Archive for Back Pain
What is Spinal Stenosis?
Spinal Stenosis means narrowing of the spinal canal. Narrowing of the spinal canal can cause many different symptoms. These symptoms include, low back pain, neck pain, pain in the arms and legs, numbness in the arms and legs, muscle cramping and weakness. These symptoms come from a common cause, so it is helpful to understand why they happen.
The spine contains the spinal cord. The spinal cord is made of soft nerve tissue. The nerve tissue sends messages from the brain out to the body and from the body to the brain. When the spinal canal narrows, it can compress the spinal cord. When the cord is compressed, the messages going back and forth from the brain and body get altered. This causes pain, weakness and numbness in the affected area.
The next logical question is, “what can be done about it ?” From a medical standpoint, surgery is recommended to open up the spinal canal. Usually a piece of a spinal bone or spinal disc is removed in order to create more space for the spinal cord and nerve tissue. It sounds easy, but these procedures do have serious risks and have a low success rate.
The latest research on spinal surgery is saying that it should only be attempted after six months of conservative (non-surgical) treatment is done. If the conservative treatment doesn’t help, then surgery can be attempted.
Chiropractic care can be very helpful for spinal stenosis cases. You see, part of the problem in spinal stenosis patients is that their spinal alignment causes the spinal cord to be stretched. In areas where the canal is narrowed, this creates more pressure on the cord. Re-aligning the spine takes the stretch off the cord and allows it to move freely in narrowed areas of the spine. Removing the stretch relieves a lot of the symptoms and can allow the patient to avoid surgery.
For more information on non-surgical, non-grug solutions for spinal stenosis, log on to: www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com
What Stretches Can I Do For My Sciatica?
I am asked this question quite often, and the correct answer is a little complicated.
Stretching does not alleviate sciatica. It only makes it worse.
The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It starts in the lower back and goes all the way down the legs to the toes. It commonly gets irritated from poor posture, degenerative discs, narrowing of the spinal canal (spinal stenosis), swollen joints in the spine, or problems with the pelvic joints (sacro-iliac joints).
When the sciatic nerve gets irritated or pinched, it is very painful. As a response, the muscles in the buttocks and the back of the legs spasm up. Because the muscles are cramped and spastic, people with sciatica want to stretch. Typically, they bend forward and stretch the hamstrings or they lay on the back and pull their legs up.
These stretches loosen up the spasms and give slight relief of the pain. However, the stretching also elongates the sciatic nerve and causes more irritation. The nerve irritation causes more pain and spasm. So, the patient stretches more. They get temporary relief from relaxing the spasms, but the nerve gets more irritated. This leads to more pain and spasm…so the patient stretches more…and on and on it goes.
The stretching only gives temporary relief, but in the end, it makes the patient worse.
The best thing to do if you suffer from sciatica, is to get the cause of the problem solved. You should find out if the cause is poor posture, degenerative discs, swollen spinal joints or a sacro-iliac joint problem. All these conditions are treatable. If the condition is properly treated, the sciatic pain and spasms go away.
For more information on sciatica treatment log on to: www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com
Low Back Pain and Balance
What do low back pain and balance have to do with each other? Well, a lot! First (and most obvious), poor balance can lead to falling, which is the number one cause of injuries after the age of 70 (which includes low back pain). Unfortunately, as we age, we lose both balance AND bone density – a double whammy when it comes to falling, as this combination can result in fractures of low back vertebra. Below is a chart that shows what the “normal” length of time we should be able to stand on one foot (eyes open and eyes closed):
As this chart illustrates, over time, we rapidly lose our ability to balance, especially when we close our eyes. In fact, many of us cannot stand on one leg with our eyes closed for more than a few seconds well before the age of 59! Try it! Stand up in a corner of a room or in a doorway where you can grab onto the wall or door jams if you lose your balance. (We certainly do not want you to fall during this test!) Look at your watch or a clock with a second hand and count out loud in time with each second on the clock, “one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, …..”– you get the idea. Once you have the rhythm down, try counting first with your eyes open for 30 seconds and then try it again with the eyes closed. Quite different, isn’t it? Now switch legs and try it again – eyes open first and then eye closed counting in time with the passing of each second. If you’re not pleased with you performance, try it over again a few times. If you’re like most of us, you may feel a little inadequate right now. Most of us need to start including some “balance exercises” into our daily routine.
So, why is it that we lose our balance so easily as we age? This is mostly because we become less active or, more sedentary as we advance in age, partially because we’re not interested in doing activities that require balance. Also, we get afraid of falling down. Remember, when we were young(er), we romped around and bounce off walls and fell all the time. It was “routine” to come home from school with grass stains on our knees and backyard sports always resulted in falling, sometimes pretty hard! Rolling down a hill to purposely getting dizzy was quite attractive to us as kids – but certainly not now! In fact, getting on the floor to play with the kids usually leaves us sore for at least a few days. Now, I’m not suggesting we all run out and start rolling down hills, jump up and down or purposely fall down. But, including active “balance” exercises into our daily routine should be THE LEAST we should do. So, go for a brisk walk or a slow jog, ride a bike, walk in the park on uneven ground.
YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR LOW BACK PAIN! FOR MORE INFORMATION< LOG ON TO: www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com
Medical Treatments for Disc Disease Unproven
According to an article written in the leading medical journal relating to spine issues, SPINE, medical treatments for disc disease are unproven. (1)
The article states “None of the emerging techniques for the treatment of degenerative disc disease (DDD) – spinal fusion techniques, disc replacement, intradiscal electrothermal therapy – finds unequivocal validation in the scientific literature. Scientific evidence doesn’t prove that these treatments “are superior to natural history or non-operative treatment.”
What this means is; surgery doesn’t give any better outcomes than if you do a non-surgical treatment or no treatment at all.
The article goes on to state “It should be emphasized that all of the aforementioned procedures for low back pain have unpredictable outcomes; therefore these procedures should only be considered after failure of at least six months, and with the full understanding of patients who are well informed about the potential advantages, disadvantages and unpredictable outcomes.”
That means you should try other treatments for at least six months prior to considering surgery because spinal surgery is unpredictable and often harmful.
The most effective form of treatment for chronic low back problems is chiropractic care. (2) Unfortunately, surgeons often will not recommend chiropractic care due to competitive professional bias.
To find out more about non-surgical treatment for low back pain, log on to: www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com or www.painfree-greatposture.com
(1) An H, Boden S, Kang J et.al., Spine 2003; 28(15s):s24-s25
(2) Meade, MD Br Med J; 311:349-351
What is the Best Mattress for Your Back?
Contrary to what to what most mattress store salesmen will tell you, firm surfaces are better for your back. Soft mattresses allow your body to slump and curve into positions that put stress on the discs and joints. As a result, you will wake up with pain.
Almost all the mattresses out there are too soft. I think the basic reason everything is made so soft is that soft materials cost more and it justifies the expense of a mattress. Firm mattresses are usually cheaper.
Good firm mattresses are often ruined by putting a pillow top on them. Don’t use pillow tops.
All the exotic foam mattresses like Swedish, memory or tepur are too soft as well. Many people who get these will have relief from pain when sleeping, but will wake up groggy and dizzy. They will feel this way until their spine starts to tighten up as they get active. Once it does this, they won’t feel groggy, but they will feel pain. This is an effect of having too little support for the spine during sleep.
What is the best mattress? Anything that’s firm. I tell my patients to go to the store and ask for the firmest mattress they have. In today’s world of mattresses, that will do it. I haven’t found any that are too hard. I often tell my back pain patients to sleep on the floor and 90% of them are surprised to find out how comfortable it is.
If you feel that the surface is too hard adjust your pillow height until the pressure is relieved. If you are a side sleeper you will need your pillow to be higher. If you sleep on your back, the pillow must be very flat. Sometimes even just a few layers of a towel is all you need.
You should never undergo any type of treatment on your spine without addressing your mattresses and pillows. Any treatment will be doomed to fail if you don’t let your spine properly rest and heal.
To find out more about how I treat back pain, log on to www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com
How Do I Know When My Mattress Is Going Bad?
There are a few ways to know if your mattress is going bad.
First, if it is more than ten years old, stick a fork in it, its done. Its shot, its gone. I don’t care what its was made out of, it won’t last ten years.
Second, if its between five and ten years old, it is suspect. It might still be good, but you need to evaluate it a little closer. Does it look like its sagging? Are there pits in it? Do you feel pain in the morning? If so, something is wrong with the mattress.
Sometimes you can flip it, sometimes you can put a board between the mattress and box-spring, you can even try switching sides with your partner. But, these are stopgap measures that will get you by until you can get a better mattress.
What kind of mattress should you get?
The firmer the better. As firm as you can. This flies in the face of every mattress salesman in the country, but my clinical experience, the clinical experience of other doctors and the research shows that a firm surface is best.
Most of the stuff on the market today is way too soft. The exotic foams they use make it like sleeping on a bag of marshmallows. Not good for the spine.
For more information on pillows, mattresses and spinal health log on to my web-site www.painfree-greatposture.com.
For more information on back pain, log on to www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com.
Arch Supports…“JUST SAY NO!”
Almost every doctor or foot expert in the country will tell you to pick shoes that have “good arch support”. However, a study performed in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reviewed 35 years of research on footwear. They concluded that there is no evidence whatsoever, that arch supports either treat or prevent injuries. None.
They even contacted all the major shoe companies and asked for their research. None replied. What that means is, they either don’t have any research, or the research they have, shows their shoes don’t work.
The same goes for all the orthotics on the market. Its all smoke and mirrors. There is no evidence that these gadgets work.
From what I have observed over the last fifteen years in my office, arch supports actually make your body worse. Arch supports tend to do the following:
- They make your body posture slump forward.
- Your breathing will be more restricted when wearing arch supports.
- Your gait will be more restricted.
- Your feet will tend to pound at the ground when you walk.
- Arch supports limit your ability to change directions, causing decreased sports performance.
- Your body will be more unstable when wearing arch supports.
You can test these things for yourself. Do the following tests, first without shoes, then with shoes on. (95% of shoes have arch supports in them)
- Have someone stand in back of you and gently push on your shoulders. See if you are more stable with shoes or without.
- Have someone look at your posture, how does it look?
- Take a few deep breaths see if you get restricted.
- Walk around a little. Do walk tall or do you slump over. Do you pound the floor?
- Shuffle around a little and see you change direction (move like playing tennis or shadowboxing) Is you ability to change direction better, the same or worse with the shoes on.
Some of these tests, you may not notice a difference. But, for most, you will. Sometime it can be very dramatic.
What’s the best type of shoe ? Time after time, when I have performed these tests with people, the best shoes turn out to be a flat, flexible shoe with a wide toe box. A shoe with a small heel is good for most people, provided the back of the heel is the highest part of the shoe.
Vibram five finger shoes are the best by far, but they look weird and aren’t everyone’s style. MUDD’s women’s shoes are perfect, I’ve never seen a bad shoe from them. The have a nice size heel and women usually say they are the most comfortable shoe they own. Cheap flat tennis shoes like Chuck Taylor’s or PF Flyers work out great. I used to recommend Sketcher’s, however, in the past couple of years the company got sucked into the arch support vortex, and they are doing strange things with their shoes. So I can no longer recommend them. New Balance has some OK shoes, but all of them need to be altered slightly to make them work right.
For more information on shoes and other health topics, log on to: www.painfree-greatposture.com or if you have foot problems and want more info., log on to: www.stopyourfootpain.com
Low Back Pain: Is It Serious?
Back problems can cause a good deal of worry and for good reason. Any problem that doesn’t go away on its own in a reasonable period of time should be a cause for concern. Rarely, severe back pain can be caused by tumors and other destructive processes, so it’s important to have these serious conditions ruled out with a thorough examination and x-rays or other imaging.
The other serious aspect of back pain, much more common than a spinal cord tumor, is how it can affect your quality of life, often with devastating consequences. Research has shown how disabling severe back problems can be. In terms of quality of life, the decrease can be even more than that seen with heart and lung problems. This may not seem correct at first glance, but if you think about a back problem making you unable sit or function at work, or basically being able to enjoy life, then it becomes more understandable.
The trouble is, many of us think lying on the couch will do the trick, or taking aspirin every day is a good long-term solution.
We direct our care at improving the posture and mobility of the spine as a way to speed recovery. We find that just addressing the pain with medications or adhering to strict bed rest can be counter productive. The treatments are applied in a careful and specific manner. As the loads on the spine are more equalized and as joints begin to exhibit more flexibility, the body is placed in a more optimal environment for healing. Since self-care is also integral to our approach, we will encourage proper stretching and exercises to help maintain and extend what we can do in the clinic.
YOU MAYBE A CANDIDATE FOR DRUG FREE RELIEF! FOR MORE INFORMATION LOG ON TO: http://www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com
Non-surgical Scoliosis Treatment Without Bracing
One of the toughest things I have had to watch over the last fifteen years of practice, is how people with scoliosis are treated. Medically, scoliosis is treated with two options, bracing and fusion surgery. Both of which are harsh options that can lead to a lifetime of pain and serious health consequences.
The medical people in my area probably won’t like me for writing this article, but I felt that I need to speak up. And, if I can keep one kid off the operating table or from going through the pain that bracing causes, I feel I’ve done my job.
If you or your child has scoliosis you need to find out the cause. Are there malformed bones ? Tumors ? Infection ? This requires imaging studies like X-rays, CT or MRI scans. These conditions are rare, but they do happen and imaging will quickly find them. Tumors and infections must be treated immediately.
Most scoliosis is called idiopathic scoliosis. That means, they don’t know the cause. As a result, the treatments are misguided and detrimental. Which always leads me to ask the question; how can you correct something if you don’t know the cause?
The typical scenario goes something like this: A child gets a physical at his primary doctor or at school, and they notice a curvature in the spine. The doctor or nurse tells the parents and refers them to an orthopedic specialist. They take some films and find out they have idiopathic scoliosis. If the curvature is measured to be below 40 degrees, the child is given a brace which the he or she will have to wear as close to 24/7 as possible. The child is usually terrified at this point and must be talked into (or scared into) wearing it.
Now, keep in mind, idiopathic scoliosis in children is rarely painful. However, it starts becoming painful after the bracing begins. Children will often be up all night crying. They suffer embarrassment at school and become limited in their daily activities like gym class and sports. All this to find out that six months later when they are checked again, the curvature is the same or worse.
If the curvature is over 40 degrees, or if the parents and child can’t stand what is happening with the brace, surgery is suggested. The surgery involves cutting the patient open and fusing the spine with rods and screws. This is done, “to keep the curve from getting worse.” Which it usually does. The only problem is, now the area of fusion can’t move. So the child may be severely limited in terms of activities after surgery. Also, this fusion can cause biomechanical problems in the spine that can lead to debilitating pain. Just having the metal hardware in the body can cause a myriad of symptoms.
The surgery may have to be re-done if the child’s growth causes problems. Another problem many people fail to consider is this…once that rod is in there…it stays in there ! There are very few doctors with the training and the courage to take the rod out once its in there.
So what’s the answer ? How should scoliosis be managed ? By people who straighten spines for a living. Chiropractors.
Chiropractors have been managing scoliosis patients for over 100 years. Without surgery and with little or no bracing.
Mostly due to competitive reasons, orthopedists tend to scoff at chiropractic, saying it doesn’t work on scoliosis. They often say there is no evidence that it helps. There is evidence…its just not published in orthopedic journals. (for obvious reasons) There are many chiropractic techniques that help scoliosis. They can even help after the child has been braced.
Unfortunately, they can’t undo surgery. At that point, chiropractic can only be used for pain relief.
The smartest thing to do if you or your child has been diagnosed with scoliosis is to get a second opinion. Explore your options. Take a deep breath and relax. You aren’t in a rush. Don’t let anybody talk you into immediate drastic action, like bracing or surgery.
See a chiropractor, but not just any chiropractor. Make sure the one you choose uses techniques that work to correct scoliosis. Some chiropractors use different techniques that aren’t designed to correct scoliosis. Some have attended schools that unfortunately do not teach scoliosis management as part of their curriculum.
Don’t expect overnight miracles. Good scoliosis treatment can take several months to years. Much like braces on teeth. But, corrections can be made without dangerous surgery and without painful bracing.
I use a technique that does a consistently good job straightening scoliosis. I like it because it works on the cause of scoliosis and lets the body correct itself.
To find out more about it, log on to www.painfree-greatposture.com or www.abcmiracles.com/scoltestimonials.htm
To set up a free consultation with me, call Jennifer at 262-251-8306.
What is “Good Posture?”
Have you ever noticed how many people have terrible posture? One of the most common faulty postures is called “forward head carriage” or “anterior based occiput.” Other terms are “hump back” or slouching. There are several reasons for this common postural fault. One is the weight of the head is, on average, approximately 10-13 pounds and if it’s positioned too far forwards, the muscles in the upper back and neck tighten up much more than normal, fatigue and become painful. Also, the muscles that attach to the skull have different degrees of strength. They also attach and pull at different angles, contributing to the common forward head carriage posture. The muscles of the chest are much stronger than those in the mid and upper back and tend to pull our shoulders forward. The following pictures offer a good view of both a faulty posture as well as a “good” posture. Notice the forward shift in the line in the pictures of poor posture and backwards shift in the good posture pictures.
As you can see, the weight of the head is back over the shoulders and the shoulder posture is appropriately positioned back in the image titled “Good Head Posture.”
It is important to understand correcting Forward Head Carriage can take time – in fact, it takes a minimum of 3 month before this becomes an automatic new “habit.” Of course, it could take longer if you sit in slouchy chairs, soft chairs or wear arch supports. The great benefit you receive with your care at our office is that forward head posture gets corrected without exercises or any strain on your part. Your body stands more upright without you having to think about it.
If you, a family member or a friend require care, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our service. We are proud that chiropractic care has consistently scored the highest level of satisfaction when compared to other forms of health care provision and we look forward in serving you and your family presently and in the future.
YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR NECK PAIN! FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 262-251-8306 OR LOG ON TO: WWW.PAINFREE-GREATPOSTURE.COM
