Exercise Better than NSAIDs for Chronic Lower Back Pain

A recent study in Japan shows that for chronic lower back pain, home based exercise programs are more effective than taking NSAIDS, such as Advil and Motrin.

Although the medications might be helpful in reducing pain and inflammation temporarily, they do nothing to help the condition generally, and in fact, actually cause further damage and degenerative changes to cartilage over time with usage.

Exercises, when performed regularly at home, were shown to be more effective in reducing pain and improving core stability. The side effect of exercise, in contrast to the side effects of medicating for pain, is good health.

The key is stick with it. The study was conducted over a one year period of time.

If you suffer from chronic lower back pain, these tips could help:
1) Eat healthy! Avoid fatty foods and foods that are high in refined carbohydrates. Add a multi-vitamin and fish oils to your diet.
2) Visit your chiropractor, and get adjusted regularly. Proper movement and alignment of the spine is essential for good spinal health.
3) Learn some good home exercises, and DO THEM every day. Here is a link for some exercises to get you started: http://eastmesachiropractor.com/index.php?p=97781
4) Get out and into the sun for at least 15 minutes every day to improve your outlook and improve your health.

Lower back pain can be debilitating, but it doesn't have to be! Be proactive, and take the least amount of medications you absolutely have to. Try the steps listed above, and when you find what works, stick with it, making it a part of your life.

Keith Biggs, DC
3617 E. Southern, Suite 8
Mesa, AZ  85206
www.eastmesachiropractor.com
biggschiropractic@gmail.com

Vitamin D, More Than Just for Bones

Vitamin D is quite the popular vitamin these days. Historically, we have known that it is essential for healthy bones. After all, Vitamin D is in mild and dairy products. The American Dairy Association has spent a lot of money to teach us we must consume mild to have healthy bones... but that is another blog post...

Vitamin D, it appears, is quite the supper star. It shouldn't come as a shock, really.

Daily consumption should be much higher than the current RDA, or recommended daily allowance, which is 200iu. The RDA is the minimum level. Anything below it would cause disease.

A single t-spoon of Cod Liver Oil, however, provides 1300 iu of Vitamin D. Fish is a great source of Vitamin D, as well as dairy products, eggs, and grains.

Some report toxicity if more than  2000 iu are taken daily.

Vitamin D is produced within the body when exposed to sunlight.

As stated before, Vitamin D is well known for its benefits in helping to absorb and use calcium in the body, but did you know that it does so much more? Here is a short list of some of the KNOWN benefits of Vitamin D:
1) Reduces Inflammation
2) Promotes growth and reproduction of all cells of the body.
3) Has been shown helpful in the treatment of asthma
4) Has recently been shown at LSU as helping patients with Cystic Fibrosis.
5) It promotes a healthy immune system
6) It can shorten the duration and reduce the severity of colds and other infections
7) It is essential in healthy nerve function.
8) It is necessary for healthy muscle function.

Low blood levels of vitamin D is a significant risk factor for the formation of cancer, osteoporosis, and heart disease. It has been found to cause chronic lower back pain. It can cause persistent arm or leg pain and other forms of musculoskeletal pain.

Which brings up the question: When was the last time that your doctor ordered a blood test to see if you are Vitamin D deficient?  Routine measurements of serum vitamin D levels needs to become a routine component of patient care.

Dr. Alex Vasquez, DC, ND, DO, recommends doses of Vitamin D at the levels of 2000-10000 iu  for patients that suffer from chronic musculoskeletal pain, and in particular, lower back pain.

If you are having chronic back pain, perhaps it is due to a low level of Vitamin D in your blood. Let me know and we can order a simple test to find out.

Keith Biggs, DC
eastmesachiropractor.com

Avoiding High-Risk Back Movements

As a chiropractor in Mesa, AZ, I have seen many lower back injuries in my 20 year practice. This experience has taught me that there is quite a bit of consistency in the stories about how the patient hurt their back.  At times, the cause is a sudden move, or a slip and fall. Some painful back problems begin with over use, such as a single lifting event, or repetitive lifting and work episodes. What surprises many people, however, is that many painful back episodes occur in the morning, after a period of time of sleep deprivation, and after sitting for a prolonged period of time.

There was a wonderful article in this month's To Your Health Health magazine that talks about high-risk scenarios, and it gives three examples.

1) You get up in the morning after not sleeping very well. Perhaps you are on a business trip and you are not used to the bed.  You are a bit stiff, but you ignore it. You sit in a soft chair to enjoy a cup of coffee, or read the paper. Upon getting up, there is a sharp stabbing pain in the lower back

2) The first thing that you do after getting up from bed is go into the computer to check your email. You sit down, and get engrossed in an email, video, or web site. You end up spending much more time than you anticipated. When you attempt to get up out of the chair, you can't stand up straight.

3) You get up in the morning and feel an urge to empty your bowel. You are dehydrated and a little bit constipated, so you spend extra time and you strain a little at the stool. When you start to get up, you feel a spasm in the lower back

My experience is that all three of the above patients, when they come to my office, say that they did nothing, or that they cannot recall doing anything to injure themselves.

In the mornings, we are stiff. Muscles aren't asleep, and all of our joints contain extra moisture, or are slightly swollen.  During this time of the day, we are all very vulnerable to back injury.

There are some simple things that you can do in order to minimize your risks of a back pain episode.

1) After a long period of time of sitting, give yourself some time in the standing position before bending over. Automobiles and airliners are the worst. Long trips leave the back tight and stiff.  Before bending to get luggage out of the trunk or from under the airliner seat in front of you, stand, bend a bit back wards, and move a little bit, allowing your spine to re-set. Then carefully bend at the hips and knees to lift luggage or objects.

2) When you are sitting, don't slump. Use the small pillows in the airplane to place in the small of the lower back, helping the back to maintain the normal curve down there. Slouching or slumping reverses the curve in the lower back, causing the pads of cartilage, or discs, to bulge backward and placing pressure on delicate nerves.

3) When getting up out of bed, stand up and move around a bit. Avoid sitting for very long, and take a shower before sitting to read or eat.

By following these simple rules you can avoid some painful back episodes.  Don't forget to continue the exercises taught to you by your chiropractor, and to get your spine adjusted at least monthly.  By being smart and by taking some preventative actions, you can avoid many of the pitfalls that lead to debilitating low back problems.

Keith E. Biggs, DC
(Dr. Biggs is a chiropractor in Mesa AZ. He is also an Acupuncturist. He has been in private practice for more than 20 years.)
www.eastmesachiropractor.com
biggschiropractic @gmail.com

Delay Leads to Spinal Decay

In my chiropractic in Mesa, AZ, I have seen thousands of patients over the past 20 years. The vast majority have had complaints of the spinal variety, including neck pain, lower back pain, and mid back pain. The most common of those is clearly the lower back pain.

A close analysis of the structure of the lower back and it becomes obvious why the lower back is the cause of so much trouble. The bones, or vertebra in the lower back are basically like building blocks. Between the blocks are pads of cartilage. These are the discs. They are growing into and attached to both the vertebra above and the one below. There is no such thing as a "slipped disc". The weight of the entire upper body is supported by the discs and vertebra in the low back area. That is a lot of weight and force on relatively small bones and joints.

When people say that they have a slipped disc, what is really happening is that a disc is bulging or herniating, placing pressure on either the spinal cord nerves or nerves as they pass out of the spine and travel to other parts of the body.  In the lower back, these nerves control organs in the lower stomach region and muscles in the legs.

Pain in the lower back is not a problem. The true problem is what is CAUSING the pain to be felt in the lower back.  I know that this is a hard concept for some, but the more you think about it, the more it makes sense.  When a patient is suffering from pain in the lower back, the astute doctor will look at treating the CAUSE of the pain, and not the pain itself. When the cause of pain is dealt with, the pain subsides on its own. Most lower back pain is caused by a lifetime of small and seemingly insignificant injuries to the back, with the occasional severe injury thrown in on top, just for good measure.

When even the small injuries are not taken care of, the injured bones, discs, and joints begin to gradually decay. This often happens over years, and with very little or only occasional pain, but left uncorrected, the decay or degeneration continues.

Degenerative joint disease eventually leads to even more pain causing conditions, such as stenosis, where bone spurring and abnormal growth at the injured joint results in more severe pressure on the cord or nerves. In most cases, by the time that the back pain becomes so severe that the patients can't stand it, they already have a lot of degeneration in the spine due to years of neglect.

The moral of the story is this: like your permanent teeth, you only get one set of vertebra and discs in your lifetime. You can either take measures to help prevent decay, even when they don't hurt, or you can neglect your teeth or spine, and end up with a condition that cannot be repaired.  Unlike your teeth, however, when your spine wears out, there are nothing like dentures to replace it with.

On my website, there is a page dedicated to back exercises. Please feel free to check it out, but if you are new to back exercises, you should seek help from a professional (me!). I can be reached by email or phone.

Keith Biggs, DC
3617 E. Southern, Suite 8
Mesa, AZ

480-985-3334
www.eastmesachiropractor.com
biggschiropractic@gmail.com

Low Back Pain

Lower back pain, with pain spreading into the buttocks or down the leg can be serious. Often, patients in my office mistake these symptoms for muscle strains in the lower back. A good physical examination can shed some light on the issue.  Here are a few questions that I ask during my consultation and examination.

• What makes it worse, standing or sitting?
• How did the condition begin?
• Have you ever had the pain before?
• How Often do you have back pain episodes?
  
• What makes it better?
• Does the pain spread to other locations in the body, like down the legs?
• Do you have any numbness, tingling or other sensations in the legs or feet?
• Have you lost any bladder control?
• Do you get sudden sharp pains that cause the feeling that your legs are going to give out from under you?
• Have you ever fallen due to the pain?
• Does it hurt to cough or sneeze or laugh?
• Does it feel like one or both of your legs have weakness?
• Is their a dead sensation to your thigh or leg?
• Have you ever had past surgeries in the back?
• Have you been diagnosed with Osteoporosis or Osteopenia?
• What medications are you taking, both over the counter and through your medical doctor?

A diagnosis of the cause of your lower back problem begins with a good consultation, followed by a good examination, and if necessary, imaging such as x-rays or an MRI.  True, some lower back conditions can be muscle spasms, but my question to any patient is: What is going on in the spine that is causing the back muscles to spasm? The muscles, after all, are the slaves to the nervous system, and without proper nerve function and joint function, the muscles are going to be in spasm, causing pain.

Undiagnosed back issues lead to more advanced back issues. Lets talk, and take a look at yours, before it gets worse.

--
Keith E. Biggs, DC

3617 E. Southern, Suite 8
Mesa, AZ  85206
www.eastmesachiropractor.com
biggschiropractic@gmail.com
Office:  480-985-3334
Cell:     480-375-0068

I Can't Say It Any Better...

John Skipper clearly defines a common problem for those of retirement age. The government doesn't know what to do with you if you are healthy. On the other hand, they will gladly treat you into the grave. Congratulations to Nora Bigger for fighting against the system, for staying healthy in spite of her government!

The government can't seem to figure out that if a person is healthy and NOT receiving costly life-saving procedures and medications, they actually cost a lot less! In one of my recent posts, for example, I talked about the cost of spinal surgery for back pain verses chiropractic care. One surgical procedure on the lower back will cost the taxpayers $30,000-$100,000! On the other hand, a person could see a chiropractor for back pain and in a lifetime would not spend that much money! (not to mention that many people have serious complications related to surgery, such as death, disability, etc, which costs the system hundreds of thousands of dollars per incident.

We are all going to age. The goal is to age in as healthy a manor as possible. We should aspire to a high QUALITY of life, for as long as possible, with a peaceful exit at the end. Who wants to be alive and miserable? NOT ME! Too often, however, modern medicine struggles to keep us alive and miserable for as long as possible. The result is a prolonged life but with a poor quality of life.

Our health care system should be focusing more time, effort and resources on improving the quality of life through PROMOTING a healthy lifestyle and Wellness practices like acupuncture, nutrition, chiropractic, etc. Less should be spent in the struggle to prolong the misery of a chemically supported life.

To some, this will sound harsh. To me, this point of view sounds very humanitarian. Even the most harsh critic, if he would look deep inside of himself, has probably said at least once, when a loved one has passed, "It was their time, they were so miserable, they have gone to a better place."

Life is precious, but there is more to life than just living.

Back Pain Options

There are a lot of choices out there when it comes to dealing with lower back pain. That is a good thing! Some people will respond to one form of treatment, and others will respond to something altogether different. The prudent practitioner expands his/her capabilities so that more people can be helped.

I recently read an article that talked about options for lower back pain. In it, the author talked about alternative treatment methods for dealing with lower back pain. She listed massage, medications, and chiropractic as potentially helpful. She should have included acupuncture as well. They also talked about implanting electrodes along the spinal chord in order to numb the area with electrical stimulation.

This is a viable option, but understand that often the electrodes don't even have to be surgically placed. Many people respond to simple TENS, or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. A TENS unit is a simple battery powered device that is worn on the belt, with electrical wires that run to pads that are stuck to the skin over the area of pain. For about $100.00, many find this very helpful. With a TENS unit, you don't run the risk associated with surgeries, such as infection, allergic reactions, rejections, stroke, CV events, etc. EVERY SURGERY IS RISKY! And in spite of what you might think, surgery doesn't cure or correct your spinal condition, it simply helps to manage it. Lower back pain is usually caused by malfunctioning joints in the lower back, muscle tightness or spasm, and nerve irritation, possibly due to disk degeneration or bulging. No electrical current will cure these problems, though it might help to ease the pain associated with them.

Before you try ANY surgery, try everything else. Surgery is irreversible and risky, and should be your last resort for treatment of back pain.

Massage can Help Low Back Pain

A recent article out of Germany states that Massage and Acupressure can help to ease lower back pain. Although this is obvious to many of us, it is worth noting when others move out of the darkness and into the light.

According to the article, "Peter Sawicki, director of the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, an independent scientific institute that investigates the benefits and harms of medical interventions, says research suggests that classic massage, Thai massage and acupressure can relieve lower back pain that has lasts longer than several weeks. "

He further goes on to say, however, that massage is not enough. Can anyone guess what else Mr. Sawicki claims should be included in an appropriate treatment protocol?

Peter Sawicki states that "people have better pain relief and mobility if they combine massages with exercises and stretching."

It is no doubt that massage is beneficial, and that it is even better when combined with active patient stretching and exercises. As many of you are aware, even more benefits can be achieved with massage, chiropractic adjustments, and exercise.

The moral of the story: Do you exercises and stretches! If you don't have any, check my website. Many are posted there. The key is to do them every day, just like brushing your teeth.

But exercising alone, just like massage or chiropractic care alone, isn't enough. Schedule and follow through with your chiropractic spinal adjustments. Get monthly massages.

Its what the doctor orders.