Back Clinic Chiropractic. This is a form of alternative treatment that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of various musculoskeletal injuries and conditions, especially those associated with the spine. Dr. Alex Jimenez discusses how spinal adjustments and manual manipulations regularly can greatly help both improve and eliminate many symptoms that could be causing discomfort to the individual. Chiropractors believe among the main reasons for pain and disease are the vertebrae’s misalignment in the spinal column (this is known as a chiropractic subluxation).
Through the usage of manual detection (or palpation), carefully applied pressure, massage, and manual manipulation of the vertebrae and joints (called adjustments), chiropractors can alleviate pressure and irritation on the nerves, restore joint mobility, and help return the body’s homeostasis. From subluxations, or spinal misalignments, to sciatica, a set of symptoms along the sciatic nerve caused by nerve impingement, chiropractic care can gradually restore the individual’s natural state of being. Dr. Jimenez compiles a group of concepts on chiropractic to best educate individuals on the variety of injuries and conditions affecting the human body.
Medications and drugs include a progression: you never start out with the largest dose possible of the most powerful medicine. You begin to help control your pain and other symptoms. Alas, a number of chronic pain sufferers have found that over-the-counter drugs and medications aren’t sufficient for their chronic pain.
What medications and drugs are prescribed for chronic pain?
While there are a variety of treatment options available to help manage and relieve symptoms of chronic pain, some patients may additionally ask for prescription medications and drugs. There’s many dosages and types of these which doctors can prescribe. The following and their effects are listed below.
Prescription Medication Used for Chronic Pain
Prescription medication, which is another step on the progression of drugs and medications is usually needed by chronic pain patients. What the doctor prescribes is dependent on your pain level, treatment goals, and general well-being. They will take into account other medications as well as herbal remedies and nutritional supplements, that you are taking. Be sure to tell your doctor about whatever you’re on because of potential drug interactions.
Whatever drug your doctor prescribes, you’ll start on the lowest possible dose. You have found the correct medication and dose if that works to relieve your chronic pain. If it doesn’t, then the doctor may consider upping your dose or trying another medication. Some general categories for medications used for pain are:
Anti-depressants: You don’t need to be miserable to be prescribed anti-depressants. They could block the mind from getting pain messages, so they’re a sensible option for chronic pain sufferers. Additionally, it is believed that anti-depressants might raise the number of endorphins in your body, and endorphins are a pure pain suppressant.
It’s correct that chronic pain often involves a psychological component, especially as the pain appears to take over a patient’s life. Anxiety can make it more difficult to do that, together with fatigue and other consequences of chronic pain, may lead to depression. Anti-depressants may be prescribed as part of a comprehensive treatment program which attempts to help you deal with all elements of pain.
Muscle relaxants:�You may take a muscle relaxant, if your pain is caused by muscle sprain, strain, spasm, or anxiety. This medication may help supply you with the pain relief so that you can work on strengthening your muscles.
Neuropathic agents: For chronic pain caused by nerve problems (neuropathic pain), doctors may prescribe neuropathic agents. They especially target the nerves, and the way changes in which the brain receives and interprets pain messages.
Non-steroidal anti inflammatory medications (NSAIDS): NSAIDs combat inflammation, just as steroids do, but they get it done with no steroids. They work by blocking certain enzymes in the human body, the ones which help alleviate inflammation.
Opioids (Narcotics): In the most extreme cases, and only under careful supervision, your physician may also prescribe an opioid, such as morphine or codeine. Opioids are also known as narcotics. They work by attaching to opioid receptors on the surface of the brain, spinal cord, and cells. They then can block pain messages. Opioids alter the interpretation of pain of the brain by changing how pain signals are transmitted.
Pain relievers: Prescription-strength pain relievers referred to as pain killers or analgesics, do precisely what their name implies: they relieve pain. They do not reduce inflammation. Pain relievers work by preventing the mind from getting pain signals from your own nerves. Then your brain won’t know about the pain, if pain messages can’t be transmitted by the nerve cells as they do, and then you either won’t feel it or won’t sense it as severely. Most pain relievers belong to one of the above mentioned categories (opioids, NSAID, etc.).
Steroid medications: Steroids are medications that are strong. If you have tried prescription-strength non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) and they have not reduced the pain, the doctor may have you try steroid drugs. They block the body from producing the compound that cause inflammation, so they’re used for chronic pain sufferers with an inflammatory condition.
Your body gets used to the medication, and that means that you can’t simply stop taking them. You have to give your body time to readjust by tapering your dosages. That is an important thing to bear in mind if you are considering taking steroid drugs or any form of medication listed above. Be sure to contact your healthcare professional and consult all your options before considering the use of strong medications and treatment alternatives.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Wellness
Overall health and wellness are essential towards maintaining the proper mental and physical balance in the body. From eating a balanced nutrition as well as exercising and participating in physical activities, to sleeping a healthy amount of time on a regular basis, following the best health and wellness tips can ultimately help maintain overall well-being. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can go a long way towards helping people become healthy.
You wake up with it. You go to sleep with this. Chronic pain, by definition, does not go away. Millions of people live with chronic back or neck pain every day. Chronic pain is technically defined as pain that persists for 12 weeks or even longer, even after the injury has healed. Thankfully, while many individuals with chronic pain might feel hopeless to attain relief, there are a variety of treatments which may help manage the pain, such as laser treatment.
How does laser therapy benefit chronic pain?
The idea that light energy can accelerate recovery in tissues, can reduce inflammation and pain, relax muscles, and stimulate nerve wracking with the use of a lase appears to be farfetched. Science, however, tells us these effects may be true. The inquiry is, to what extent does this work and is this based on power and wavelength?
“Wavelength and power determine the capacity of this laser to penetrate in the body. Once you are in the infrared spectrum and above 800 nanometers in wavelength, laser power penetrates like x-rays, but to attain depth you need significant energy or power,” Dr. Bruce Coren states.
Two Classes of Lasers Used for Chronic Pain
There are two classes of lasers being used as a part of physical therapy for chronic pain management and relief; class 3 and 4. “Class 3 lasers are significantly less than 500 milliwatts (mw) in electricity while class 4 lasers are higher than 500 mw,” Dr. Coren stated. Class 3 lasers are occasionally referred to as cold capsules, as well as the treatment might be known as LLLT for low-level laser treatment. In contrast, class 4 laser therapy is sometimes called HPLT for high-power laser treatment.
“The vast majority of neuro-musculoskeletal conditions respond better to some higher power and a higher dosage, which can be a function of energy output and time,” Dr. Coren commented. “The top results will be obtained using a laser which has 30 watts of electricity or more. A 10-minute treatment using a 30-watt laser can produce 18,000 joules, which gives a significant pain relieving, anti inflammatory and healing impact.”
Patients usually begin to feel better after one or two treatments, even though 5 or more might be needed to solve the issue. “The more persistent and extensive the injury the more treatments are often needed,” he added.
Properties of High-Power Laser Therapy
Dr. Coren spoke about the valuable properties of laser therapy and described their unique benefits and effects:
Pain Relief: “Laser therapy decreases nerve sensitivity by decreasing bradykinin; a pain eliciting compound. It normalizes ion channels, known as the gatekeepers. and releases endorphins, the body’s natural pain reliever, and enkephalins, related to endorphins. It also has a pain-blocking effect on certain nerve fibers.”
Anti-inflammatory/Healing: “Laser therapy increases ATP, which can be stored energy (ATP is the acronym for adenosine triphosphate). The cells also regenerate faster. Laser therapy causes a widening of veins and the arteries around the injury which helps to remove mobile debris and increase oxygen and nutrients. White blood cell action is enhanced which leads to the more rapid repair procedure. Some molecules that increase inflammation have been reduced, and antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase are increased with laser therapy.
Accelerated Tissue Repair and Cellular Growth: “Photons of light from lasers penetrate deeply into tissues and accelerate mobile reproduction and development. As a result of exposure to laser light therapy, the tissues of both ligaments, tendons, nerves and muscles are are repaired faster”, as stated above.
Improved Vascular Activity: “Laser light raises the formation of new cells in damaged tissue, which speeds up the recovery process, and closes wounds quickly.”
Trigger and Acupuncture Points: “Laser is particularly helpful in extinguishing painful trigger points. It’s also an effective way of stimulating acupuncture points without the distress related to needling.”
Reduced Fibrous Tissue Formation: “Laser treatment lowers the formation of scar tissue after tissue damage from repetitive motion injuries, cuts, wounds, scrapes or surgery.”
Faster Wound Healing: “Laser light stimulates the building blocks of collagen, which is important for the wound healing of damaged tissues. Collagen is the essential protein needed to replace tissue or to repair injuries. Consequently, the laser is powerful on open wounds and burns.”
Stem Cell Activation: “Laser therapy raises the amount of stem cells, which enhances healing.”
Where is Laser Therapy Administered?
High-power lasers are typically found in physical therapy clinics and chiropractic offices. Neck, back or joint pain usually responds positively to laser therapy.
“Lasers are also very powerful for inflammatory conditions, including peripheral neuropathy, tendonitis, bursitis, and capsulitis. Strains, sprains, and repetitive movement injuries all have an inflammatory component and can be successfully treated with laser,” he remarked. “There is no particular condition that reacts more quickly to laser. But some patients will react faster than others for exactly the same state as individual healing rates can vary.”
Laser therapy can be utilized as a stand-alone treatment, or with rehabilitative exercise treatment. “Rehabilitative exercises and laser treatment complement each other nicely,” explained Dr. Coren.
Laser Therapy Precautions
There are a few precautions with laser therapy. Eye protection is needed for both the therapist and patient, and laser shouldn’t be performed over malignancies, pacemakers, spinal stimulators or over the midsection of pregnant women.
Recommendations
High-power laser therapy is one of the quickest, most productive modalities therapists now have to deal with inflammation and pain. “Regrettably, laser therapy isn’t covered by insurance, and high-power lasers can be hard to find as they are expensive. Most importantly results are achieved by the amount of energy generated, 18,000-30,000 joules per treatment being the sweet spot,” Dr. Coren concluded.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Wellness
Overall health and wellness are essential towards maintaining the proper mental and physical balance in the body. From eating a balanced nutrition as well as exercising and participating in physical activities, to sleeping a healthy amount of time on a regular basis, following the best health and wellness tips can ultimately help maintain overall well-being. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can go a long way towards helping people become healthy.
You hear that you are supposed to stay busy through your chronic pain and you believe, “But how? Actions make my pain worse. Just getting through the day at work is agony, and today the doctor expects me to perform extra tasks?” This is the point where a physical therapist may help.
How can a physical therapist help with my chronic pain?
Physical therapists can give you a personalized strengthening and workout plan, besides helping you learn how to manage your own “daily life” chronic pain symptoms. The physical therapist will do a thorough physical evaluation to assess your chronic pain and its impact. They will also ask about your therapy goals: do you wish to learn how to better handle your pain? What would be helpful to learn from physical therapy? Using that information, the physical therapist will create a therapy plan especially for you.
Physical Therapy is Active and Passive
Physical therapy includes both active and passive treatments. Passive treatments help to unwind you and your physique. As you don’t need to actively participate, they’re known as passive. Your physical treatment program may begin with treatments that are passive, but the goal is to get into treatments that are more active. These are exercises which strengthen your body and help you handle the pain that is chronic.
Passive physical therapy treatments include:
Deep Tissue Massage: This technique targets spasms and chronic muscle strain that perhaps builds up through life stress. You could have spasms or muscular strain because of strains or sprains. The physical therapist uses direct pressure and friction to attempt to release the tension in your soft tissues (ligaments, tendons, muscles).
Hot and Cold Therapies: Your physical therapist may alternate between cold and warm therapies. The physical therapist attempts to gain more blood to the target area by applying hot treatment because an increased blood circulation brings more oxygen and nutrients to this region. Blood circulation is essential to remove waste byproducts made by muscle spasms, and in addition, it helps relieve symptoms associated with chronic pain. Cold treatment, also called cryotherapy, slows circulation, helping to decrease inflammation, muscle spasms, and pain. You might be given an ice pack or even be given an ice massage. Another alternative that is part of cryotherapy is a spray which cools the tissues. After cold therapy, your physical therapist may have you stretch the affected muscles.
TENS (transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation): A TENS machine stimulates your muscles through factor (but safe) intensities of electrical current. TENS helps reduce muscle spasms, and it might increase the own body’s production of endorphins, your pain killers. The TENS gear your therapist utilizes is big. But a more compact machine for “at home” use is also available. Whether big or small, a TENS unit may be a very helpful therapy.
Ultrasound: By increasing blood flow, an ultrasound helps decrease pain, numbness, swelling, stiffness, and muscle spasms. It does this by creating heat that enhances circulation, sending sound waves deep in your muscle cells.
At the active portion of physical therapy, your physical therapist will teach you different exercises to increase your flexibility, strength, core stability, and range of motion (how readily your joints move). Remember, your physical therapy program is individualized, taking under account medical history and your health. Your exercises may not be suitable for another person with chronic pain, especially since pain is such a subjective, personal experience.
Other Areas of Physical Therapy
You will learn to fix your posture and incorporate ergonomic principles in your daily activities, if necessary. This is all part of this “self-care” or “self-treatment” aspect of physical therapy. During physical therapy, you learn good habits and principles that let you take better care of your body. Staying active is an significant part chronic pain therapy. The therapist can help you figure out the best kind of workout for you.
7 Tips for Exercising When You Have Chronic Pain
Too much of the wrong activity can cause chronic pain to worsen. If jogging or running are out of the question, you may be able to handle and enjoy cycling, which can be easier on painful knees and hips. Other forms of physical therapy, including aerobics done in warm water, help to alleviate inflammation; plus the buoyancy of the water protects the body against the stress of gravity and from movements that may otherwise result in pain. No matter which type of exercise you choose, use caution not to move too fast or too much, or do so much that it becomes worse.
7 Tips for Exercising When You Have Chronic Pain
Talk to you doctor before you begin an exercise program.
Start slowly and gradually increase your efforts as you gain strength, flexibility, and confidence.
Move at your own pace. Never try to keep up with a class or a group if doing so is painful.
Exercise every day, if possible.
Strive for a balanced routine of cardiovascular, strengthening, and stretching exercise.
Accept that you will be able to do more on some days than others.
Be patient with your progress. Overexertion makes pain worse and can strain muscles.
A person’s sleep patterns are improved by exercise. When curative sleep patterns improve, chronic pain symptoms usually do too. Physically active individuals sleep longer and more deeply than people that are sedentary. Exercise also helps to relieve sleep apnea, a common disruptive sleep disorder that that abruptly stops the breath..
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Wellness
Overall health and wellness are essential towards maintaining the proper mental and physical balance in the body. From eating a balanced nutrition as well as exercising and participating in physical activities, to sleeping a healthy amount of time on a regular basis, following the best health and wellness tips can ultimately help maintain overall well-being. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can go a long way towards helping people become healthy.
Many individuals in the United States suffer from chronic pain without understanding the source of their painful symptoms or why these have triggered from the start. A healthcare professional can help a patient understand their chronic pain but it’s important for the person to first comprehend the function of their own body.
Why does chronic pain occur?
To understand chronic pain, you need to comprehend the anatomy of the nervous system. Throughout the body, the nervous system transmits messages to and from the brain, and it’s a system is very complex and intricate.
The central nervous system primarily consists of the the spinal cord and the brain. Branching off the spinal cord is the peripheral nervous system; both the central or peripheral nervous systems can be impacted by neuropathic pain, a kind of chronic pain which is commonly caused by a malfunction of the nerves.
Anatomy of Chronic Pain
The peripheral nervous system has 31 pairs of nerve roots which stretch from the spinal cord to the various areas of the body. These nerves help you feel (those are the sensory nerves) and move (those are the motor nerves). Following is a graph that shows you just how many pairs of spinal nerves are at each level of the spine.
SPINAL CORD
31 Pairs � Spinal Nerves
Cervical
8 pair
Thoracic
12 pair
Lumbar
5 pair
Sacral
5 pair
Coccyx
1 pair
The peripheral nervous system is further divided into:
The somatic nervous system, which has nerves that go into the musculoskeletal system (bones, ligaments, joints, tendons) along with the epidermis. It is what helps you feel pain.
The autonomic nervous system, which operates on the “involuntary” functions of the body. That means that it makes sure that your heart keeps pumping and your food is digested by you without even thinking of it.
Nociceptors are yet another important part of your nerves, and you want to understand them if you would like to know certain forms of chronic pain. Nociceptors are receptors at nerve endings, that function when something occurs that causes pain and they’re triggered. If you slam your finger in the car door, the nociceptors on your finger will turn on and send a pain message through the nerve to the spinal cord and forth into the brain. Two minutes until you slammed your finger, however, the nociceptor was not active because there was no stimulus (or harm) to make it react.
It is believed that a single cause of chronic pain may be due to malfunctioning nociceptors. They may be constantly sending pain messages even if there is no direct cause. Continuing the above example, state that your finger is treated after you slammed it but you still continue to feel discomfort. The nociceptors in the nerves of your finger might be malfunctioning within this case. This could result in chronic pain symptoms.
Symptoms of Chronic Pain
Chronic pain, long-term, persistent pain, is a very subjective experience, however, we can’t mention something as categorical as, “all chronic pain patients will experience chronic pain this way.” Instead, it’s more likely to say that chronic pain can take on many forms and may manifest into a variety of symptoms. Such may include:
throbbing
aching
shooting
electric
burning
sharp
feeling stiff
feeling tight
feeling sore
Chronic pain may result in other issues, especially social and emotional ones. Pain may:
Result in sleeplessness,
Drain you of energy,
Lead to depression,
Make you not want to do activities you typically like,
Weaken your immune system because a lot of your body’s energy is spent dealing with all the pain.
Lots of these other issues build off each other, which means you might hear the term “vicious cycle” when speaking about chronic pain. For instance: The pain makes it hard to sleep through the night, and that means you’re excessively tired the following day. You don’t want to go to work since you’re so tired, or do anything else. Your self-esteem begins to draw out even more, as you are not too active, in the end even withdrawing from social events.
To acquire the very best remedy for chronic pain, you must take inventory of just how much it is affecting your life–outside the physical pain. You can’t simply take care of the chronic pain on your own. Seek for a solution along with the help of medical professionals and your physician can assist you to live your own life coping with chronic pain.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Wellness
Overall health and wellness are essential towards maintaining the proper mental and physical balance in the body. From eating a balanced nutrition as well as exercising and participating in physical activities, to sleeping a healthy amount of time on a regular basis, following the best health and wellness tips can ultimately help maintain overall well-being. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can go a long way towards helping people become healthy.
Exercise, together with a balanced nutrition and plenty of sleep, are the basis of overall health and wellness. For some individuals, however, chronic pain can prevent them from engaging in physical activities. As a matter of fact, researchers recommend people to participate in exercise to improve their pain symptoms.
Can exercise help with chronic pain?
Chronic pain is persistent, or constant pain, which could last for weeks, months, even years after the origin of the symptoms have healed. Chronic pain can range from mild to severe. It may continue day after day or come and go. Chronic pain can interfere with your life, keeping you from doing what you have to do everyday. It may take a toll on your own self-esteem and cause you to feel depressed, angry, stressed, anxious and frustrated.
The stress of persistent chronic pain takes a toll on the entire body; muscles tighten and become rigid, making even the simplest tasks difficult and/or impossible. Our inclination to stop moving in the presence of pain is a human reflex, however, it deconditions muscles and perpetuates pain. The more you hurt, the less you move, the less you are able to accomplish tasks. A sedentary lifestyle increases pain and makes for poor overall wellness. But, physical activity can work against pain, reducing the risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other diseases.
Exercise for Chronic Pain
A progressive physical fitness regimen can provide benefits for your body and mind, putting you on a course to a brighter future, restoring your functionality, and elevating your mood. A sizable quantity of research bears this out. An analysis of 33 distinct studies concluded that exercise reduces pain and improves physical functionality linked to atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia, some of the most common causes of chronic pain. Additionally, it generates similar benefits for other debilitating conditions, such as neck and back pain, as well as chest pain after breast surgery. Even something as simple as walking, which stimulates blood circulation and increases endorphins, can help to suppress the symptoms of chronic pain in the body.
6 Ways Regular Exercise Affects Chronic Pain
It decreases pain.
It enhances energy levels and reduces fatigue.
It uplifts mood and lessens feelings of depression.
It enriches joint health.
It raises overall daily functionality.
It will help to control weight (when combined with a healthy diet).
While fitness has been ultimately proven to be beneficial towards chronic pain relief, not just any exercise will offer these positive outcomes. Movement is good medicine, although pursuing even the least demanding movement may seem unfathomable when pain fatigues you. Although you might not feel the motivation or energy to exercise, the kind of activity you participate is the thing which will restore your performance and can boost your pain tolerance. Exercising may be hard and cause some discomfort, but it should never be so strenuous that it’s harmful.
Any brand new exercise program should be undertaken only with the guidance of your doctor or a qualified healthcare professional, preferably one who’s experienced with your type of pain. Physical therapists are licensed professionals who hold either a Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) or a Masters of Physical Therapy (M.P.T.) degree. A fantastic therapist may guide you through movements which do not intensify your pain or lead to damage or injury to joints and muscles. An experienced healthcare professional can show you how you can move and help you to securely push your limitations, resulting in extensive rehabilitation than you might achieve on your own.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Wellness
Overall health and wellness are essential towards maintaining the proper mental and physical balance in the body. From eating a balanced nutrition as well as exercising and participating in physical activities, to sleeping a healthy amount of time on a regular basis, following the best health and wellness tips can ultimately help maintain overall well-being. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can go a long way towards helping people become healthy.
Chronic pain, lingering, persistent pain, may not respond well to conventional therapy options. If such is the case, you may want to try complementary and alternative medications (CAM). CAM is a phrase used for practices and therapies that are not currently considered part of conventional medicine. However, pain relief is found by many patients.
For everyone in the exact same manner, they may not work like any other remedies, so because you determine what works best for life and the pain, you may need to try CAM therapies. Complementary and alternative treatments can either complement (used in conjunction with) or become an alternative to traditional “Western” medicine.
For chronic pain, you might want to try:
Acupuncture/Acupressure
As per a recent research published in the British Medical Journal, acupuncture is effective in treating chronic neck pain. In a questionnaire ran for neck pain patients on treatment options, patients reported that they were more satisfied with acupuncture than with traditional injections.
A German study also recently found that acupuncture was more effective than conventional non-surgical therapy options (physical therapy, medication, and exercise) for low back pain. The findings of the study were published in the September 24, 2007, version of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Developed in China, acupuncture utilizes needles, without a medicine. to care for your chronic pain. Practitioners feel that you’ve got an energy force called your Chi (it may also be spelled Qi, however, both forms are pronounced “chee”). You can develop illness, like back pain when this force is blocked. You want to free up your body stations, which professionals call your meridians. Acupuncture works to restore a healthy flow of Chi.
Acupuncture needles are nearly as thin as strands of hair follicles. According to your symptoms and diagnosis that is exact, the needles will be inserted by a practitioner. The professional will aim points that are exact within the meridians of your body, and the needles will be left in for 20-40 minutes. It’s been indicated that acupuncture needles cause your body to release specific neurochemicals, like endorphins or serotonin, and they help in the healing process.
Acupressure works like acupuncture since it focuses on these meridians. Instead of needles, the pro uses fingers his/her thumbs, and elbows.
Herbal Remedies/Supplements
Research before attempting any herbal remedies and speak with your physician. There might be side effects which you’re unaware of or a herbal remedy could interfere with other treatments.
Since there are many types of chronic pain, it’s difficult to list all possible remedies or supplements that may help reduce your kind of pain. Your best alternative is to speak to somebody with the proper knowledge on herbal remedies and how they work. But until you get started taking a nutritional supplement or an herbal remedy, talk to your physician.
Massage
Massage is a way to unwind from dealing with a strain of pain throughout your entire body, which is tense. It can help relieve muscle inflammation and pain which may be caused as a result of chronic pain. Physical therapists or massage specialists will know the best, most recommended type of massage for your specific chronic pain.
Mind-Body Therapies
Our thoughts are powerful items, and also therapies can help you learn how to use your head to control your perception of pain and other ailments. Mind-body remedies include:
Meditation
Relaxation techniques
Hypnosis
Mind-body therapies can teach you how to pay attention to the signs that your body is sending you. Biofeedback is a good instance of this. Through relaxation training and methods, you understand how to control your body reactions which could aggravate your chronic pain. Calm muscles that are stressed, among other things, slow your pulse, and you can learn to lower your body temperature, all which can help control chronic pain.
Chiropractic Care for Chronic Pain
If you have chronic back pain, Chiropractic care may be a treatment alternative for you. Various chiropractic care remedies can help you manage chronic pain. Chronic pain is and it does not reply to the normal pain control methods. Chiropractors can cure pain. They utilize a variety of non-surgical treatments, such as spinal manipulation, to address chronic pain symptoms, like inflammation and muscular tension.
How Does a Chiropractor Manage Chronic Pain?
Before you go to a chiropractor it’s important to know just what is causing your pain. A doctor of chiropractic�will perform some tests in addition to a physical exam to assist him or her to diagnose your pain. Your chiropractor will create a treatment plan when you’re diagnosed with a chronic pain condition. Your treatment plan may include spinal manipulation, manual therapies, and therapeutic exercises.
Work with your chiropractor to come up with a treatment plan. You should be able to gradually increase your daily activities, once your pain is totally addressed. Chiropractic treatments primarily utilize manual manipulations and chiropractic adjustments, especially along the different levels of the spine, to treat a variety of injuries and/or conditions affecting the individuals original spinal health. Treatment may vary depending on the diagnosis.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Wellness
Overall health and wellness are essential towards maintaining the proper mental and physical balance in the body. From eating a balanced nutrition as well as exercising and participating in physical activities, to sleeping a healthy amount of time on a regular basis, following the best health and wellness tips can ultimately help maintain overall well-being. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can go a long way towards helping people become healthy.
Question: I’ve had back pain for awhile and I was able to function through it for a time. But now it’s taking its toll on me, as well as my family. I never believed in chiropractors, but now I’ll try anything. What should I ask my physician about chiropractic?
El Paso, TX. Chiropractor, Dr. Alexander Jimenez has seen this scenario all too often and is happy to inform anyone about chiropractic care and it’s benefits.
About two out of every three people will likely experience significant low back pain at some point. A doctor might suggest any range of potential treatments and therapies. But one that almost is never considered is a referral for spinal manipulation.
It seems doctors have been mistaken for initial treatment of lower back pain.�It may be time for doctors to rethink their chiropractic biases.
Spinal Manipulation:
Along with other less traditional therapies like heat, acupuncture and meditation, chiropractic appears to be as powerful as any other medical treatments doctors prescribe and as safe, if not safer.
Physicians are traditionally wary of spinal manipulation (applying pressure on bones and joints), in part because the practitioners are often not doctors. Patients with back pain don’t seem as skeptical. A survey from 2002 through 2008 found that over 30 percent sought chiropractic care, significantly more than those who sought massage, acupuncture or homeopathy.
Researchers have been looking at the evidence supporting spinal manipulation for a while. Nearly 35 years ago, a systematic review assessed the available research found that there may be some short-term benefits from the process. Two reviews from 2003 agreed for the most part, finding that spinal manipulation worked better than a “sham procedure”, or placebo, but no better or worse than other options.
Recently, in The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers looked for new studies since 2011, in addition to those that had been performed before.
Evidence from 15 randomized controlled trials, which included more than 1,700 patients, revealed that spinal manipulation minimized their back pain of about 10 points on a 100-point scale. The evidence from 12 randomized controlled trials that overlapped of almost 1,400 patients showed that spinal manipulation also resulted in improved mobility and function.
In February, in Annals of Internal Medicine, another systematic review of non-pharmacologic therapies generally agreed with the recent trials. Based on this review, and other evidence, the American College of Physicians released new clinical practice guidelines for the noninvasive treatment of back pain. They recommended that patients should try spinal manipulation, heat, massage and acupuncture as first-line therapies.
What If The Spinal Adjustment Causes Other Injuries:
Because of the fear of those injuries, physicians are hesitant to refer patients to chiropractors or physical therapists for care. However, in the studies outlined above, there were no serious adverse events reported. It is possible to find stories of injury to the spine from improper adjustments, but these are rare, and almost never involve the lower spine.
What About The Cost:
Some doctors are concerned about the cost of chiropractic, especially since many insurance carriers don’t cover chiropractic. Seeing a chiropractor costs more than taking many non-narcotic pain medications. However, more invasive interventions cost a lot of money. In addition, studies have proven that, in general, users of complementary and alternative medicine spend less for back pain compared to users of only traditional medicine.
Medication and surgery may also result in injuries and prescription pain medicines, like opioids, may result in huge costs, particularly when they’re misused.
Some physicians are uncomfortable that they do not have a clear picture of how spinal manipulation actually works. The reality is that doctors don’t understand why a number of other therapies work either.
Back pain is still the issue and no matter what you do, chiropractic is definitely an option to consider.
Chiropractic: Alternative Approach To Treating Chronic Pain
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