Phases of Healing during Chiropractic Care

Often in our clinic we are asked: “How long will it take to get me feeling better?”. This is a loaded question as the patient’s lifestyle and degree of injury determines the intensity and duration of the treatment plan.

What are the 3-steps of care with Chiropractic?

• First Phase: At the initial stage, the chiropractor will help decrease pain and inflammation. At our clinic, a muscle massager, mechanical traction table and hands-on adjustments is used to increase joint mobility and reducing inflammation and pain.
• Second Phase: In the second phase, the chiropractor will aim for stabilization. He/she will introduce rehabilitation exercises such as hamstring pull, lunges or fences stance. The best exercises for joint pain are stretch exercises.

Your chiropractor may ask you to wear a supportive belt or strap to stabilize the joint that won’t stay in the right place. This will limit the movement of the joint in order to reduce painful symptoms. In addition, Core stabilization exercises will be given to stable your core and strengthen your muscles.

• Third Phase: By now, your chiropractor will have largely relieved your pain. Without pain, you can perform most, if not all the activities normally.

This phase is considered the maintenance and wellness phase. Your chiropractor will guide you on topics regarding developing a healthy lifestyle and exercises to perform in order to prevent recurrent pain.

In addition to this, your chiropractor may check if you are required to wear custom shoe soles, and prescribe natural health supplements for example glucosamine, turmeric and omega-3 fatty acid which produces an anti-inflammatory effect.

At our Mill Creek clinic, we treat various injuries. If you have an injury that needs assistance, contact us today to schedule an evaluation and stop living with pain.

How to Prevent Lower Back Pain (and What to Do if You Can’t)

Many of us in Mill Creek want to live our lives without pain and limitations, while enjoying all that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.  A great way to ensure full mobility throughout our lives is to prevent lower back pain and to strengthen our muscles before we experience any discomfort.  But that can’t always happen. In this article are tips that may help.

Sometimes it starts by innocently picking up a box that is too heavy or twisting the wrong way.  You feel it instantly…that sharp pain in the lumbar region of your back.  What can you do today that will prevent lower back pain now and in the future?  And if you can’t avoid lower back pain, what’s the best course of action.

Prevent Lower Back Pain

Caring for your lower back should be on the top of everyone’s mind, but often living gets in the way.  Like so many things, we get caught up in a day’s activities and forget to be kind to our backs.  Here are some ways to treat yourself compassionately:

• Learn good body mechanics
  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart for a strong foundation
  • Always bend at the knee and not the waist, especially when lifting
  • Avoid twisting; keep your back aligned with your feet
• Use lift belts when lifting heavy items
• Use good posture when sitting and standing
• Ensure strong ergonomics in your work environment
• Reduce heavy lifting (or ask friends for help)
• Focus on core strengthening to support your lower back
• Be sure to stretch before exercising to warm your muscles and prevent strains
• Provide lumbar support in your home and office environment, as well as your car
• Maintain a healthy weight to reduce added stress on the lower back
• And, ladies – we hate to say it – wear low-heeled shoes

By following these guidelines, you will experience a safer and less accident-prone life.  But what if you are already experiencing lower back pain and need to find relief?

Diagnosing and Treatment When You Can’t Avoid Lower Back Pain

Sometimes, even with the best intentions, lower back pain occurs.  That’s the time to visit a Mill Creek Chiropractor to have a diagnosis and treatment plan assembled.  Aside from traumatic injury, arthritis, or skeletal irregularities, lower back pain is usually caused by some sort of lifestyle issue (like lack of quality exercise or bad posture) or an acute event (like lifting too much weight).

At Amazing Life Chiropractor and Wellness, your healthcare provider is skilled at developing an overall treatment plan that will bring a combination of the following (all designed to support your lower back health and lifestyle):

• Spinal manipulation and mobilization to address alignment
• A strengthening exercise and nutrition plan designed to support your overall changes
• If appropriate, a provider-guided weight loss plan
• Massage therapy

Doing what you can to avoid lower back pain makes good sense.  But if you experience a problem, please contact us at our Mill Creek Location for more tips on body mechanics and nutrition, as well as to discuss the natural and healthy benefits of chiropractic manipulation.