DESCRIPTIONS OF PAIN ARE IMPORTANT TO
YOUR CHIROPRACTOR
“Why do you ask me so many
questions, doctor?”
Our Manchester chiropractic patients are central
to our practice. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries wants
to understand each of our patients and your pain experience well,
treat you well, and ensure that you are satisfied with your care
and outcome. That is why we have you to describe
your pain to us, sometimes a few times and in several
different ways! Words mean different things to different people: “discomfort”
to one may denote “pain” to another while “stiffness” means
“pain” or “discomfort” to a another. It is true! Researchers studied
just what these different words mean to patients. An example with regards to
the description of “feeling”: pain signified
sharp/shooting, discomfort signified dull/tingling, stiffness signified
tight/restricted. (1) It is beneficial for Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries
to know our patient’s experience with pain to better meet
expectations and enhance satisfaction with care. Patients who visited an integrated hospital for care of their musculoskeletal pain
and depressive symptoms rated their pain as 5/10 (10 being
greatest pain) and indicated multiple pain
locations (9 of 17 participants), low back pain (13 of 17), and neck pain (8 of
17). Those are very common of rationales
patients seek chiropractic care! In this setting, patients were satisfied with the
collaboration among the various healthcare team members due to
the trust they had in their physician. Patients valued
consistency in care from a single caregiving chiropractor. (2)
Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries knows our patients value - and can expect - these
same things from us: consistency, care, collaboration, and results!
Manchester CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE
MONTH: Strengthen
Multifidus Muscles While Standing
Back pain. It is a simple description that may
stem from a multitude of factors including the muscles of the spine,
those seen and unseen. The multifidus muscles are such unseen muscles, deep,
smaller muscles that run beside the
spine from the neck to the sacrum. These muscles assist
movements like lateral (side) flexion and rotation of the spine when contracted.
(3) Lately, researchers proposed that the multifidi
may be a potential source of back pain since they are described
as being stiffer in low back pain sufferers. Low back pain is linked to lumbodorsal musculature (which incorporates the
multifidus muscle) fatigue. Standing back extension exercise fatigued the multifidus
sufficiently which may avert low back pain initiated
by muscle fatigue. (4) “Superman” (on-the-floor) exercises are well known. Standing
back extension and “superman” exercises are newly reported
as equally beneficial to strengthen these multifidus muscles. (5) That’s great
news! Manchester back pain sufferers can do simple, standing
exercises like this anywhere! The multifidus muscles benefit!
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Paula Hugulet on The Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she details
the benefit of improving muscle strength and
function as part of back pain care following the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
CONTACT Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries
Schedule your next Manchester
chiropractic appointment today. Your words will be heard. Your multifidus muscles
will be directed in proper exercise to lessen and
potentially avert back pain. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries will ask you questions, and you
are welcome to ask Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries questions, too!