Chronic pain is a result of a problem that has existed for a a long time. Many of our patients have chronic pain which they have normalized, even though in the long term, joints become arthritic and can be permanently damaged as we age. We are often so used to living with problems that it is only years later that an X-ray or other diagnostic test shows us the damage caused by years of neglect. While it is true that we have the option to replace many damaged joints years later or have corrective surgery, it is also true that years of ignoring the problems or being poorly advised can have us suffering later in life from preventable problems. As older people will tell you, pain increases with age, especially when you don’t take care of your body when you are younger. We have one body and taking care of it in our younger years makes a huge difference as we age. Common myths people believe include Everyone has pains that come and go. The pain is the problem and fix the part that hurts. Pains move around, without rhyme or reason. Doing stuff the painful part under a doctor’s supervision will solve my problem. The medication worked. The injection solved my joint pain. After 40 everything began to hurt and go downhill. The procedure worked. I haven’t had pain until it began to ache months or years later. What is your definition of effective care? Effectiveness means different things to different people. The surgery worked. The headache was gone. The exercises made me feel better. The epidural helped me for two weeks, etc. I ask patients about what worked for them in the past to relieve the problem. Did you feel better, function better, or both? Was the effect short-term or long-lasting? Finally, many patients have chronic problems because other providers have failed to help them feel and function better. The problem with in-the-box symptoms based medical thinking. How does your doctor look at you? Too often, healthcare starts with a pill, a protocol, or an injection into some part of the body. These approaches can improve how we feel by reducing pain and inflammation of the body part but rarely solve the cause of the problem or offer long-term relief. Patients who rely on the piecemeal approach used medically often find that when their initial complaint improves, something else goes wrong later on. Your shoulder problem may result in chest pain, elbow pain, or even knee and lower back problems if we treat the symptoms rather than the mechanism behind your symptoms. Patients who have had one procedure often have another and then another as their original problem worsens over time. While hip and knee replacements are big business, these parts are replaced at great risk to the patient and the replacement parts are never as good as the original joints. Take care of the body, and it will take care of you. Some patients try to exercise the pain away after healthcare has failed them and look outside the system for answers. Some use Yoga or another method to improve how they feel and function while others rely on Pilates. Eventually, the poorly understood reason for their pain becomes more disabling over time resulting in a call to my office. The surprising things patients learn on their first chiropractic visit. Patients are often surprised to hear that their pain comes from an area of the body that is not painful. A Frozen shoulder for example involves the feet, hips, and pelvis and the shoulder is the final symptom when they notice pain. Chest pain is only a heart attack 5% of the time and more often than not, patients return from the ER with a diagnosis of muscle spasm. Unfortunately, they are rarely told why or advised properly on where to go next. More often than not, the chiropractor has an answer on how to get relief. Patients are surprised to find out that after we take a thorough holistic history their multiple problems that come and go have the same cause. Medically, there is a specialist for everything. Chiropractically, speaking, we look at everything to understand why you hurt. We approach the problem holistically meaning, we treat the patient to resolve the problem rather than treating the multiple symptoms which keep things simple. Chiropractors are primary care for the musculoskeletal system. Our patients appreciate our thoroughness and how they move, feel, and function after their care in our office. Many have relied on our office for years as they can appreciate that solving problems instead of a piecemeal approach helps them avoid joint damage years later. Need help now? Find out more by calling our offices or booking online.