Healthy News June 2021

Back pain patients come to Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka with all sorts of different issues. Some walk better than others. Some have better muscles than others. Some are more prone to depression than others. Your Sitka chiropractor knows this and meets each back pain patient where s/he is and assesses each patient to discover the difference(s) that make all the difference when putting together a relieving chiropractic treatment plan. Assessments like the 6-minute walk test that evaluates the distance walked in 6 minutes and the TUG (‘time up to go’ from a seated position) test can be quite informative of musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health in degenerative lumbar spine patients. Both may be affected by back pain. (1) Back muscles that weaken and turn fatty (like the multifidus muscle tends to do) indicate issues with inflammatory and regeneration processes. (Back surgeons do not like this as a inferior surgical outcome is likely.) (2) Chiropractors know this and promote gentle exercise for these back muscles as part of the treatment plan to avert recurrent back pain that a few lumbar disc degeneration patients experience. A recent study described that those who tend to experience recurrent back pain were found to move in a different way, more carefully, likely to avoid pain. Recurrent back pain patients also experienced higher levels of anxiety, depression, and disability as well as a reduced quality of life. (3) Your Sitka chiropractor welcomes all back pain sufferers with all their peculiarities. Your chiropractor teams up with with each one during the current back pain event and beyond to control the back pain (physical, mental, and emotional aspects), so it doesn’t control them.