So when reading this article and thinking back on your visits to medical professionals, did you have big picture or were you just following that yellow brick road? If you have been down that road, or if you are just starting to suffer from back pain it’s never too late to seek out new and more encompassing information about your condition when trying to find a solution that works for you. Don’t say you’ve tried everything because you haven’t... your solution is out there and you just have to find it!

Orthopedic Care

One of first places many people go when they experience back pain is orthopedic specialist (surgeon) and a visit usually last 5-10 minutes. They will typically look at problem/symptomatic area and often fail to look at body as a whole. If you've been to an orthopedic specialist for your back pain, did they do a full body physical evaluation (takes 30 mins. or more)??? Not likely.

Here are some of common treatments used / prescribed by orthopedic specialists:

Cortisone Shots

Cortisone is a catabolic steroid which is intended to reduce inflammation by killing off tissue in inflamed area… now let me ask you, does that make any sense to you at all?

Not only are these injections quite painful, but they rarely result in any pain relief and if they do it is short lived, usually 1-2 weeks if at all. Plus, it does NOTHING to identify or address cause of pain… it is only intended to treat symptom. It’s for those reasons that we do not recommend them.

Anti-inflammatory Drugs

Just name should scare you away… just like cortisone shots, anti-inflammatory medications do not identify or address cause of your pain and for many people, they deliver little pain relief. These medications also deliver serious side effects! The main reason they are prescribed is money… and if you don’t believe me, do research and you’ll see for yourself. The drug industry is huge and unfortunately, they have a huge influence on whole medical community, including doctors.

I challenge you to find a drug that will fix your back problem… you’ll be looking forever because there is no way a medication can fix a physical problem so avoid medications at all costs!

Back Surgery

Surgery for back pain is very common and more often than not, individual still has pain afterwards (or it returns within weeks) and sometimes even new problems! Very rarely is a surgery answer...

for example, many people have surgery for herniated discs. The logic behind surgery is if you remove piece/portion of disc that is putting pressure on nerve problem is solved. Unfortunately, same forces that forced that disc to protrude or bulge will likely force more of disc out, or another disc out.

Surgery should always be last resort... and even then I'd question it!

Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy is traditionally next step after seeing an Orthopedic Doctor. That is if surgery is not recommended. So what should you expect? The process will start with an evaluation and here may be start of problem… here is why…. doctor has to write a prescription with a diagnosis on it. You give prescription to PT and he or she will perform an evaluation... chances are PT will simply confirm diagnosis from doctor, however hope should be that they take extra step to look for root cause of your pain. They may but chances are they have several other clients in office at same time and simply do not have time.

So without a comprehensive evaluation to identify root cause of you pain they will simply treat your symptoms. We have just identified second problem. The health care industry is required to show improvement with each and every session so push is to reduce your symptoms to show progress in order for them to get paid. The long and short of it is that yes your pain can be reduced but root cause rarely gets addressed, meaning that pain and your suffering will return again and again.

So what should you do? When selecting a Physical Therapy office you may want to ask how many patients office sees in a day and how many PTs they have on staff... then ask how many patients can a PT work with in an hour. Do not be surprised to hear that a PT can see up to three patients in an hour. That’s you and two others at same time. Do you think you will get attention and proper treatments you need? I doubt it.

There is a little joke in Physical Therapy when treating patients and it has to do with what course of modalities you will get. The joke is called Shake and Bake and it refers to everyone gets same treatment protocol… that way it can be timed so that your PT can see other people simultaneously. What goes into a shake and bake treatment? It may start with a spin on a stationary bike or a trot a treadmill than you will get a 3 to 5 minute Ultrasound over effected area followed by Electrical Stimulation to area with a little Ice strapped to your body and to finish off your session you will get a hand out with exercises you should do at home. Certainly not a recipe for success!

Chiropractic Care

One of most common treatments for back pain is Chiropractic Care. The approach consists of physical manipulations of bones and joints in an attempt to line things back up and it's recommended typically 2-3 times per week.

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