Here's a sad epidemic in Denver and surrounding areas: it often takes MONTHS (or longer) for people in pain to get to the bottom of their pain, and get past it. Or worse, you're told you have to LIVE WITH IT without ever being given the suggestion or advice -- or "permission" -- to try something alternative.
Here's our appraisal of the current (and we believe COSTLY and usually UNWARRANTED) cascade of spine pain management:
1. Medications: Can be rapidly effective for intractable pain (especially heavy-hitting narcotics or oral steroids) but they are rarely effective over the long term for mechanical back pain or disc herniations.
2. Physical therapy: Good option for many patients if you're fortunate enough to get a truly skilled therapist. Some therapists begin exercise therapy too aggressively and the pain gets worse. Generally speaking, exercise can improve strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, power, and similar attributes of the locomotor system. In most cases it does not have a direct on pain; or alternatively, the patient in pain is unable to exercise sufficiently to reach a threshold where such an attenuation of pain can be achieved (e.g., through beta-endorphin release).
3. When medications and physical therapy fail, the next step is crucially erroneous, and it is important for the reader to understand the HUGE LOSS in therapeutic opportunity represented by this step. This next over-reaching step is REFERRAL TO A SURGEON. The motive is honorable, of course, and by-and-large, the referring doctor does not know what else to do. In the face of spine pain that is unresponsive to drugs and P.T., the next stop is to the surgeon's clinic where a definitive diagnosis can be sought, and surgery must be considered. You the patient, still in pain, now in a considerable amount of FEAR because the pain is not going away, succumb to the suggestion without blinking, and without wondering why some more conservative, intermediary step is not suggested.
Here is the list of things you didn't get to discuss, consider, have recommended or advised (unless your doctor is most exceptional): referral to see a chiropractor, acupuncturist, interventional pain specialist, massage therapist (although you probably tried this on your own, but didn't know the specific kind of massage therapist to look for), naturopath, reflex therapist, or energy medicine specialist.
Again, the motive for the surgical referral is pure and good and right. "Let's get a definitive diagnosis, and let's get it now," is the sentence running through your doctor's mind. But then specialty doctors -- in this case the spine surgeon -- pretty much does what they know how to do. They look to see if you have an operable condition. If so, they suggest an operation. If not, it's off to a myriad maze, depending on who's in the surgeon's circle of friends at the moment.
HERE'S A THOUGHT: Why not START with a definitive diagnosis in the first place? Why not START knowing exactly what's wrong, and exactly what to do next, in which sequence? THAT'S THE MODEL we propose and practice each day at The Center for Spine Pain & Wellness! Before the drugs, the well-intentioned PT -- before everything -- see a NON-SURGICAL SPECIALIST: one of the Doctors of Chiropractic at our Clinics.
Here's the advantages: You'll save time. If we can help, we'll help fast. If we can't help, we'll refer to sooner than later. Using our approach you won't spend weeks or months in the back pain maze. We're competent, confident, decisive, and correct. Bypass the slow road. Get to the right place now, so you can get back to your life!
A final note: This is not a bash-the-surgeon blog. If you need a surgeon right away, we'll tell you, AND we'll tell you who we've observed in Denver (over 23 years now) doing consistently the best job at it in our neighborhood. If you need a spinal injection, same thing. And if not, you'll be offered whatever treatment or combination of treatments we believe will produce the fastest results at the lowest cost to you.
A new, better, common-sense approach. Visit our website to learn more (see the link above and to the right!)
