"Pain is the last thing to appear and the first thing to disappear." I say this statement almost every day, mostly because it's true. A very simple analogy can be drawn from dentistry: imagine that the gripping pain of a toothache suddenly takes ahold of your jaw. The dentist examines you and finds a cavity. Did that cavity suddenly appear in the instant that the pain started? No, the cavity had been slowly forming and excavating itself over a period of years. The pain was only felt when the nerves at the root of the tooth became involved. The cavity came first, the pain came much later.
Most sufferers of back pain arrive at the chiropractic offices in the middle of conditions that began months or even years before the pain began. Perhaps it was a car accident, perhaps a habitual postural issue like crossing your legs, perhaps a fall down the stairs when you were a child. A problem that began so long ago cannot be fixed overnight. I like to say, "You've had a ten year head start on me. I'll need a month to catch up." The dentist might be able to solve the problem quickly by removing the tooth. That solution is not practical for the back, however. Every time you have a back ache, I won't be able to remove a vertebrae. The subluxation is a complex anatomical mechanism, and something that complex cannot be fixed simply. The only practical solution is to slowly help the body heal, restore muscle balance, restore nerve communication, and so forth. Even pain pills may dull the pain initially, but you'll have to return to them again and again if the underlying problem isn't fixed (add to that the list of side effects found on every over-the-counter medication and your health issues may have multiplied). The long-recommended chiropractic course of patience has been validated by yet another research study. If chiropractic care for chronic low back pain is ended once the pain has been relieved (but before the source of the symptoms has been solved), then the patient is almost certain to get the pain again within a year. Here's a quote from a news article about the study: Source: Dynamic Chiropractic ...The study suggests patients with low back pain of at least six months duration experience greater improvement following one month (12 treatments) of spinal manipulative therapy followed by "maintenance spinal manipulation" every two weeks for nine months than subjects who receive one month of SMT only (12 treatments) or 12 treatments of sham SMT for one month. Patients in the manipulation and manipulation-plus-maintenance groups improved with respect to pain and disability after one month compared to the sham group, but after 10 months, only the group receiving maintenance care reported significant improvement, whereas the one-month-only group's pain and disability scores had returned "near to their pretreatment level."
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Since many people think of chiropractic as being a solution for back aches and other muscle and joint pains, it might surprise you to learn that chiropractic care has been shown to resolve infantile colic in some cases.
An article in the journal Clinical Chiropractic in 2004 presented two cases of infantile colic which were completely resolved after a course of chiropractic care. It's always difficult to say if the chiropractic care directly caused the colic symptoms to disappear, but the author of the report believed so. The author attributed the cause of the colic to an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system, a division of the nervous system, can best be described in two parts: the sympathetic nervous system (the automatic "fight or flight" response which heightens awareness, floods the body with adrenaline, and suppresses some bodily functions like digestion), and the parasympathetic nervous system (which has roughly the opposite effect). These two divisions, in a healthy person, are well balanced, maintaining a body that is equally capable of resting and sudden motion. However, a person with a subluxation often exhibits symptoms that show an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Certain changes can be easily detected by the chiropractor: local skin temperature changes, sudden sweating or the lack of it, increased inflammation, and so forth. The author of this report posited that these two infants (a 7-week-old and a 10-week-old) had suffered some minor trauma during the birth process (a very common phenomenon), and had suffered a subluxation during birth. This subluxation caused an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system, which then presented as difficulties with the digestive system, vomiting, difficulties breastfeeding, difficulties resting and sleeping, and so on. It can quickly be seen how most of the colicky symptoms can be immediately tied to autonomic dysfunction. After a course of chiropractic care, both infants completely resolved within three weeks. How exciting is that? If you have had a baby with colic, you've lost more than your fair share of sleep, and you understand first hand how exciting results like this can be. Minor back pain is often a result of a simple imbalance of the low back, pelvis, or thigh muscles. While not debilitating, this pain can be a nagging annoyance. I often get asked: "Is there an easy way to stretch out these muscles?" Fortunately, there is. And the best part is that you can do these in the privacy of your own home... for free. The good folks at the American Chiropractic Association have sponsored the following short video in which a chiropractor demonstrates some simple stretches for the low back and thigh muscles. Note that these are not exercises, so there's no force or impact being put into the skeleton and you won't end up looking like The Hulk. Also, it's important to note that recent research has verified that stretching does not prevent injury during later exercise. While it's important to warm up before participating in an exercise or sport (especially here in Peoria during the cool spring months), mere stretching should not be viewed as an injury prevention technique.
The object of the carnival game Whack-a-Mole is to use a rubber mallet to hit as many critters as possible when they pop up in random succession. Trouble is, as you hit one mole, three more pop up and disappear before you can nail them all. Whack-a-Mole is a perfect metaphor for how patients get medicated today. Unfortunately in this game you end up on many different drugs for a bunch of different problems, with no actual improvement in your health.
According to Generation Rx, in 2004 the number of prescription drugs used by the average American annually was twelve. Data from FamiliesUSA.com show the average number of prescriptions taken per senior citizen grew from 19.6 in 1992 to 28.5 in 2000, an increase of 45 percent. Yet despite taking all these drugs, the US embarrassingly ranks 37th among the world's industrial countries when it comes to overall health. In chiropractic, health is not defined by how many symptoms you can temporarily 'whack away' with drugs, but how well your body can heal and function under its own power. Content provided by Principle33. Thursday's Grand Opening ribbon cutting ceremony was a wonderful experience for all involved! The weather cooperated, the beverages were cold, and the cookies and fruit were delicious. The guest of honor was Mayor Mark Allen of Peoria Heights (pictured here next to Dr. Johnson). Although Johnson Family Chiropractic is in Peoria and is several blocks south of the Peoria Heights border, Mayor Allen graciously arrived at the festivities on behalf of the village. The Peoria Heights Chamber of Commerce was also represented at the event, as were the Peoria Journal Star newspaper and the Times family of newspapers. Also welcome and present were some patients and patient families. The ribbon and scissors were provided by the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, who were well represented by nearly a dozen business Ambassadors (behind the camera as well). They have done a wonderful job of welcoming Johnson Family Chiropractic to Peoria, providing instant connections and advice. After the ribbon-cutting was complete, Dr. Johnson explained the purpose of the Activator adjustment and gave tours of the office. A special highlight of the tour was each person's personal experience of the Activator thrust: "Surprisingly gentle," said one. Exactly! Our thanks go out to all who made this celebration possible: my lovely wife Wendy Johnson (the cookie cook), the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, the Peoria Heights Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Allen. Here's looking forward to the 10-year-anniversary of the occasion! |
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DisclaimerUnless otherwise attributed, all content is written by Kyle Johnson, DC, of Johnson Family Chiropractic of Peoria.
All images used are under Creative Commons license. Although every effort has been made to provide an accurate description of our chiropractic care and its benefits, the information given on this website and blog is not intended to be, nor should it be interpreted as, medical advice for any condition. If you have any questions regarding your condition, you should seek the help of Dr. Johnson in person, so that he may properly assess your condition. This blog is provided by Johnson Family Chiropractic of Peoria, S.C., proudly located in Peoria, IL. |