| Neck pain, back pain, and sciatica are generally | | | | the symptom or symptoms and not the |
| defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional | | | | underlying cause. |
| experience associated with actual or potential | | | | Third, when dealing with what I refer to to as the |
| tissue damage. Significantly, his is also the general | | | | "bad back pain complex," many individuals are |
| definition of pain. Pain may also be described in | | | | shuffled off to the nearest physical therapy |
| terms of the actual damage itself. Neck pain, back | | | | center. Upon visiting a physical therapy center, |
| pain, and sciatica may be described in many ways | | | | one is immediately struck by the fact that |
| from mild to severe, from acute to chronic, and is | | | | everyone seems to be engaged in the same |
| usually considered a protective mechanism. Pain is | | | | repetitious, minimally-effective exercises and |
| usually understood as a warning that something is | | | | routines. This sort of cookie-cutter approach, this |
| wrong, prompting the individual to take action, | | | | well choreographed "dance of the near-dead," |
| either instituting a self-treatment plan or seeking | | | | does nothing to deal effectively with the |
| medical advice. Any kind of pain is highly | | | | individualized nature of pain as expressed by the |
| subjective and greatly influenced by a myriad of | | | | neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica sufferer. It is |
| outside factors. While many studies have been | | | | clear that this sort of treatment is, once again, |
| done to try to understand the condition better, | | | | nothing more than a Band-Aid solution, one that |
| because of its highly individualized nature, it is still | | | | masks, or rather attempts to mask, the |
| difficult to define. In this article, we will attempt to | | | | symptom or symptoms without dealing with the |
| examine for back treatment strategies thought to | | | | underlying causation. |
| alleviate or eliminate neck pain, back pain and/or | | | | Finally, we enter the realm of the orthopedic |
| sciatica. We will also discuss why each of these | | | | surgeon. The gods of the bad back! Small "g!" It is |
| four back treatment programs either have a high | | | | this neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica treatment |
| failure rate or fail completely, in any real sense. | | | | strategy that offers to deal effectively with the |
| The first neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica | | | | actual cause of the pain. Unfortunately, it may be |
| treatment strategy is the use of medication. The | | | | at a very high cost, and at substantial risk. As |
| use of medications, to include anti-inflammatories | | | | mentioned in a previous article, only 30 to 35% of |
| and narcotics, has been shown to have only | | | | all individuals undergoing spine surgery end up |
| limited benefit, at best. While the use of | | | | pain-free. The number of individuals that end up |
| medication is as much a cultural phenomenon as it | | | | with "failed back syndrome" or "failed spine |
| is an individual one, the use of medications such as | | | | surgery" or simply "failed backs" is staggering. |
| ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, and even aspirin to | | | | Once Pandora's Box is opened, it can never be |
| alleviate pain is widespread. Unfortunately, the use | | | | closed again and the risk of failure is extremely |
| of narcotics to deal with pain has reached | | | | high. The decision to undergo surgery is not one |
| epidemic proportions, in spite of the fact that | | | | that should be taken lightly and all other |
| narcotics have been shown to be only minimally | | | | alternatives should be explored before succumbing |
| effective. In fact, narcotics may actually | | | | to the surgeon's blade. In all but the direst of |
| contribute to pain levels with long-term use and | | | | circumstances, one should consider the possibility |
| abuse. Ultimately, over-the-counter medications | | | | of never being the same again once the ultimate |
| and narcotics only serve to mask symptoms and | | | | course is taken and surgery is embarked upon. |
| do nothing to deal with the cause of the pain. As | | | | So, what does this leave? That's the question |
| a result, medication in any form is a stop-gap | | | | every neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica |
| measure at best and should be treated as such. | | | | sufferer should ask themselves before pursuing |
| The next pain treatment strategy shown to be | | | | any of treatment strategies mentioned above. |
| only minimally effective, at least in the initial | | | | Ultimately, the decision is an individual and personal |
| stages, is chiropractic care. While chiropractic | | | | one but there are alternatives to the strategies |
| methodology has been shown to be quite | | | | mentioned above. The single, most effective way |
| effective in some instances, and does deal | | | | of dealing with the "bad back-back pain complex" |
| effectively with alignment issues, it does not | | | | is through a program designed to stretch and |
| address the reasons for misalignment. So, a | | | | strengthen the musculature responsible for |
| patient may end up visiting their chiropractor for | | | | support of the spine, the pelvis, and the entire |
| years without dealing with the underlying issues | | | | core area. Only through an individualized and |
| involved, the ultimate cause of the pain. Unless a | | | | medically supervised stretching and strengthening |
| neck pain, back pain and/or sciatica sufferer deals | | | | program may one achieve anything approaching a |
| with whatever is causing the misalignment, they | | | | pain-free lifestyle. By implementing and following |
| are doomed to years of what has been referred | | | | such a program one may, in relatively short order, |
| to as a chiropractic tug-of-war. Clearly, | | | | alleviate or eliminate neck pain, back pain and/or |
| chiropractic care in and of itself deals only with | | | | sciatica once and for all. |