teenage patients they treat have postural problems directly related to overweight backpacks.
Why the Heavier Bags?
Across the past ten years, several factors have come together to increase the amount of weight young students are carrying in their book bags:
· Increases in the amount of homework being assigned to students at a younger age typically mean more heavy books carried between home and school.
· A trend toward removing lockers and individual desks from schools in many cases requires kids to carry all their belongings with them during the day.
· Reduced time between classes or fewer trips to the locker can mean heavier loads for students.
· Longer school days or increased participation in before-school and after-school activities often translates into more supplies and equipment as well as more time wearing the backpack.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends that a backpack should not be any heavier than 15% of a child’s body weight. But as early as 2001, researchers at Simmons College in Massachusetts found that 55% of the 345 children they studied were carrying backpacks that exceeded the recommended weight limit, often by a substantial amount. One third of those students said that they had already experienced back pain. Today, the American Chiropractic Association advises parents to limit the weight of a child’s backpack to no more than 5% to 10% of body weight.
Warning Signs
If you see any of the following signs, it may be time to lighten the load, help your child choose a different backpack or talk about how it’s being used.
· Pain in the back, neck, shoulders or knees
· Red marks left on shoulders by backpack straps
· Tingling or numbness in the arms
· Trouble getting the backpack on or off
· Bending forward or “hunching over” to shift weight from the shoulders to the back
Choosing the Right Backpack and
Using it Correctly
A good quality backpack with proper ergonomic features doesn’t have to be expensive. They’re available at many sporting goods stores and discount outlets. Experts offer the following advice:
· Get the size and fit right first. The right backpack should fit between the top of your child’s shoulders and lower back. Bigger is not better, since having more space available creates the potential for a heavier backpack.
· Find one with shoulder straps that are wide, padded and adjustable. These distribute the weight more broadly across the shoulders and chest while allowing the backpack to be fitted snuggly to your child’s body.
· For older students, consider a backpack with chest straps and a hip belt. Chest straps and a hip belt redistribute weight even further and bring the pack closer to the wearer’s body.
· Look for a padded back that will add comfort and protection.
· Choose a backpack with multiple smaller compartments. These help distribute the weight inside the bag and keep it stable.
Once your child has the right bag, it’s just as important to encourage him or her to use it correctly. Chiropractors and physical therapists generally agree that means wearing it on both shoulders with the straps tightened so that it hangs no more than four inches below the waist.
How Your Chiropractor Can Help
Using a backpack should not cause any pain or discomfort under normal circumstances. If your child is showing signs of back, neck or should pain, we encourage you to call your chiropractic physician today. In addition to addressing any current problems that your child may be experiencing, your doctor of chiropractic can recommend an exercise program designed to strengthen muscles, and improve posture and coordination. He or she can also offer instruction about good nutrition and sleep habits that will support your child’s healthy development.
References
Posted on 2012-02-14 00:06:10
Understanding
the cause of your back pain is the key to proper treatment. There are many different underlying
conditions that cause back pain. The more common causes of back pain are
described below. Don’t try to make your own diagnosis. A trained chiropractor
that deals with back pain complaints on a daily basis will know what to look
for and what questions to ask you to determine the underlying cause.
As stated earlier, backaches are hard to self-diagnose. The causes listed above are just a few of more common possibilities. If you suffer from acute or chronic backaches, consult a qualified chiropractor for a complete exam.
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