Healthy News June 2021

Back pain patients visit Executive Chiropractic of Iowa with all sorts of different issues. Some walk better than others. Some have better muscles than others. Some are more prone to depression than others. Your West Des Moines chiropractor knows this and joins each back pain patient where s/he is and examines each patient to discover the difference(s) that make all the difference when putting together an alleviating chiropractic treatment plan. Assessments like the 6-minute walk test that evaluates the distance walked in 6 minutes and the TUG (‘time up to go’ from a seated position) test can be quite informative of cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health in degenerative lumbar spine patients. Both may be triggered by back pain. (1) Back muscles that turn weak and fatty (like the multifidus muscle tends to do) indicate issues with inflammatory and regeneration processes. (Back surgeons don’t like this as a poorer surgical outcome is possible.) (2) Chiropractors get this and promote gentle exercise for these back muscles as part of the treatment plan to prevent recurrent back pain that some lumbar disc degeneration sufferers experience. A new study explained that those who tend to get recurrent back pain were shown to move differently, more carefully, likely to evade pain. Recurrent back pain patients also experienced higher levels of anxiety, depression, and disability as well as a lower quality of life. (3) Your West Des Moines chiropractor welcomes all back pain sufferers with all their peculiarities. Your chiropractor partners with each one during the current back pain event and beyond to control the back pain (physical, mental, and emotional features), so it doesn’t control them.