I thought I would take a moment and perhaps over the next few blogs talk about pain. It’s the main reason patients come to see us. Most are very interested in natural ways to get rid of their pain and not cause other problems while doing so, as is the case with many of the medicinal approaches.

Chiropractors love to talk about addressing the cause of a patient’s pain, and will often insist that a person returns for many visits so the cause can be corrected. We have never practiced this way at Paragon and instead focus on identifying the cause and showing the patient how to stop doing those things that are harming, how to modify activities, or simply how to self manage and relieve their own symptoms.  We feel these are the best approaches, and so do patients who were mostly interested in getting rid of pain, will not typically follow through with several visits over long periods of time- especially after the pain is gone!

At Paragon Chiropractic we have a number of approaches that we use to reduce or eliminate a patient’s pain.

     1. A thorough history; that is simply listening to a patient and asking the right questions. This will often bring about an understanding of what is generating a person’s pain, without the need for X-rays or Scans. Knowing a description of when it hurts and where are very helpful, and can lead to simple and easy “cures”. I can’t tell you how many patients after suffering for long periods of time feel relief within 24 hours simply by discontinuing laying in a recliner with a heating pad and stretching every hour!

     2. Chiropractic spinal manipulation. This can be almost miraculous in many cases. Limited and painful ranges of motion, headaches, migraines, low back, neck, and other spinal pains. Just amazing. By restoring proper motion to a joint or series of joints, the pain simply disappears, and the patient is able to return to his or her typical activities of daily living- pain-free! Obviously, there is an art to what we do, so don’t let someone rack and crack you-you might experience a miracle- a miracle that you can still walk and feel your body from your lips down! As chiropractors, this our number one go to. I would love to tell you it works miraculously on everybody, every time, but… sometimes we need to do more. I will discuss a number of the magic tricks that we have in future blogs, but for now, wow- come to our office, we listen to you, determine what is going on, and if your situation is correct for spinal manipulation you could walk out of our office pain-free in less than an hour, and if not, certainly much better than you were!

     3. Ice. Okay, this is one of our secret weapons- ice. When patients injure themselves, they often wonder, heat or ice? One can rarely go wrong with ice, and depending upon how thick the body tissue area is to be iced 15 minutes for a neck or shoulder or finger joint, and 20 to 25 minutes for thicker areas like low backs. Always first put a cloth down on the area to be iced, so as not to frostbite or damage the tissue. Ice for the allotted time, and wait about 45 minutes to an hour and rinse, lather and repeat! (Ice again).

If heat is going to work, it will do so nearly immediately, and you will stay feeling good- meaning one time with heat, ahhhhh, and your pain is gone and stays gone as you resume your daily activities. If not, then ICE!!!!!!

You can always call us, and we’ll be happy to help you over the phone, answer any questions, or schedule you for an appointment. Just let us know!

Next blog, I will talk about a few of the other secret weapons that we use to reduce or eliminate pain- naturally, and without drugs or surgery!

In the meantime, I hope the information I share with you is helpful. Please let me know.