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

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

Steps I Take to Minimize Recurring Lower Back Pain

OK, so I threw my back out a month ago, and as you read in my last post, my back has bounced back very quickly. I feel great overall and I am even running again. I went for a 3 mile run yesterday through Pennington. When I woke up this morning, I did feel some pain again... nothing crazy, but my back was reminding me that it wasn't too long ago that I threw it out. So what is causing that slight, but annoying pain?

The Weight of 2 Quarters:
When I first visited Dr. Pagano at Pagano Chiropractic Center, he placed two quarters on my hand, which I could barely feel. He said that even the light weight of 2 quarters would cause the pain I was feeling (which was pretty bad at the time...) When your back goes out of alignment, nerves that are trying to fit into an already small space, might have pressure on them from the misalignment. That pressure, even if it's only the weight of 2 quarters, is enough to cause some serious discomfort. That's what I am feeling now...

Now that I've been going for chiropractic adjustments for the last 5 months and educating myself on what is going on with my back, I've come up with some things to do when I feel the first hint of pain in my sacrum (lower back):

1. Stop major exercise like running, lifting weights, etc. I might still walk and do some light weights, but I'm now wise enough to know when my back is telling me something...like STOP WHATEVER YOU DID TO MAKE IT ANGRY!

2. Watch how I lift things... even small and light items. As Dr. Pagano told me, when you are about to lift something significant, you stabilize yourself, which cuts down on injury. However, when you go to lift something light or small, you don't prepare yourself. This is when you can do some damage... So, I watch my alignment when picking things up (and I definitely try and use my legs as much as possible.)

3. Hot Baths - When I start to feel a hint of pain, I start taking hot baths each night. This loosens up my back muscles and really seems to help. Heck, it's also really relaxing!

4. Go for chiropractic adjustments - When there's a sign that my back is angry, I go to Dr. Pagano and get an adjustment. There's obviously something off...and getting everything aligned is a no-brainer. If my schedule allows me to do so, I try and get in there asap.

5. Keep a log of what I did to throw out my back. I try and jot down all of the activities I performed the day before I feel my back start to hurt, which typically lets me know which one activity in particular pissed my back off! Then, I can always reference the list to remind me what I shouldn't do...I know it sounds weird, but when you are as competitive as me, you tend to do things that normal people wouldn't try!! And especially now that I'm getting older... Ouch.

I hope this list helps you when your back starts sending signals that it's out of alignment or just angry at what you did! If there is anything you do to help your back pain, please comment on this post...I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The Patient

What to Look for in a Chiropractor

Once my blog went live, I have received several questions about how to choose a chiropractor. Since I was in that position less than 2 months ago, I thought I would write a quick list of items that I think are important when looking for the right chiropractor for you.

1. Complete Transparency - Up front and honest about everything.
After I threw my back out and decided to go to a chiropractor, I really didn't know where to start. I initially ended up visiting a chiropractor in my area that has been around for a long time. To make a long story short, he wasn't right for me. It had nothing to do with how good of a chiropractor he was, but had everything to do with how he ran his practice. Then I visited Dr. Pagano in Pennington and I understood the difference between finding a chiropractor and finding the right chiropractor. Within 45 minutes, we covered pricing, his philosophy about frequency of visits, he reviewed my x-rays with me, and we are all set for my first adjustment. This is the way I work in my business and it felt right to have someone treating me the same way that I treat my clients and customers. The core point to take away from this bullet is to make sure you feel comfortable with the chiropractor. Are they personable? Are they up front with their pricing? Do they seem honest? How many times do they want to see you? If they cannot answer these questions, run. :-)

2. Philosophy About Frequency of Visits
I briefly mentioned this in my first bullet, but it's important enough to have its own line item. I'm sure you have heard stories about people that start receiving chiropractic treatments and then find themselves going back time and time again for years. They don't have much pain anymore, but they still keep going! I didn't want to find myself in that situation. Dr. Pagano's philosophy matched my expectations. Once my back started feeling better, he wanted to me to visit him every other week. Then if that worked well, I could visit him once per month. Then if that worked well, I could probably come every other month. That made sense to me... Make sure you understand your chiropractor's philosophy about frequency of visits. If you don't, you may find yourself at his office 3 times per week for the rest of your life!

3. Find a Chiropractor with Similar Types of Patients
I exercise a lot, from jogging to weight training to playing sports like baseball, tennis, and golf. Dr. Pagano has a background in training, so when I explained the back problems I was having after working out, he immediately could give me real world examples of how other patients in the same situation dealt with it and improved. This was important to me and it gave me confidence that my treatments would help my situation. For example, once I started feeling better, he gave me good recommendations for beginning to exercise again. He also explained how to start weight training again so it wouldn't affect my back, how to start running again, how to stretch, etc. This was extremely valuable to me, and should be to you.

4. A Chiropractic Plan of Action
After reviewing my x-rays with me and explaining what was wrong with my back, Dr. Pagano explained clearly how we were going to tackle the problem. This included explaining what a chiropractic adjustment was, which areas of my back we were going to focus on, how many visits it would take to get me on the right path, what my exercise schedule should look like, so on and so forth. If you cannot map out your plan, then your expectations may be improperly set, you cannot measure your improvement against the plan, and you may end up getting frustrated. This chiropractic plan of action is extremely important. Ask about it when you visit the chiropractor for the first time. If they don't believe in setting a plan, then I would find a chiropractor that does.

I'm sure I will add to this list later on, but it's a good starting point. Again, I was in your position 2 months ago and I would have liked to have seen a list like this. Good luck and ask a lot of questions. Find a chiropractor that matches up well with your needs and you'll be in good shape. No pun intended.

Pagano Chiropractic - Vito Pagano, My Chiropractor in Pennington New Jersey

Although people are visiting this blog from all over the country, I've received several requests for my chiropractor's contact information. Therefore, instead of responding to each request, I figured I would just post his contact information here.

As you can tell in my blog posts, I highly recommend Dr. Pagano for many reasons, including his extensive background in training, his philosophy about frequency of visits, his demeanor, and his up front and honest opinions. If you live in the Greater Princeton Area (in New Jersey), including Pennington, Hopewell and Lawrenceville, then definitely give him a call.

Pagano Chiropractic Center
Vito Pagano, Doctor of Chiropractic
53 Hopewell Pennington Road
Pennington, NJ 08534
609-333-1172

What is a Chiropractic Adjustment?

I've received a lot of questions about the name of my blog and what an actual chiropractic adjustment is, so I decided to address it formally in a post. First, I will explain my non-expert description and then I will give you a formal definition and some links to more reading.

A Chiropractic Adjustment from a Patient's Perspective:
When I went in to see my chiropractor for the first time, I was experiencing extreme pain in my lower back. I learned that your spine moves in three dimensions and that there are bundles of nerves that travel down and out the spine at various points. It doesn't take much pressure to cause pain, actually Dr. Pagano placed two quarters on the top of my hand and explained the slight weight I was feeling would cause the pain I had at that time... Any more pressure and I'd be in the emergency room!

So, when your spine is out of alignment, which can be caused by a number of factors, like trauma, stress, etc., you can feel pain. My trouble is in my lower back (my sacrum to be exact). In my x-ray, it looked slightly tilted. I need it to be straight, not tilted...so how do you accomplish this? Enter the adjustment. Through a series of manual procedures, my chiropractor aligns my spine with the hope that over time, the alignment will take hold. My muscles essentially are prohibiting my spine from staying properly aligned, since my back has been out of whack for over 4 years...

The adjustment doesn't take long, typically under 10-15 minutes and you will be amazed how you feel after it. Like I have said in previous posts, I get up and the pain is typically gone... It's not until some time later that it starts to creep back in, but again, it's going to take time for my spine to stay properly aligned. Yes, you here cracks and pops, and it's scary to hear that, but it's not painful at all. You definitely start to wonder what's going on, but after a few visits, you don't even think about it. I have seen incredible results so far and there is no way it could have happened without these manual procedures being performed.

Chiropractic Adjustment from a Professional's Perspective:
Here's a good definition I found on About.com:
An adjustment is a procedure performed by a chiropractor that "influences joint and neurophysiological function"1. An adjustment uses leveraged force, combined with direction, amplitude and velocity to effect a therapeutic change in specific anatomical regions, particularly spinal joints.

More links:
ChiroWeb Definition of the Adjustment:
http://www.chiroweb.net/chiropractic/adjustment.html

Wikipedia Entry for Spinal Adjustment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_adjustment

Answers.com:
http://www.answers.com/topic/spinal-adjustment

Move Over Back Pain! -- Finally a Painless Night...

I've been going to Dr. Pagano for about a month now and I couldn't be happier. I finally had a night without back pain. Typically I would turn over and it felt like someone was driving a dagger into my lower back (which would wake me up to say the least!) Ever since I threw my back out, I've been experiencing acute back pain in the middle of the night, only to wake up to a stiff back. The stiff back would take a while to warm up and then I would be ok. That is until recently!

I've been going to my chiropractor (Vito Pagano) twice per week and I just learned today that I can cut that down to once per week! My back is doing extremely well and I couldn't be happier. Heck, Dr. Pagano even told me that I can go to the driving range this weekend! How's that for a person who could barely get out of bed a month ago!!

This is the best my back has felt in 4 years. I'm eager to see how much more it can improve during the upcoming months.

I'll keep you posted.

The Patient

Enough is Enough...Find Me a Pennington Chiropractor

It's 6AM on a Monday morning. I've got a lot to do today...a lunch with a business associate, three projects that I'm leading for my company, and my daughter's almost three (so for the parents out there reading my post, you know how tiring that can be!)

I go to get up from bed and the pain I feel is extraordinary. Yes, this is a nagging back issue that I've had for years, but today is different...it's more acute, more extreme, and the pain is so bad, I feel it might actually impact my life. I'm a little nervous.

I push myself and get out of bed, walking like an old man towards the kitchen. It will get better, right? The pain will subside... I think. It doesn't...not yet anyway. I eat breakfast. My back is still killing me. I check email. My back gets worse. OK, I've had enough!

TODAY IS THE DAY I CHOOSE NOT TO BE IN PAIN ANYMORE!! I turn to my wife and say, "Remember when you told me to go to a chiropractor? Well, get the phone numbers out! I've had enough pain."

Five years ago, I pulled my back while working in my yard. I had no kids at the time, I worked out 4-5 times per week, and I was in great shape. I thought the back pain would go away over time, but it kept coming back. Typically, once per month I would feel some type of back pull (sometimes bad, sometimes mild), but it always reminded me that it was there...

So I called my primary care physician and asked for a referral. The call came a few hours later and with no hesitation, the nurse told me, "Dr. Vito Pagano, a Pennington Chiropractor who is so good at what he does, some of us even go to him! You will be in good hands." OK, Dr. Pagano, I'm going to give you a shot to fix my ailing back! After looking through the listings of Hopewell Chiropractors, Pennington Chiropractors and Princeton Chiropractors, I'm glad my doctor could offer some guidance.

So my story begins...

The Patient