Recently, I was listening to a doctor-hosted radio call-in show. The first caller was a recreational runner suffering from shin splints who wanted to eliminate the problem. The doctor offered a detailed description of the condition that affects the calf and shin muscles of the lower leg, which, as they fatigue, become damaged and painful. I was particularly interested because I experienced shin splints during my four years of running in high school. My father arranged for me to see the best doctors available, but the field of sports medicine was in its infancy and the treatments offered did not relieve my suffering. Since that time, sports medicine and treatments for conditions like shin splints have made huge advances, so I was dismayed that the physician host of the program was offering the caller the ineffective advice I received 25 years earlier. I felt sad and frustrated. Talking to the radio as if the in-studio doctor could hear me, I pleaded with him to explain to the caller that her alignment of the muscles, bones, and soft tissues in her foot were the cause of her shin splints and unless the misalignment was corrected, the problem would continue with as much pain and frustration as I experienced throughout my high school years. The radio caller said that her aerobics class was her way to reduce daily stress and that her pain made it difficult to exercise and was depriving her of that needed emotional outlet. I knew that although she was content with the answer she received, she was doomed to ever greater pain until she got to the root of the problem – her misalignment that was not ever mentioned by the doctor on the radio and I knew that she would miss many of her needed aerobic classes until she found a doctor who finally told her the truth. I wished I had her phone number because in my daily work with patients, I solve problems like hers and I knew that I could eliminate her pain with easy, painless treatments that are light years ahead of the antiquated and virtually useless information she received over the airwaves. As a Chiropractor, I'm a trained and licensed specialist who offers not only gentle, holistic treatments but educates people about the causes of their injuries. Treatments I offer include posture-aligning exercises along with muscle and skeletal manipulation that involve patients in their own healing process without the use of dangerous drugs. It's a hands-on approach that stretches and realigns muscle and bone and it works naturally to eliminate pain. I wish it had been available when I was a high school athlete, but I'm glad that I can offer it now to anybody. These treatments are not only for athletes, but for anybody who suffers from chronic pain: runners, weekend golfers, and folks with any kind of chronic pain looking for a way to live without it, especially those who have been frustrated by ineffective medical treatments like those offered to the caller on that radio show.
Northwest Healthcare-
helping patients eliminate pain themselves
Five Tips for Natural Pain Relief
1. Pain lets you know something is wrong.
People often live with pain for years. They go from doctor to doctor with a litany of the many medications they have tried, the surgeries that didn’t work, and the disappointment they feel. In my opinion, too many people live with needless pain and they fail to understand that the pain is a messenger – something is wrong – something that has been covered over with drugs and surgery, but not really investigated as to a cause. Chronic pain eventually forces people to disassociate from the messages sent from the body because the signals are negative. The kind of care we offer at Northwest Healthcare encourages patients to listen to their bodies. After I perform a painless examination, you will be asked do a simple movement or exercise to relieve the muscle tension that is causing the pain. Patients sometimes fear that moving the area will cause even more pain but are surprised that they feel better, sometimes amazingly pain free for the first time in months or years. Pain doesn’t mean you should stop moving. It is a signal to move a different way or work with a different form of movement. Our program can make you hurt less by moving better.
2. Surgery, drugs, and pain medication often can be avoided with natural treatments.
Surgeons do a wonderful job of repairing bodies that are broken but are not trained to deal with pain that results from misalignment of the body’s tissues. Often, if your body is taught to move into proper alignment, surgery or drugs can be completely avoided. But there are times when joints are worn beyond repair and must be replaced. Ideally, I like to work with patients before surgery is needed, but even after surgery, proper body alignment can prevent additional tissue injury and possibly the need for additional surgical procedures. I don’t want today’s marathon runners walking on artificial knees or high school athletes having joints replaced before they’re forty! Early intervention is key, but it’s never to late to make positive changes in our body alignment.
3. Movement is a good thing.
A healthy body and lifestyle involve movement. Think of what happens to a car if it hasn’t been driven in years. My Irish grandmother told me that if you don’t use it you’ll lose it. When joints and muscles more in a body that’s out of balance degenerative changes begin. Keeping the physical body moving at all times while properly aligned is the key to pain-free, healthy living.
4. Natural pain relief doesn’t take a lifetime to work.
When the muscle and skeletal system are in alignment, people move with less effort and the path to pain-free living has begun. And this alignment begins as soon as you begin your first set of corrective exercises I will provide for you. The prescription exercises use muscles that you may not have used properly in the past. And best of all, the method I use doesn’t require countless visits and is extremely cost effective.
5. My goal with treatments, proper nutrition, and personalized postural exercises is to help the body heal itself.
The body has an incredible ability to heal. If you are living a life of pain, or are tired of paying the price for a weekend of exercise that once was joyful, but now results in Monday morning agony, you can start immediately on the path to health. I’ll help you to become involved in your own healing so you can feel the full benefits of living a pain-free and active lifestyle. The decision to get well and live a healthy and full life rests in your hands – the same hands you can use to call my office now for an appointment.
For more information, check us on the Web at www.painfree101.com. or call our office directly at 815-337-7109 to schedule your appointment and experience relief today !!!
Northwest Healthcare-
helping patients eliminate pain themselves