Imagine: You left the lasagne in the oven too long and now the house is on fire. Then the smoke alarm starts going off. It’s loud, it’s annoying and its constant. It’s trying to tell you something is going horribly wrong! At this point what do you do? Go and unplug the smoke alarm and make the noise stop or go and ring the fire brigade and get the fire put out?
This slightly amusing analogy is all about pain. There are some scary statistics out there that indicate that there are around 28 million adults that are suffering with chronic pain. That’s around 43% of the population and 14% of these adults are under the age of 25. The Guardian labelled this to be the ‘silent epidemic’ in the UK. The TUC reported that British businesses lose an estimated 4.9 million days to employee absenteeism through work-related back pain.
Many of these people are keeping a constant supply of painkillers in their handbag and desk drawer
just to get through the day. Nearly all of these people would also agree this definitely isn’t fixing the problem and is only ‘masking’ the issue. On top of this there is data out there that says painkillers can actually make the problem WORSE. This is because endorphins become less effective and make people more sensitive to their pain. On top of all this there is also the damage long term use of painkillers can do to your stomach. So instead of “unplugging the smoke alarm “, it sounds like it’s time to call the fire brigade!
At Reflex Spinal Health we have a wide range of excellent modalities that enable us to tailor your care to the specific cause of pain – chronic or otherwise. Many studies have shown that manual therapies such as chiropractic and osteopathy are effective in the treatment of chronic low back pain. Alongside this there is also research that shows the effectiveness on other conditions such as lumbar disc herniation, radiculopathy and neck pain.
We are also able to enhance to the effectiveness of spinal manipulation by working alongside our massage therapists and K-Laser therapists. Once the fire is put out we are also great at keeping you on track with a tailored rehab programme and maintenance programme!
To find out more about the different modalities you can have a look at the different sections on our website. If you’re not sure what might be right for you then you can also book in for a complimentary 15 minute spinal scan.
Bronfort G, DC, PhD, et al. “Effectiveness of manual therapies: the UK evidence report,” Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2010, 18:3
Hahne AJ, Ford JJ, McMeeken JM, “Conservative management of lumbar disc herniation with associated radiculopathy: a systematic review,” Spine 35 (11): E488–504 (2010).
