Can my back pain be helped by losing weight?

Have you ever been told that your back pain is being caused by your weight? As a former football player and coach that has never made sense to me. If that were true then virtually every lineman in the NFL and college should have back pain. Obviously they don't. An article in "Spine" by Leboeuf-Yde reviewed all available studies regarding back pain and bodyweight. So what did all these studies reveal? The majority of studies conclude that there is no link between low back pain and being overweight. The bottom line is if you have low back pain and are overweight look for another cause to your problem than your weight. - Dr. C

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WARNING: This Newsletter Is Not For You If Your First Choice For Back and Neck Pain Relief Is Drugs Or Surgery

Issue 2 If I have a slipped disc don't I need to have ©Back Care Professionals surgery?

In This Issue: Many people with back pain have been told that due to the findings of an MRI, they have Do slipped discs a herniated disc and will need surgery. Is that true? Well consider the following: MRI need surgery? findings revealed that 64% of the people with no back pain showed a disc abnormality.

Why two Darrins Myelogram testing showed 24% of people with no back pain had a compressed nerve. on ? A lot of are people are being told that their back pain is being caused by a disc problem.

Dr. M’s When in reality, that may not be the case at all. Spinal nerves do not cause pain unless chiropractic they are first irritated and inflamed. story. It has been shown in studies that not all pain going down the leg from the back is caused Health Vampires by a disc problem. Many structures in the back, if irritated, can send pain into the legs. So, if you’re diagnosed with a herniated disc and told you need surgery, at least consider the possibility that a herniated disc may not be the cause of your pain. “Back and Neck Pain Relief without Don’t Be The Next Darrin Stevens Dangerous Drugs or If you’re old enough or if you’ve been tuning into TV Land, you probably remember the 1960’s TV show Bewitched. It was about the mad cap adventures of a mortal man married Surgery” to a young beautiful witch. The show starred as Samantha Stevens and Dick York as her husband, Darrin. It was a big hit and Dick York had a very promising Our Office Hours career. In 1959, before he starred in Bewitched, he was on a movie set filming They Monday - Friday Came to Cordura with and . During one of the scenes he 8:30 - 12:00 wrenched his lower back. This injury would plague him for the rest of his life. His back 3:30 - 7:00 pain would flair up severely from time to time during the shooting of the Bewitched Saturday episodes. By the end of his Bewitched career he would have to be filmed in sitting or 8:30 - 12:00 laying down positions because he was in so much pain. Finally, he just couldn’t go on any longer and had to quit the show. And if you ever wondered, this is the reason there were two Darrin’s. 87% of our The treatment for back pain in the sixties was somewhat less than desirable. Heavy duty new patients drugs, ineffective bed rest and surgery were pretty much the standard. With that being the are referred case, York became bedridden and addicted to pain killers, basically destroying his career. by our existing Over the years, he eventually was able to break his addiction but never regained the patients. income or status he once had. Who knows how his career would have been if he’d gotten the right care?

No individuals, including those under our active care, should use the information; resources or tools contained within to self-diagnose or self-treat any health-related condition. Diagnosis and treatment of all health conditions should only be performed by the doctor or other licensed health care professional. My Back Is What Made Me Chiropractor by Dr. Neal Mathews

My first experience with chiropractic occurred while I was just out of high school. At that time my aspiration was to be a NJ State Policeman. My best friend in high school, John, also wanted to be one too. We were only 18 years old and our chances of being accepted by the academy seemed pretty slim. We were just too young and had no experience what-so-ever. So we decided that it may be in our best interest to join the U.S. Army and earn our experience as a Military Policeman. We figured that when we got out of the Army our chances of being accepted by the state police academy were better. John was 6 foot eight and 250 pounds. Great state police material. I was a skinny 135 pounds soaking wet. Not too impressive for a trooper. Before I was to report for military duty, I thought it would be a good idea if I try and beef up a bit. I started lifting weights and working out rather heavily. During one of the exercise routines, I felt something “go” in my lower back. I didn't think much of it at the time but gradually over the next few days it got to the point where I couldn't move or even walk. The memory of that horrible pain is still burned into my brain. I remember that little things seemed impossible to do. Just trying to get up and make to the bathroom was a major feat. I remember having to either crawl on my hands and knees or try and make my way by holding onto some piece of furniture.

This happened during the summer after school ended. My enlistment date was September 5th and I wanted the summer to prepare myself and enjoy some time off. But now I was down for the count! I waited about 2 weeks hoping the pain would go away but it only improved very slightly. There was no way I was going to get in the Army in this condition.

I come from a small town, Riverton, NJ and during those times we still had our hometown medical doctor making house calls. He was a good man. Tough old bird too. He was at Pearl Harbor during the attack and served in the Navy as ship’s surgeon. He was a “Quit your whining, I’ve seen a lot worse!” kind of doctor. However, I did still appreciate his “Let’s get to work” attitude. Well, except for the time he was treating me for a burn on my foot. That little gem was the result of some not-so-smart antics on the Fourth of July. I discovered that a Roman candle (a stick like thing that you light and shoot cool looking balls of flame into the air) can blow out the bottom and go into your high top sneaker. Yes, there’s a warning label stating that it is dangerous to hold in your hand but I was young and I knew everything back then. That label didn’t apply to me. I also discovered that those little flame balls don’t stop flaming until they’re all done burning themselves fully out. That’s not a good thing when it’s inside your shoe. Anyway, while under care for the resulting hole burned into my foot, the good doctor said he needed to see if the burn under the scab was healing. He then proceeded, without warning, to rip off the scab and then calmly commented, “Nope, no infection. Everything looks good.” I don’t think it’s necessary to describe my feelings for the man at that moment. The term no-nonsense described him extremely well.

Well, the good doctor was summoned to our house and he found me in pretty bad shape with my back. I knew things weren’t looking good because he didn’t tell me to, “quit my whining.” He gave me some medications that he dug out of his little black case that I would always see him with. Those meds made me feel all groggy and they really didn't help the pain that much. He visited me a few times at home and eventually said that it may be a good idea

- 2 - to go into Philadelphia and talk to a back surgeon. Well, one: I didn't like the medications and, two: I certainly didn't like the recommendations for surgery. I remember being terribly upset about the possibility that I was not going to be able to go into the Army or even be a trooper.

My mother had been seeing a local chiropractor and she suggested that I go see him. I had never gone to a chiropractor before and I was very apprehensive. Supposedly they were pretty weird dudes. We actually had two in our area. One of them I heard was suppose to be really over the top and that sounded a little too far-out for me. The other one, the one my mom went to, had a better reputation, plus the added benefit of the blessing from my mother. When I finally went to see him I discovered that he was quite knowledgeable and easy to talk to. He didn’t seem to be the crazed, twig eating, unbathed witch doctor that I had imagined.

After an examination and some x-rays, I was informed that the bones in my lower back had "locked up". Those bones were then putting pressure on the nerves that come out in between them and this is causing my back muscles to go into spasms. He explained that he was going to gently move the bones and take the pressure off the joints and nerves so my body could begin functioning normally again. He had one of those fancy tables that you stood up on and it lowered you into position. He pressed on my back for a few moments and then turned me on my side and “cracked” me. And do you know what happen? Nothing. In fact, I kind of felt worse. This was not quite what I expected. I thought that all my pain would magically disappear at that instant. Unfortunately, that was not going to be the case. It took me a bit but I finally accepted the fact that it was going to take some time and some work to get those joints, nerves and muscles functioning normally again. It was like going on a diet or starting an exercise program. The changes won’t happen overnight. It took repeated sessions for my back to return to a state where I could be some what functional again. But, only after a few more weeks of care, I was able to return to my exercise training and get in relatively good shape for when I went into the Army.

I never forgot how I was helped the chiropractor. As you know, I'm currently not a state policeman. During my time as a military policeman, I discovered that police hours were tough, the pay was not that great and the divorce rate was high. So when I was discharged I gave up my pursuit of being a police officer. For a while, I worked the overnight shift at an office supply company as an inventory control clerk. I quickly became unhappy with the late working hours and the monotony of counting pens and pencils. The thought of how cool it was to be helped by the chiropractor kept coming back to me. I eventually decided to return to college and become a chiropractor. It may sound corny but I always wanted to be able to help people get back to doing the things they love to do. Just like I was helped.

Being a chiropractor has not been without its challenges. It’s not easy going against the established “drugs and surgery” approach. Especially, when you’re competing against drug companies who spend billions in advertising dollars to see to it that is the way we should think. Despite these obstacles, I’m proud to say that Dr. Cook and I have been able to create one of the largest back and neck pain relief centers in the area. All without the use of drugs or surgery!

Next Issue: Dr. Cook’s chiropractic story.

- 3 - Health Vampires

If you're like me... when you hear or see one of those commercials for the latest, greatest pharmaceutical "miracle drug" and then listen to the list of side effects, you probably ask yourself, “Who would actually listen to that and still think it's a good idea to ask your doctor if this drug is right for you?" But, you and I know most people will do exactly what the drug companies tell them to do. The latest drug that really got me going is called Nuvigil. It’s prescribed for treatment of a condition called "shift work sleep disorder." They define this disorder as, “sleepiness during scheduled waking hours, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep during scheduled sleeping hours.” This is for people who work at night or on rotating shifts. Here are just some of the side effects of this wonder drug:

 Thinking about killing or harming yourself  Chest pain

 Depression  Difficulty seeing or eye pain

 Anxiety  Uncontrollable shaking of a part of your body

 Hallucinating  Confusion

 Fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat  Swelling of the face, throat, tongue, let's, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs

And to think, I didn't even realize I had this disorder and needed a drug for it when I was working night crew at a Pathmark in Watchung or when I worked night shift in the Accurate Bushing Company factory in Cranford. While working nights may not be the first choice of shifts, I think you and I might agree that when it's necessary to take care of your family, you do what has to be done and figure out the rest later. What I would recommend for those who work the overnight shift is, that when you get home in the morning, try using melatonin. This will help restore the normal sleep cycle. ~ Dr. C

Back Care Professionals