Reduce and Eliminate Chronic Back Pain Using Non-Traditional Therapy

Complementary therapy is concerned with health and wellness from a mind, body and spirit approach. As a past sufferer of

back pain resulting from injury and a congenital disorder, I understand how challenging it can be to live with back pain.

The GOOD news is you don*t have to. Studies actually suggest that most chronic back pain can be relieved in just six short

weeks.

Among the essential strategies for eliminating back pain include exercise and movement. A progressive exercise program

that incorporates stretching and balance can help reduce and even eliminate back pain.

When an exercise program is followed in conjunction with routine complementary therapy, the prognosis for back pain

sufferers is exceptional.

Complementary Therapy

So what exactly is complementary therapy and how do you use it to resolve back pain?

Complementary therapy is any type of treatment that does not involve medication and surgery, which aims to reduce or

eliminate imbalances in the body through a mind, body and spirit approach. There are many effective complementary

therapies available for chronic back pain sufferers.

Three of the most common are discussed below.

Chiropractic

This is usually the most popular complementary therapy sought out by back pain sufferers. Chiropractic treatment involves

the use of spinal manipulation to relieve acute and chronic back pain. There is a large body of research that supports the

efficacy of chiropractic therapy in conjunction with a strengthening program. In fact, many doctors actually recommend

Chiropractic care over traditional care for back pain.

Massage

Massage therapy is a relaxing and invigorating complementary therapy that does wonders for the entire mind, body and

spirit of back pain sufferers. Massage therapy can help improve a person*s flexibility and ability to carry out daily

functions by improving blood flow to the limbs. Massage also provides an added mental benefit of being calming and

relaxing.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is less commonly used to treat lower back pain, but fans of acupuncture therapies will tell you that it is an

effective treatment for eliminating pain. Acupuncture treatment relies on the insertion of thin needles into certain

energy points on the body. Many people report relief from lower back pain after a series of acupuncture treatments. There

are many proven benefits of acupuncture treatment that have been cited, and most recent studies suggest that it is a good

complementary therapy for low back pain.

There are several other complementary therapies that are beneficial for back pain sufferers including magnetic therapy.

Regardless of which you choose, you are bound to realize positive results if you combine complementary therapy with a

regular strength and conditioning program. No one should suffer chronic back pain. There are healing options available if

you know where to turn.

So when reading this article and thinking back on visits to medical professionals, did you have the big picture or were you just following that yellow brick road?

If it have been down that road, or if you are just starting to suffer from back pain it’s never too late to seek out new and more encompassing information about condition when trying to find a solution that works for .

Don’t say you’ve tried everything because you haven’t....solution is out there and just have to find it!

Back Pain | Orthopedic Care

One of the first places many people go when they experience back pain is the orthopedic specialist (surgeon) and a visit usually last 5-10 minutes. They will typically look at the problem/symptomatic area and often fail to look at the body as a whole.

If it's been to an orthopedic specialist for back pain, did they do a full body physical evaluation (takes 30 mins. or more)??? Not likely.

Here are some of the common treatments used / prescribed by orthopedic specialists:

Back Pain | Cortisone Shots

Cortisone is a catabolic steroid which is intended to reduce inflammation by killing off the tissue in the inflamed area… now let me ask you, does that make any sense to you at all?

Not only are these injections quite painful, but they rarely result in any pain relief and if they do it is short lived, usually 1-2 weeks if at all. Plus, it does NOTHING to identify or address the cause of the pain… it is only intended to treat the symptom. It’s for those reasons that we do not recommend them.

Back Pain | Anti-inflammatory Drugs

Just the name should scare away… just like cortisone shots, anti-inflammatory medications do not identify or address the cause of pain and for many people, they deliver little pain relief.

These medications also deliver serious side effects! The main reason they are prescribed is money… and if you don’t believe me, do the research and you’ll see for yourself.

The drug industry is huge and unfortunately, they have a huge influence on the whole medical community, including the doctors.

I challenge to find a drug that will fix back problem… It’ll be looking forever because there is no way a medication can fix a physical problem so avoid medications at all costs!

Back Pain | Back Surgery

Surgery for back pain is very common and more often than not, the individual still has pain afterwards (or it returns within weeks) and sometimes even new problems! Very rarely is a surgery the answer...

For example, many people have surgery for herniated discs. The logic behind the surgery is if you remove the piece/portion of the disc that is putting pressure on the nerve the problem is solved.

Unfortunately, the same forces that forced that disc to protrude or bulge will likely force more of the disc out, or another disc out.

Surgery should always be the last resort... and even then I'd question it!

Back Pain | Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy is traditionally the next step after seeing an Orthopedic Doctor. That is if surgery is not recommended. So what should to expect?

The process will start with an evaluation and here may be the start of the problem… here is why…. the doctor has to write a prescription with a diagnosis on it.

You give the prescription to the PT and he or she will perform an evaluation... chances are the PT will simply confirm the diagnosis from the doctor, however the hope should be that they take the extra step to look for the root cause of your pain.

They may but chances are they have several other clients in the office at the same time and simply do not have the time.

So without a comprehensive evaluation to identify the root cause of you pain they will simply treat your symptoms. We have just identified the second problem.

The health care industry is required to show improvement with each and every session so the push is to reduce your symptoms to show progress in order for them to get paid.

The long and short of it is that yes your pain can be reduced but the root cause rarely gets addressed, meaning that the pain and your suffering will return again and again.

So what should tu do? When selecting a Physical Therapy office you may want to ask how many patients the office sees in a day and how many PTs they have on staff... then ask how many patients can a PT work with in an hour.

Do not be surprised to hear that a PT can see up to three patients in an hour. That’s you and two others at the same time. Do you think you will get the attention and proper treatments you need? I doubt it.

There is a little joke in Physical Therapy when treating patients and it has to do with what course of modalities you will get. The joke is called Shake and Bake and it refers to everyone gets the same treatment protocol… that way it can be timed so that your PT can see other people simultaneously.

What goes into a shake and bake treatment? It may start with a spin on a stationary bike or a trot a treadmill than you will get a 3 to 5 minute Ultrasound over the effected area followed by Electrical Stimulation to the area with a little Ice strapped to your body and to finish off your session you will get a hand out with exercises you should do at home. Certainly not a recipe for success!

Back Pain | Chiropractic Care

One of the most common treatments for back pain is Chiropractic Care. The approach consists of physical manipulations of bones and joints in an attempt to line things back up and it's recommended typically 2-3 times per week.

The problem with this approach is that the same forces (muscles, tendons, and ligaments) will likely pull the bones and joints right back out of place again. Also, most (not all) chiropractors will spend 15 minutes with you if your lucky.

Ask people who see a chiropractor how long they’ve been going… I hear of people who have been going for 10-15 years and still don’t have a healthy back. Look, the fact is chiropractic care is lacking…

Unless the chiropractor combines the two approaches, it doesn’t make sense…

The ONLY way chiropractic care makes sense is if you are addressing the muscle imbalances that are pulling the bones and joints out of place to begin with and that requires strengthening and stretching exercises that are chosen specifically to correct your muscle imbalances.