Many people will visit their family doctors when seeking relief for back pain. Of these people, many will be told that they are suffering from "muscle spasms" and told that it should get better with time. To relieve their current condition, many a times doctors will write their patients a prescription for one or all of; pain killers, anti-inflammatories or muscle relaxers.
If the doctor is thorough, they will advise their patients that many of these drugs may have side-effects and to discontinue use if they suffer any unwanted symptoms. But many times, patients are not told these things.
The majority of the patients I see in my clinic do not only want symptomatic relief, but they would like to know 'how' they got into trouble in the first place. Here's where I'd like to shed some light.
Now I will be the first to say that many a times, injury to muscles is a major component to back pain. But as you may have guessed, it's not the only thing that's going on. Here's a Chiropractor's point of view.
Just imagine for a second and visualize your muscles under your skin. If you think about it carefully, your muscles aren't just 'floating' in space are they? No they're not. They actually serve the very important function of providing movement for your body. Just as the picture above depicts a woman doing a bicep curl, the muscles are what allows her to bring the weight closer to her. As she contracts her biceps muscles, the weight is brought closer to her as her elbow bends. As she relaxes the same muscle, she can move the weight away from her and straighten her arm. This is a very simple description of your muscles at work.
Now just for a moment, think of the muscles in your back. As they contract and relax, you can move your body, twist your body, bend forward, arch backwards and so on. But they do this because the muscles are attached to and move the bones in your spine. Now if you suffered an injury and your muscles went into spasm, unable to relax, how would that affect your spine?
Well, you would probably feel; pain, soreness, stiff, unable to move and difficulties performing even the simplest of tasks. A general loss of normal function is a very common complaint for back pain sufferers.
This is why Chiropractic works so well. If you can get your joints to move better, taking pressure off these sensitive tissue, you will feel better. But it gets better, not only do you 'feel' better, you are doing something beneficial for your body; restoring motion. Chiropractic can do this in a natural manner without the use of pharmaceutical drugs that can have some very serious side effects. Chiropractors are highly trained to identify and safely restore function for people who suffering. But in my clinic, I don't just stop there. Once I can get my patients to feel relief from discomfort and pain, I will go on to educate them. I will encourage my patients to be active, exercise and to practice the appropriate stretches to help their body work at it's best.
If you think about it carefully, your body does not become painful because it's lacking Tylenol 3 or Robaxacet. You are just 'masking' the symptoms and tricking your body it into not noticing the pain. However, your doctor won't tell you this. If you want to get to the "CAUSE" of your back, neck or joint pain, a Chiropractor is likely your best option.
Come visit me if you're in the Commercial Drive area of East Vancouver or visit my website here; COMMERCIAL DRIVE - EAST VANCOUVER CHIROPRACTOR; DR. DOMINIC CHAN DC.
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