IS MY PAIN SERIOUS?

How do you know whether your pain needs to be evaluated by your chiropractor? This is the age-old question. The answer needs to be specific to your particular problem, rather than a one-size-fits all solution. But there are good guidelines that everyone can follow.

First, is your pain deep and boring (that is, does the pain feel like it's boring into you)? Deep and boring pain usually means something is seriously wrong. If you're woken up at night by this type of pain, a visit to your chiropractor or family physician is in order. Kidney stones and inflamed gallbladders are common causes for deep, boring pain that causes a person to awaken from sleep. Severe heartburn is in this category, too, and should be evaluated by your doctor.

But these types of problems are easy to categorize. You'll probably know, instinctively, that something is wrong. Musculoskeletal pain is rather more difficult to analyze. For example, you lean over in a twisting motion to grab the glass of water on your nightstand and you feel a sharp pain in your lower back. Next morning you have great difficulty getting out of bed. Your lower back is stiff and sore. What should you do?^1,2

Your best course of action will be based on a self-assessment. If you're experiencing pain that radiates down your leg, or numbness or tingling sensations traveling down your leg, you should call your chiropractor's office and ask to be seen right away. Or, if you don't have any radiating pain, but sneezing or coughing does provoke a radiating sensation, take the same action. Similarly, the amount of pain you're having will determine what you do. If the pain is severe, see your chiropractor.

If none of these criteria are present, decision-making gets a bit murky. How you handle your problem will depend on your tolerance for pain. If you have low tolerance, make an appointment to see your chiropractor and get some expert treatment. If you have a higher pain threshold, you might still call for an appointment just to make sure that nothing is seriously wrong. Certainly, if you haven't improved at all after 48 hours, you need to see your chiropractor.

There is another important scenario. If you have a medical condition such as cancer, an endocrine disorder, or a systemic infection, a sudden occurrence of back pain needs immediate attention, regardless of how or why you think the pain occurred.³ This is not to be an alarmist, but rather the recommendation is based on precaution. If there is an existing problem, then new issues need to be looked at closely, just to be sure.

These guidelines provide a sound basis for decision-making, but please remember they are just that - guidelines. Each person needs to be comfortable with their own process. And, of course, it's always much better to be safe than sorry. Your chiropractor is always available to help you sort out these kinds of problems.

 

 In the field of medicine, the term pain management is code for drugs and intraspinal steroid injections. Pain management drugs are almost always opioids such as Vicodin, OxyContin, and morphine. Intraspinal steroid injections are at best a temporary fix, are often based on best guesses, and can have devastating side effects if done incorrectly.

On the other hand, chiropractic pain management always uses conservative methods of care. Chiropractic care does not introduce foreign substances or instruments into the body. The power of chiropractic care lies in its ability to facilitate the body's own healing mechanisms. In essence, based on a systematic analysis of the person's biomechanics and physiology, chiropractic care removes roadblocks to normal functioning of the nerve system. When the nerve systems pathways are free and clear, the body can begin to heal itself from the inside-out.

Your body is very smart. For many problems involving pain, all your body needs to heal itself is a freely functioning nerve system. The goal of chiropractic care is to enable such normal functioning.

¹Smart KM, et al: The discriminative validity of "nociceptive," "peripheral neuropathic," and "central sensitization" as mechanisms-based classifications of musculoskeletal pain. Clin J Pain 27(8):655-653, 2011

²Arendt-Nielsen L, Graven-Nielsen T: Translational musculoskeletal pain research. Clin Rheumatol 25(2):209-226, 2011

³Casazza BA: Diagnosis and treatment of acute low back pain. Am Fam Physician 85(4):343-350, 2012

What's Wrong With My Back?

Not all back problems are created equal. One person may have been working on a home improvement project and injured her back while simultaneously bending and twisting. Another person may have developed back pain as a result of a vehicular collision. Another person may be experiencing back pain as a result of osteoporosis. Yet another person may have a serious illness which causes back pain as a related problem.

Back pain is a problem common to many types of injuries and illnesses. How can you tell the difference - in other words, how can you tell when back pain requires you to take action, such as seeing your chiropractor? A reasonable approach is to use a 48-hour guideline. Your body usually has a powerful ability to heal itself. If your back pain hasn't gone away on its own within 48 hours, then seeking professional assistance is a very good plan.

However, some situations require immediate attention. For example, if you've had an accident, seeing your chiropractor right away is probably the right thing to do. In another scenario, if you begin to experience severe pain without an obvious cause, then seeing your chiropractor right away makes a great deal of sense. Like many things in life, having physical pain requires us to use good judgment. The 48-hour rule-of-thumb applies to most situations, but if you've had an accident or are having an unusual problem, see your chiropractor as soon as possible, today if necessary.

When a person has back pain, it's very important to make sure there are no related problems. Most of the time there aren't, but no one wants to be the exception and it's always better to be safe than sorry. Making your own diagnosis is never a good idea. "Oh, that's been bothering me for months," some people will say. "It's just back pain." Of course, such an approach to one's health violates the 48-hour rule. If the problem really wasn't anything much, it would have gone away within a few days. Something else is going on, and usually the longer a physical problem is left untreated the more difficult it is to deal with. The old expression, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is as true today as it was 100 years ago.

Your chiropractor is an expert in back pain. They know that physical pain happens for a reason.^1,2 Their job is to discover that reason, using the tools of history taking, physical examination, biomechanical analysis, and special tests, if necessary, such as x-rays and other imaging methods. Most of the time, the underlying problem is mechanical in nature, involving the spinal joints and associated soft tissues, including the ligaments, muscles, and tendons. Such mechanical problems cause the vast majority of cases of back pain, and are directly addressed by chiropractic care.³ In unusual circumstances, your chiropractor will refer you to another specialist. The important approach in all situations is to seek appropriate care. Your chiropractor's office is the right place to start.

 
Most people now know the importance of exercise in daily life. The benefits of exercise range from improved strength, balance, and agility to deeper, more restful sleep, improved outlook on life, and heightened levels of creativity. Of course, there's also an additional direct benefit for persons with back pain.
Most cases of back pain are biomechanical in nature. In these circumstances, spinal joints have lost some mobility and spinal muscles have become tight. The long-term result is back pain, which may be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the extent of the biomechanical dysfunction. Chiropractic care is the specific treatment for problems involving the spinal joints and muscles. Exercise is an important addition to chiropractic care. When you perform challenging activities throughout a full range of motion, as you do when you exercise, you're retraining the joints and muscles of your back. By engaging in such activities on a regular basis, you're helping to restore spinal strength and mobility, enhancing the benefits you're receiving from chiropractic care.

Your chiropractor is an expert in rehabilitative exercise and will be glad to design an exercise program that will work for you.

¹Bakker EW, et al: Spinal mechanical load as a risk factor for low back pain: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies. Spine 34(8):E281-E293, 2009

²Shambrook J, et al: Clinical presentation of low back pain and association with risk factors according to findings on magnetic resonance imaging. Pain 157(7):1659-1665, 2011

³Wilder DG, et al: Effect of spinal manipulation on sensorimotor functions in back pain patients: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials 12:161, 2011

The Many Health Benefits of Raw Honey

According to Dr. Ron Fessenden, M.D., M.P.H. the average American consumes over 150 pounds of refined sugar, plus an additional 62 pounds of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). In comparison, we consume just one pound of honey per year. Instead, Dr. Fessenden recommends that increasing the intake of pure “raw” honey and drastically reducing the refined sugars and HFCS would reap enormous health benefits.
A report in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine further backs the benefits of raw honey with their opinion:

“The therapeutic potential of uncontaminated, pure, raw honey is grossly underutilized. It is widely available in most communities and although the mechanism of action of several of its properties remains obscure and needs further investigation, the time has now come for conventional medicine to lift the blinds off this ‘traditional remedy’ and give it its due recognition.”

What is Honey?
Honey is far more than a natural sweetener. It is a “functional food”, which means it is a natural food with health benefits. It contains natural antioxidants, enzymes and minerals including iron, zinc, potassium, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and selenium. Vitamins found in honey include B6, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and niacin. In addition, the nutraceuticals contained in honey help neutralize damaging free radical activity.
One tablespoon of honey contains 64 calories, yet it has a healthy glycemic load around 10 for 1 Tbsp, which is a little less than a banana. and does not cause a sugar spike and elevated insulin release like white sugar. Although honey is an affordable food, bees spend thousands of hours collecting pollen from around two million flowers to make one pound of pure honey.

Why Choose Raw Honey?
Research by the Palynology Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University tested 60 honey products from supermarkets and grocery stores and found that 76% contained no trace of pollen. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains that any honey products that have been ultra-filtered, as these have, are not actually honey and therefore the health benefits of honey cannot be assumed.
Commercial honey is often heavily processed and may even have been chemically refined. Excessive heat destroys the natural enzymes, vitamins, and minerals in honey. Filtering and processing eliminates many of the beneficial phytonutrients including pollen and enzyme-rich propolis. The only way to achieve sparkling clear honey is by heat, so avoid the golden syrup-like honey in favor of opaque organic raw honey.
Raw honey is a concentrated source of natural goodness. Benefits include:
•    A rich taste
•    High nutritional benefits
•    Promotes the growth of good bacteria in the intestine
•    Soothes and heals skin wounds
•    Blocks free radicals
•    Aids sleep
•    Counters pollen allergies
•    Reduces homocysteine levels to maintain a healthy heart
Best of all, honey does not need special storage or refrigeration – use it by the spoonful straight from the jar.

The Health Benefits of Honey
Honey-infused bandages are known to aid healing. Peter Charles Molan at the University of Waikato, New Zealand found that honey reacts with the body’s fluids to make hydrogen peroxide, creating an inhospitable environment for bacteria.
Research studies have already shown that replacing sugar with honey in the diet results in less weight gain and lower blood sugar levels. Switching to honey may even aid in weight loss when compared to diets containing sugar or HFCS.
Honey provides a ready supply of energy in the form of liver glycogen, making it ideal for energetic morning starts and as a pre- and post-exercise energy source. It also boosts the immune system, acting as a preventative against any number of debilitating diseases.
Honey contains many antioxidants including flavonoids to maintain the body’s health balance. Pinostrobin supports enzyme activity while the antioxidant-rich organic acids maintain an optimal slightly acidic pH in the body. Pinocembrin is an antioxidant flavonoid thought to be unique to honey while the amino acids in honey are the body’s building blocks of protein.
Honey promotes restorative sleep as it slowly releases the glycogen needed for essential bodily functions during sleep. Adding honey to milk at bedtime helps the body release melatonin into the brain which is necessary for deep sleep. Melatonin also boosts immunity and helps rebuild tissue during periods of rest. Poor sleep, by comparison, has been shown to be a risk factor for hypertension, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and arthritis. As honey is a proven sleep aid, it naturally lowers the risk of all these health problems.

Although honey is one of the healthiest sweeteners, it still should be used in moderation.

Raw honey can be found at local flea and farmers markets, local farms, and on the internet.   Local raw honey is also known to be a homeopathic treatment for certain types of allergies and even asthma. 

Sources:
http://www.worldclassemprise.com/custom.aspx?id=22
http://products.mercola.com/honey/
http://www.mamahealthy.com/sweeteners-spices-ingredients/raw-honey-benefits-organic-honey
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-nutrition.html
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-benefits.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/034102_honey_consumer_alert.html
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-honey-a-safer-sweetener/#axzz1pZs2Na8k
http://www.draxe.com/the-top-5-natural-allergy-fighters/
http://www.ajcn.org/search?fulltext=RAW+HONEY&submit=yes&x=11&y=10
http://www.drgrotte.com/honey-medicine.shtml

Resolution of Infertility Followed by a Healthy Pregnancy and Delivery with Chiropractic

From the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health comes a case study published on March 12, 2012 documenting the  resolution of infertility in a woman previously diagnosed with a case of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a condition in which there is an imbalance of a woman's female sex hormones. This imbalance can lead to infertility and affects approximately 6.6% of reproductive-aged women.
The authors of the study start by reporting that infertility is a wide-spread problem that affects one in five couples. Of these it is estimated that 60% are due to a female health problem. As a result 9.3 million women seek infertility treatment at some point during their lives. Most of the care sought is medical care.
In this case a 29 year old woman previously diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and infertility sought chiropractic care. The study reports that she had been unable to become pregnant for six months. She had been to a medical practitioner one week earlier but had heard that chiropractic care could be helpful and therefore sought chiropractic care.
A chiropractic examination was performed including a spinal and nerve system analysis. It was determined that subluxations were present in multiple areas of the woman's spine resulting in nerve system malfunction. A series of specific spinal adjustments were initiated to correct the subluxations.
The study reports that after two months of care the patient was told by her medical doctor that she was pregnant. It was estimated that the woman became pregnant between the second and fifth chiropractic visit. The study reports that the pregnancy was normal and that the woman delivered a healthy 6 pound 7 ounce baby girl after an all natural labor.
In their discussion and conclusion the authors discussed how spinal misalignments could cause infertility by stating, "A subluxation is characterized by a dysfunction of the nervous system that results in widespread physiological changes and altered health status." The authors continued to discuss the additional benefits in this case by noting, "Following initiation of chiropractic care, the patient not only became pregnant, but also reported improvement in many facets of her life, including improved sleep, better dietary choices, increased water consumption, and an improvement in her ability to exercise."