So you’ve got back pain. It’s altered your life, changed your daily activities, curbed your exercise, and maybe even made you a bit irritable. Now what? Well, it’s important to know you’re not alone. Nearly everyone will experience back pain at some point in their life. Thankfully we have a method of care to help you get back on your feet without the risks associated with medications and surgery. Chiropractic!  Research has shown that adjustments help over 90% of people recover from back pain.

Recovering from a back injury can be mentally tough. Many of us don’t realize what we take for granted until an injury alters our perspective. But with the correct evidence-based care, you will be back and better than ever in no time. Over the past few years, there have been considerable advancements in our understanding of the best treatments for back pain. Here are a few of the latest research updates:

– Adjustments have been shown to be more effective at reducing pain than many commonly prescribed medications

– Chiropractic adjustments provided more patients with relief than spinal injections;  showed  a recent study from JMPT

– Researchers found patients had just as much relief with chiropractic adjustments as they did with surgery

Next Steps: When recovering from a back injury it’s important to keep a positive attitude, stick with your care plan, and avoid “pushing” through the pain. Your body is designed to heal naturally, without the need for drugs and surgery. Our chiropractic team will work with your bodies natural healing instinct to create a specific care plan andhelp you get your life back.

Register for our workshop – BULLETPROOF YOUR LOW BACK

Science Source:

Symptomatic MRI-Confirmed Lumbar Disk Herniation Patients: A Comparative Effectiveness Prospective Observational Study of 2 Age- and Sex-Matched Cohorts Treated with Either High-Velocity, Low Amplitude Spinal Manipulative Therapy or Imaging-Guided Lumbar Nerve Root Injections. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2013

Manipulation or Microdiskectomy for Sciatica? A Prospective Randomized Clinical Study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2010

Spinal High-Velocity Low Amplitude Manipulation in Acute Nonspecific Low Back Pain. SPINE. 2013

Dr. Craig Hazel’s mission is to help families THRIVE. After graduating from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education, he went on to earn a Doctor of Chiropractic degree and a Bachelor of Science in Anatomy from Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas Texas. He is passionate about seeing children and families in his private practice at Synergy Chiropractic in Kanata Ontario. A sought after speaker, he has been featured regularly on TSN Team 1200, CTV and Rogers TV. He is also the Chairman of the Alliance for Chiropractic of Ontario.

Nothing can slow you down faster than a bad back. It can be difficult to exercise, play sports, or even get to the grocery store when your back hurts. Age, lack of exercise, excess weight, improper lifting, and too many hours sitting can all result in low back pain. Research has shown that over 80% of people will experience back pain at some point in their life. The good news is that researchers have also found that chiropractic care can not only help get you back on track after an injury, but could also help prevent future episodes of low back pain from occurring.

Your spine is a marvel of engineering and design. Curves in your neck, mid-back, and low back distribute the load of

The spine is an engineering marvel

gravity just like Roman architecture. When intact, these three curves allow your spine to withstand the force of 3x your body weight. The spinal discs between your vertebrae act as a natural shock absorption system that is both strong and flexible. And winding its way through it all is our spinal cord and nerve roots- the magnificent communication system within our body. Keeping your back healthy is much more important than just avoiding aches and pains. A stable and supported back is essential to maintaining a high quality of life.  The role of chiropractic in the health care system is to optimize the function and health of the spine and nervous system.

Through the month of March, we will be focusing on the spine and will show you how to take care of yours.

Here are a few take away points:

– The nervous system is protected and housed within your spinal column as it travels to and from your brain to body

– Back pain is often caused by the muscles or discs of the spine

– Muscle spasms result when the bones of the spine shift or become fixated causing irritation to the nerves.  These nerves communicate to the muscles telling them to ‘spasm’ in order to ensure the bones don’t shift more.

– Chiropractic care has been shown to help over 90% of people find relief from back pain while also providing a statistically significant improvement in function

Next Steps: Chiropractors can assess the “health” of your spine through x-ray and a physical exam looking at range of motion, strength, and posture. By periodically checking your spine, we can help you take a pro-active approach to your spinal health. Research has shown that maintenance chiropractic care can help evaluate, detect, and prevent future episodes of low back pain. And, as you now know, spinal health is directly associated with living your best life.

Join us March 13 for our BULLETPROOF YOUR LOW BACK workshop!

Science Source:

A Nonsurgical Approach to the Management of Patients with Lumbar Radiculopathy Secondary to Herniated Disk: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study with Follow-Up. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2009

Does Maintained Spinal Manipulation Therapy for Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain Result in Better Long-Term Outcome? SPINE. 2011

Dr. Craig Hazel’s mission is to help families THRIVE. After graduating from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education, he went on to earn a Doctor of Chiropractic degree and a Bachelor of Science in Anatomy from Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas Texas. He is passionate about seeing children and families in his private practice at Synergy Chiropractic in Kanata Ontario. A sought after speaker, he has been featured regularly on TSN Team 1200, CTV and Rogers TV. He is also the Chairman of the Alliance for Chiropractic of Ontario.

November is “Senior’s Month” at Synergy Chiropractic!

Chiropractic care is vitally important for the senior population. Many seniors begin to reduce their physical activity and ‘slow down’ as they age. This can prove to have a drastic effect on their quality of life.

For instance, a loss of hip mobility (specifically internal rotation) is the number one cause of falls and hip fractures in the senior population. Worse yet, hip fractures are associated with higher rates or morbidity in this population.

Having a zeal for life and the physical capabilities opens up possibilities for people. this month, we wanted to share our Patient of the Month – Linda Wood. Linda came to us in tears and agony. She had been struggling with unrelenting sciatica. Being a very active person, it had started to take it’s toll on her physically, mentally and emotionally.

Here she describes in her own words, how chiropractic helped her to regain her function and get back to living the life she wanted:

Living Life fully!

“I have always felt that it was important to keep moving in order to be able to move. However, in December 2016 I had a rude awakening! I got out of bed and could not support my body weight. What was happening!?! I went to the doctor and discovered that I had sciatica. One of my first questions was “when does it go away?” I just wanted to continue with normal life. Not so easy! I took pain medication, went to physiotherapy and tried acupuncture to relieve the pain. Someone suggested a chiropractor. I did both. Once the pain was under control, the chiropractic adjustments helped me maintain my ability to move.

Eight hours of sleep (a third of your day) is what most health-care professionals suggest for their patients.  Does it matter what position you sleep in, as long as you sleep?  Definitely!  After a night of improper sleep posture, spinal bones can become misaligned (subluxated).

Some people sleep on their stomachs, while others sleep on their side or back.  The optimum sleep position is back-to-mattress, with the head and neck cradled in a cervical pillow.  The goal is to keep the spine as close to its normal alignment as possible, and sleeping on your back keeps your hips aligned evenly.  When the curves are over-exaggerated or reversed, you risk structural shifts in your spine (vertebral subluxations) and related disorders such as arthritis.

Sleeping on your stomach is the worst position for your spine because it torques the spine of the neck, reversing the normal curve, and forces rotation. It can also cause arm pain because it’s not unusual for a stomach sleeper to extend one arm over or under a pillow.  The pain, not surprisingly, is connected to the over-stretching of the arm throughout the night.  This prolonged position restricts the blood supply to the rotator cuff, which is a contributing factor to shoulder impingement.

Curiously though, sleeping on your stomach has been shown to alleviate sleep apnea.  So what to do?  Best thing is to get onto your side or back.  If you are a chronic stomach sleeper (I was for years), wedge a body pillow under your chest and work to be on an angle versus directly on your stomach.