Healthy News June 2021

Back pain patients visit Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn with all sorts of different issues. Some walk better than others. Some have stronger muscles than others. Some are more prone to depression than others. Your Ashburn and Herndon chiropractor understands this and joins each back pain patient where s/he is and assesses each patient to discover the difference(s) that make all the difference when putting together a relieving chiropractic treatment plan. Assessments like the 6-minute walk test that gauges the distance walked in 6 minutes and the TUG (‘time up to go’ from a seated position) test can be quite informative of musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health in degenerative lumbar spine patients. Both may be triggered by back pain. (1) Back muscles that weaken and turn 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 encourage gentle exercise for these back muscles as a component of the treatment plan to prevent recurrent back pain that some low back disc degeneration patients endure. A new study described that those who tend to get recurrent back pain were shown to move in a different way, more carefully, likely to avoid pain. Recurrent back pain patients also experienced higher levels of anxiety, depression, and disability along with a lower quality of life. (3) Your Ashburn and Herndon chiropractor welcomes all back pain sufferers with all their peculiarities. Your chiropractor partners with each one throughout the current back pain event and beyond to control the back pain (physical, mental, and emotional aspects), so it does not control them.