Chiropractic

Low back pain is any pain, discomfort, or stiffness in the area between the bottom of the ribcage and the top of the gluteal muscles. Unfortunately, almost everyone will experience low back pain at some point in their lives. What’s good about this same scenario is that a significant portion of these people will not have a serious cause of their back pain such as organ dysfunction, tumor, or infection but rather will have a musculoskeletal component that can easily be addressed by a skilled clinician. Types of LOW BACK PAIN There are three major types of low back pain. 1. Axial, referring to the center of the body or within the spine. 2. Referred, which is simply one region of the body producing the actual pain, yet someone feels the pain in another; this type of pain is usually dull and achy. 3. Radicular, the last type, may be associated or caused by one of the other two types noted above. Radicular refers to pain down into the hip, thigh or leg from some level of disc irritation, and is often very sharp in its path. Most people and general physicians lump all radicular pain into the label of “sciatica”. As chiropractors, we know there are different variations of radicular pain that may or may not involve the sciatic nerve. Why does my LOW BACK PAIN keep coming back? Any complaint that does not either fully resolve or continues to return is likely that it’s root cause is not being addressed. It’s very easy to get caught up in reducing someone’s symptoms and calling it a day but it takes a skillful clinician to see past the pain and look at function as well as other potential causes of a patient’s back pain. Be sure to check out our blog on Top 6 Tips for Choosing a Chiropractor – Pure Health Medical to be better equipped in finding a high quality provider for your healing journey. Potential causes of LOW BACK PAIN There are four categories of causes of low back pain: Non-specific, Spinal disease, Visceral, and nerve root. Luckily around 90% of people will have what we call “non-specific low back pain” in which the pain is caused by the muscles and joints of the lower spine. Nerve root would be the next most common cause of low back pain, meaning there is some level of encroachment on the nerve that leaves the spinal cord whether it is from the disc itself, or the bones around the spine have overgrown in a condition that we call stenosis. Visceral pain is defined as pain being generated from an organ due to dysfunction, inflammation etc. that is felt in another area; in this case, it’s the low back. Common organs that refer pain to the low back are the kidneys, gallbladder and reproductive organs. * This does not happen often, but if you truly suspect your low back pain is coming from a more serious condition as mentioned above, please consult your general care physician to get appropriate care. * If you are given medications to cover up your symptoms from organ dysfunction, please know that other options are out there, such as functional medicine, that can help you get on the right track with natural solutions while minimizing side effects. Lastly, spinal disease such as infections, compression fractures, tumors, and cauda equina syndrome are the LEAST common yet most serious of the causes of low back pain. These are things that get ruled out during a thorough history and exam. LOW BACK PAIN relief using chiropractic? Low back pain is a chiropractors “bread and butter” so to speak. It is the condition that the general population knows us to treat, and rightfully so, as we have been trained extensively to rule out more serious causes during the exam and effectively treat common, less serious, causes of low back pain without drugs or surgery. The first step is getting a good idea of what is causing your pain, which starts with a high-quality history and exam where we listen to the patient and determine if we are the best place for you to see results. LOW BACK PAIN relief using exercise and stretching techniques Sometimes exercise alone can help improve low back pain and the good news is that our amazing staff at Pure Health Medical has made some videos that are worth exploring to see if they help your low back pain. If they don’t, we would love the chance to assess you in person so we can appreciate all factors that may be contributing to your low back pain; This way we can not only give you an accurate reason as to why we think you may be having low back pain, but we can prescribe specific exercise FOR YOU. How can chiropractic treat LOW BACK PAIN? Chiropractors are typically known for our treatment of low back pain. We use any combination of adjustments / mobilizations, soft tissue techniques, decompression, exercises and other modalities that are needed for the patient to decrease pain and get back to living a high-quality life! The reason our approach is different at Pure Health Medical, is we will address the pain (symptom) while addressing the root cause (movement dysfunction). Please feel free to contact our office at (614) 839-1044. Book Appointment New Patient Information

At Pure Health Medical, we first need to find out exactly what is causing your pain to cure sciatica. That’s why step one is to perform an experienced thorough examination with our patients. Let’s explain some important information so you can find a solution to your aches or pains. What exactly is SCIATICA? In order to cure sciatica, you must first know what it is.  Sciatica is the term often given to any person with any pain that is in their leg, whether it stays in their hip, goes down to their knee or all the way down to the foot. Sometimes this is the correct diagnosis, but often it is not. Sciatica is actually irritation to the sciatic nerve or it’s contributing nerve roots. This can happen in the low back from a disc bulge or in the hip from a tight muscle (called the Piriformis) which will “clamp” down on the nerve as it runs underneath it. Potential causes of SCIATICA The potential causes of sciatica include: disc bulges, piriformis syndrome, “pseudo-sciatica” and cauda equina syndrome. Disc bulges are probably the easiest to understand as it is the most common reason sciatica is found. The center of the disc can work its way toward the outside of the disc causing what is called a bulge; this can happen either in one instant (such as lifting something very heavy) or over time from poor posture and lack of quality movement. Piriformis syndrome is when the piriformis muscle itself becomes tight causing an increase in pressure on the sciatic nerve itself, resulting in pain down the leg. “Pseudo-sciatica” is a term used to describe the same path of pain down someone’s leg that is actually being caused by a knot or trigger point in a muscle on the side of the hip (the gluteus minimus). Why does my SCIATICA keep coming back? Often times, people try to use a chemical approach to a physical problem, which does not make a whole lot of sense and ends up being ineffective. In the context of sciatica, there is physical pressure on the nerve somewhere along its path that needs to be relieved and using an over-the-counter medication to chemically change the symptom does not usually work, since the actual problem is not actually being addressed. SCIATICA relief using chiropractic? Since the nerve roots for the sciatic nerve originate in the low back, Chiropractors can help a disc bulge in the low back heal, alleviating pressure off the nerve roots resulting in less pain and better function! Chiropractors can use adjustments, soft tissue techniques, modalities, and specific exercises to help alleviate sciatic pain and improve movement quality. This method helps address both the symptom and the cause. Here at Pure Health Medical, we offer many kinds of modalities (like ultrasound) which helps reduce inflammation and aid in the natural healing process. Electric Stimulation can be used to relax muscles in spasm that often present with a disc bulge, and Decompression is helpful to increase space for the disc so that more oxygen and nutrient carrying blood can get to the injured tissue to allow for quicker healing. How can chiropractic treat SCIATICA? Chiropractors can treat sciatica with many different tools including adjustments, soft tissue techniques, exercises, decompression, and other therapeutic modalities. The treatment would depend on what the physician determines to be the cause of your sciatic pain. As stated earlier, there are multiple potential causes of sciatica, each requiring a different style of treatment. Luckily, here at Pure Health Medical, we offer all these options so whatever is needed to help alleviate your pain – we’ve got your back! Please feel free to contact our office at (614) 839-1044. Book Appointment New Patient Information

1) Make sure the staff has your back (no pun intended) 😊 What we mean is…The staff should be supportive and being a patient advocate for you during your care. You are also going to have lots of different questions like cost time and finances, so making sure the staff is there for you is very important. During the phone interview, ask lots of questions and see how they answer you. If they seem annoyed and quick or dismissive then it’s probably best that you seek another place that cares. 2) Consider the chiropractor‘s experience Experience matters when you’re facing muscle skeletal or spinal health issues. We have over 16 years of clinical experience helping patients and delivering five star service. And what we can tell you is like any doctor coming right out of school, there is a lack of clinical experience and “know how” when handling individual patient care conditions. So having those years of experience really does allow for the best care possible. 3) Read patient reviews Reading what other people have to say about the chiropractor and chiropractic office can provide insight into how the chiropractor provides care and how his or her clinic operates. Patient reviews typically reflect people’s experiences about the chiropractor, wait times, office environment and staff. You can learn a lot about the practice just by reading reviews. We at Pure Health are one of the most reviewed chiropractic offices in the surrounding area. Feel free to read about our practice.  4) Make sure the chiropractor does a thorough exam and x-rays before giving you the best course of treatment When a patient has come into our office who has been to a traditional medical doctor or chiropractor previously they usually comment on how their last experience did not include a spinal or joint x-rays or a thorough examination. The examination should include a medical history to rule out any pathology or red flags that indicate a specialty referral. For example, if the patient has Osteoporosis of the spine, this patient should only receive certain low-force adjustments that don’t put the patient’s bone under weighted stress to avoid fractures. The symptoms that brought the patient into the clinic should provoke questions such as: 1. When did the problem start (Onset); 2. What is making it worse (provocative); 3. What makes it better (palliative); 4. Describe the type of pain (sharpshooting, dull, achy, stiff, burning, etc.); 5. Severity of Pain (a numerical number out of 10 is usually used, is the pain or discomfort radiating or referring to another area); and 6. Timing. The doctor should find out what time of day the problem occurs. For example, pain that is worse at night or pain that wakes you up is possibly a red flag for a serious medical condition. Some chiropractors don’t utilize x-ray of anatomy to treat. A picture is worth 1000 words. We most commonly use x-rays to not just visualize, but to actually see the loss of motion in a segment, and to visually see the direction of misalignment that may be causing the discomfort. X-Rays take away the “guessing game”. It is also common that we take specialized x-ray views that show either excessive, restricted, or “stuck” motion. To give the best adjustments and restore motion, we must learn the condition of your joints. If the patient has healthy looking joints on an x-ray the patient will generally respond quicker and better. If the patients x-rays show significant arthritic joints, some treatment techniques would not be indicated. When all of the above expectations are met, rest assured you are in good hands. Chiropractic care is one of the safest medical disciplines in the world. 5) Do a free consultation There’s nothing wrong with talking to the staff or doctor and asking them questions about your condition and their approach before you commit to anything. Even a 5 to 10 minute phone consultation can help get a feel for the office to be comfortable and confident in choosing the right healthcare provider. If an office does not offer free consultations, that should be a red flag. At our office, we invite and encourage patience to schedule a free consultation. We believe interviewing your healthcare provider is important in your success. Health is a two-way street. Both patient and provider should feel comfortable and confident working together. 6) Make sure the chiropractic office offers different techniques and modalities for treatments After years of experience we have learned many different techniques to utilize for different conditions and the patients specificity. For example, in our office we treat patients from geriatric to newborn, so it is important and imperative that we have different techniques to help restore proper nerve and musculoskeletal function. The most common chiropractic techniques are called Diversified, Gonstead, Activator, Impulse Thompson drop, Atlas orthogonal and NUCCA. Most commonly used at our facility are Diversified Impulse and Thompson Drop. When we utilize these techniques, it helps best for the vast majority of people of all ages and conditions. We also incorporate progressive rehab (physical therapy) with most of our treatment plans. These therapies include therapeutic ultrasound, electrical muscle stimulation, cervical traction, flexion distraction, spinal decompression, cryotherapy, moist heat, therapeutic exercises, therapeutic healing injections and massage therapy. If you have any more questions please feel free to contact our office at (614) 839-1044. Book Appointment New Patient Information