What is Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is long-lasting pain. It persists after the normal recovery period from an illness or injury passes, and for some people, it persists indefinitely.
Being in pain for weeks, months, or even years can take a toll on a person in so many different ways. Chronic pain can make it difficult to do your daily activities, work, or enjoy life. It can make it hard to move around, or sleep soundly. For some people, the stress of living with chronic pain can cause mental health issues.
Symptoms of Chronic Pain
Chronic pain varies from person to person. Pain can range from mild to severe; for some people, chronic pain can be downright debilitating. Pain may be aching, tingling, radiating, sharp, or shooting.
For some people, the pain may be localized to a particular area; for others, it may be widespread. Some people may suffer constantly; others may experience frequent bouts of pain that can strike at any moment.
There are some symptoms sufferers of chronic pain do have in common. Living with chronic pain can cause fatigue. Pain can be draining, and makes it difficult to sleep.
People with chronic pain may feel restless due to their frustration. Stress builds when the pain becomes hard to ignore, or bouts of pain don't pass. Many people with chronic pain live with anxiety or suffer depression due to stress.
How the Upper Cervical Spine Affects Chronic Pain
The body is a little like a machine; certain parts are more sensitive than other parts. If something goes wrong in one of those sensitive areas, it throws everything else out of whack.
The upper cervical spine is one of those sensitive areas on the body that can throw everything else out of whack. It consists of the top seven vertebrae that run through the base of the skull, and down through the neck. These vertebrae are responsible for the carriage of the head, the ability to turn your head from side to side, and protecting the spinal cord near the critical juncture where it connects to the brain stem.
The upper cervical spine is prone to injury from even mild jolts, such as fender-benders, recreational sports, or falls. Even poor posture or a bad mattress can result in the misalignment of the vertebrae, and even a minute misalignment in the upper cervical spine can shift everything and put stress on the joints, muscles, and ligaments throughout the rest of the body. Inflammation and swelling can also cause compression of nerves or vessels, impeding them from doing their job.
How Our Chronic Pain Treatment Works
The root cause for many musculoskeletal conditions can be traced to the source—the upper cervical spine. At Blair Chiropractic Clinic in Lubbock, Texas, our resident specialist is Dr. Gordon Elder. Dr. Elder is an expert in the Blair Chiropractic Technique, a modern upper cervical technique that utilizes state-of-the-art technology combined with hands-on treatment. The Blair technique is a non-invasive, drug-free treatment option for many pain sufferers.
Dr. Elder has success with a three-step approach to upper cervical care. He begins with an examination using advanced 3D diagnostic imaging tools to pinpoint and calculate your unique anatomy. This thorough preliminary exam eliminates the guesswork so that the doctor can target the exact problem area.
With direct targeting, the doctor's manual corrections can be more precise and use much less force in comparison to traditional chiropractic methods. This not only makes for more comfortable patients but requires fewer visits and allows corrections to hold longer.
Dr. Elder's final step involves ongoing preventative care. Adding chiropractic check-ups to your regular healthcare routine can ensure new problems don't arise, and the doctor can nip any issues in the bud.
Don't suffer from chronic pain longer than necessary. Contact Dr. Elder to see if upper cervical care can help you. The doctor's area of coverage includes Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland, Odessa, Abilene, and El Paso in Texas, as well as Hobbs in New Mexico.
Published by Vic Belonogoff: A Blair Chiropractic doctor helped heal vertigo, among other conditions that Vic Belonogoff suffered from, and it gave him his life back. He continues to see an upper cervical chiropractor as a preventative measure. Vic Belonogoff is passionate about upper cervical chiropractic and how much it helps patients.