New patients often tell me about the various remedies they have used in the past to treat their back/neck/knee pain. They seek out chiropractors after the “usual” heat, ice, medications stop working and want to know why…
Here’s what I tell them:
Injury is Cumulative
When you first pull muscles in your back (or twist your ankle, or fall on your knees or injure yourself in some way), your body responds very quickly. Swelling may last a day or two, bruises come and go, and your muscles feel normal after a good night’s rest and some stretching. You doctor yourself with your favorite home remedies and you’re good to go. Then, you go right back to your daily routine and re-work the muscles and joints in the same way that created the injury… over and over again.
This is what is commonly referred to as a repetitive motion injury. You may find that you develop nagging aches and pains. These are frequent, low-grade, achy pains that are present more and more often. Stiff shoulders, a sore back, knees and shoulders that “pop” are common examples. You start wondering if it’s just your age. You blame your job, the dog, the old mattress you have slept on for 20 years. While all of these things can be factors affecting your pain, they are not the total cause; nor is changing them a total solution (ok, maybe get the dog their own bed).
Imbalance Needs to be Corrected
Your body is extremely durable and adaptive. It can take a lot of activity and stress. But at some point, muscles and joints start to become misaligned and unbalanced due to continuous strenuous movements. This can affect your posture, and can accelerate wear and tear on your body. While anti inflammatory meds and other home remedies ease the symptoms of these aches and pains, but they don’t work forever. This is when you need help.
Chiropractors are trained to understand these conditions and help remedy the cause. We are musculoskeletal specialists – we know what conditions we treat and what we don’t. We align the spine and address muscular imbalance to solve the problem. You will know after your first couple of sessions that we can help, and if we can’t, we’ll get you the right healthcare professional who can. No one is too injured, too old, or too far gone for chiropractic care. Talk to us, and we’ll help.