Living with chronic pain isn’t easy. The pain you experience, particularly if you’re a tradie, can impact your work immensely and it impairs overall quality of life. In some cases, chronic pain is also related to depression. For these and many other reasons, it is a must to tackle this problem and choose an adequate way of managing chronic pain you experience.
While there are many methods you can do, not all of them are equally effective. For example, taking medication is the most commonly used form of treatment for chronic pain but it’s not a good idea if you have to take drugs for some other condition as they can counteract. Needless to say, taking medications isn’t the answer to all our medical problems. This is why chiropractic care poses as an ideal way of working towards managing the pain.
Chiropractic and chronic pain
According to the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, chiropractic care or exercise was more effective in treating chronic pain than medications. The study followed 272 people with chronic neck pain for 12 weeks. Findings of the study revealed that 32% of those who received chiropractic care became pain free, while those who exercised was 30%. On the other hand, only 13% of people who took medications became pain free by the end of the study.
In Australia, here is the current data according to Chiropractors’ Association of Australia:
- 16% of Australians visit a chiropractor, which is 3 million people per year
- 62% of chiropractic appointments were for back problems
- 71% patients were aged between 25 and 64
- The most sought after treatment is spinal adjustment
- 90% patients who used chiropractic said their treatments were very helpful.
So, what is the link between chiropractic and chronic pain? Your nerves in the spinal cord have an effect on pain sensation that you experienced. Also, these nerves have impact on emotional triggers that are caused by the pain which contributes to depression. This explains the reason why many chronic pain sufferers suffer from depression as well. Chiropractic adjustments helps boost nervous system function by sending messages to the brain thus reducing pain sensation.
Chiropractic is effective in re-establishing normal function of muscles, joints, and vascular system thus eliminating the root causes of chronic pain.
Evaluation
Before the chiropractic adjustments can begin, the chiropractor will evaluate and analyse your condition in order to diagnose specific spine problem areas, and track its progress throughout the treatment.
Evaluation is performed with the following scanning technology:
- NeuroTherm Scan – conducts thermal readings along the paraspinal muscles using infrared sensors. Measuring changes in temperature allows the chiropractor to see in what ratio the nerves are supplying different glands, vessels, and organs.
- Static EMG Scan – uses two sensors that lightly touch the skin along your spine in order to measure nerve signals to the muscles. These signals are useful for monitoring progress and determining the adequate technique to address your symptoms.
- Pulse Wave Profiler – measures the impact of stress on your nervous system through readings of HRV (Heart Rate Variability). This is important for determining how well your body responds to different stimuli.
Treatment
Now that you have an understanding of how chiropractic can help relieve chronic pain and what testing is done, let’s take a look at different ways chiropractor can treat symptoms you experience:
- Teaching how to handle loads to move safely and efficiently
- Educating you how to prevent injuries
- Performing chiropractic adjustments
- Functional and rehabilitative exercises
- Postural assessment and correction
- Activity modification advice
- Improving strength, flexibility and core stability with exercises.
- Prescribing the correct pillow.
Chiropractic is a natural and holistic approach to treating chronic pain. The approach focuses on the root problems, and works towards resolving it. Benefits of chiropractic care is always tailored to your specific needs according to your diagnosis, preferences and symptoms
Do you suffer from Chronic Pain? If so feel free to share your experiences below.
To find out more about chiropractic treatments for chronic pain and how we can help you, feel free to contact us. Alternatively, to take advantage of our offer of a free pillow with your initial consultation, please click here.