Chiropractic Maintenance, How Frequently Should You Go To Your Chiropractor To Avoid Throwing Our Your Bad Back?

Great question and there's not one schedule that fits all situations. That said, I wanted to bring up the importance of chiropractic maintenance. Yes, you're not a car or a house, but when you have a bad back, you might as well think of it that way.

Oil changes, driveway sealing, gutter cleaning, new tires, and chiropractic adjustments! That's right, lump them all together into a maintenance bucket. If you avoid maintaining any of these items, you will not end up in a good place. Your car will fail, your driveway will crack, and YOU WILL THROW YOUR BACK ONCE AGAIN, and maybe worse then you ever have. (Do I sound like I'm talking from experience?) You bet. Case in point, a few months ago.

I was working on a great new project at work and I thought I was too busy to go to Dr. Pagano. How long did I avoid going to the Chiropractor? 3.5 months! That's right, I felt invincible again...bad move. Although my back felt great, I was jogging a lot, lifting weights, lifting my kids, etc. All of that activity slowly wears down your bad back until...you can't walk! That's right, I threw out my back so badly that I could barely walk. I actually had to go to the emergency room it hurt so badly.

So, I crawled into Dr. Pagano's office, explained what I did and let him do his magic. It didn't get better overnight, but 2 weeks later I felt 1000 times better. Seriously, he had fixed me once again.

What I did wrong:
I didn't go for monthly chiropractic adjustments. Boy, that was stupid. "I'm too busy....I'm working too much..." That's ridiculous. I ended up having to go more when I got hurt than if I went for monthly adjustments in the first place!

The point of my post: You probably take care of your car and house, right? So take care of yourself for crying out loud!

Thank you Dr. Pagano for fixing my back once again. I promise I won't avoid my chiropractic maintenance ever again. I'll be in next week.

The Patient

A Year Without and Then With a Chiropractor, What a Difference a Year Can Make!

As I begin 2008, I can’t help but think about how different this year is starting than last year. In December of 2006, I was in desperate need of help for my lower back. I threw it out once again, and this time…it was really bad. I could barely walk. It was the beginning of December 2006 when I decided that I’d had enough and I started looking for a chiropractor. If you’ve read my posts since then, you can see the outstanding improvement that I’ve made after going to Dr. Pagano for the past 13 months. I can tell you that it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. How good of a decision? Read on.

Here is a quick comparison of December 2006 and December 2007:

Last December – I could barely walk.

This December – I just ran 4 miles yesterday. :-)

Last December – I could barely get my Christmas tree in the door and into the stand. You would have thought I was lifting a car…

This December – I grabbed the tree off of my car, pulled it into the house, lifted it into the stand, and without any pain at all. Take that Mr. Grinch.

Last December – I took a 5 hour flight for a business trip and was in pain the entire flight… I was stretching in the airport after the flight since it hurt so bad! Literally.

This December – Although I didn’t have any flights to take, I did take the train numerous times (for over 60 minutes per ride), and I can tell you that I felt no pain at all. Bring on the 5 hour flight!

Last December – I couldn’t pick up my daughter during the holidays…even when she was excited about her gifts. I tend to joke around a lot, but this one is no joke at all. If you have kids, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

This December – I easily could pick up my daughter (and now son) without any pain at all. And for Christmas, you bet I was carrying her down the steps to see what Santa brought! Again, if you are a parent, you know how good this made me feel. :-)

Last December – I couldn’t exercise at all. Working out is part of my life…it really makes me feel lousy to take off from running, lifting weights, etc. Looking back, though, I was more worried about serious, long-term back pain than working out…so I shouldn’t complain too much.

This December – I worked out regularly without much pain at all. Every now and then my back gets sore, but sore is nothing compared to not being able to get out of bed! I run, lift weights, circuit train, etc. Thank you Vito Pagano. :)

So, as you can see, what a difference a year can make! If you are experiencing back pain and not sure if a chiropractor can make a difference (like I was thinking), then I believe you should at least give it a try. That’s unless you want to drag a Christmas tree in while holding your lower back and singing “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year…” Believe me, it’s not a pretty sight. :)

The Patient

Van Halen's Jump - A Quick Reminder From Your Bad Lower Back

It happens to me all the time. I have a good run with my back where I’m feeling great for a number of weeks and then I test the limits only to receive warning sign from my lower back that something's not right. You know, a shot across the bow signifying that my lower back didn’t like that last move. I’m starting to think that my back has a personality. :-)

Remember the music video for Van Halen’s song Jump? You know the leg kick that David Lee Roth does in the video? Well, my daughter loves to dance and I showed her that move the other day. She got a kick out of it, no pun intended. ;-) My back also got a kick out of it and then proceeded to give me a warning sign. It wasn’t too painful, but boy, my back definitely twinged. I immediately stopped any crazy attempt to mimic David Lee Roth again and took it easy!

The Next Day
Did I throw out my back? Thankfully no, but I was darn close. I visited Dr. Pagano for an adjustment yesterday and explained what I did. I’m pretty confident he hadn’t heard of the Van Halen lower back problem, but hey, there’s a first time for everything. :-) What’s my point? Listen to your back…it typically won’t lie to you. Even though I didn’t feel much pain, if I kept trying to be a rock star after I felt the twinge, I probably would have thrown out my back. Instead, I took it easy and went for a chiropractic adjustment and now I can dance another day.

It seems that I am getting wiser with age! Now rock on with your bad self!

The Patient

The 9 Most Dangerous Actions for Your Bad Lower Back

I thought it would be a good idea to list what I believe are the 9 most dangerous actions (or movements) for your bad lower back. I’m doing this so you won’t make the same stupid mistakes I did! Call it learning from experience. :-)

Counting down from 9 to 1:

9.The Evil Sneeze or Cough
If you’ve got a bad lower back, a sneeze or cough can be your worst enemy. It sounds crazy, but I can always tell who has a bad back by the way people prepare for a sneeze. Some go running to brace themselves against a wall, others bend over while they sneeze, others sit down, and some even need a partner to grab onto. My advice? Definitely figure out how to brace for the sneeze… It doesn’t look too awkward and it truly helps combat the force.

8. Jump Rope
When I first went to see my chiropractor (Dr. Pagano), he asked about my workout routine. I do a lot of circuit training and one exercise I became addicted to was jumping rope. It’s a phenomenal workout…but one that will act like a jackhammer for your bad lower back! It makes sense if you think about it… I would probably get 90-100 jumps per minute in when I got going… If you have a bad lower back, stop jumping rope and start walking on a treadmill instead.

7. The Golf Swing
For people who don’t play golf and think it’s a wimpy sport, the golf swing can be one of the most violent swings for your lower back. Add that most amateurs score around a 100, which means you are twisting and hitting that little white ball with force about 70 times each round. Also add in hitting the ground a bunch of times, forcing the club through the rough, and of course driving the ball with a gigantic, oddly-weighted driver, and you can see how the golf swing can hurt your already damaged lower back…

6. Side Bends
If you have sacrum problems like I do, the side bend can be a brutal exercise. As my condition worsened over the past few years, side bends really irritated my lower back. Solution? Don’t do them. You can do any other type of ab exercise, just don’t do side bends. I haven’t really missed them.

5. Getting into Your Car Too Fast
This was a relatively recent problem for me… I needed to get to the train station fast and ran out the door, opened my car door, and holding my bag (which was about 15 pounds), I entered the driver’s side all at once (with my bag in hand)… I should have placed the bag in the passenger’s seat and then come around to get in. I didn’t and felt my lower back twinge. Luckily, it wasn’t bad, but I never do that anymore…

4. Kicking
One of the worst back pulls I ever had was after playing soccer with my daughter. She thought it was really cool when I kicked the ball as far as I could. So, I proceeded to do this over and over again until I felt my lower back go out… When I walked into Dr. Pagano’s, he could tell by my face that I did something stupid… It took about a week for my back to get better… Thank goodness for chiropractic adjustments.

3. Sitting at Your Desk
You might be saying, “At number 3??” You bet! Many times you are out of alignment as you sit at your desk. You might have your legs crossed, you might be leaning more to one side, and you might be sitting on the edge of your seat, so to speak… Over time, this can really irritate your back. Then, once you successfully irritate your back, sitting in front of your computer can be a horribly painful experience. Actually, read this article about a CEO who built a desk where he stands versus sits because it hurt so bad! Solution? Get up often, stretch, and make sure you catch any bad positioning early enough. i.e. Don’t cross your legs, try and sit straight in front of your computer, etc. Or, build a desk where you can stand. ;-)

2. Twisting or Turning While Holding Weight
This is somewhat similar to “getting into your car too fast”. If you have young kids, then picking up your child and turning with her in your arms can be a killer for your bad lower back. When my daughter was younger, lifting her up and putting her into her car seat would really hurt my back. My chiropractor explained how 30 pounds against your chest could be like 90 pounds away from your body. Then add twisting with 90 pounds, and you get the picture. Solution? I don’t know! You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do… Just try and avoid holding a lot of weight and then turning with it.

1. Digging
OK, this had to be the winner on my list… It was over 5 years ago that I was doing some landscaping and digging all afternoon. Then I felt a serious twinge in my lower left back. That was the beginning of my sacrum problems. Digging, especially forceful digging like I was doing, can throw your back out faster than you can say “Advil”. Solution? Stretch, take breaks often, and then alternate sides when digging. That said, if you have to dig like I had to…there may be nothing that helps avoid the inevitable back pull.

That’s my list…avoid these dangers and you might live to pick up your children another day. :-) If you think I missed something, then add it to the list!

The Patient

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