Stem Cell Cure Hope For Back Pain

Stem Cell Research Trial for Back Pain

Note: This Story was originally published by BBC News In November 2006

A patient’s own stem cells could soon be used to cure chronic back pain, say researchers.
The team from the University of Manchester hope their treatment will be available within three years.

They are perfecting a way to rebuild the soft shock-absorbing discs which separate the vertebrae in the spine.

Damage to these intervertebral discs (IVDs) is a common cause of debilitating low back pain which affects around 12 million in the UK. A treatment which effectively cured the problem could potentially save the UK economy as much as £5 billion a year.

The new therapy, developed by Dr Stephen Richardson, uses mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from adult bone marrow to regenerate spinal discs. MSCs are a class of stem cell which can grow into many different cell types, including bone, cartilage, fat and muscle.

Dr Richardson has succeeded in turning MSCs into the cells which make up the gel-like nucleus pulposus (NP) tissue separating the vertebrae. He plans to begin pre-clinical trials next year, with full patient trials to follow on.  Dr Richardson said: “Once we have extracted the bone marrow from the patient and have purified the MSCs, they will be grown in culture and our patented method of differentiation will be applied.

“They will then be embedded within a gel which can be implanted back into the patient.” No rejection

Since the stem cells are taken from the patient’s own body, there is no chance of them being rejected by the immune system.

The gel is based on a natural collagen similar to one already used for the treatment of cartilage defects.

It is implanted using an arthroscope, a thin tube device slipped through a small incision in the back. Dr Richardson said there was no reason why a patient should not return home on the same day as the procedure, or the day after.

He said: “Once implanted, the differentiated MSCs would produce a new NP tissue with the same properties as the original and would both treat the underlying cause of the disease and remove the painful symptoms.”

Currently, low back pain is treated with a combination of painkillers, physiotherapy or surgery. In severe cases tissue is removed to relieve the pain, or vertebrae fused together.

However, success is limited, and these techniques do not solve the root cause of the problem.

Dries Hettinga, research and information manager at the charity BackCare, said: “This is a really exciting area of research and although it is still early days, the initial results look very promising.”

Motion Preservation Surgery of the Spine: Advanced Techniques and Controversies: Expert Consult: Online and Print

Motion Preservation Surgery Text Book

by James J. Yue (Author), Rudolph Bertagnoli (Author), Paul C. McAfee (Author), Howard S. An (Author)

Book Link: Motion Preservation Surgery

This is the most authoritative text available at the time of this writing (August 2008).

* Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences
* Pub. Date: June 2008

Product Description

New motion-preserving devices are revolutionizing spine surgery but the learning curve for these operations is steep, and great attention must be given to patient and device selection and the perfect execution of each procedure. Only one reference spells out exactly how to perform these new techniques and its peerless author team, comprised of key investigators involved in the devices’ actual clinical trials, is uniquely qualified to help you get the best results! These global leaders in this area discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the full range of non-fusion technologies and present the step-by-step, richly illustrated operative guidance you need to achieve optimal outcomes! 3 hours of surgical video on DVD demonstrate how to perform key procedures, and access to the complete contents of the book online enables you to reference it conveniently from any computer.

* Select the best device and approach for each patient!
* cervical total disc arthroplasty
* lumbar total disc arthroplasty
* lumbar partial disc replacement: nucleus replacement
* lumbar posterior dynamic stabilization: pedicle screw based
* lumbar posterior dynamic stabilization: interspinous based
* lumbar facet replacement
* Produce optimal outcomes with detailed advice on
* advantages and disadvantages of each option
* indications and contraindications
* patient selection
* interpretation of imaging studies
* surgical anatomy and biomechanics
* surgical techniques
* tips and pearls
* See how to perform each technique, thanks to
* step-by-step, full-color illustrations
* more than 3 hours of surgical videos on DVD, narrated by the experts!
* Access to the complete contents of the book online lets you perform rapid searches, follow links to Medline and PubMed abstracts, and more.

5 Painful Facts You Need to Know

By Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience Managing Editor
http://www.livescience.com/health/080725-pain-facts.html

5 Painful Facts You Need to Know

First off, let’s set the record straight: Pain is normal. About 75 million U.S. residents endure chronic or recurrent pain. Migraines plague 25 million of us. One in six suffer arthritis.

The global pain industry peddles more than $50 billion in drugs a year. Yet for chronic pain sufferers, over-the-counter pills are typically little help, while morphine and other narcotics can be addictive sedatives.

An overview study published last month in the Journal of General Internal Medicine looked at multiple studies of pain and found “researchers don’t yet know how to determine which [treatment] is best for individual patients.” From studies of drugs to surgeries and alternative medicines, “We have found that there are huge gaps in our knowledge base,” said Dr. Matthew J. Bair, assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

So what is pain and why do so many suffer so long?

Pain is felt when electrical signals are sent from nerve endings to your brain, which in turn can release painkillers called endorphins and generate reactions that range from instant and physical to long-term and emotional. Beyond that, scientific understanding gets painfully fuzzy.

Here’s what’s known:

Fact 1 - Scientist Don’t Understand Pain

When you’re in pain, you know it. But if scientists could fully grasp how pain works and why, they might be able to help you more. The American Academy of Pain Medicine defines pain as “an unpleasant sensation and emotional response to that sensation.” Some pain is the result of an obvious injury. Other times, it is caused by damaged nerves that are not so easy to pinpoint. “Pain is complex and defies our ability to establish a clear definition,” says Kathryn Weiner, director of the American Academy of Pain Management. “Pain is far more than neural transmission and sensory transduction. Pain is a complex mixture of emotions, culture, experience, spirit and sensation.”

Fact 2 - Chronic Pain Shrinks Brains

If you have chronic pain, you know how demoralizing and debilitating it can be, physically and mentally. It can prevent you from doing things and make you irritable for reasons nobody else understands. But that’s only half the story. People with chronic backaches have brains as much as 11 percent smaller than those of non-sufferers, scientists reported in 2004. They don’t know why. “It is possible it’s just the stress of having to live with the condition,” said study leader A. Vania Apkarian of Northwestern University. “The neurons become overactive or tired of the activity.”

Fact 3 - Migraines and Sex Go Together

It may not eliminate the phrase “Not tonight, honey …” but a 2006 study found that migraine sufferers had levels of sexual desire 20 percent higher than those suffering from tension headaches. The finding suggests sexual desire and migraines might be influenced by the same brain chemical, and getting a better handle on the link could lead to better treatments, at least for the pain portion of the equation.

Fact 4 - Women Feel More Pain

Any man who has watched a woman having a baby without using drugs would swear that women can tolerate anything. But the truth is, guys, it hurts more than you can imagine. Women have more nerve receptors than men. As an example, women have 34 nerve fibers per square centimeter of facial skin, while men average just 17. And in a 2005 study, women were found to report more pain throughout their lifetimes and, compared to men, they feel pain in more areas of their body and for longer durations.

Fact 5 - Some Animals Don’t Feel Our Pain

Animal research could offer clues to eventually relieve human suffering. Take the naked mole rat, a hairless and nearly blind subterranean creature. A study this year found it feels neither the pain of acid nor the sting of chili peppers. If researchers can figure out why, they might be on the road to new sorts of painkilling therapies for humans. In 2006, scientists found a pathway for the transmission of chronic pain in rats that they hope will translate into better understanding of human chronic pain. Lobsters feel no pain, even when boiled, scientists said in a 2005 report that is just one more salvo in a long-running debate.

What You Can Do

Meanwhile, exercise is a useful remedy for many types of chronic pain.

In an Italian study detailed in the May issue of the journal Cephalalgia, office workers did relaxation and posture exercises every two to three hours. Over an eight-month period, they kept diaries, which were then compared to those of a control group that did not change habits. In the end, the group that exercised reported that headaches and neck and shoulder pain decreased by more than 40 per cent, and their use of painkillers was cut in half.

“Physical activity is actually a natural pain reliever for most people suffering from arthritis,” concludes another study published in the Arthritis Care and Research journal in April. “Even minor lifestyle changes like taking a 10-minute walk three times a day can reduce the impact of arthritis on a person’s daily activities and help to prevent developing more painful arthritis,” said Dr. Patience White, chief public health officer of the Arthritis Foundation. “Physical activity can actually reduce pain naturally and decrease dependence on pain medications.”

5 Pain Treatment Methods for Spinal Related Pain

About these Spinal Pain Treatment Modalities

Treatments I list on this page are those I have not investigated throughly. I have not tried these treatments, some mainstream, some alternative. I list them only so that those of you who are visiting the site may have additional access to possible therapies. it’s hard to say I’ve tried everything when there are so many therapies “Out there”. The real problem is not every therapy works for every person. So with that being said I give you this list.

Intrathecal Drug Delivery (Pain Pumps) - This is heavy duty, you do not want this… only the very worst cases may need this treatment.

Spinal Chord Stimulator -Surgically implanted pain treatment devices similar to Intrathecal except they deliver low voltage electrical stimulation instead of drugs.

Radiofrequency and Pulse Radiofrequency - Electromagnetic energy is delivered via a needle to treat nerves for pain.

Phoresis - High frequency sound waves are used to push a steroid medication through the skin. Lontophoresis uses a small machine to produce a mild electrical charge to carry the medicine through the skin.

Spinal Chord Stimulator -Surgically implanted paint

Therapeutic Ultrasound - I’m still learning about how this works. I’ve had both hot and cold Therapeutic Ultrasound and the hot felt great, but I don’t know the side effects if applied improperly. Most of the mainstream medical community would agree there is not real evidence to support this treatment.

Massage Thereapy Treatments for Back and Neck Pain

Note: See Also My Post on Myofascial Release

Different Types of Massage Treatments

• Deep Tissue - Targets deep layers of muscles and connective tissue
• Rolfing - A specific form of deep tissue work
• Trigger Point Therapy - Addresses Adhesions in the muscles
• Swedish - most common, long smooth strokes and kneading, circular motions
• Shiatsu - Finger pressure on acupuncture meridians
• Thai
• Many many more

My point in this post is not to cover every single variation of massage, but to point out there are treatments that may address your specific problem areas.

Therapies like Deep Tissue Massage are designed for relieving muscle contraction and reducing pain. Not all massage therapists are alike, some do not understand how to do this properly - this is a form of medical massage, as opposed to just a relaxing massage to reduce stress. All massage work has benefits. Try several different modalities and see what works best for you. Be careful of the oils the therapist uses - I like grapeseed oil.- as some oils contain fragrances and are toxic to the chemically sensitive. You’re skin will absorb these chemicals.

The only downside to massage treatments is cost. I would go everyday if I could afford the expense, or better yet I’d have the therapist stop by my home. Give massage a try, it’s great!

Video About Massage Treatments

Acupuncture

Acupuncture Videos to Help You Understand How it Works

My Experience with Acupuncture

Works for some to help with pain. I tried Acupuncture with electrical therapy (At a Chiropractors Office” and it did nothing for me, but he person doing the work may not have been fully schooled as to the proper treatment.

I then found a true Oriental Acupuncture Specialist, and it made me realize the Chiropractor was clueless. The Doctor I saw for Acupuncture was born in China, Trained in China, and was actually a retired Orthopedic Surgeon in China. The number of needles he placed, the location of placement and the effects on my muscles were completely different from the “treatment” (Money bilking) I received from the Chiropractor. In my defense the Chiropractor came highly recommended by the Naturopathic Physician I was seeing at the time. But I should have been smart enough to know that they Guy had no clue what he was doing. Now I do. The benefits of hindsight.

In short, make sure your Acupuncturist is fully trained and licensed (Yes they have schools for Acupuncture).

I received some pain reduction and additional range of motion from my treatments (A series of 10 every couple of days). Unfortunately for me the treatments did not solve my chronic problems and due to the expense ($60 per treatment) vs. benefit I was forced to abandon further treatment.

Similar Modalities Like Gua Sha

Gua Sha is a healing technique used in Asia by practitioners of Traditional Medicine, in both the clinical setting and in homes, but little known in the West. It involves palpation and cutaneous stimulation where the skin is pressured, in strokes, by a round-edged instrument; that results in the appearance of small red petechiae called ’sha’, that will fade in 2 to 3 days.

Raising Sha removes blood stagnation considered pathogenic, promoting normal circulation and metabolic processes.The patient experiences immediate relief from pain, stiffness, fever, chill, cough, nausea, and so on. Gua Sha is valuable in the prevention and treatment of acute infectious illness, upper respiratory and digestive problems, and many other acute or chronic disorders.

Gua Sha Video

Steroid Injections for Back and Neck Pain

Lumbar Epidural Injection Procedure Video

Where the Steroids are Injected

The epidural space (or extradural space or peridural space) is a part of the human spine. It is the space inside the bony spinal canal, but outside the membrane called the dura mater (sometimes called the “dura”). In contact with the inner surface of the dura is another membrane called the arachnoid mater (”arachnoid”). The arachnoid encompasses the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the spinal cord.

Epidural Steroid Injections

An epidural injection, or epidural steroid injection, may be used to help reduce the pain caused by a herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, or spinal stenosis. These spinal disorders often affect the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) areas of the spine.

The medicine used in the injection is usually a combination of a local anesthetic (e.g. bupivacaine) and a steroid (e.g. triamcinolone). The technique and risks of the procedure are similar to those for standard epidural analgesia. The effects of an epidural steroid injection vary, but permanent benefit is unlikely. The technique is believed to work by reducing the inflammation or swelling, or both, of the nerves in the epidural space.

Some patients who have some residual pain after the first injection may receive a second or third epidural steroid injection. Patients who do not receive any relief from the first injection are unlikely to benefit from a second injection.

Side Effects of Epidural Injections

Note: Yes I know that some of these side effects refer more to pregnant women than back pain, but the process is the same, it’s the injected drugs that differ.

In addition to blocking the nerves which carry pain, local anaesthetic drugs in the epidural space will block other types of nerves as well, in a dose-dependent manner. Depending on the drug and dose used, the effects may last only a few minutes or up to several hours. This results in three main effects:

• Loss of other modalities of sensation (including touch, and proprioception)
• Loss of muscle power
• Loss of function of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls blood pressure

Pain nerves are most sensitive to the effects of the epidural. This means that a good epidural can provide analgesia without affecting muscle power or other types of sensation. The larger the dose used, the more likely it is that the side-effects will be problematic.

For example, a laboring woman may have an epidural running during labor which is providing good analgesia without impairing her ability to move around in bed. She requires a Caesarean section, and is given a large dose of epidural bupivacaine. After a few minutes, she can no longer move her legs, or feel her abdomen. Her blood pressure is noted to be lower and she is given an intravenous infusion of ephedrine or phenylephrine to compensate. During the operation, she feels no pain.

Very large doses of epidural anaesthetic can cause paralysis of the intercostal muscles and diaphragm (which are responsible for breathing), and loss of sympathetic function to the heart itself, causing a profound drop in heart rate and blood pressure. This requires emergency treatment, and in severe cases may require airway support. This happens because the epidural is blocking the heart’s sympathetic nerves, as well as the phrenic nerves, which supply the diaphragm.

It is considered safe practice for all patients with epidurals to be confined to bed to prevent the risk of falls. The loss of the sensation of needing to urinate may require the placement of a urinary catheter for the duration of the epidural.

Opioid drugs in the epidural space are very safe (as well as effective). However, very large doses may cause troublesome itch, and rarely, delayed respiratory depression.

For patients with nerve root pain involving one or two roots, I believe that fluoroscopically guided foraminal injections will prove to be superior to the approaches that do not use x-ray guidance. Epidurals in general, but especially foraminal injections, do not appear to be as effective if the pain is caused by widespread degenerative or arthritic problems in the spine. - Steven Richeimer, MD

Nutritional Therapy for Back and Neck Pain

Supplements like Zyflamend (New Chapter’s anti-inflammatory Herbal Remedy endorsed by MD’s), Carlson’s Fish Oil (Norwegian and toxin free), Essential Fatty Acids from Pumpkin Seeds and Pumpkin Seed Oil, Flax Seed and Flax Oil (Mix the flax oil 2-5 tablespoons per 4 ounces of organic cottage cheese), lots of pure bottled water (Do not drink distilled water as it has no minerals and will “pull” minerals from your body!) will be of great benefit to many. While genetics may be the determining factor in longevity and health, providing your body with quality nutrition can only help.

If possible have your blood and hair tested for mineral and vitamin deficiencies. Get both tests done as they complement each other. You’re body MUST have nutrition to heal! There are other supplements which will help depending on your own individual needs. Specific foods can cause or reduce inflammation - I’ll cover this topic deeper in posts to the Nutrition Category.

Grocery store foods contain deadly toxins and pesticides that damage your liver, joints, etc. and make it very difficult to heal. Soda Pop is death to the blood. Fix your nutrition now while you still can. Dairy products will clog your intestines and make digestion of essential nutrients more difficult. Diary is full of sugars, pus, blood, fats and hormones your body does not need.

Don’t buy into the Dairy Industry promotion of calcium. Your body requires magnesium to properly absorb calcium, and the ratio of calcium to magnesium in Dairy is about 10:1 not 3:1 or 2:1 which would allow proper absorption of the calcium. There are some exceptions to avoiding Dairy. Organic Cottage Cheese and some Organic Yogurts and Butters may have benefits which outweigh the risks.

Pasteurization kills bacteria, but also destroys essential enzymes. Consider taking Enzyme Supplements with your meals to aid in absorption of nutrients. Enzymes will also be beneficial in reducing inflammation. Limit your consumption of Beef (and inflammatory food) and do not eat pork (contains viruses and plays havoc with your blood).

The bottom line is this: Take a hard look at what you eat everyday, read the labels, try to eat foods that do not come in bottles, boxes, or cans. Eat fresh, eat organic, and give your body the fuel it needs to heal!

I would think most people would find it odd that a Doctor will write a prescription for synthetic chemicals and people will readily and willingly take the pills because the “Doctor told them to”. Sure they know there are side effects, but they have no idea what those chemicals are really doing to their bodies. But those same people would look at the Doctor with disappointment if he told them to eat right. Imagine if your Doctor handed you a list of foods that prevent inflammation and pain, what would you do? Food for thought (Pun Intended).

ISTOP Acupuncture

ISTOP Acupuncture Treatment for Pain

ISTOP: Institute for the Study and Treatment of Pain

I believe the ISTOP Methods can be extremely beneficial for all kinds of spinal pain patients. I had to leave my Home State to find a practioner. And I was only able to receive one treatment (Which is simply not enough). But I am convinced by the process of the treatment, that this modality holds incredible potential in pain relief. I wish I could afford to move and get regular treatments. I have had traditional accupuncture administered by a Chinese Doctor (Born in China, and with MD Credentials as an Orthopedic Surgeon in China) with over 20 years Acupuncture experience, and it was simply not the same.

ISTOP is different, the needles are placed deeper. And there is a slight amount of pain upon insertion as you would expect, but no more so than traditional Acupuncture.

If you have any pain related to musculoskeletal issues and have the opportunity to undergo this treatment I would highly recommend you give it a chance.

The Doctor Behind ISTOP

Dr. Chan Gunn matriculated at Peterhouse in 1950, and was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of the College in 1997. He is a pioneer in the treatment of pain, and is President of the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Pain based in Vancouver, Canada. He is also Clinical Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, US. In 2001, Dr Gunn was awarded the Order of British Columbia, and in 2002 he became a member of the Order of Canada, the Nation’s highest honor. In 2007, Dr. Gunn was also admitted as a Companion of the Guild of Cambridge Benefactors and elected as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

Visit ISTOP.ORG to learn more.

Good Posture Equals Good Health

Spinal injury, back pain, neck pain, degeneration can all be reduced or prevented through the use of correct posture and sitting habits. Stories from each side of the Atlantic Ocean have highlighted the benefits of good posture and its relationship to good overall health. One of the articles found in the May 4, 2005 PR Newswire highlights the problem that many people spend all day tapping away on a keyboard at the office only to come home and slouch in a recliner for hours while watching TV.

This article points out that 80 percent of Americans have not only endured back pain, but contribute to it in the way they sit, exercise, work and sleep.

Alexander Technique and How it Will Teach You to Correct Your Own Posture

Many swear by the “Alexander Technique” as a method of making ourselves aware of how we use our bodies in day to day activities. By creating awareness we can self-correct the damaging postural habits that lead to spinal problems and overall poor health.

The Alexander Technique addresses both the musuloskeletal and nervous system, and is used to alleviate back, neck and joint pain.

Enjoy these Videos as I can not explain Alexander Technique as well as the Instructors.

Posture and Your Health

Across the “pond” in a related April 2005 article from the British “ResponseSource.com” comes the headline, “Work May Be Hazardous to Your Health.” This article also highlights the dangers of workplace posture and its effect on health. In this article the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) joined forces with Targus, a leading supplier of mobile computing cases, to conduct the research that showed that a third of office workers make no adjustments to either seating or computer equipment when switching desks. The article noted that the same percentage of office workers say they currently suffer back pain – and experts believe there may be a link.

The American PR Newswire article noted that the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) was declaring May to be “Correct Posture Month” and is using this event to highlight the relationships between posture and health. Spokesperson for the ACA Dr. Jerome McAndrews stated, “Once established, poor posture creates a chain reaction throughout the body. The digestive and respiratory systems will be affected by poor posture, especially poor sitting posture. And in more serious cases, where poor posture has had major effects on the musculoskeletal system, there can be a resulting negative impact on the vascular system.”

In the British article, Tim Hutchful from the British Chiropractic Association commented, “Whether at work or at home, computers have begun to dominate our lives, yet what we don’t realize is that they in fact have the ability to damage our health. The nation is suffering from an epidemic of back pain and our working lives could be contributing to this. By taking time to adjust your chair and by taking regular breaks can help protect your spine and prevent the onslaught of back pain”.

Both Chiropractic organizations released a series of recommendations to help deal with the posture issue. Similarly, The International Chiropractors Association also released recommendations related to posture and sitting at work. These include:

When sitting - use a chair with firm low back support. Keep desk or table top elbow high, adjust the chair or use a footrest to keep pressure off the back of the legs, and keep your knees a little higher than your hips. Get up and stretch frequently–every hour if you sit for long periods of time. Do not sit on a fat wallet; it can cause hip imbalance!

When working on a computer - take a one or two minute task break every 20 minutes when you work at a computer screen. Keep the screen 15 degrees below eye level. Place reference materials on a copy stand even with and close to the terminal.

Editors Note: Please heed this advise. I know from my own degenerative disc disease and 3 level Cervical Disc Herniations that my bad posture habits aggravated and may have created my condition. I used to slump for hours on end in front of the computer screen. I worried about carpal tunnel and even my lower back (I erroneously assumed I would feel some kind of pain BEFORE any damage occured), but never even considered the effect it had on my neck. Ergonomics are essential. If you are an office worker insist on a properly designed workstation. My preference is for the Steelcase “Leap” series seating.

Recommended Reading About Back Pain

Why Amazon? Because Amazon has all the most quoted books. I visit a lot of medical forums and many books are often quoted or suggested. I always go to Amazon First because they almost always have the book, and for their reader opinions and reviews. You get to see exactly what other people like you think of a book - people that have actually read the book. In addition they do a great job of linking to similar titles so you can see if there is another book that may be more suited to your needs. This saves you the agony of making a bad purchasing decision.

Looking for Lower Back Pain Relief? Lumbar Pain?

Statistics on low back pain are not only alarming they are downright scary. Most people will experience back pain or neck pain during their lifetime. Most people are clueless as to why until it’s too late. Low Back Pain is serious and will occur in 80% of us during our lives!

If you have Lower Back Pain of ANY kind please please take the time to read this VITAL information.

Ask your Physician if you have any symptoms that would be contradicted by Inversion Therapy. That’s right - hanging upside down. Better than traction because you use decompress the ENTIRE spine. And NO you don’t have to hang completely upside down. All you need is an Inversion Table which allows you to adjust the angle of decline. Inversion Chairs are also available. Inversion therapy allows the vertebrae and discs to decompress and absorb nutrients. Tables may be covered by your Insurance Plan and are tax deductible if prescribed by your Physician.

Urgent: If you are considering Fusion please take the time to also consider ADR (Artificial Disc Replacement). Visit the Global Patient Network and read everything you can BEFORE you decide. GPN also sponsors a Forum called ISPINE.ORG where you will have the opportunity to read what others think and post your own questions.

Please if you have lumbar pain let me urge you one more time to read the information on this page. It could give you your life back; pain free! Or it may just prevent you from developing disabling back pain in the future.

Until you personally experience Low Back Pain with or without Sciatica (which I hope you never will, but statistically 4/5 of you will be the unlucky recipients of it’s disabling effects) you can’t understand the devastating effects it has on your life.

You see the Human Spine actually starts the degenerative process during the second decade of life. That’s right between ages 10 and 20 the degeneration has already begun. It’s no wonder so many of us suffer lumbar pain. They don’t teach you this in school. By age 26 most of your discs have reached their full potential and will only begin the downward slide from there. I even read one authors quote that the Human Body is designed to last about 35 years and you are living on borrowed time after that! Believe it.

Recommended Sites: Lumbar Pain - Low Back Pain Relief Related

1. Stop your Sciatica Pain - Stop Sciatica is based on Pamela Kim’s expertise in teaching the Feldenkriais Method® of Somatic Education training. The Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Education and “skeletal engineering” are the foundation of this book. Pamela has been helping people overcome pain by helping to gently retrain the nervous system with these skills.

2. Back Pain - How to Get Rid of it! Learn “How to” STOP Muscle Imbalance and the often crippling pain it causes. I purchased this DVD in June 2005. The DVD is very short (about 20 minutes) and comes with an instructional pamphlet of sorts that shows the exercises for each of the types of muscle imbalances specific to the area of your back where you are experiencing the pain. By the time you read this I’m sure the product will be updated (I’m revising this message as I move to a new Blog Platform in July 2008). The exercises for “Head Forward” which have caused my neck Herniations are similar (but not the same) as the very specific exercises my Physical Therapist has me doing.

You should also note that to do the exercises for the Head Forward you will need to purchase an exercise ball and exercise bands. The exercise pamphlet the Neurologist gave me filled with Generic Exercises SIMPLY DID NOT WORK! And there is a reason for that! The exercises were not specifically tailored to the type an location of the pain I was having. This DVD walks you step by step through VERY SPECIFIC tests to determine the CAUSE of your pain! Update: July 2008 - the site now contains additional material.

YOU CAN NOT SOLVE YOUR LOW BACK PAIN PROBLEM UNLESS YOU KNOW THE CAUSE! YOU CAN NOT TREAT THE CAUSE WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN SPECIFIC EXERCISES CUSTOM TAILORED TO YOU (AND OF COURSE SOLID NUTRITION AND SUPPORT). FOR MOST THE RIGHT EXERCISE PROGRAM WILL WORK IF THEIR DEGENERATION HAS NOT CAUSED TOO MUCH DAMAGE.

Doctors will NOT tell you about muscle imbalances it’s the sad truth. If you have Sciatica the exercises are MUCH different than what I have found anywhere online on the big medical sites that come up first in the search engines. Recommended and worth the cost (It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the money I put in to Chiropractic, Massage, and Neurologists - None of which diagnosed my muscle imbalance correctly). Only this DVD and my PT were able to show me the “CAUSE” of my problem.) You may still need referral to physical therapy, but at least you will be ahead in the game and know what questions to ask and why your PT is telling you to do certain movements. Are you tired of the Pain? Give it a try! It’s nice to buy a product that really does what it says it will do. I am not saying this will work for everyone, but it sure opened my eyes!

Lets talk about treatment for back pain and sciatica. The first thing the Doctor is going to tell you is “most back problem heal themselves”. Statistically this is true, but unfortunately there are those of us whom do not fall on the “right” side of the statistical curve.

Then you will progress through a series of “cookbook” medicine. You will continue through each step until something finally works, your condition worsens to the point if surgery, or your body heals itself (which is impossible if UNTREATED MUSCLE IMBALANCE is causing your problem). And aside from genetic deterioration - Muscle Imbalance is the most likely cause.

Chiropractors want to manipulate your joints (some on a weekly basis). LMT’s (Licensed Massage Therapists) will try to massage your problem away. You may choose to visit Neurologists, Orthopedic Surgeons, Neurosurgeons to get their opinions. You will try just about anything to STOP the pain. But the pain may not stop! Trust me I know!

I finally found a Physical Therapist that knows what she is doing. It actually can happen you can find Doctors who realize the true cause and don’t just prescribe “treatments” for the symptoms. The day I was tested for Muscle Imbalance was the day I finally began to BELIEVE I could get better. Again you can not “Fix” your back problem until you understand the cause. And how easy it is to “Fix” really depends on how much damage has been done.

Fix Your Muscle Imbalances and Stop Your LOW BACK PAIN!

What is Muscle Imbalance? Your spine is designed to have a natural “curve”. When properly aligned your spine supports your body without trouble. You are flexible and can move without pain. When you have poor posture or bad sitting, bending, sleeping habits your spine will bend in unnatural ways requiring your muscles to support the weight that should be supported by the spine. As a result some muscles become stronger to support the additional weight, while other muscles become weaker. Some will stretch and others will contract and shorten. Other support structures will also adapt to the new position such as ligaments and tendons. Your discs will bulge and potentially rupture (Herniate). This is a state of “Muscle Imbalance”.

You can not eliminate the problem until you fix the CAUSE. And the cause is nearly always the muscle imbalance and destructive forces on your soft tissues as your body adjusts to support your weight.

I can tell you, plead with you, and beg you to consider muscle imbalance as the CAUSE of your low back pain problem, but ultimately you must decide for yourself. Until you have been tested to see which muscles are weak, or until you have read the “science” behind the mechanics of the spine and muscle tissue you may choose not to believe. For those of you who choose not to believe (Or for the very few % of you who really do have conditions not caused by muscle imbalance) I wish you the best in either case.

How Did Your Back Pain Get So Bad

The human skeleton is an interconnected set of bones that are designed to work with one another to achieve flexible movement in gravity. The skeleton is our infrastructure while muscles, tendons and ligaments exist solely to assist the skeleton to achieve movement.

If one part of the skeleton stops moving, (much like an auto engine) other parts must take over the additional burden of the unmoving part. Like auto engines some parts that stop moving cause more serious consequences than others. For instance the pelvis is the most important moving part of our skeleton because it is our balance mechanism along with being the heaviest bone mass in our body. If the pelvis stops moving we lose our ‘skeletal’ ability to balance and the ‘ musculature’ begins to take over that role. The problem with relying on muscles to keep us in balance is that they are not designed to do so.

Muscles Versus Nervous System

Muscles receive the message to contract or release from your nervous system, but muscles cannot tell the nervous system to turn on or off. However, muscles can alert the nervous system of problems in the form of pain from fatigue due to lack of oxygen and chronic contraction. This is what most of us experience when we have chronic pain; muscle fatigue from contraction. We can get muscles to release with massage and other techniques; unfortunately it does not mean the muscles have ‘learned’ not to contract inappropriately. To re-train muscles the message must come from the nervous system to release based on the movements we are trying to execute. The whole process becomes more complicated because the nervous system sends messages to many muscles at once via neural pathways.

If you are trying to change how you do a movement such as reaching, the nervous system is sending a message throughout your system along a neural pathway. Your neural pathways are constantly being tweaked depending on pain, discomfort, injury and muscle contractions. Even as you move less and less your nervous system is actively changing to accommodate what you can do for that moment in time! The most direct way to help your system learn how to move without chronic pain and stiffness you must address the muscles from the message center; the nervous system.