As a chiropractor, my goal is to help my patients become pain-free.
My desire, however, is to see my patients understand the reasons for why their pain began in the first place and to teach them how to correct those underlying causes. In the past, I have concentrated on educating patients about posture and illustrating home care maneuvers and exercises that would balance their supportive muscles. But even the most well-intentioned patients get sidetracked by their busy lives and no habit changes occur. To better address this challenge, I have added a rehab department to my practice. Spinal rehabilitation can help promote health and improve function and mobility.
Why Rehab?
Most people who consult with a chiropractor do so because of an acute neck or back problem, which usually heals quickly. But even though the episode resolves quickly, recent studies show that over time these problems tend to happen more often with increasing pain during each episode. Due to the repetitive stress the neck and back are exposed to during everyday life, injuries tend to reoccur. This happens because the function of the neck and back was not fully restored with chiropractic manipulation alone, even though the patient left our office pain-free. Resolution of these recurring episodes can best be achieved by restoring full function to not only spinal joints, but to the muscles, tendons and ligaments as well. Spinal rehabilitation, along with chiropractic, can help speed and facilitate this process.
Adding a spinal rehabilitation department will educate my patients on the proper way to do certain exercises and stretches that will strengthen and stabilize the spine. In addition to preventing recurring injuries, the exercises and maneuvers will improve muscle strength, motor control, and take pressure off the discs, joints, and ligaments. Rehab allows our patients to perform these exercises in a time-efficient manner, allowing them to get better faster. Chiropractic care adds to the benefits of spinal rehabilitation by restoring movement in addition to decreasing pain and muscle spasms.
Through our new rehab department, Eastside Chiropractic is pleased to offer both of these services under one roof in order to provide a consistent, practical model of care. In many cases, your insurance policy can participate with and pay for the majority of your rehabilitative care. You can contact Colin to find out more at 864-292-6777. If you or anyone you know could benefit from this service, please give us a call!
Why is chronic back pain so common?
Back Pain Statistics Are Shocking:
- 70 to 85% of the population will experience low back pain at some point during their lifetimes.
- 25% of U.S. adults reported having low back pain lasting at least one whole day within the past 3 months, and almost 8% reported at least one episode of severe acute low back pain within a one-year period.
- Low back pain is the 5th most common reason for all physician visits in the United States.
The only “good” news may be that most cases of back pain are mechanical, meaning they are not caused by serious health conditions such as infection, fracture or cancer.
Why is chronic back pain so common? Well the average adult carries 2/3rds of his or her body weight above the waist. This weight bias makes us susceptible to low back pain when performing activities such as bending forward and twisting while lifting. And adult back pain can start with common childhood trips and tumbles. A small sprain can lead to abnormal spinal joint function. Muscles then begin to compensate, but at the cost of decreased and strained movements. Eventually, even a simple event such as a sneeze or bending over to pick up a dropped pencil can cause a person to “throw their back out.” Once a person has an episode of back pain, repeat occurrences are almost guaranteed due to a spinal joint environment of poor adaptation, instability and dysfunction.
These chronic, recurrent episodes are not only costly to the individual, but cost billions of dollars annually to employers and their insurance companies in lost production and health care costs. While medication may relieve the immediate pain, it’s not a long-term solution because of potential damage to the liver and kidneys and the high risk of addiction. And chemicals only treat the symptoms, not the source of the problem.
Chiropractic care deals with the mechanical joint issues that cause pain in the first place. Many satisfied patients successfully get rid of their chronic back pain, enjoy the sports and hobbies they may have surrendered because of back pain, and return to a high quality of life.
Photo credit: 
Adria Richardsvia Compfight
