Aurora Chiropractic Center Helps Back Pain Sufferers Fight Fear Avoidance and Move More
Fear of back pain? Once you’ve had it, you say “yes!” Your Juneau chiropractor gets it. Juneau back pain and neck pain patients don’t want to feel that pain again. Aurora Chiropractic Center helps spine pain sufferers get their confidence back with encouragement and exercise.
FEAR AVOIDANCE DUE TO BACK PAIN
Back pain sufferers want to avoid back pain if they have any options at all. That desire - whether obvious or subtle, stated or just ruminated in the mind – establishes the ‘perfect storm’ for a behavior called fear-avoidance. Patients with persistent spinal pain syndrome - post-surgically caused or not – elicited high levels of fear avoidance, anxiety, and depression. (1) Researchers noted that the pain experience isn't just physical as emotions, behaviors and beliefs are involved as well. Fear avoidant behavior like fearing object lifting grows and affects muscle behavior without realizing it. A new study compared fear-avoidant beliefs and the lumbar spine paraspinal muscle activity use while lifting in both back pain and in pain-free volunteers. Fear of lifting an object with a flexed spine as described in a questionnaire was negatively related with erector spinae activity to protect the spine from harm. The proper way to lift has been argued for a long time. Lifting with a straight back has been described as safer than lifting with a flexed back though research has not necessarily supported that while lifting with a lordotic posture has been found to result in more erector spinae muscle activity giving rise to muscle fatigue and pain. (2) Aurora Chiropractic Center knows the importance of handling fear avoidance and its link to better quality of life.
HOW TO MANAGE FEAR AVOIDANCE
Researchers documented that back pain sufferers today ‘get’ that they must keep active but some require a little more support and encouragement to move and exercise due to a lack of confidence in their spines’ ability to exercise without causing pain. The healthcare provider not only can provide the latest findings on pain control but also teach the back pain patient to be physical in the safest way possible. (3) If you are that patient, Aurora Chiropractic Center is your trainer! We are a team and can help you move easier and with less fear and deliver gentle, relieving spinal manipulation. 12 weeks of chiropractic manipulation and exercise for older adults with chronic back pain boosted their self-efficacy and fear-avoidant behaviors along with decreases in disability. A 30% or more drop in the Oswestry Disability Index suggested positive response to care. (4) The more engaged a patient is with treatment, the greater the influence on the feeling of self-efficacy and disability reduction. (5) Let’s work together to control your Juneau back pain so it does not control you.
CONTACT Aurora Chiropractic Center
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Tom Menendez on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the relief with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for an older patient with back pain for whom fear avoidance is logical.
Make your Juneau chiropractic appointment today so that if you are questioned whether you fear back pain, you can say “no”!
