Pain of any kind is a warning signal from your body that something is wrong. Some people prefer to silence their warning system with a pain killer and ignore the message their body is desperately trying to communicate. That would be akin to removing the battery from your smoke alarm because your are trying to get some sleep! Drugs may (or may not) silence the painful alarm, but very seldom do they address the actual problem.
Two Common Causes For Back Pain in Quincy
The facet joints at the back edge of each spinal bone are rich with pain receptors and are a common cause of back pain. The pain can be a sign these interlocking joints have lost their normal mobility. The discs between spinal bones can also be involved. Simple traumas like a slip or fall or over stretching while lifting can cause the soft, gel like material in the middle to shift and cause pressure on nearby nerves.
Your Options in Quincy When Back Pain Strikes
We’ve helped many people suffering with back pain both chronic and acute case using chiropractic care. However, other very common choices include:
- Ignore it: Spinal problems when ignored tend to worsen over time.
- Bed rest: May offer short term relief but as with “ignoring it” this option delays addressing the problem.
- Therapy: Again this may offer short term relief but if malfunctioning joints are present it is again just “ignoring it”.
- Medicine: Numbs the pain offering relief but there are no medications that properly address joint dysfunction.
- Surgery: Certain types of back pain may require surgery but these are rare and even in these cases surgery is recommended as the last resort and only when conservative treatment options are unable to help.
Chiropractic Option: Address the Source of Your Pain
Chiropractic treatment helps to improve spinal position and mobility. By restoring the way your spine works the joints, discs and soft tissues begin to repair, nerve pressure can be reduced, pain diminishes and stability returns. If you don’t have a chiropractor, we would scheduling a consultation to answer your questions. Just click here to contact us.
Back Pain FAQs:
I have a “little” back pain every day – is that normal? Pain of any kind is a warning sign that something is wrong. Pain is your bodies way of telling you that a physical limitation has been reached or a problem has developed. Because our body has a tremendous capacity for adapting, minor aches and pains are often ignored. While the pain may stop, if the underlying problem (the reason for the pain) is not addressed, the problem may worsen until it becomes more difficult and expensive to resolve.
What about taking muscle relaxers? Of course chiropractors don’t dispense drugs, instead we use natural drug-free methods to help our patients. There are many stress relieving activities that can provide muscle relaxation: improved hydration, deep breathing exercises, and positive mental visualization can significantly help patients that are struggling to recover because of muscle tension. Additionally, for acute pain or pain related to treatment (muscular soreness similar to that experienced from starting a new exercise) properly applied ice has an analgesic effect and when used regularly can help to improve the circulation to areas suffering from degeneration. Most importantly you get the benefit of these methods without the unwanted effects associated with many medications.
How does chiropractic work? Chiropractic “works” because your body is self-healing, self-regulating and controlled by your nervous system. Millions of instructions are communicated between your brain and your body, up and down the spinal cord, and over the peripheral nerves to every organ and tissue. The messages sent back to the brain confirm if the body is working correctly or tell the brain there is an emergency (pain). Improper movement and/or position of the bones of the spine can negatively affect this vital exchange of information between the brain and body by irritating or compressing nerves and thereby diminishing the function and coordination of affected organs and tissues. Chiropractic treatments are designed to improve this brain body communication cycle. By improving nervous system communication the body repair process improves and the warning system (pain) can return to it’s normal resting state.
Does insurance cover chiropractic care in Quincy? Today many policies cover at least some of the care that you may need. It’s always a relief when an insurance company or some other third party helps pay the bill. But be careful! Most huge corporations prefer to focus on their own bottom line rather than what is in your best interest regarding your health. If you sincerely want your health back, in most cases we can help and we will do our best to make chiropractic care affordable for just about anyone.
For Your Health,
Dr. Gabrielle Freedman