During my 35 years of chiropractic practice, I have discovered that pain and pain management is a major health problem in America. An estimated 50% of Americans suffer from chronic pain. Most chronic pain comes from spinal problems in the neck and back. This article will discuss chronic spinal pain, its causes, the most effective treatment, and the prognosis of recovery time.
Recently, a patient, in his 50s, came to see me who had been suffering from low back pain for several years. The condition gradually worsened. In the month or two preceding her visit, the discomfort had become so severe that she had trouble walking for more than 10 to 15 minutes. I had been taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications and using moist heat on my back, but these measures didn’t seem to help. He said that he had had several episodes of back pain throughout his life. When he was younger the medication and was easily maintained gave him pain relief. However, now that he was older, he wondered “why is recovery from back pain taking so long?”
When I performed an exam and took X-rays of her lower back, I was able to explain and show her why she was having the intensity and duration of her current discomfort. His examination revealed several facts. He couldn’t lean forward, backward, or side to side much. Also, I could feel swelling in the complaint area of her back. This area also felt warm to the touch. This indicated that he was having inflammation of the area.
We all know that if we heat our toe or twist ourselves, the ankle movement becomes restricted and it becomes swollen and inflamed. This also happens with the neck and back. Inflammatory chemicals and fluids invade the injured area, and it feels swollen and hot when touched with our fingers and movement is limited.
His radiographs revealed a degree of bone-on-bone narrowing of the spinal disc spaces with small bone spurs present. This is considered wasting arthritis. Medically, it is called degenerative joint disease or spinal spondylosis. This arthritis or degeneration is simply the result of lifelong injury to one area.
This underlying degenerative change will certainly affect how quickly or slowly an area will heal. When my patient was younger and had no wear and tear on his spine, his back healed quickly. Now that she had accumulated multiple injuries and had spondylosis, it is clear why her back was taking longer to heal.
Fortunately, when she received chiropractic care, her discomfort began to subside. He also found that he could walk for longer periods without experiencing back discomfort. His treatment consisted of using gentle chiropractic spinal adjustments to correct the misalignment of the bones in his back spine. Some safe chiropractic adjustment treatments were needed to correct the problem as much as possible. Her remaining symptoms were insignificant and she was able to walk much longer. I told him to remember that he no longer had the back of a 25-year-old and that he had to exercise some caution with his activities. They also gave him some daily stretching and strengthening exercises to do in order to maintain his improvement.
When he left on his last day of treatment, he said, “Doctor, if my back starts to give me the slightest problem, I promise not to wait that long. I’ll go into your office right away.”