When some people complain that their back is killing them, a recent study by University of Sydney researchers showed that they may not be exaggerating.
The study, recently published in the European Journal of Pain examined 4390 Danish twins over the age of 70 to see if spinal pain increased the rate of death from all causes. Alarmingly, they found that those experiencing spinal pain had a 13% higher risk of dying every year. And this risk compounded every year!
The results did not surprise Sunshine Coast chiropractor and holistic pain relief expert, Dr Paul Lanthois.
“I have been saying for years that if you’re back is in pain it is rarely just a back issue. Back pain is almost always an overall health issue. Pain is a sign that your health and lifestyle need improving.”
Three Common Approaches to Treating Back Pain
Back pain is rarely just a back issue but an overall health and wellbeing issue
He points out that the three main treatment approaches for back pain relief focus on trying to treat, suppress or even ignore the symptom of back pain.
The first approach is the “head in the sand” approach where you just ignore the pain and hope it goes away. “That doesn’t improve your health at all and you keep on doing what created the pain in the first place.”
The second approach is what Dr Lanthois calls the “number and dumber” approach that uses pain killing medication to numb the pain. Recent studies have confirmed that medications are ineffective and cause even more harm.
Thirdly, people focus on getting treatment to the area in pain and improving its alignment and flexibility. Massage, exercise and spinal manipulation are most commonly used.
Dr Lanthois suggests that this third approach only scrapes the surface of what should be done to address the underlying cause of the pain. He suggests a more holistic, health and wellbeing approach to back pain and all pain for that matter.
A More Holistic Approach to Back Pain
In fact, Dr Lanthois developed his own health and wellbeing approach to pain relief … the Lanthois Pain Relief Method. With this method, he recommends that treatment improving alignment and flexibility should be directed to the whole body and not just the back. “Imbalances in other parts of the body can also put added pressure on the back.”
In addition, he assesses other lifestyle factors that affect your overall health and wellbeing like: nutrition, stress management, stretching, fitness, strength and rest and provides suggestions for improvement.
“You see, the key to treating the cause of back pain (and all pain for that matter) is to become healthier,” claims Dr Lanthois. ” The healthier you are the less pain you’ll experience.”
And what does Dr Lanthois say to the many people out there who may be in pain but believe that they’re already healthy?
“To those people, I say please listen to your body. The results of this study confirm that your pain is telling you something different!”