Bottom Line: Pain is your body’s way of signaling to you that something needs your attention. Think of it as your body saying ‘Pay Attention Inside Now.’ When a problem occurs in our body, due to ergonomic stress, spinal misalignment, or degenerative changes, our body uses pain as a signal for us to pay attention and take action.
But, when the pain goes away, isn’t the problem corrected?
You may be surprised but the answer is ‘no.’ Just because your pain goes away doesn’t mean the problem has been corrected. Pain is like a bad party guest- it’s the last to show up and the first to leave.
Chiropractic adjustments work to provide pain relief while also correcting the underlying problem.
Why it Matters: You or someone you know may have visited a medical doctor in the past with neck or back pain. Perhaps, an injection was recommended. What happened next? For many people their pain returns in a matter of days or weeks. Why? Because the cause of the pain wasn’t corrected.
How can you correct the underlying problem that’s causing your pain?
If you’re receiving chiropractic adjustments as part of your care, then you already know the answer. Research has proven the smart choice. Chiropractic care has been shown to address the mechanical and neural aspects of the underlying cause of the pain. The latest research shows that people who receive chiropractic care have a 60% decrease in pain, which was nearly 10% MORE relief that those who received an injection. Congratulations… you’re on the pathway to receiving excellent pain relief while also correcting its cause- all with a chiropractic adjustment.
Next Steps: If you, or someone you know is persuaded into receiving an epidural injection, make sure to remember that the science says a combined approach of ongoing chiropractic adjustments will results in a greater outcome than an injection alone.
Science Source:
Spinal Manipulation Postepidural Injection for Lumbar and Cervical Radiculopathy: A Retrospective Case Series. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. September 2004. Volume 27. Number 7
Symptomatic MRI-Confirmed Lumbar Disk Herniation Patients: A Comparative Effectiveness Prospective Observational Study of 2 Age- and Sex-Matched Cohorts Treated with Either High-Velocity, Low Amplitude Spinal Manipulative Therapy or Imaging-Guided Lumbar Nerve Root Injections. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 2013 May; 36(4):218-25
A Retrospective Analysis of Vertebral Body Fractures Following Epidural Steroid Injections. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, Volume 95, Issue 11 (2013, Jun 05;95(11):961-964)