"Maybe golf wasn't such a great idea."  Have you ever thought that to yourself?  My friend did while he was on vacation this week.  "You should have listened to your body but you didn't," he thought.  "It was to telling you to slow down, see a chiropractor, get a massage, or maybe it's time to start working out."

Most back pain and, well, any other pain really, can be reduced or avoided altogether by simple steps.  The problem is, we don't want to listen when our body tells us we need to take those steps.  It's like we put a smiley face sticker over the low fuel indication light when it goes on, instead of putting in more gas.  Our body will eventually stop, as the car will, unless we do something about it.  As I told my friend, "you can either pay attention, or pay with pain."

 

A few days ago, I got a text from a friend who has been bumming around Florida all week. His back was tight and he wanted some advice on what to do to loosen it up. He told me he needed to be in prime shape for golf the next day. (This isn't pertinent to the story, but for those who are curious, alternating heat and ice at 20 min intervals, and stretching after a heat phase was the recommendation.) Toward the end of the next day, I get a text saying, "maybe golf wasn't such a great idea." (I had to chuckle a bit. "lol" with a frown-faced emoticon.)

Apparently, his pain culminated to the point that his friends, with whom he was vacationing, offered to buy him a massage. Here is how our texting went:
Friend:  "So all the guys are planning on pitching in to get me a massage. should i bother with that or is it worth it? i dont wanna mess myself up any worse"
Me: "Do it! I couldn't imagine a massage making it worse..." (Granted, I should've said "a GOOD massage.")
Friend: "ok just wanted to ask the expert. its not been a fun day. been laid up most of the day"
Me: "Tell the therapist your chiropractor asked that your psoas (pronounced "so-az") muscles be worked and traction ur back by pulling each leg at ankles."
Friend: "ok. i'll write that one down. what is that muscle by the way?"
Me: "It attaches on your back bones and comes forward to your hip bone. It's the hip-flexor muscle, resp for raising your leg and bending back @ waist"
Friend: "ah, that would make sense with the pain im having. you're the best"
Me: "A tight psoas causes 70% of back issues (in my estimation at the time). If she's doing it right, you'll b face up and she'll dig in by ur lower intestines."
Friend: "good advice im thinking. lol"

In fact, it is good advice! Most back pain and, well, any other pain really, can be reduced or avoided altogether by simple steps like getting a psoas massage. Along with getting a chiropractic adjustment before or after the massage. The adjustment will help the nerve flow to the psoas be restored and decrease the inflammation caused by improperly moving segments. And, doing a few exercises to strengthen the muscles of the abdominals, back, and gluts (aka, the butt) to prevent injuries caused by deconditioning.

Of course, everyone's back pain differs. There is very rarely "that one thing that cures everything," regardless of what pharmaceutical companies tell us on commercials. And while these tips might help my friend, and hopefully at least one person who'll read this, I can't say that it's the only course of action he'll need to take. (Legal disclaimer: you should always consult with your doctor, Google, Wikipedia, or YouTube before starting a new treatment protocol.) Further investigation must take place. Often times the problems are still lingering even though we are out of pain and symptom free. His back pain didn't "just happen." In all cases, it is a process that develops over time, and is complicated from any mental, nutritional, and physical stress, especially sports injuries and car accidents. So why do we expect these issues to go away with the snap of our fingers?

Because this is a microwave society. We just want a pill to take away the pain and allow us to get on with our lives. For whatever reason, we want to resume our daily routines of deadlines, jobs we don't like, bosses we can't stand, and sedentary habits we don't want to break regardless of the pain our body is experiencing. It's much easier to cover the symptoms than to get at the true underlying cause of issues, our mental, emotional, and physical well being. Or, lack thereof.

Eventually, like the sticker on the gas light, no matter how much a problem is covered up, the body will shut down, like it has run out of gas. The good news, as long as you're not six-feet under, and permanently out of gas, you can still do something about your well-being. You can still get back on track.

Alyssa Summey, D.C. is a regular contributor to ISYS-DFW and is an expert in the field of Holistic Healing.  Dr. Alyssa specializes in a neurologic approach to healing, the underlying, real cause of most problems, not just getting rid of symptoms. And since everybody is different, sometimes requiring different approaches to healing, she encompasses about 10 different techniques when treating patients. Some include the Thompson, Gonstead, Activator, Diversified, and extremity adjusting techniques along with the BioEnergetic Synchronization Technique (B.E.S.T.) and various myofascial release protocols. In addition, nutritional and exercise/rehab protocol counseling is provided to make sure ALL of her patients’ health and wellness needs are met.  To schedule an appointment with Dr. Alyssa please visit www.DrAlyssaSummey.com