Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.
Chronic low back pain and chronic pain from any source
severely affects your body in many ways. Biomechanical changes have been known
to occur, but the extent of why it occurs and what other non-mechanical changes
occur are just beginning to show up in the literature. Chronic low back pain
has effects on brain size, nerve sensitivity, and which parts of the brain
perceive and react to pain stimuli. Let’s take a look at what happens to
chronic back pain patients and how chiropractic is the best answer to help
those people return to a more normal life.
Inactivity and sitting lead to chronic back pain(LBP) in
many, many people. It is no wonder, then, that chronic back pain has been
proven to decrease brain size in the prefrontal and thalamic gray matter.
Chronic back pain patients are characterized by alterations in brain structure
and function. The brain changes can be categorized as neurological, structural,
or functional. Certain areas of the brain that show less brain cells are
correlated with more pain intensity and unpleasantness. These brain changes
super sensitize the nerve endings and result in an over-the-top response to any
pain stimulation. So even a small movement or tweak that doesn’t actually cause
any damage results in a surge of pain that the brain perceives as severe. This is why you still need to exercise to
some degree even when you are in pain.
Differences in resting brain activity between patients
without pain and LBP patients have also been measured. This means that even
when no pain stimuli is being sent to the brain, chronic back pain patients’
brains acted as if there was a pain stimulus and reacted accordingly, by tightening
muscles of the lower back and sensing pain.
This means significant impairments in memory, language
skills, and mental flexibility; deficits in thinking and processing ideas; and
changes in decision making and appraisal have also been seen in chronic back
pain patients. This is very bad information. It essentially says that those
people with chronic back pain literally have brain malfunctions that can lead
to incorrect thinking and altered decision making. Chronic pain patients
exhibit increased anxiety, depression, and deficits in learning and memory as
well.
All of these terrible outcomes arise from physical,
structural changes to your brain. You have no say in the matter once you are
entrenched in chronic long term pain syndromes.
You can, however, do something to reverse the process.
Isn’t that all the more reason to take control of your
spinal health now? Do you really want to live the remaining years of your life
with your back pain and the consequences of it?
Chiropractic has been proven to change the course of back
pain, even chronic back pain, more than exercise alone and better than the most
widely prescribed NSAID, diclofenac. Adjusting the spine helps virtually all
cases of acute and chronic back pain, given time and patient participation in their
own care.
A study by Goertz, CM, DC, PhD in Spine, 2013, compared standard medical care for back pain to spinal
manipulation by a chiropractor. All patients in the study received standard
medical care which included medication, education on management of back pain,
medication including painkillers and anti-inflammatories, physical therapy and
modalities, and referral to a pain clinic. Not everyone received all of these,
but all received some treatment as indicated. Then, half of the group also
received chiropractic care, up to two times per week, for four weeks. They also
may have had brief massage, ice or heat, stretching exercises, and
posture/ergonomic advice by the chiropractor.
The amazing part of the study is the outcome. 73% of the
patients with chiropractic treatment reported improvement. Only 17% of the
standard medical care only patients showed improvement. This shows that
chiropractic care offers a significant advantage for decreasing pain and
improving physical function as compared to only standard medical
treatment.
Yet another 2014 study by Weigel PS, MS, shows there is a
significant protective effect with chiropractic against declines in activities
of daily living (dressing, bathing, eating, and getting in/out of bed),
instrumental ADL’s (such as using a telephone, taking medication, shopping, and
preparing meals) and self-rated health compared to medical care for treatment
of an episode of low back pain in older adults. Chiropractic can be started at
any age, and will still show significant benefits over standard medical care
for quality of life assessments.
You can stay away from chronic low back pain with chiropractic and exercise. By
keeping your spine functioning, you can keep your brain from shrinking and
thoughts more clear. If that isn’t a good enough reason to start chiropractic
today, you obviously aren’t yet interested in taking control of your own
health. Start caring about your health before it’s too late.