Chronic back pain necessitates stepping back as a physician in order to holistically look at the patient and the causative ‘picture’ as a whole.
Fortunately the body has a resilient and magnificent ability to heal and repair. But we must change our habits in order to turn it around. At Natural Medicine and Rehabilitation we approach back problems like most chronic health problems, with a ‘whole’ view perspective of the patient. From our diagnostic work-up and nutritional intervention to our treatment modalities such as chiropractic, physical therapy and therapeutic exercise, we strive to be comprehensive and ‘whole’ with our patient care.
Chiropractic care
relieves nerve tension and improves spinal joint mobility and musculoskeletal health. It is performed to correct alignment, motion and function of a vertebral joint as well as relieve neural pressure, relieve muscle spasm, reduce pain and increase range of motion. From various soft tissue muscle energy techniques, low and non-force manipulation to traditional osseous adjustments, a diverse array of chiropractic techniques can be utilized at NMR. After a thorough consultation and examination process, if chiropractic care is recommended, the latest technology combined with the healing nature of human touch is provided.
EPAT (Extracorporeal Pulse Activation Technology) also known as Shockwave Therapy is a cutting edge treatment used in our office for Musculoskeletal injuries, such as back pain, that utilizes powerful pressure waves to enhance blood flow, improve tissue metabolism, and greatly accelerate the healing process. This in-office, non-invasive procedure takes approximately 5-10 minutes and is generally performed 3-5x at weekly intervals and is used in combination with a personalized physical therapy treatment plan or as a stand alone treatment. Over 80% of patients report to be pain-free or have greatly diminished levels of pain after treatment. This treatment is recommended for acute/chronic musculoskeletal conditions to improve your mobility, pain levels, and quality of life!
Low-level laser therapy is also used in our office for our back pain patients. NMR utilizes the Erchonia FX635 laser, the only Class 2 laser that has been FDA cleared for all chronic musculoskeletal pain problems. This non-invasive, pain-free therapy improves quality of life without surgery, downtime or side effects. With this option back pain patients can avoid opioids and the long term effects of pain medications. Low-level laser therapy is a rapidly growing new field of therapy with which a large volume of research has been gathered to support its validity. You may have heard it under another name such as: cold laser, soft laser, biostimulation or biophotomodulation. These lasers are not the same as the high-powered lasers that are used in surgery for cutting and burning tissue. In fact, the treatment with low level laser is 100% painless. Regardless of the name we give them, today there is little doubt that properly administered laser light therapy for back pain has numerous positive effects on inflammation, pain and healing via biological pathways both at the cellular level and to the body as a whole.
Acute traumatic injury aside, almost all back problems are a combination of poor body mechanics along with insufficient stabilizing forces due to inadequate or absent strength and conditioning of the supportive musculature. Proper nutrition and rest also play significant roles in the healing of back problems by allowing the natural processes of inflammation control and tissue repair to occur.
Failure to condition the spinal joints and muscles regularly, especially with known disc and joint problems, will place more stress on those structures and deepen the problem. If you do not exercise these areas, or even worse, you don’t exercise at all, it only stands to reason that you are not getting any stronger and likely getting weaker. Allowing the spine to continue to weaken significantly increases stress on the discs and the potential need for surgery. And unfortunately, a weak spine that needs surgery is at greater risk of failed back surgery. We believe there is no way around the need to get your spine strong. Physical Therapy can help you to strengthen your spine to either avoid surgery, defer it or to strengthen & rehabilitate your spine after an ultimately needed surgery.
