It is a fact that most of us will suffer at least one episode of back pain severe enough to miss work. For some people, living with pain has become a way of life. They know what activities to avoid or limit, have worked out a regular routine of pain relievers or muscle relaxers, and basically live from one severe pain episode to the next. Whether it's neck pain, low back pain, headaches, numbness, or weakness, living with pain can make life miserable.
That's where chiropractic comes in. By far most of the people that come to my office do so because they're in pain. Life can dish out all sorts of surprises for us: automobile accidents, work related injuries, slips and falls, sports injuries and more.
This diagram represents the lower part of your spine. The vertebrae which make up your spine provide support for the spinal cord. Openings are formed between the vertebrae for nerves to exit the spinal cord and travel to all the organs and tissues of your body. These nerves send messages from the brain to various parts of your body, and they also carry messages from the body back to the brain.
Between each of the vertebrae are discs. These discs act like shock absorbers for the spine. Unfortunately though, just like the shock absorbers on your car, these can wear out if not properly maintained. Discs can start to dry out and degenerate. This causes the vertebrae to move closer and closer together. Notice in the diagram how the two upper discs are thinner than the lower one. If the disc wears down enough, eventually the vertebrae will fuse together and all motion will be lost at that joint.
It is also possible for the discs to herniate or bulge out of their opening. When this happens the bulging portion can put pressure on the nerves as they exit the spinal canal. Also, the vertebrae can become misaligned or malfunctioning and cause the same types of problems. When a nerve gets pinched, depending on the amount of pinch and the amount of time that has passed since it started, it can either start sending too many signals or not enough. Either way, the muscles, organs and tissues that the nerves go to will be affected. Maybe the muscle is getting over stimulated and will go into spasm. Possibly the signals travelling from your leg back to your brain are getting interrupted and you lose some feeling in your leg. Or imagine what would happen if the nerves travelling to the stomach or kidneys were being pinched!
Chiropractic works by finding areas of your spine that are causing problems and correcting the misalignment or malfunction. This is done using a chiropractic "adjustment". There are several different ways that joints can be adjusted. Many chiropractors use a manual, hands-on type of adjustment where joints are moved to their tension point and a quick thrust is given to align the bones. Often times a popping sound can be heard as the adjustment is given. This type of adjustment is effective, but we have found that many of our patients do not like to be adjusted this way.
Get Activated!
We use the "activator" method of adjusting. The activator is a small hand-held adjusting instrument. The key to the success of the activator is in its speed. The activator can deliver a thrust about 200 times faster than the human hand can. Because your muscles do not have a chance to tense up during the adjustment, a much lighter force is needed to be effective. We have successfully used the activator on people ranging in age from a few days old to nearly a hundred years old! It is a very low impact type of adjustment and is usually very comfortable.
We also do several different things during the treatment to speed up the healing process. We may do some light muscle stretching, massage, recommend an exercise program, give home instructions for correcting a faulty spinal curve, and more. We also have therapies available to stimulate muscles and relieve spasm and pain, or a traction table which helps restore lost motion to the spine. I can't begin to tell you how many people have fallen asleep on this table! It is very relaxing.
There are really three phases to the healing process. First, and very important is to get you out of pain. We know that is what brought you to us and the #1 thing we have to deal with. Treatments are scheduled fairly close together during this period to give the maximum amount of pain relief in the shortest amount of time.
Once the pain level is under control, we concentrate on the correction phase. During this phase of care, the focus will be on making your spine as close to normal as possible. We will work to correct any misalignments or malfunctions in the spine, make sure the curves of your spine are correct, strengthen muscles, etc... The treatments are more spread out during this phase to allow the body time to make the corrections. Think of this like going to an orthodontist to straighten your teeth. You know it takes some time to make a lasting correction.
Once your spine has reached its maximum level of improvement you are ready to begin the maintenance phase. During this phase you should be feeling great. We will determine a schedule of check-ups for your spine to make sure the corrections are still holding and catch any small problems before they become big ones again. Like your teeth, your spine needs to be maintained.
You always have the choice to decide what level of care you want. We know that some people are only seeking pain relief and will discontinue care once that has been achieved. We also recognize that many of our patients are tired of living the yo-yo cycle of pain and want to finally get the problem solved. Which ever level of care you choose is entirely up to you.
Chiropractic works naturally without the use of drugs or surgery. We recognize that these have an important role in healthcare, but believe that they should be last resort methods. Pain relievers and muscle relaxers can make you more comfortable, but they do not take care of the underlying cause of the problem.
"The Doctor of the future will give no medicine,
but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame,
in diet, and in the cause and prevention of human disease."
- Thomas A. Edison
It is my sincere hope that through chiropractic care you will find the relief and correction that you are seeking.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Max Johnson