Jun 02 2020

Avoid Spinal Surgery: Other Options

The risks involved in spinal surgery cannot be completely ruled out. The outcome of a lot of surgeries actually results in worsening the pain; that sometimes remains with the individual for the rest of their lives. Chiropractic practice recommends treatments and procedures that are far less intrusive and are becoming popular by each passing day. 158

Despite advances in the medical field, treatment of spinal issues has remained, at best, a mystery. In the US alone, more than a quarter of a million people have spinal surgeries performed on them each year. While some are successful, statistics show that around 80,000 people end up with what medical practitioners call a failed back surgery syndrome.

This syndrome results as a result of re-current disc herniation, misdiagnosis, incorrectly performed surgery or scar-tissue formation. Increased pain that is difficult sometimes becomes impossible to treat and people have no option but to endure the life-long pain that causes disability for the rest of their lives.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI is popularly used to diagnose back-related problems. Diseases such as lumbar disc herniation or evidence of nerve root compression can lead patients to believe surgery is the only option for them, leaving them no choice but to submit to their doctor’s proposal.

A study found that over 57% of MRI findings were abnormal and caused the people to be wrongly diagnosed. These findings have leg chiropractors to believe that the relationship between lumbar disc herniation and back pain is not just a result of a pinched-nerve root. Surprisingly, it is more related to inflammation of the nerve roots around the herniated disc, and sometimes a combined result of inflammation and mechanical compression around this region.

Treatment

The primary aim of the treatment is to suppress the inflammation that would in turn reduce the pain – rather than just remove the herniated disc.

Medications

The first line of action is to offer anti-inflammatory medicines to patients with a mild back pain. Anti-depressants are often also prescribed to patients with a chronic back pain.

Therapy

Physical therapy, massage and chiropractic care methods are commonly used to treat back problems instead of spinal surgery. Chiropractic therapy greatly reduces the pain.

Change in Lifestyle

A change in lifestyle can have great effects in reducing the pain. Smoking increases the risk of getting a low back pain, whereas obesity gives birth to many problems such as diabetes and heart problems. A chiropractor can best recommend what changes to bring to a lifestyle which will be in the best interest of a patient.

Jun 02 2020

Chiropractic Care for Back Pain

Chiropractic care in Greenville, South Carolina for back pain

Many people who are looking for the right treatment for back pain relief opt to get chiropractic
treatment and care. You may be seeking to get relief from severe back pain which may have been caused by an accident, muscle strain or sports injuries.

So what is chiropractic care?

Chiropractic care in Greenville, South Carolina is the kind of treatment whereby chiropractors make use of the hands so that they can be able to perform spinal manipulation on a given patient. The main aim of doing this is so that they can be able to ensure that there is a proper alignment of the musculoskeletal structure of the patient. If the spine is properly aligned, then the healing process is going to be a smooth one and this is going to take place without requiring any medication or surgery. Manipulation of the spine is very important because it is used so as to restore the mobility of the joints that may have been restricted by a tissue injury.
Chiropractic care is normally used as a kind of pain relief alternative for areas in your body like the joints, the muscles, the connective tissues. It is also a way to help connective tissues like the ligaments, cartilage, and tendons to heal, especially if they were injured.

How does chiropractic care work when it comes to back pain?

When you visit a chiropractor, the first thing that he or she is going to do is to take your medical history and perform a physical examination on you so that he or she can be able to know where the problem is. The doctor may also decide to do a diagnostic imaging on you and also carry out a number of lab tests so that he or she is able to determine whether chiropractic treatment is the best option for you.
Once all this has been confirmed, the treatment plan is then going to involve either one or more manual adjustments which are going to be done by the doctor. He or she is going to start by manipulating the joints using sudden force that is controlled with the main aim of improving the quality and range of motion. Many chiropractors may require that you combine this treatment with the right kind of rehabilitation, exercises and also a healthy nutritional plan. This is because the main goal of any chiropractic care or treatment is to ensure that you are able to restore the function of your body as well as prevent any kind of injury. Another important reason is to make sure that you are able to get the right treatment for back relief.

Chiropractor image by doctorwonder

Jun 02 2020

Tools for the Rough Road Ahead

We all have experienced hard times, and given the predictable nature of the universe, we will likely face them again in the future. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for those future hard times.
The first one is to accept a situation and deal with it or let it go. Seriously, either you can do something about the problem or you can’t. When you can’t, the only thing you can do is change your reaction to it. All that happens we we obsess or worry about the situation is make ourselves feel worse, waste precious energy and time.
The next is to determine if it is really a problem. Some days, life just seems hard. We feel as if every single thing we do is an effort. It could be we haven’t eaten or gotten enough sleep. Perhaps we are coming down with a cold. But the point is to notice when problems see to be a matter of perspective. Sometimes that which we see one day as a problem is merely a challenge on another day that will take us to greater heights in our own development as a person or in our career. It’s only a problem when we think it’s a problem.
An example of this is the way I perceive bad drivers. I recently moved from a relatively rural community to one of the ten largest cities in the U.S. Initially, every single time I drove in the car, I encountered “bad” drivers. Part of the problem was that I wasn’t accustomed to driving with so many people. I tried to deal with it by cussing out the other drivers. At first it made me feel better. But I realized I was losing one of my favorite activities.
Being alone.
Driving to an appointment or a class was one of the few opportunities I had to be alone with my thoughts, and I generally enjoy that occupation. It gives me time to think, to plan, to dream.
I had been wasting that precious alone time by focusing on the bad drivers around me. Once I released that as a “problem” for myself, my daily drives became pleasurable again. Sure, I still make a snide comment when I get cut off in traffic, but I swiftly move back into my “alone time” and driving in traffic no longer became a problem for me.

Lonely Path by Mike Coates

Jun 02 2020

Mile High Training

Olympic athletes do it to prepare for their major events, so it must be a good plan. But exercising at altitude should not be approached without some planning.

Yes, training at altitude certainly pushes your body to its full limits and gives you a significant edge when you return to sea level. Is it necessary for anyone who isn’t competing on the world stage? Perhaps not, but it is always possible that you might be interested in actually competing in an event at altitude. To know what to do and what to expect can help give you an advantage.

For example, there is an Ironman competition held in Leadville, Colorado. At nearly two miles in elevation, anyone who has never competed at altitude stands a very good chance of not even finishing the race up there.

The lack of oxygen that you will experience while exercising at altitude forces your body to work harder. Your lungs strain because there simply is not as much oxygen at 10,000 feet as there is at sea level. Most visitors notice just walking up a hill that they pant and feel their heart racing. That’s because the body has already determined that there isn’t as much oxygen as it’s used to.

Limited oxygen affects not only your breathing, but your muscles know it as well. When you spend any length of time at altitude, your body responds by making new red blood cells to increase the oxygen carrying capacity of your blood. When I first moved to altitude, the first couple of days I had to take naps because my body had expended every ounce of energy I had. The only way I could handle it was to take naps.

Staying hydrated is important because it makes the symptoms of altitude sickness much worse. If you feel headaches, nausea, and potentially swelling of the hands and feet, you could be suffering from an acute case of altitude sickness. Don’t try to tough it out. Pay attention to your body and heed any symptoms.

The best advice for doing altitude training is to take it slow. Give your body time to adjust to the new altitude and the decreased level of oxygen. Most runners say that if you pay attention to how you feel, you’ll do better than watching the clock or pedometer. Altitude training certainly puts you at an advantage when you return to sea level, but the benefits are very short-lived. It can take up to six months to fully acclimate to altitude, and you can completely lose that acclimatization within a single month.

Olympic Torch by Petr Kratochvil

Treatment

Medications

Therapy

Change in Lifestyle

Chiropractic care in Greenville, South Carolina for back pain

How does chiropractic care work when it comes to back pain?

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