When Dorothy followed the yellow brick road, she
was told to do so by those who wanted her to get where
she wanted go. Well as humans when we blindly follow
recommendations even by individuals who have good
intentions, it may not always be your best option.
So I’m preparing this article to compare and
contrast what are known as traditional treatments
vs. complementary or alternative treatments for back
pain. Remember there is rarely only one reason for
your back pain and almost never one silver bullet
fix… you may need to try several approaches
till you find what works for you.
So when reading this article and thinking back on
your visits to medical professionals, did you have
the big picture or were you just following that yellow
brick road? If you have been down that road, or if
you are just starting to suffer from back pain it’s
never too late to seek out new and more encompassing
information about your condition when trying to find
a solution that works for you. Don’t say you’ve
tried everything because you haven’t... your
solution is out there and you just have to find it!
Orthopedic Care
One of the first places many people go when they
experience back pain is the orthopedic specialist
(surgeon) and a visit usually last 5-10 minutes. They
will typically look at the problem/symptomatic area
and often fail to look at the body as a whole. If
you've been to an orthopedic specialist for your back
pain, did they do a full body physical evaluation
(takes 30 mins. or more)??? Not likely.
Here are some of the common treatments used / prescribed
by orthopedic specialists:
Cortisone Shots
Cortisone is a catabolic steroid which is intended
to reduce inflammation by killing off the tissue in
the inflamed area… now let me ask you, does
that make any sense to you at all?
Not only are these injections quite painful, but
they rarely result in any pain relief and if they
do it is short lived, usually 1-2 weeks if at all.
Plus, it does NOTHING to identify or address the cause
of the pain… it is only intended to treat the
symptom. It’s for those reasons that we do not
recommend them.
Anti-inflammatory Drugs
Just the name should scare you away… just like
cortisone shots, anti-inflammatory medications do
not identify or address the cause of your pain and
for many people, they deliver little pain relief.
These medications also deliver serious side effects!
The main reason they are prescribed is money…
and if you don’t believe me, do the research
and you’ll see for yourself. The drug industry
is huge and unfortunately, they have a huge influence
on the whole medical community, including the doctors.
I challenge you to find a drug that will fix your
back problem… you’ll be looking forever
because there is no way a medication can fix a physical
problem so avoid medications at all costs!
Back Surgery
Surgery for back pain is very common and more often
than not, the individual still has pain afterwards
(or it returns within weeks) and sometimes even new
problems! Very rarely is a surgery the answer...
for example, many people have surgery for herniated
discs. The logic behind the surgery is if you remove
the piece/portion of the disc that is putting pressure
on the nerve the problem is solved. Unfortunately,
the same forces that forced that disc to protrude
or bulge will likely force more of the disc out, or
another disc out.
Surgery should always be the last resort... and even
then I'd question it!
Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy is traditionally the next step after
seeing an Orthopedic Doctor. That is if surgery is
not recommended. So what should you expect? The process
will start with an evaluation and here may be the
start of the problem… here is why…. the
doctor has to write a prescription with a diagnosis
on it. You give the prescription to the PT and he
or she will perform an evaluation... chances are the
PT will simply confirm the diagnosis from the doctor,
however the hope should be that they take the extra
step to look for the root cause of your pain. They
may but chances are they have several other clients
in the office at the same time and simply do not have
the time.
So without a comprehensive evaluation to identify
the root cause of you pain they will simply treat
your symptoms. We have just identified the second
problem. The health care industry is required to show
improvement with each and every session so the push
is to reduce your symptoms to show progress in order
for them to get paid. The long and short of it is
that yes your pain can be reduced but the root cause
rarely gets addressed, meaning that the pain and your
suffering will return again and again.
So what should you do? When selecting a Physical
Therapy office you may want to ask how many patients
the office sees in a day and how many PTs they have
on staff... then ask how many patients can a PT work
with in an hour. Do not be surprised to hear that
a PT can see up to three patients in an hour. That’s
you and two others at the same time. Do you think
you will get the attention and proper treatments you
need? I doubt it. There is a little joke in Physical Therapy when treating
patients and it has to do with what course of modalities
you will get. The joke is called Shake and Bake and
it refers to everyone gets the same treatment protocol…
that way it can be timed so that your PT can see other
people simultaneously. What goes into a shake and
bake treatment? It may start with a spin on a stationary
bike or a trot a treadmill than you will get a 3 to
5 minute Ultrasound over the effected area followed
by Electrical Stimulation to the area with a little
Ice strapped to your body and to finish off your session
you will get a hand out with exercises you should
do at home. Certainly not a recipe for success!
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