Are You Missing the Magic Ingredient?
Dr. Craig W. Brue, D.C.
This past week ‘Mary’ returned to my office for another episode of lower back pain. She advised me that she had done everything to eliminate the back pain including morning stretches, back massages from her husband, hot packs, and generous doses of Ibuprofen. I told Mary that she was “missing the magic ingredient” in her personal recipe for pain relief.
What’s the magic ingredient for the treatment of back pain? Let me answer the question by asking about your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Do you think that your sugar cookie recipe would be as good if you forgot to add sugar? A sugar cookie recipe will not be very tasty if you leave out the most important ingredient.
The treatment for back pain is similar. If you leave out the most important ingredient in the treatment of back pain, the final result of the treatment will not be very effective. What treatment was Mary leaving out of her recipe for the treatment of back pain? She had forgotten that her underlying back problem was related to spinal misalignment of the fifth lumbar vertebrae.
Mary was missing a spinal adjustment to correct the underlying cause of her pain.
In my every day practice I see patients making some very common health mistakes.
1. Patients often have great results with chiropractic care and then decide to quit coming in because they feel better. It always amazes me that patients decide to quit the one treatment that has helped them. They want to see how they get along without chiropractic care. This is like deciding to not brush your teeth because you just had your teeth cleaned.
2. When back pain returns, some patients think that chiropractic care didn’t work. This is the truth about back pain: back pain is manageable, but it isn’t always curable. Discs don’t grow back and arthritis doesn’t go away. Periodic care is often necessary to prevent and manage recurring back pain.
3. Some patients choose not to return to the office because there is a financial cost for periodic treatment. If you think preventative health care is expensive, just get sick and see how much more that will cost.
4. Some patients want immediate and permanent results. They want the magic pill, the magic shot, the magic surgery, or the magic adjustment that will cure them forever. I want you to know this: there is no magic cure for recurring back pain. Most patients need periodic spinal adjustments to effectively prevent and manage back pain.
Would you like to know the secret ingredient to prevent and treat spinal pain? The answer is this: take a short walk. Walk from the parking lot into an excellent chiropractic clinic for a spinal adjustment. You may have nothing to lose except the pain you are experiencing.
Dr. Craig Brue is an author, lecturer, and chiropractic provider in SaddleBrooke, Ariz. For additional information on chiropractic, visit our website at www.bruechiropractic.com.
Massage and Autoimmune Disease: Are There Benefits?
Heidi Overman, LMT
According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), in autoimmune diseases, the immune system, which ordinarily defends the body against outside infection, mistakes the body’s own cells, tissues, and organs as foreign, and attacks them accordingly. Some diseases involve one part of the body, such as multiple sclerosis, in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system. Others, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, are systemic, affecting the entire body.
Commonly known autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Lupus, MS, and Type 1 diabetes.
Autoimmune diseases are often painful and very disruptive to normal life. In some cases, extreme fatigue, mental confusion, headaches and more, can plague those afflicted.
Examples of the benefits include:
For Lupus, gentle and reflexive massage may be soothing during flares and more rigorous massage during remission may help to deal with pain and stiffness, allowing you to be more active when it’s possible.
Regular massage may help those with MS sleep better, which can help manage stress and depression. Thus, reducing the frequency of flares.
Those with Rheumatoid Arthritis can benefit from massage. Regular massage can be effective in reducing pain, stress, and muscle tension, which can help with flexibility.
Though massage cannot cure or fix these issues, it can help relieve some symptoms. I have found that my clients with these issues have had success in pain management, mental clarity, and flexibility through regular massage.
If you are interested in a therapeutic massage, please call MEND for an appointment at 520-771-1514. Our website is www.mymendingplace.com and we’re located at MEND Therapeutic Massage and Restorative Skincare 15920 N Oracle Rd., Ste 170 Tucson, AZ 85739 next to the Golden Goose.