The Benefits of Conservative Treatment For Back Pain in Lake in the Hills IL?

Back pain in Lake in the Hills IL affects most people at some point in their lives. There are many causes of back pain, but some solutions work better than others. Here are three reasons to consider conservative treatments first.

1. Medication Can Be Dangerous

It can also be ineffective. Research shows muscle relaxants are moderately effective in treating back pain for three weeks or less. The FDA has only approved muscle relaxants for short-term relief, but many patients continue to take them for months or years. Even when used short-term, muscle relaxants can cause side effects like fatigue and dizziness. These side effects are especially dangerous for older adults and those with mobility challenges.

Serious side effects, including death, can occur when muscle relaxants are combined with other medications. They are also challenging to stop taking and require the patient to taper off them to avoid withdrawal effects. The withdrawal occurs because muscle relaxants are physically addictive, which puts them at high risk for abuse.

Several studies indicate that opioid pain medications may not be more effective than less dangerous over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen. The effectiveness of opioids also wanes over time and requires patients to take more of the drug to achieve the same effect. Besides bothersome side effects like drowsiness and constipation, opioids are also highly addictive, and accidental overdoses that can lead to death are common.

Regardless of the risks associated with medications for back pain, staying in pain isn’t an option for patients either. This is where conservative, non-invasive treatments can help. The American Medical Association now recommends that back pain patients receive chiropractic care as a first-line treatment. Research shows that patients who receive treatments like spinal decompression therapy achieve pain relief equal to or greater than that achieved with medication. Even better, chiropractic care can lead to healing and permanent pain relief rather than being a bandaid for symptoms.

2. Because Most Back Surgeries Fail

A failed back surgery is a surgery that fails to relieve the patient's pain even after the six-month healing period. The success to failure rate of first back surgery is about 50/50. After that, the numbers decline to a 30% success rate for the second surgery and 15% for the third.

Why are success rates so low? Reasons a back surgery can fail include surgical error, diagnostic error, and mechanisms of pain that are not yet fully understood. Sometimes the surgeon creates too much or too little space for the nerve. This can cause continuing nerve pain after surgery. It’s also shockingly common for the surgeon to perform the surgery on the wrong vertebrae.

The spine is complex, and even the best imaging equipment can’t always paint a complete picture of why a patient is experiencing pain. Nerve root inflammation, arthritis, and muscle deconditioning are potential causes of chronic back pain that surgery can’t fix. Inflammatory conditions can also be difficult to diagnose, as can neurological reasons for pain.

Most causes of back pain respond to conservative treatments like laser therapy, spinal decompression therapy, and exercise. Doctors and surgeons recommend these types of treatments first before a patient tries surgery.

3. Conservative Treatments Lead to Healing

Rather than covering up symptoms, chiropractic care aims to address the root cause of your pain. Patients with disc conditions, one of the most frequent causes of chronic back pain, can improve optimally with spinal decompression therapy in combination with chiropractic care. This treatment uses gentle stretching to create negative pressures between vertebrae. Negative pressures encourage blood flow and bring oxygen and nutrients in, changing the physiology of the disc space. Decompression therapy also works mechanically, sucking bulging and herniated discs back into place. When patients finish a spinal decompression treatment plan, their pain relief is a sign that their spine has improved. Studies show that spinal decompression therapy patients experience long-term relief from their symptoms.

Other treatments, like laser therapy, work on a cellular level to jump-start healing and reduce inflammation. Laser therapy uses infrared light to stimulate cells to produce collagen and build new tissues. By stimulating blood flow, it brings healing factors to the area and allows the body to move past the first inflammatory stages of healing and on to building strong tissues. Areas of the body that receive little blood flow, like joints and fibrous tissues such as ligaments, often need this help to continue healing.

Besides providing treatments, your chiropractor can evaluate you and see if your posture or fitness contributes to your pain. Bad posture or weak muscles are some of the most common causes of recurring back pain. Your chiropractor will show you exercises and stretches you can do at home to rehab your spine. They can also rule out or treat other reasons for your pain, like foot problems. Pain is often the product of body mechanics issues rather than a disease or injury. Your chiropractor can manage and prevent pain by correcting your posture, gait, and musculature.

Your body is meant to heal, so it makes sense to use therapies that encourage that healing process instead of treating symptoms. Safe, non-invasive treatments should always be tried before risky and less reliable treatments like drugs and surgery.

Non-Invasive Treatments for Pain in Lake in the Hills IL

At Precise Chiropractic Center, we provide comprehensive chiropractic care that focuses on conservative treatments and real healing. Schedule a consultation today to find out how we can help you live pain-free.