In the chiropractic setting, I often sit down with patients who have had back pain symptoms for years. Most of these patients have sat down with multiple primary care physicians: neurologists, pain management doctors, and physical therapists. The classic story I hear is as follows, “I tried physical therapy first, and after that did not work, I ended up getting pain injections. After the pain injections did not work, I ended up with surgery, and the problem is still not fixed.” Many of the patients that have opted for one surgery have ended up with multiple surgeries. This is a prevalent phenomenon known as “failed back surgery syndrome.” It is reported that 20-40% of spinal surgeries result in persistent symptoms, and with each subsequent surgery, the rates increase.
After performing an exam and analyzing the patient’s x-ray, I can identify the exact cause of symptoms most of the time. Patients are often thankful for answers, but anger is often felt since no one has addressed the cause before. The reason for symptoms in the spine most of the time is a subluxation. A subluxation is when the spine shifts from normal and affects the messaging signals of the nervous system.
The difference between the approach of the medical system and chiropractic is the way symptoms are analyzed. The medical system does not train doctors to identify the cause but to manage symptoms. If a patient entered the medical system with back pain symptoms, the typical approach would be first to prescribe opioid drugs or muscle relaxers to cover up symptoms, then refer for pain injections to block pain signals in the nerve, and then refer for a surgical consultation to remove disc tissue or fuse segments. During this process, the medical doctor failed to ask why the symptoms were manifesting.
The most common reason for back pain is when a load exceeds capacity. The human spine is equipped with an optimal spinal alignment to counteract gravity’s forces and the movements associated with day-to-day life. Modern humans spend most of their time in postures like sitting, lifting odd objects improperly that cause a loss of spinal integrity. As the spine shifts from optimal, the capacity to resist a load decreases until the tissues fail and pain is generated. The medical system fails to address the optimal alignment of the spine and often makes the issue worse due to spinal fusions.
To live a pain-free and epic life, an optimal spinal alignment must be maintained for a lifetime. Max Living has developed an approach to maintain spinal integrity for a lifetime and correct the cause of symptoms, making surgery and injections unnecessary in most instances.
Steps to Maintaining and/or Creating Optimal Spinal Alignment
- Full Spine X-rays: To identify the current state of spinal integrity, a set of full spine images are necessary in most cases. The x-rays allow the doctor to make excellent care plan recommendations and also monitor progress. Max Living doctors are also trained to perform an advanced postural analysis of babies, young children, and pregnant women who cannot receive x-rays. Repeated x-rays for the monitoring of spinal alignment have positively influenced spinal alignment and decreased chances of medical intervention.
- Spinal hygiene: Just like practicing dental hygiene to avoid cavities, we must also prioritize spinal hygiene. Max Living doctors can create customized spinal hygiene recommendations based upon the results of x-ray analysis and exams. The addition of spinal homecare has been shown to drastically improve disc injuries’ outcomes compared to traditional chiropractic care without spinal homecare.
- Movement throughout the day: Humans were designed for movement, and lack of movement causes the spine to be more prone to injury. I recommend performing low-level physical activity throughout the day. Set your timer to remind you to perform any movement of your choice every 20-60 minutes.
- Max Metabolix nutritional testing: Sometimes, pain symptoms are not mechanical but due to a leaky gut or poor sugar metabolism. The doctors at Max Living can identify this through the Max Metabolix testing.
Supplementing for tissue regeneration: During the corrective phase of spinal correction, it is vital to give your body the nutrients necessary for tissue regeneration. Max Living has created the joint health bundle to supply the body with the raw material to accomplish regenerative changes.