Healthy News June 2021

Back pain patients come to Aurora Chiropractic Center with all sorts of different issues. Some walk better than others. Some have better muscles than others. Some are more susceptible to depression than others. Your Juneau chiropractor knows this and meets each back pain patient where s/he is and examines each patient to find the difference(s) that make all the difference when designing an alleviating 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 turn weak and 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 possible.) (2) Chiropractors know this and encourage gentle exercise for these back muscles as part of the treatment plan to prevent recurrent back pain that some low back disc degeneration patients endure. A new study explained that those who tend to get recurrent back pain were shown to move in a different way, more guardedly, 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 Juneau chiropractor welcomes all back pain sufferers with all their peculiarities. Your chiropractor teams up with with each one during the current back pain episode and beyond to control the back pain (physical, mental, and emotional features), so it doesn’t control them.