A June 2010 article by Associated Press Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard shines a bright light on the problem of back pain in America. In the article, entitled “Back Pain May Be Widely Over-Treated in the U.S.”, she raises some great questions about how we’re spending our healthcare dollars, what we’re getting for it and why.

“By one recent estimate, Americans are spending a staggering $86 billion a year in care for aching backs—from MRIs to pain pills to nerve blocks to acupuncture. That research found little evidence that the population got better as the bill soared over the past decade.”

Ms. Neergaard’s writing hits close to home, and the situation she describes is probably familiar to anyone who’s tried to find relief from serious back pain in the past few years. But what does it all mean to you if you or someone you care about is a patient looking for relief?

Here’s a quick summary of the more important takeaways from Ms. Neergard’s article as well as some practical points to keep in mind as you consider your options and work with your healthcare provider on a treatment plan:

1. While back pain in general is a widespread problem in the U.S., the specifics always come down to the individual. There is no silver bullet—the treatment that was effective for your neighbor may not be right for you. Your healthcare provider can evaluate your symptoms and advise you on the appropriateness of alternative therapies.

2. Time is usually on your side when it comes to back pain. Up to 90% of patients will heal on their own within a matter of weeks. Unless your healthcare provider sees “red flag” symptoms, patients should generally exhaust their noninvasive options first before considering surgery.

3. “Exercise is medicine, but it has to be the right exercise.” Formal exercise programs that are designed and supervised by experts can be effective provided that the patient is able to manage and function with pain.

4. Your own motivation and attitude can make a big difference in the effectiveness of your treatment. Patients who can work through pain, stay focused on the plan and get back to normal activity as quickly as possible will generally have the advantage when it comes to recovery.

5. Make sure you have access to a neutral third party (perhaps your chiropractor or family doctor) who can help you weigh the advice of various specialists and navigate through your choices. And always get a second opinion if surgery is being considered.

Back pain is a complex phenomenon and it’s often very difficult to treat successfully. At a time when health science regularly produces new miracles and we’ve come to expect instant results, it can be difficult for us to keep this basic truth in perspective. What comes through loud and clear in Ms. Neergaard’s article is that our most advanced diagnostic technologies and sophisticated surgical procedures are not solving the back pain problem for millions of Americans. And that it’s costing us a great deal of money to fail using our most expensive techniques.

This raises two big-picture questions, not just for U.S. health care policy makers and administrators, but for anyone who’s trying to make smart decisions about back pain treatment:

1. Given the pervasiveness of back pain in America, the number of people who are likely suffering without treatment and the kinds of issues Ms. Neergaard writes about, can it really be said that we’re “over-treating” back pain? Wouldn’t it be closer to the truth to say that we’re mistreating it by using too many of the wrong tools in too many of the wrong cases? If so, what does her reporting really suggest about the direction we should be headed?

2. There are many factors contributing to our national back pain epidemic, and many of them have to do with our lifestyle choices and the way we manage our health more broadly. What should we be willing to spend for an ounce of prevention when it comes to back pain?

How Your Fremont Chiropractic Physician Can Help

If you or someone you care about is suffering with back pain, call our Fremont Chiropractor. Chiropractic Physicians from Discover Chiropractic are specially licensed and trained to diagnose and treat conditions related to the musculoskeletal system and the nerves that support it. Our chiropractors can help relieve back pain by using spinal adjustments. This spinal manipulation is the primary form of treatment performed by chiropractic physicians and is a widely recognized back pain therapy. Research has shown that manipulative therapy and spinal manipulation are not only safe and effective, but can also produce results more quickly and less expensively than other alternatives.

Many chiropractors are also skilled in designing and supervising exercise and nutrition programs. They’re committed to helping patients achieve a healthier lifestyle that prevents illness and promotes performance.

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References

Back Pain May be Widely Over-Treated in the U.S.. MSNBC Pain Center. Lauran Neergaard. June 8, 2010. Accessed August 2011.

A good masseuse can keep your back pain from becoming a more serious problem! Much of the pain and pressure on our backs comes from day to day living and all the stress that comes with it. A really good massage will help your back recover in the short term and be a healthy investment in the longer term goal of keeping back pain under control!

Have a massage. Many back pain sufferers experience a great deal of relief from touch therapy. A massage can loosen tight muscles in the back creating a general feeling of relaxation which in turn provides relief from pain. Having a massage at least once a week can help tremendously in keeping back pain under control.

If you suffer from chronic back pain, getting a simple massage can help to eliminate the pain and muscle cramping. Whether you’re visiting a massage therapist or just relaxing in one of those massaging chairs, receiving a massage can help to loosen the muscles and subsequently relieve the pain of a back ache.

Go for a massage at your local beauty parlor. A back massage can do wonders for back pain and also has the added benefits of being very relaxing and relieving stress. If you don’t like the idea of having a stranger touch you, consider buying a electrical massage chair instead.

Get a back massage at a parlor or at home from a loved one on a regular basis to prevent and treat back pain. Regular back massages can increase blood flow to promote healing and keep your muscles healthy. It also keeps your stress level low, which can also help to prevent back pain.

Enjoy a massage whenever you can. Regular massages are an excellent way to relieve back pain. Massages help to loosen tight joints and ligaments. This tightness might be causing the pain you are feeling. In addition, massage helps to stimulate your brain’s pleasure center. This releases powerful endorphins, or natural pain relievers, into your blood stream.

Massage therapy has been proven a very effective method for alleviating lower back pain as well as helping with other problems. It can help improve sleep and lessen anxiety and depression which may also be causing the back problems. Overall massage therapy has many positive benefits and is great to use in combination with heat or ice therapy.

Whether your discomfort is confined to a single area of your back or affects the upper, middle, and lower areas, following the advice in this article will offer you some degree of relief. Remain positive and remember that there are a variety of options available to diagnose, treat, and possibly even prevent back pain.

This article will give you a few points on the way to reduce back problems while you sleep. Just by creating a number of basic modifications in your sleep posture may help you sleep a lot better. The best posture for you to sleep is sleeping on your side. In case you are doing this make sure you place your legs a bit toward your upper body and if possible place a pillow in between your legs. There are many individuals who also use a full-length body pillow to assure stability in the way they sleep. It is not advisable to place too much weight on your arms mainly because it can create problems in circulation.

If you prefer to sleep in your back it’s advisable to place a pillow under your knees as a way to retain the curve in your lower back. Sleep ergonomics specialists say that sleeping on your tummy is probably the most detrimental position because it is bad for your lower back and spine. It may result to nerve compression as well as muscle pain. You could also place a pillow under your pelvis and your lower belly should you decide to sleep on your belly. This helps lower the strain on your back.

There are many studies which claim that the kind of pillows and mattresses that you use make a big difference in how you sleep. The appropriate type of mattress will let you retain your body aligned and comfy as well as keep the normal curves in your spine in the right position. There are lots of specialists who tell you that you should utilize some form of a memory foam bed mattress. The best bedding which are on the market are those that adapt to your spine. It is best to try a few bed mattresses to guarantee that you’re comfortable when lying in the posture that you will sleep in.

One other thing to bear in mind is that if you happen to be pregnant you might want to ensure the sleep ergonomics of the mattress suits the new curvatures of your body. Surely, being pregnant means that it is a lot more unpleasant to sleep in certain positions. As pointed out, a full-length body pillow might be a thing that eases the pressure on your back from having to carry the baby for a long period of time.

There are many different approaches to assure getting a good night sleep and probably the one that many individuals neglect to think about is the position in which to sleep.

Among the issues that chiropractors work on relates to severe headaches. A headache could be a pain sensation that is experienced at the forehead or even at the back of the neck. Any sort of headache is worth investing by seeking the service of a chiropractor. The key reason is simply because severe headaches could possibly be the result of a misaligned cervical area. This condition can lead to a pinched nerve that’s cutting off the supply of blood to your head. Due to that, this tends to lead to extreme headaches.

What other conditions can chiropractic service treat? There are times when a nagging back pain won’t disappear completely or perhaps some form of soreness goes down one’s leg. Pain Sensation that extends down your leg often refers to sciatic nerve pain. This painful sensation is caused by the sciatic nerve which is pinched off by a misaligned area of your vertebrae. A chiropractor can check out these parts of the body and then determine where the imbalance resonates from. By locating these misaligned discs and bones, a chiropractor can figure out the best plan of action for your needs.

A misaligned spine can cause various kinds of complications. There are people who described pain sensation that they experience on a part which is far away from the cause of the problem. This sort of extending pain is known as referred pain. Referred pain can be hard to identify so the chiropractor may possibly request the person have an x-ray or an MRI to better locate the cause of the problem.

The chiropractor will ask many types of questions and check your mobility as well as your flexibility. With this, the job a chiropractor does is very comprehensive and provides for an improved diagnosis of the problem. The best chiropractic care may be accomplished when the patient and also the chiropractor work jointly with one another. In that respect the individual must follow the chiropractor’s advice so as to optimize the recuperation.

In many cases lumbar pain can be a sign of a more serious issue, such as sciatic nerve pain or bacterial infection in the urinary tract. To help discover the lumbar pain cause, physicians will often run tests to get rid of such conditions. When you experience pain that shoots down your leg or change in urinating, like pain or discoloration, consult your physician right away.

Back or neck injury can result from contact sports, accidents such as sliding, or lifting a heavy object using the strength in your back rather than your legs.

Moreover, society is commonly sedentary. Students sit in their classes all day long only to go home and sit again before a computer at night. Numerous jobs require workers to sit for a very long time at their desks. This time hunched over can cause the neck and shoulder muscles to stiffen, ultimately causing neck and shoulder pain. In addition, if one sits or stands for too long.. pain will manifest in the lower back as well.

Although back pain is frustrating, there are methods to treat it. Activity is vital, particularly in cases of muscle strain due to sitting or standing. While high impact activity and sports activities may not be the most appropriate options, yoga and pilates are low-impact types of exercise that can improve core strength. The stronger your core (abdominals, buttocks, and hips), the greater support your back gets. Yoga also provides a lot of extending and twisting that alleviate pain associated with muscular strain.

If you spend a lot of time sitting, one way to alleviate tension is to stand up every 30 mins and perform some leg squats. This exercise help stretch the spine and discharge some of the strain that has been put on it.

Chiropractic adjustment – often called spinal manipulation – can be a good relief option. Chiropractors work to be able to ease pain by improving alignment and mobility. As a remedy, however, it’s not suitable for all back pain causes like osteoporosis or disc compression. Chiropractic care could also be used simultaneously with another more traditional treatment, exercise plan, or diet regime.

When a woman becomes pregnant, the baby adds a lot of pressure to the mothers back. It takes on the extra pressure and weight of a growing baby and uterus. There are issues with swollen ankles and other changes that take place, all due to the body working harder.

Talking to friends and family about what they did to relieve these extra aches and pains is a good place to start. Some of them may have little secrets or ideas that they tried that may have worked for them, and perhaps may work for the new mom. Talking to your local chiropractor in Fremont about these issues would certainly add insight and understanding to what it happening and why dealing with these changes are necessary.

Often a heating pad can make all the difference in the world for an achy back. Some have used ice packs, and then alternate with the heating pad. A loving spouse can also be a good source with a light massage that will alleviate the pain and provide comfort to the new mom.

Never underestimate a long, hot bath. Sometimes sinking into a hot tub, and letting all the worries and concerns of the day melt away can be just the ticket to soothing that aching back. As well as the physical comfort of a hot bath, it also will provide emotional and mental comfort and allow the mom to relax and let things go.

Some moms have tried meditation to help with new aches and pains. Focusing on an object seems to be what helps the relaxation of the mind, body and soul. Using yoga could be beneficial, as it stretches the muscles, while still working on the mind. Stretches can also be very healing when dealing with discomfort in the body.

There are so many changes taking place in the body of an expecting mom. Her body and emotions are taking on so many things at once. Learning to live with the pregnancy back pain is another issue that she has to face. Good advice may be provided from family and friends, but reading a good book on the issues that new moms face may also be helpful. Learning how to deal with these issues will free up time to really enjoy the bigger ones.

First, back pain is nothing to fool around with. If you’re suffering from persistent, acute back pain, then it’s imperative that you don’t self-diagnose and instead get to your health care professional as quickly as possible. Your back is home to your spinal cord, which means that if you do the wrong thing you can end up paralyzing yourself and lose all sensation from your waist down. It’s not something to be taken lightly, and your health care professional can tell you what you should or shouldn’t do.

Now when it comes to back pain therapy, the first step is probably going to be stretching and loosening up your muscles. Ninety-nine percent of all back pain is caused by twisted or knotted muscles, and these are things that you can get taken care of on your own if you are so inclined.

When it comes to stretching, it’s best to have an exercise ball that you can lay down on. Put your feet flat on the floor about shoulder width apart. Then sit down on the ball with your rear slightly forward of the middle. At that point lean back, gradually drawing yourself into a position where you’re parallel to the ground. Hold this position for a count of thirty, then slowly sit up. This is a great back pain therapy that can not only stretch your back and stomach muscles, but also strengthen them at the same time.

Now, the above is only recommended for muscle problems, not for other more severe back problems. A person that I know, for example, herniated a disc in his back several years ago. A herniated disc is insanely painful, and stretching as described above is not the correct back pain therapy for this malady and can actually cause the pain and damage to become more severe rather than more manageable.

Think of a herniated disc this way: Your discs are like bean bags nestled between your vertebrae in your spinal column. The discs protect your vertebrae by providing padding, keeping the bones from rubbing against each other and protecting your spinal column. When a disc is herniated, it tears or pops, spilling out its contents into the spinal column. This in itself is painful, but the real pain starts when the contents of the disc come into contact with the myriad nerves attached to your spine. The pain suffered then is, in the words of this person, “beyond excruciating.”

It’s imperative, then, that the back pain therapy you get is specifically aimed at dealing with the problem you’re suffering from, not the problem you “might” have. That’s why going to a professional first is the key.

There are many reasons why you may be experiencing pain. The body is a complicated machine, so it might take you a lot of investigation and deduction on finding out the cause for the pain in your lower back. An acute condition is when pain erupts from your back that is sudden and usually related to an injury in the lower back. Chronic pain is found in ongoing medical problems that are more than likely related to disease or a past injury.

Traumatic injury occurs from situations like lifting something, or suddenly reaching for an item that makes you stretch too far. Lots of injuries occur at work in the lower back, but don’t be fooled that it can’t happen at home either. A sprain or strain in your lower back happens when you damage muscles, tendons or ligaments in your lower back. There’s usually a dull aching pain, and sharp pain when moving about. You can relieve the pain by lying in a prone position and apply ice or heat.

Ongoing long term pain can be due to several conditions. If you’re an elderly person, know that the disc in the spine become rigid and looses elasticity as you age. Osteoarthritis and osteoporosis are two of the top reasons pain develops in the lower back for the aged. Pain sensations can be sharp or a continual dull ache. Other types of diseases and birth defects can cause pain, so be sure to let your chiropractor know if it’s been going on for longer than 3 months. A chronic condition involving pain needs to be treated, so you can live a more productive life.

Taking care of yourself is a necessity if you want to live an active and pain free life. You can use a few precautions and healthy life style choices by not gaining weight, having poor posture, or sleeping in awkward positions. Excess weight puts strain on the back, and poor posture even if you’re sitting, pulls the muscles and ligaments out of its natural position from the spine. An unnatural sleeping position does the same pulling on your lower back that poor posture does while you’re awake. Caring for your lower back is not all that hard, and it’s the least you can do for your hard working back.

For more tips on back pain relief, contact your Union City Chiropractors at 510-324-0100. Our Union City Chiropractic office is located at 2815 Whipple Road, Union City, California.

That’s why seeing a chiropractor is crucial when mid back pain begins. Back pain can be cause by simple factors such as driving for extended periods or working in a job that requires long hours of sitting. It may also be a complication of an organ system such as the liver or kidneys. Postural distortions of the neck can add increased stress to the middle back as well, increasing the degeneration process in the middle back and cause pain.

Mid back problems can also cause the rib cage to become distorted, resulting in shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, and fast or slow heart rhythms and thus leading individuals to believe that they are experiencing cardiac or respiratory problems. Other warning signs may include:

• Muscle tightness and spasms.
• Restricted range of motion when bending or twisting.
• Sharp radiating pain.
• Rib pain.

Regardless of its origins or warning signs, an individual experiencing signs of mid back pain should consult a chiropractor immediately, which can determine the cause of pain and create a care program specifically tailored for them.

Chiropractors are experts in the musculoskeletal systems and associated biomechanical-related functions. Allowing a chiropractor to become familiar with a patient’s medical history and lifestyle will allow him to determine a plan for treatment. If it is a mechanical problem there is a mechanical solution!

Here are some of the ways a chiropractor can help a patient with mid back pain:

1. Chiropractors use the hands or small instruments to conduct specific spinal adjustments that help reposition and align the bones of the skeletal system, thus allowing the body to heal itself.
2. The repositioning permits related soft tissue structures around the back such as nerves, muscles, tendons and ligaments to heal.
3. Chiropractic care can be instrumental in helping improve and restore motion to joints that are stuck or moving incorrectly, thus allowing the joint to pump the inflammation out and relieve pain.

Visiting a chiropractor is the alternative option to using medications or potentially risky surgeries. Chiropractic is a gentle, safe, natural form of health care. Of course, regular chiropractic care is an even better option that waiting for problems to arise. That’s because chiropractors can detect potential problems to a patient’s nervous system before they occur. Remember only ten percent of nerve fibers are actually associated with pain!

Our Fremont Chiropractors specialize in the care of nerves, muscles and connective tissues, which make up 60 percent of the body. All of the joints in an individual’s body are part of this musculo-skeletal system and its optimal function is necessary for overall good health.

As with any treatment, chiropractic adjusting techniques are also modified based on an individual’s size, weight, and unique spinal problems. Recommended treatments may include specific spinal adjustments, recommendations on exercise, nutritional advice or other conservative methods of care based on health history, age, and lifestyle.

Lower back pain is never fun. Along with intense suffering, it may also lead to loss of work. It’s possible to do almost anything with low back pain. Walking, sitting, standing, moving the head or arms, and moving the legs are all painful experiences.

There are many causes of lower back pain that include prolonged sitting or improper lifting either as a result of personal or work-related activities, overexertion, trauma, or spinal abnormalities that are a result of genetics. Regardless of the source, lower back pain is something that has to be dealt with both to alleviate problems in the present and the risk of complications in the future.

Chiropractic care can not only help with lower back pain quicker than surgery or medications, it can also be more effective. Surgery is risky and painful, not to mention very time consuming because of the healing process.

Using pain medication to treat low back pain is dangerous for two reasons. First it may provide short term relief of pain but the source of the problem is not corrected and the injury becomes more inflamed and difficult to treat. Second, certain ingredients in pain medication are hard on the stomach, the kidneys and the liver. Over time, medication can cause problems with these organs and the back pain is still there.

An additional cause of lower back pain may be a bulging or herniated disc that puts pressure on the spinal cord or nearby nerve root. These bulging or herniated discs may cause numbness, tingling, or pain in a leg. However, cutting away the herniated disc tissue can permanently alter its ability to separate and cushion adjacent bones. Along with this, the surgery seldom addresses the structural causes of the problem. The other surgical option would be to remove a part of the bone called the Lamina, leaving the spinal cord uncovered and unprotected.

What are the ways an individual can work with a chiropractor to improve their back problem? Among them:

• Make an appointment with a chiropractor. Arriving a few minutes early the day of an appointment is important to allow time to relax both mentally and physically. Even a short automobile drive can create tension that may make a patient less responsive to treatment. Taking time to relax before seeing a chiropractor will increase the benefits of treatment

• Don’t skip appointments. Chiropractic visits are scheduled at specific intervals between adjustments. As a result, missing even one appointment will disturb the recovery process

• Follow instructions for self-administered measures such as hot packs or cold packs. Not only can these be applied at home, they help recovery without the cost of another professional visit.

• Daily rest. Successful chiropractic care also involves recuperation. During recuperative periods patients should schedule daily rest periods. These involve lying flat on their back on the floor for 30 minutes. If time is a problem in doing, so the rest time can be divided into two 15-minute periods.

Chiropractors are experts in the care of nerves, muscles and connective tissues, which make up 60 percent of the body. All of the joints in an individual’s body are part of this musculo-skeletal system and its optimal function is necessary for overall good health.

As with any treatment, chiropractic adjusting techniques are also modified based on an individual’s size, weight, and unique spinal problems. Recommended treatments may include specific spinal adjustments, recommendations on exercise, nutritional advice or other conservative methods of care based on health history, age, and lifestyle.