Old Mill Chiropractic Helps Back Pain Sufferers Fight Fear Avoidance and Move More
Fear of back pain? Once you’ve had it, you say “yes!” Your St Peters chiropractor totally understands this. St Peters back pain and neck pain patients do not want to experience that pain again. Old Mill Chiropractic helps spine pain sufferers get their confidence back with encouragement and exercise.
FEAR AVOIDANCE DUE TO BACK PAIN
Back pain sufferers don't want to revisit back pain if they have any options at all. That desire - whether obvious or subtle, stated or just ruminated in the mind – sets up the situation for a behavior called fear-avoidance. Patients with persistent spinal pain syndrome - post-surgically caused or not – provoked high levels of fear avoidance, anxiety, and depression. (1) Researchers explained that the pain experience isn't just physical as emotions, behaviors and beliefs are involved as well. Fear avoidant behavior like fearing the act of lifting an object grows and impacts muscle behavior without realizing it. A new study compared fear-avoidant beliefs and the lumbar spine paraspinal muscle activity use while lifting in both back pain and in pain-free persons. Fear of lifting an object with a flexed spine as documented in a questionnaire was negatively associated with erector spinae activity to protect the spine from harm. The proper way to lift has been argued through the years. Lifting with a straight back has been portrayed as safer than lifting with a flexed back though research has not really supported that while lifting with a lordotic posture has been found to result in more erector spinae muscle activity giving rise to muscle fatigue and pain. (2) Old Mill Chiropractic knows the significance of managing fear avoidance and its link to better quality of life.
HOW TO MANAGE FEAR AVOIDANCE
Researchers documented that back pain sufferers today ‘get’ that they must keep active but some require a little more support and encouragement to move and exercise because of a lack of confidence in their backs’ ability to exercise without causing pain. The healthcare provider not only can give the latest findings on pain control but also coach the back pain patient to be physical in the safest way possible. (3) If you are that patient, Old Mill Chiropractic is your trainer! We’re a team and can help you move easier and with less fear and provide gentle, relieving spinal manipulation. 12 weeks of chiropractic manipulation and exercise for older adults with chronic back pain improved their self-efficacy and fear-avoidant behaviors as well as decreases in disability. A 30% or more reduction in the Oswestry Disability Index indicated positive response to care. (4) The more engaged a patient is with treatment, the greater the influence on the feeling of self-efficacy and disability reduction. (5) Let’s work together to control your St Peters back pain so it does not control you.
CONTACT Old Mill Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Tom Menendez on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the relief with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for an older patient with back pain for whom fear avoidance is understandable.
Make your St Peters chiropractic appointment soon so that if you are asked if you fear back pain, you can say “no”!
