What causes back injuries?

Sex; among other things.

You’d be surprised at what seemingly innocent activities can precipitate or trigger the onset of back injury. Back pain may not be sexy but sex may, in fact, be involved, as you will soon see!

What’s important to understand about back pain is that it can be asymptomatic, until the proverbial straw breaks the camels back.

I don’t keep these type of practice statistics but, in my best estimate, 75% of all severe back injuries are brought about by an innocent, not so traumatic, event, motion or activity.

Let me explain…

In the following case I will reveal to you a true and actual event of a patient who injured her back, unfortunately, quite severely- so it’s not entirely a laughing matter. The average back pain sufferer isn’t aware that the ultimate event that triggers the injury doesn’t have to be something as dramatic as a fall from a roof. Uneventful moments are capable of producing irreparable damage and excruciating pain. In fact, hidden stresses to the spine- what I refer to as ‘weak links in the chain’- can be flying under the radar until an event like what I’m about to share with you occurs.

I’ll begin, right off the bat, with my most memorable new patient.

It’s obviously common practice when a patient enters my chiropractic clinic to do a thorough history, examination and then, if necessary, x-rays.

In this case, the history told the ‘naked truth’. Here’s the gist of it…

She was having sex with her husband (those are all the details you need to know so as to keep this PG rated). Things were going quite well, until she felt an abrupt sharp, spastic pain in her lower back. She painfully shouted, “Oh, no!” He, unfortunately for her, replied with an emphatic, “Oh, yeah!” She reaffirmed by yelling, “NO! NO!” But that, she embarrassingly told me, just seemed to rev up his enthusiasm- to which she exclaimed, “Oh God!”, which was exactly what she shouldn’t have said.

Uh-oh. “Don’t!” “Stop!” “Don’t stop!” Hopefully, you get the picture.

Eventually, he got the picture as well, and she… got an emergency visit to the chiropractor.

In all seriousness, let me share with you what I’ve learned about back injuries over the last 14 years or so.

Your spine needs attention- maintenance, if you will. Maintenance may consist of things like chiropractic check-ups, core exercise, practicing proper posture, a good sleeping environment, massage therapy, or maybe an individualized stretching and strengthening regimen you incorporate in to your weekly routine. In general; and this can apply to nearly all aspects of staying healthy- your body needs attention.

Did you know that nearly 50% of the time, the very first symptom of a heart attack is…death?

DEATH!

Meaning the person felt fine the day before and now they’re dead. Just like so many people who tell me they ‘felt fine’ before their acute back injury. On a conceptual and physiological level there’s truly no difference. The spine degenerates and mis-aligns over time, little by little, and without attention can fail- just like the heart.

These types of apparently acute problems are processes, merely disguised as events.

In Colorado, we affectionately call the above-described case study, bedroom rodeo. So it may seem like a sports injury, but, in her case, I later discovered there was an underlying problem that was “pushed to the edge”. Or you may say it was the “tip of the iceberg”, that led to her back injury. So, if your catching my drift you can plainly see, in her case, as in most others, it was “the straw that broke the camels back”.

Let’s get serious because back injuries can be very serious- I’ve seen them totally debilitate people, sometimes permanently.

Heart disease, not unlike most all other diseases, is a process that evolves over time.

You don’t feel your arteries clogging up after every order of greasy fries. It happens over time… without symptoms.

The overall ‘state-of-health’ of your entire physical body evolves over time and is dynamically influenced every day- which is a good thing if you chose to be healthy. Therefore, your overall state-of-health can be positively or negatively influenced by your habits and choices.

My advice…

Improve some of your bad habits (not that bedroom rodeo is a bad habit) like posture, ergonomics or lack of exercise and stretching and, at the same time, increase your proactive healthy choices (like including a chiropractor on your health care team) and you should be in good shape.

Most of my patients chose to come in for check-up’s to maintain their spines before back injuries force them to bawl, “Oh, God!”

By: Ron Spallone D.C.

“Black Sunday” In Denver Is A Sad Reminder

I am a die-hard, life-long fan of the Denver Broncos, and even today, I’m not ashamed to say so. But yesterday was a sad day in Bronco Country. It’ll go down as “Black Sunday,” a day when the Broncos suffered the worst loss in team history to their hated rivals, the Oakland Raiders, at home in Denver.

It was 31-0 when the second quarter had barely begun, and the final score was 59-14. The Broncos had never (ever!) given up so many points to the hated Raiders. To suffer such a humiliating loss, especially at home and especially to Oakland, is a travesty that has the entire state of Colorado upset today; it will likely, eventually, cost more than one person their job (most notably the Broncos’ head coach).

So what?

As I listened to the early half of the game on the radio (like most Broncos fans, I couldn’t bring myself to absorb the entire contest), what struck me were the comments by our local sportscasters. The most memorable comment, made during the second quarter of the game when things were blackest for the home team, was that there was absolutely no discernible emotion – and no leadership – exhibited on the Denver sideline.

And as I leafed through the local paper this morning, the comment was repeated.

No emotion.

No leadership.

So, it turns out, at least according to experts who know the game inside-and-out, these things matter. Even in pro football. Emotion, and leadership.

If you have been a previous visitor to this space, you know that I have written extensively on both topics. I would agree with the football experts, and apply the principle to business or to any other endeavor: victory requires leadership… leadership requires inspiration… inspiration requires passion… passion requires emotion.

Whether you’re shooting for success at your job, or starting a new business, or trying to create wealth in these tough times, or simply undertaking a personal health intitiative… you need inspiration, and that starts with emotion. You simply have no chance to succeed at anything challenging unless you truly care.

A better day will come for fans of the Denver Broncos. Someday (not too long from now, I hope), we’ll even the score with the despised Raiders. But that day won’t come before the team finds their motivation, their passion, their inspiration.

And a better day will come for you, too, for the same reasons. You’ll find your true, deep, underlying emotion. You’ll ignite your passion. And you’ll become inspired to do the great things you are meant to do.

Whatever game you’re playing, play it like there’s a hometown announcer looking down on you from the press box, and judging your motivation. Your passion. Your inspiration. And don’t let that person observe that there’s no inspirational leadership on your personal sideline.

By: Michael Hume

If you are in need of new dentures and live in the Denver, Colorado area or anywhere else in the state of Colorado, I have good news for you. You happen to live in an area that offers maximum discounts on dentures and other dental care by simply using one of our dental discount plans.

These dental discount plans are similar to insurance, but they are not actual insurance policies. What they do is offer you a substantial savings by visiting one of the participating dental providers within their network. These dentists and dental specialists receive big discounts on things that they need in order to run their practice, in addition to many other incentives, for giving you a big discount on your dental care.

Your savings by joining one of these plans is anywhere from 10% all the way up to 60%. This can mean savings of $500-$600 off the average price nation wide for upper dentures alone! Also, you’ll save big on routine dental care, like check-ups, cleanings, ect. and other major dental, such as braces for your kids, new bridge work, root canals and more.

The cost of joining one of these plans in Colorado starts at $79.95 per year for an individual on up. Family discount dental plans average around $150.00 per year. Here is an example of one of these dental discount plans in the Denver, Colorado area. This is actually good for the entire state of Colorado, I’m just using the rates for zip code 80215.

The cost of joining this discount plan is $99.95 annually for an individual plan or $149.95 per family. The savings are huge! The average cost around the country, according to national statistics, for an upper denture is $1252.00, but with this particular discount plan you will only have to pay $650.00. That’s a savings to you of $602.00. Deduct the cost of a family discount dental plan from that amount and you’ve saved $452.05 on your first visit! You’ll save $502.05 if you’re single. AND, you’ll continue to save for the next 12 months too. Some people have saved literally thousands of dollars just by having this one plan.

Summary – if you need dentures in Denver or dentures anywhere in Colorado, you’ll definitely want to look into this and start saving right away!

By: Joe Stewart

Life just hands out little stresses, accidents, bumps, bruises and falls occasionally. Often problems resulting from these little incidents don’t manifest themselves for years. About eight years ago I was at an amusement park my children, we were on a particularly fast roller coaster with a long hill. As the little car turned the corner and went careening down the hill it snapped my neck back, I couldn’t get it forward until we were at the bottom of the hill. About four years later I started having neck problems, they got so bad I could hardly sleep at night, I couldn’t turn my head from side to side with much flexibility. I went to a Denver chiropractic office and told them of my problem. At the time I hadn’t connected the roller coaster ride to my problems. They asked if I had ever been dropped, fallen, landed on head and a host of other question all I answered, “no.” I had no memory of any head trauma and it wasn’t until a couple of years later that I put two and two together. That one silly roller coaster ride was the root of all my neck problem. I now have arthritis in my neck and will probably never have full mobility again. I am no longer in pain and I now have more flexibility, but it will never be like it was.

This was a relatively minor accident, I couldn’t even remember it; I can’t imagine what it would be like if I were in a car accident or something more major. With attention to details and thorough examinations and a holistic approach to health, Denver chiropractors can help us get back to the joy of living and be up and running in no time.

By: Billings Farnsworth

Back pain causes a chain of events that aren’t too pretty. As a practicing chiropractor, I’ve seen more than my fair share of people brought to their knees. It’s one type of pain that you just can’t tough out.

The body is one contiguous unit. It must be treated as such. If you chase the pain trying to get back pain relief, far too often you’ll come up empty. The pain you experience in a certain spinal area, say the lower back, may not be the primary area that’s injured. For instance, middle back pain causes muscle spasms, which can cause the lower back, or even neck and shoulders to overwork by compensating.

Here are a few more obscure back pain causes…

Did you know that an inflammatory diet, the ‘Standard American Diet’ (S.A.D) can contribute to pain and discomfort? Did you know that one of the most common side effects of statin drugs is muscle and joint pain?

Yep.

Did you know there is a documented correlation between smoking and back problems?

Yep.

Kidney pain causes a referral of soreness or a deep ache to the lower back. Depending on the kidney, it could cause left lower back pain or right lower back pain.

Upper back pain causes the thoracolumbar muscles to spasm, which can have an effect all the way down to the pelvis. Range of motion now becomes compromised, which, in turn, can cause the piriformis muscle, located near the buttock, to spasm. And guess what? The sciatic nerve runs right through the middle of the piriformis muscle! This is known as Piriformis Syndrome. This can cause hip and leg pain or sciatica. Sciatica causes the leg to experience pain, numbing and/or tingling.

A herniated disc (disk), can also contribute to back and leg pain.

Back pain causes tender trigger points and trigger points can be treated with manual therapy techniques. Unbeknown to many, a good chiropractor can offer much more than just a spinal adjustment. Sometimes a chiropractic adjustment is not the therapy you need. Solving chronic pain is almost always a matter of good clinical detective work. With all of the ‘crumbs’ in place, the doctor and patient can follow the clues to locate the cause of the pain in your back. It makes the remedy much easier.

Horses and zebras both leave similar tracks, but they’re VERY different from each other!

Physiatrists, physical therapists and chiropractors are all well trained in providing tips for a spinal strengthening routine. If your primary care doctor is not up to speed on neuromuscular medicine and is immersed in only allopathic methods, you may need to add someone else to your health care team, as these types of muscle, tendon and soft tissue injuries are quite common.

FYI – If your back pain causes you to experience an inability to be able to stop or initiate urination or defecation… that’s a 911. These are nerve and spinal cord related effects of a ruptured disc causing what’s known as Cauda Equina Syndrome.

Now read below to learn why I wrote this…

By: Ron Spallone D.C.