Don't Ignore the Warning Signs: Listen to Your Lower Back

If you're not familiar with Movie-a-Minute, they basically boil down a movie into a few lines. It's actually pretty funny to read some of them... Here's the gist of what happened to me recently in Movie-a-Minute style:

My back feels great...Thank you Dr. Pagano.

I naively believe my back is better than it is....

I neglect warning signs that my back is angry.

I don't go for an adjustment.

It gets angry.

I'm in a lot of pain now.

Hello Dr. Pagano.

Whenever I speak with people about my lower back, I'm always asked for advice. This is based on my success with finding the right chiropractor and knowing that my back is much better than it was prior to my first chiropractic adjustment. Well I tell you, this is a constant a learning experience for me.

Here's a good piece of advice based on my latest experience:

Listen to your body. It typically won't lie to you. :)

For over 3 weeks, my back was giving me warning signs that it was getting dangerously close to going out on me. And...I still didn't go for an adjustment. What types of signs?

Here are a few:

1. Twinging back pains. Nothing bad, but my back was letting me know that something was wrong.

2. Having some discomfort after working out (or even when I started working out).

3. My back was a little sore in the morning after waking up.

4. Slight pain when picking up my kids.

Notice how I said "slight" or "a little" or "nothing bad". That's what gets you...

So, if you have lower back trouble and start to feel the warning signs of an angry back, don't ignore them. Go for an adjustment. I ignored the signs, and it didn't work out too well for me. I'm getting better, but I'm not there yet.

The Patient

2 Hilarious Medication Warnings : Ambien and Veramyst

OK, so this doesn't have much to do with lower back pain or chiropractors, but it's worth mentioning here since it's medical-related. I recently saw two advertisements for medications on TV (that's not the hilarious part). Once they started rolling into their warnings, which they are required to do, I couldn't believe what I heard.


1. Ambien- The voiceover says, "Sleepwalking and eating or driving with no memory of the event have been reported."

Uhh, what?? Are you kidding me? Ambien might result in someone sleepwalking and then eating and driving? Then they won't even remember they did that?? Who ends up finding you? I guess the McDonalds drive thru cashier! If you think that's bad, read the rest of the Ambien warnings on the official site.

2. Veramyst - In the commercial, there is a graphic that states, "The way this drug works is not completely understood."
Really? So, the drug has been tested, approved, and launched without being completely understood? So, if someone sprays this stuff up their nose and all of their hair falls out and they sneeze for 24 hours straight, there's nobody to blame?

"We really didn't know how the drug works, so we cannot confirm that your hair falling out is from Veramyst."

Whatever.

You can't make this stuff up! Makes me want to throw out any medications I have at home...

The Patient

Holding Children and Nerve Damage - Is Their a Connection?

In my last post, I mentioned how my wife needed to go see Dr. Pagano at Pagano Chiropractic since she was experiencing a lot of pain in her upper back. Even in the short time she has been going for adjustments, she is feeling much, much better. Actually, as of today, she has almost no pain in her upper back...

It ends up that she was holding our baby a certain way while feeding him over the past 6 months, and over that time, she irritated the nerves in her neck. Since it was over 6 months, it really started to cause some pain. So, a mixture of getting chiropractic adjustments over a two week period and starting to hold our son differently made a huge difference. She is now a believer in going to the chiropractor...

When it comes down to it, over years of exercising, walking, lifting your kids, bending over, sitting at your desk, etc., you are bound to throw something out of alignment. And if you do, and you don't get that corrected, then you could be in trouble down the line... If you are having back trouble or shoulder trouble, it's beyond worth it to go to a chiropractor...at least for an initial consultation. Just find a chiropractor that you are comfortable with and I'm confident you will agree with me! :)

The Patient