Spinal Problems -CERVICAL SPONDYLOSIS & BACKACHE.
Back and neck pain and their numerous manifestations, are the most common problems for which people consult me. I am going to discuss all of these under the common heading of "spinal problems" as all these manifestations & symptoms are part of the same problem with common answers. The facts about spinal problems are :
Problems arising from the spine affect 50% of all people at some time in their lives.
Pain of any kind including back pain is never psychological or psychosomatic. Stress may aggravate any pre-existing problem including back ache but never causes it. This is because stress manifests as symptoms affecting the weak point in your body. If your back is weak, stress will aggravate it as will bad posture and bad lifting habits.
Bad posture aggravates a pre-existing problem but does not usually cause it. A spine affected by injury can be affected by poor posture, bad diet, food allergies and incorrect ways of working and lifting.
Spinal problems may cause referred pain in other parts of the body, depending on which nerve is affected. There may be pain, tingling or numbness in the arm, hands, fingers, abdomen or the chest. A problem in the thoracic vertebrae, which lie behind the chest, may cause chest pain, abdominal pain and many other symptoms. These pains are often misdiagnosed and mistreated as they are thought to originate from the heart or the stomach.
Spinal problems can arise at any age from early childhood to middle and old age. In early childhood it may be misdiagnosed as "growing pains," pain in the legs usually on walking, knock knees, pigeon toed walk, Charlie Chaplin walk, bed wetting, etc.
History of Backaches
Spinal problems are usually a result of injury. The pain may start immediately after the injury or at any time after that, even twenty years after the injury. Severe back problems usually have their roots in falls and accidents upto 25 years earlier. They often did not manifest earlier, as the body compensated for it.
Back and neck problems usually recur cyclically unless properly treated. Pain alternates between the neck and lower back at intervals of about 5 years. The periods of pain, alternate with pain free periods in the early years, unfortunately, after about 20 years, pain and discomfort are constant companions.
Cervical Spondylosis, is also called Osteoarthritis of the cervical spine. The symptoms of this condition are a painful (and/or) stiff neck, restriction of neck movements, a pain in the shoulder or the arm, vertigo (giddiness), tingling, numbness, weakness (loss of strength), or a loss of sensation in either of the arms. This pain is often mistaken for pain arising from the heart especially when the pain radiates down the left arm.
A person with cervical Spondylitis, usually develops a problem in the lower back five years later and vice versa. This may manifest as a low backache, sciatica, pain, weakness, tingling or numbness in the legs, hips, knees, ankles, feet or toes. Sometimes the person may have incontinence (unable to control the Urine or stools), impotence (unable to have or maintain an erection) and dyspareunia (pain while having intercourse which affects 5-7% of ladies).
The condition can be easily diagnosed by feeling the spines of the vertebra in the centre and the edges of the vertebrae about 3-4 cms from the centre of the spine. Tenderness on any of these vertebrae indicates a problem in the neck which needs treatment. Occasionally X-rays, CT scans or MRI scans may be required to confirm the diagnosis.
Effective Treatment of Back pain.
Back problems can be cured with appropriate treatment and the cure maintained with lifelong exercise, good posture and correct diet. The initial treatment usually takes a few days and & follow ups are required at 3-6 monthly intervals for 2-3 years depending on the duration & severity of the problem.
There are three stages in the treatment. Firstly to relieve the pain and the muscle spasms caused by the pain. Next to strengthen the spine, so it will hold the spine firmly in the correct position. Finally to align the spine, removing the pressure from the nerves and restoring the balance to the spine. Depending on your condition this process may take a few days to a few weeks. Follow up visits to check the alignment of the spine are used to rebalance the spine as it adjusts through the many changes which have affected it over the years.
This process needs to be continued till the spine has remained in good alignment for at least 6-9 months. Problems in the neck are generally associated with problems in the lower back that are also treated simultaneously. When the treatment is followed through to this stage, and my advice is followed a recurrence of the problem is unlikely.
Back Pain responds very well to acupuncture. There is usually an instantaneous improvement of the pain with acupuncture treatment in 80% of patients. A few patients may require upto 10-30 treatments to relieve the pain.
Acupuncture effectively relieves the pain and restores mobility to the neck within a few minutes. Very often patients enter the clinic wearing a cervical collar and throw it away after treatment because they are entirely free from pain.
Following this the patient requires spinal manipulation using Cranio-sacral osteopathy and Advanced Bio- structural Correction (ABC) Techniques to correct the under-lying problem in the spine. This also helps improve your posture.
In experienced hands, manipulation yields good results. In a patient who has no pain, the manipulation of the spine is easy and painless. In a person with pain, the resultant muscle spasm makes manipulation a painful and uncomfortable process. It is impossible to align the spine in a person with pain and local muscular spasm, as the vertebrae in the affected area are held tightly together by the spasm and cannot be manipulated. In these people the pain is first treated with Acupuncture. When the person is pain free and the spine relaxed, the spinal alignment is corrected.
After the patient is free of pain, he is manipulated and told to return and see the therapist after two to four weeks. He is then examined and if he needs further manipulation, this is done and he is called again for further treatment after two to three weeks. This process continues until the patient's spine is perfectly aligned. The patient is called back for a check-up every three months until the therapist is satisfied that the spine is aligned and is likely to stay in place.
The process of aligning the spine is a slow process, because a spine, which has been out of alignment for many years, cannot be expected to return to its normal alignment in a few days. It has a tendency to return to the earlier position so a few treatments are required for the spine to stabilise.
A complete course of treatment for most spinal problems may require up to twenty treatments spread over 2-3 years. The patient is shown exercises to do, to strengthen the muscles around the spine so alignment is maintained. If the patient does these exercises and comes for regular follow up treatments the patient should not have a recurrence of the problem.
The spine can be thrown out of alignment again by an accident, a fall or any accident causing a jerk to an unprepared spine. If you have an accident or a fall you should schedule a follow up visit at the earliest so I can check if the balance of the spine has been affected. If any problem has occurred in the balance of the spine, this can be corrected before any symptoms appear and so prevent any recurrence of the problem.
Problems arising from the spine affect 50% of all people at some time in their lives.
Pain of any kind including back pain is never psychological or psychosomatic. Stress may aggravate any pre-existing problem including back ache but never causes it. This is because stress manifests as symptoms affecting the weak point in your body. If your back is weak, stress will aggravate it as will bad posture and bad lifting habits.
Bad posture aggravates a pre-existing problem but does not usually cause it. A spine affected by injury can be affected by poor posture, bad diet, food allergies and incorrect ways of working and lifting.
Spinal problems may cause referred pain in other parts of the body, depending on which nerve is affected. There may be pain, tingling or numbness in the arm, hands, fingers, abdomen or the chest. A problem in the thoracic vertebrae, which lie behind the chest, may cause chest pain, abdominal pain and many other symptoms. These pains are often misdiagnosed and mistreated as they are thought to originate from the heart or the stomach.
Spinal problems can arise at any age from early childhood to middle and old age. In early childhood it may be misdiagnosed as "growing pains," pain in the legs usually on walking, knock knees, pigeon toed walk, Charlie Chaplin walk, bed wetting, etc.
History of Backaches
Spinal problems are usually a result of injury. The pain may start immediately after the injury or at any time after that, even twenty years after the injury. Severe back problems usually have their roots in falls and accidents upto 25 years earlier. They often did not manifest earlier, as the body compensated for it.
Back and neck problems usually recur cyclically unless properly treated. Pain alternates between the neck and lower back at intervals of about 5 years. The periods of pain, alternate with pain free periods in the early years, unfortunately, after about 20 years, pain and discomfort are constant companions.
Cervical Spondylosis, is also called Osteoarthritis of the cervical spine. The symptoms of this condition are a painful (and/or) stiff neck, restriction of neck movements, a pain in the shoulder or the arm, vertigo (giddiness), tingling, numbness, weakness (loss of strength), or a loss of sensation in either of the arms. This pain is often mistaken for pain arising from the heart especially when the pain radiates down the left arm.
A person with cervical Spondylitis, usually develops a problem in the lower back five years later and vice versa. This may manifest as a low backache, sciatica, pain, weakness, tingling or numbness in the legs, hips, knees, ankles, feet or toes. Sometimes the person may have incontinence (unable to control the Urine or stools), impotence (unable to have or maintain an erection) and dyspareunia (pain while having intercourse which affects 5-7% of ladies).
The condition can be easily diagnosed by feeling the spines of the vertebra in the centre and the edges of the vertebrae about 3-4 cms from the centre of the spine. Tenderness on any of these vertebrae indicates a problem in the neck which needs treatment. Occasionally X-rays, CT scans or MRI scans may be required to confirm the diagnosis.
Effective Treatment of Back pain.
Back problems can be cured with appropriate treatment and the cure maintained with lifelong exercise, good posture and correct diet. The initial treatment usually takes a few days and & follow ups are required at 3-6 monthly intervals for 2-3 years depending on the duration & severity of the problem.
There are three stages in the treatment. Firstly to relieve the pain and the muscle spasms caused by the pain. Next to strengthen the spine, so it will hold the spine firmly in the correct position. Finally to align the spine, removing the pressure from the nerves and restoring the balance to the spine. Depending on your condition this process may take a few days to a few weeks. Follow up visits to check the alignment of the spine are used to rebalance the spine as it adjusts through the many changes which have affected it over the years.
This process needs to be continued till the spine has remained in good alignment for at least 6-9 months. Problems in the neck are generally associated with problems in the lower back that are also treated simultaneously. When the treatment is followed through to this stage, and my advice is followed a recurrence of the problem is unlikely.
Back Pain responds very well to acupuncture. There is usually an instantaneous improvement of the pain with acupuncture treatment in 80% of patients. A few patients may require upto 10-30 treatments to relieve the pain.
Acupuncture effectively relieves the pain and restores mobility to the neck within a few minutes. Very often patients enter the clinic wearing a cervical collar and throw it away after treatment because they are entirely free from pain.
Following this the patient requires spinal manipulation using Cranio-sacral osteopathy and Advanced Bio- structural Correction (ABC) Techniques to correct the under-lying problem in the spine. This also helps improve your posture.
In experienced hands, manipulation yields good results. In a patient who has no pain, the manipulation of the spine is easy and painless. In a person with pain, the resultant muscle spasm makes manipulation a painful and uncomfortable process. It is impossible to align the spine in a person with pain and local muscular spasm, as the vertebrae in the affected area are held tightly together by the spasm and cannot be manipulated. In these people the pain is first treated with Acupuncture. When the person is pain free and the spine relaxed, the spinal alignment is corrected.
After the patient is free of pain, he is manipulated and told to return and see the therapist after two to four weeks. He is then examined and if he needs further manipulation, this is done and he is called again for further treatment after two to three weeks. This process continues until the patient's spine is perfectly aligned. The patient is called back for a check-up every three months until the therapist is satisfied that the spine is aligned and is likely to stay in place.
The process of aligning the spine is a slow process, because a spine, which has been out of alignment for many years, cannot be expected to return to its normal alignment in a few days. It has a tendency to return to the earlier position so a few treatments are required for the spine to stabilise.
A complete course of treatment for most spinal problems may require up to twenty treatments spread over 2-3 years. The patient is shown exercises to do, to strengthen the muscles around the spine so alignment is maintained. If the patient does these exercises and comes for regular follow up treatments the patient should not have a recurrence of the problem.
The spine can be thrown out of alignment again by an accident, a fall or any accident causing a jerk to an unprepared spine. If you have an accident or a fall you should schedule a follow up visit at the earliest so I can check if the balance of the spine has been affected. If any problem has occurred in the balance of the spine, this can be corrected before any symptoms appear and so prevent any recurrence of the problem.