By Algonquin Chiropractic Center Conditions chiropractor, Chronic Pain, disability, low back pain, pain

A Chiropractor Will Trust You About Your Chronic Pain

Other Doctors May Not Believe You, but a Chiropractor Knows the Truth About Chronic Pain

Millions of people in the United States live with chronic pain, especially low back pain. Some medical doctors seem like they don’t believe your pain is as bad as you say, and belittle your experiences. As a chiropractor, I take my patients’ pain very seriously, because I know the facts about chronic pain don’t lie.

What Is Chronic Pain?

According to the American Chronic Pain Association:

Photo of an elderly patient holding his hand to his head as a doctor takes notes.

“Chronic pain can be described as ongoing or recurrent pain, lasting beyond the usual course of acute illness or injury or more than 3 to 6 months, and which adversely affects the individual’s well-being. A simpler definition for chronic or persistent pain is pain that continues when it should not. (IASP 2004)”

According to the National Institutes of Health:

“Chronic pain may arise from an initial injury, such as a back injury, or there may be an ongoing cause, such as illness. However, there may also be no clear cause. Other health problems, such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, decreased appetite, and mood changes including depression, often accompany chronic pain. Chronic pain may limit a person’s movements, which can reduce flexibility, strength, and stamina. This difficulty in carrying out important and enjoyable activities can lead to disability and despair.”

The chronic pain patients I see may have one or more of the following:

Difficulty getting out of bed in the morning.
Difficulty sleeping, which causes fatigue and daytime drowsiness.
Difficulty at work–it may be hard to perform your daily tasks at work such as lifting, pushing, pulling, bending over, prolonged sitting, etc.
Chronic lower back pain may even make it impossible to work, leading to disability.
Chronic pain patients’ relationships can be strained, such as a spouse who does not understand your condition
Social life suffers – not many people want to go to the movies or go out to dinner if they cannot sit, go to a party if they can’t stand and by the end of the day after you have been fighting the pain all day most people just don’t want to be social
Chronic pain patients have difficulty working around the house, both inside

Chronic Pain Stats

Read through these chronic pain statistics provided by paindoctor.com:

Chronic pain statistics in the U.S.

Pain affects more people in the U.S. than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined
126 million, or 55% of all adults, experienced pain in the previous three months
4 million U.S. adults report “a lot of pain”
3 million U.S. adults suffer from daily pain
Various reports list that over 50 million, but up to 100 million, U.S. adults have chronic pain conditions, an estimate that does not include acute pain conditions or children in pain
More than one-quarter of adults (26%) age 20 years and over – or, an estimated 76.5 million people – report that they have had a problem with pain of any sort that persisted for more than 24 hours in duration
Of those in pain, 27% suffer from lower back pain, 15% from severe headache or migraine pain, and 15% from neck pain

Economic statistics on pain

Pain is a significant public health problem that costs society at least $560-$635 billion annually, an amount equal to about $2,000.00 for everyone living in the U.S.

People in the U.S. spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain treatment
Pain is associated with a wide range of injury and disease, and is sometimes the disease itself
Some conditions may have pain and associated symptoms arising from a discrete cause, such as postoperative pain or pain associated with a malignancy, or may be conditions in which pain constitutes the primary problem, such as neuropathic pains or headaches
The total annual incremental cost of health care due to pain ranges from $560 billion to $635 billion (in 2010 dollars) in the United States, which combines the medical costs of pain care and the economic costs related to disability days and lost wages and productivity
There are currently over 4,000 U.S. doctors in practice for the management of pain

Back pain statistics

Low back pain is the leading cause of disability in the world
80% of U.S. adults will experience back pain at some point in their lives
Up to 6 million patients suffer from chronic back pain
Adults with lower back pain are often in worse physical and mental health than people who do not have low back pain
28% of adults with lower back pain report limited activity due to a chronic condition, as compared to 10% of adults who do not have lower back pain
Also, adults reporting lower back pain were three times as likely to be in fair or poor health
Back pain patients are more than four times as likely to experience serious psychological distress as people without lower back pain
Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work, and the second-leading cause for doctor’s visits”

A Chiropractor Takes Your Pain Seriously

Is pain affecting your life or the life of a loved one? If you read this far it is likely that you or someone close to you is suffering when they may not have to—a chiropractor can help you diagnose and treat the root cause of your pain.

I’ll tell you how chronic pain was effecting “Jane.” Her low back pain goes back 28 years! If that’s not bad enough, her chemo-induced neuropathy goes back 25 years! Jane was having a hard time walking, her balance was getting worse, and she was a fall risk. It was difficult to sleep which made getting through her days a struggle at times.

At the consultation, I could see the fear in her eyes. “Do I have to live like this forever?”

Her exam findings were cause for concern, but I thought we could help her.

I told Jane this and she was skeptical. She was hesitant, and yet she looked me square in the eyes and said, “I’m trusting you.”

As a chiropractor, I do not take that trust lightly. To me every patient’s case is serious, because we know virtually every case can become chronic. As a matter of fact, whether patients realize it or not, our long-term goal is always to keep the patient out of chronic pain!

After a few weeks, Jane is walking better, her sleep is much improved, she feels more steady on her feet, and she’s less of a fall risk. Jane’s quality of life is much improved from her time with a chiropractor, and that’s what it’s all about—improving the quality of people’s life, allowing them to live THEIR lifestyle, not a lifestyle dominated by pain.

An experienced chiropractor can be very helpful in reducing chronic pain and improving the quality of your life. At the Algonquin Chiropractic Center, I’ve been serving the community as a top chiropractor in Algonquin, IL since 1997. If you’re searching for a chiropractor to treat your pain, give us a call (847) 854-2000 and schedule a consultation today!

BE WELL!

By Algonquin Chiropractic Center Conditions Algonquin Chiropractic, back pain, Chronic Pain, lower back pain

How Can Chiropractic Help Chronic Lower Back Pain?

Discover What Chronic Lower Back Pain Is—And What You Can Do

According to Wikipedia: “A chronic condition is a human health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term chronic is often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months.”

In other words: the pain is always there.

“Acute” low back pain is considered the first 72 hours after an injury and sub-acute low back pain is from 3 days to 3 months.

Acute pain will progress to “sub-acute” pain which can progress to chronic pain.

I see most patients in the sub-acute stage and our main goal is to not let that pain get to the chronic stage! 1 out of 7 cases will become chronic.

When a patient comes in to our office our main long term goal is to prevent that patient from becoming a chronic pain patient.

Scary Stats

Bad things happen with chronic pain, read this:

The Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases reports:
Compared to 291 other health conditions, researchers at the University of Queensland’s School of Population Health in Australia, found low back pain cause more Global Disability than any other health problem studied.

Dr. Anders Cohen, Chief of Neurosurgery and Spine Surgery at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York said, “Back pain is the number one cause of lost work days in the United States.”

One third of all work related disability is due to the low back. Suffer Lower Back Pain

Estimates are $100-200 BILLION a year is spent on low back pain (to put that in perspective, about $680 million is spent on breast cancer.)

Listen to what the “experts” in this study recommend:

“Expert” 1 – Reassurance, stay active, and analgesics (pain killers).

“Expert” 2 – Stay in shape, maintain core strength and flexibility.

(Do you think most people already know or would figure out what these “experts” are recommending?)

With all due respect to the authors, the above recommendations are only a portion of proper treatment for low back pain. A condition that is this serious and causes this much disability needs better treatment than “take medicine and hope it goes away.”

Long term use of medication has many known side effects like GI bleeding, liver and kidney damage, increase risk of heart attack and stroke and, what a lot of people don’t realize, is that anti-inflammatory medications actually slow down the rate at which soft tissues repair themselves. People get brief periods of relief and are making the condition last longer. Now, during the acute phase, when pain and inflammation are high, certainly the cautious use of medication is justified.

Lower back pain will “just go away” in 9% of cases. Recurrence rates are 60% after one year and as high as 94% after 4 years.

As a society, we have been listening to medical doctors, orthopedics, physical therapists and pain management doctors for years regarding low back pain.

The stats above tell us how good (or bad) of a job they are doing. So let me ask you this: If you had chronic low back pain would you ask advice of the same people who created a low back pain epidemic? Maybe it is time for a change.

Chronic low back pain is the number one cause of disability worldwide!

Chronic Low Back Pain Management

Chronic low back pain can develop from an injury that is not managed properly. For example, someone injures their low back. What do most people do? Go to their Medical Doctor. The MD gives the patient medication, might take them off work and tells them to come back if it still hurts. The next visit the MD orders X-rays, gives more meds and recommends physical therapy. After the meds, rest and PT did not help the MD sends the patient to the Orthopedic, the “spine specialist,” who orders an MRI, gives more meds and recommends more physical therapy and discusses surgical options. Are you seeing a pattern here?

This whole process can take 3 or more months and can cost thousands of dollars AND the patient is still in pain!

The main problem with the treatments above is they do not address spinal bio-mechanics, without addressing spinal bio-mechanics your chances of long-term relief are much less.

Restoring Spinal Bio-mechanics
The way we restore proper bio-mechanics to the spine is with proper chiropractic care and the Cox Technique. Your spine is made up of movable bones called vertebrae, when they don’t move properly that can cause increase pressure on the disc, joints and nerves and can lead to low back pain. Restoring proper motion is crucial to getting low backs well and keeping them well.

Modalities, topical analgesics (like Biofreeze), soft tissue work, distraction, lumbar stabilization training, maintaining and improving range of motion, laser therapy, vibration therapy, anti-inflammatory diets, nutrition and orthotic therapy are just a few of the treatments we use for patient’s individualized treatment plans.

No treatment can guarantee success, especially over a long period of time; however, chiropractic care has been shown to give patients the fastest relief and the longest lasting relief compared to MD care, PT and Orthopedic care.

Isn’t that what we all want when we have a health problem? Fast, long-lasting relief.

What to Expect

When you call to make an appointment a friendly staff person will get your information and your email address and send you our HHI, Health History Intake form. The form is detailed and can be laborious to fill out but we want to be thorough.

On your first visit you will have a consultation where we listen, really listen to your complaints and concerns. Next, an examination is performed which includes a postural exam, spinal range of motion, reflexes, sensation, strength testing, orthopedic tests and a palpatory exam. At the conclusion of the exam we determine what, if any, imaging needs to be ordered such as X-rays or MRI.

On you second visit you get a “Report of Findings.” We sit down face to face and we show you your imaging (X-ray or MRI), explain your problem in simple terms and if we can help you we outline a treatment plan specifically tailored to your specific needs. We also go over your insurance and let you know exactly what your costs will be going forward.

Faster pain relief, longer lasting relief and more cost-effective than other forms of care, chiropractic just may be the answer!

Call for your consultation 847-854-2000.

Mention this article and receive $25 off your initial visit.

Our Mission – To educate and inform patients so you can make educated decisions to improve your health.

Algonquin Chiropractic Center
2210 Huntington Drive North
Algonquin, IL 60102
(847) 854-2000

By Algonquin Chiropractic Center Heatlhy Living algonquin chiropractic center, back pain, Chronic Pain, Muscle Strengthening, posture

Was Mom Right About Posture?

How posture can effect your life? The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences reports people with a “flexed” posture (being bent over at the waist) “is associated with becoming dependent on help for activities of daily living (ADL). These activities include such basic self-care tasks as bathing, feeding, toileting, maintaining continence, dressing, and transferring in or out of a bed or chair.” Researchers came to this conclusion after studying over 800 patients aged 65 or older.

Dr. Galante is Committed to Helping You!

We are sharing this information with you to keep you informed, improve your health and well-being and help you understand critical health care information and how it impacts your health and your wallet. So what are the implications?

We see people with “flexed” postures everywhere, look in the grocery stores and watch people walking hunched over a cart. We now have evidence that these people will have higher levels of disability as they age. How do you prevent this posture?

We tend to move in the same movement patterns every day. We get in a routine of working, playing and exercising with the same movements. So how do we break out of these movement patterns? Yoga, swimming and stretching are great ways to increase flexibility.

There are specific muscle stretches that are helpful with posture such as the pectoral stretch, shoulder stretch in external rotation, hip flexor stretch and others.

Try this – Sit on an exercise ball, walk your feet out and lay back on the ball so your tailbone and head are resting on the ball. With your arms relaxed out to the side, slowly roll back and forth keeping your tailbone and head on the ball at all times. This can be difficult at first, be sure to get proper assistance if needed.

Strengthening your scapular (shoulder blade) muscles, core muscles and lumbar stabilizer muscles help keep the body in proper alignment.

Posture is one of the most common problems we work on in our clinic. Almost all of our postures can improve. Bad Posture by Algonquin Chiropractic Center

Posture is one of the most important factors in chronic pain, if your posture is poor the body has to compensate for that all day long. In time, the body’s compensatory mechanisms will break down resulting in pain and disability.

Remember, when we see a 75-year-old person walking bent over at the waist they did not get that way in the last 3 months, most of the time their posture has been slowly getting worse for many, many years. Fix it now and you will have less problems down the road!

Like your mom told you, “Sit up straight!”

Remember health is a journey and not a destination. What you do in the practice of health care will go miles and pay dividends over time.
If you still feel that you are struggling in creating a healthy living plan, you will be thrilled to know that Dr. Galante has powerful programs that will teach you the specific steps that will help you to become and stay healthier.

Call for your consultation 847-854-2000.

Mention this article and receive $25 off your initial visit.

Our Mission – To educate and inform patients so you can make educated decisions to improve your health.
Algonquin Chiropractic Center
2210 Huntington Drive North
Algonquin, IL 60102
(847) 854-2000

2210 Huntington Drive North

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Tag: Chronic Pain