Chronic Back Pain- Treatment Can Reverse Abnormal Brain Function

Anyone who has been in pain, knows how quickly their mood can change.  You can get symptoms like fear, grouchiness and depression.

It is well-known that low back pain is the most common form of chronic pain among adults.  Lesser known is the fact that those with chronic pain also experience cognitive impairments and reduced brain size. Patients can experience the emotional components of pain, like depression and anxiety from the brain shrinking.

If the pain is treated, can the problem be reversed ?  YES.  Researchers fromMcGillUniversityfound that patients in chronic pain who showed loss of brain tissue and brain activity, regained the brain matter and its normal activity when the chronic pain was relieved.

The senior author of the study, Dr. Laura Stone, said “If you can make the pain go away with effective treatment, you can reverse these abnormal changes in the brain.”

This means that if you have been in pain a long time, and you are getting symptoms of anxiety and depression, these symptoms will go away when your pain goes away.

The problem is, most treatments for pain involve drugs and surgery.  Surgery can be risky and if it doesn’t go right, can lead to long term debilitating pain.  Drugs have side effects and don’t treat the cause of pain, only the feeling.

Relieving back pain can be achieved through non-drug, non-surgical means.  For more information, log on to:  www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com

Can Chronic Back Pain Shrink the Brain?

If you’re one of the millions of people with chronic back pain, scientists say your brain may age up to 20 times faster than normal.

In the first study of its kind, researchers from Northwestern University have found that chronic back pain actually shrinks the brain by as much as 11%. Specifically, it shrinks the gray matter, which makes up the part of the brain responsible for memory and information processing.

It is well documented that chronic back pain negatively impacts quality of life and increases anxiety and depression, but it has been assumed that any brain changes revert to a normal state after the pain stops. This is according to researcher A. Vania Apkarian who has an article in the Nov. 23, 2004 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Apkarian and colleagues compared 26 healthy volunteers with 26 patients who had chronic back pain in the lower region for more than a year. Some patients’ pain radiated through the buttock, thigh, and leg — a sign of sciatic nerve damage, or sciatica. The source of the pain was not considered.

MRI brain images and other sophisticated imaging tests, which measured gray matter size, were performed on all patients. After adjusting for age and gender factors, scientists found that, overall, chronic back pain patients lost about 5%-11% of gray matter a year — about the same as 10 to 20 years or normal aging, the researchers say. Typically, normal aging results in only about 0.5% of gray matter loss each year, they add.

Those with chronic back pain with sciatica had the largest decrease in gray matter. In addition, the more years someone has chronic back pain, the more brain loss they suffered.

What’s Behind the Brain Shrinkage?

By definition, chronic back pain is a state of persistent pain with associated negative mood and stress, says Apkarian. Therefore, one possible explanation for the decreased gray matter is that nerve cells are working overtime.

The researchers hypothesize that as chronic back pain persists, it may become more irreversible and less responsive to treatment due to these brain changes.

The good news is that chiropractic has been found to be a very effective and long lasting treatment for chronic low back pain.  The elimination of chronic pain now, may prevent future problems of anxiety, depression and dementia.

For more information on how I treat chronic back pain log on to www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com or visit my website at www.painfree-greatposture.com .

The Problem of a Low Back Problem

If you watch much television or have paid a visit recently to a family medical doctor for low back pain, the information you’re getting may be a flawed. For example, you’ve probably been told that back problems are not very serious and that the problem is quickly cured with simple treatments, such as going back to work or taking an aspirin. One commercial recently aired, shows a patient bent-over in a stuck position, who is apparently cured by taking two aspirin. These advertisements convey the message that back problems are trivial and that cures come in a bottle.

The reality is far different. Few studies show that taking pills does any good at all. More importantly, they tend to mask mechanical problems of the back that need mechanical types of treatments. Most back pains are problems of the spinal joints, either moving too little (fixation dysfunction), or too much (instability). These small problems grow bigger when you consider the spine is the lifeline of good posture. You really cannot do too much with a bad back. You may not be able to work, play, or even sit for longer than fifteen minutes. This can have far reaching consequences for everyday life and its enjoyment.

By treating these minor aches and pains as signals of something wrong that needs to be properly diagnosed and corrected, is the best way to manage this type of injury. When these problems are ignored or improperly treated, it’s only a matter of time before the minor sprain turns into a disk protrusion, and eventual degeneration or arthritis. With arthritis there will be substantial limits on the function of the low back. With lack of function comes reduced quality of life.

I am Dr Paul Kramer and I specialize in the mechanical treatment of these painful spinal conditions. My treatments involve spinal adjustments, which are designed to correct the misalignments of your low back vertebrae, and improve the range of motion of the individual spinal joints. When joints are functioning normally, then the nervous system will be less irritated. Your back muscles will become more relaxed and less painful if the joint is not irritated through improper position or excessive motion.

A comprehensive examination is the only way to determine if chiropractic treatment will be right for your particular spinal problem. I can also provide advice on how to minimize recurrences and prevent future flare-ups. By addressing problems when they’re small, future disability may be avoided.

YOU MAYBE A CANDIDATE FOR DRUG FREE RELIEF!

Log on to: www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com

Medical vs. Chiropractic Treatment in Acute and Chronic Back Pain

Have you ever considered who is the best suited to treat back pain?  A study looking at this very question compared the effectiveness between medical and chiropractic intervention.  Over a 4-year time frame, 2780 patients were followed (initial, 2-week, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 month intervals) with questionnaires.  Both acute (symptoms <7weeks) and chronic (symptoms >7weeks) low back pain (LBP) patients were treated using conventional approaches by both the MDs and the DCs.  Treatments from the chiropractors included spinal manipulation, physical therapy, an exercise plan, and self-care education.  Medical therapies included prescription drugs, an exercise plan, self-care advice and about 25% of the patients received physical therapy.

The study focused on present pain severity and functional capacity, measured by questionnaires that were mailed to the patients. It was reported that chiropractic was favored over medical treatment in the following areas:

♦ Pain relief in the first 12 months (more evident in the chronic patients)

♦ When LBP pain radiated below the knee (more evident in the chronic patients)

♦ Chronic LBP patients with no leg pain (during the first 3 months)

This study also found that early intervention reduced chronic pain.  While both medical and chiropractic treatment approaches helped, it’s quite clear from the information reported that chiropractic treatment approaches should be utilized first.  Not only because it is more effective, but also because it is safer and less costly.

To find out more about how I treat low back pain and other low back related conditions like sciatica, spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis log on to www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com.

Ice or Heat for Low Back Pain?

I am often asked whether to use ice or heat when you hurt your back.  And, the answer is most definitely ice.  Ice, Ice, ICE!

In 14 years of practice, I have only seen one patient that got into trouble using ice.  This patient put an ice pack directly on his skin and he developed frostbite.

In contrast, I get two patients a month who sustain a mild back injury.  They put a heating pad on it and in the morning they can’t stand up due to severe pain.  The heat caused the injury to swell and it will take about twice as long to heal.  The swelling must be brought down with ice, and then the chiropractic treatment can be allowed to work.

Be aware, emergency room doctors and nurses are notorious for telling patients to use heating pads on their backs and necks.  I have no idea why.  The scientific literature is pretty clear on this point and you should be too.  Any new injury should be iced for the first 48 to 72 hours.  After that, heat can be used, but in my experience I would only suggest it if the pain is significantly less.  And, I would only use it under the advice of a professional.

When in doubt ice.  20 minutes every two hours and go to your chiropractor as soon as possible.

For more information on how I treat back pain, go to www.newbackpainreliefinfo.com or call Jennifer at 262-251-8306 to schedule an appointment for a free consultation to see if I can help.