notpain

My experiences with Chrios has not been good - I've tried 3 now and they simply do not listen to me as they all believe they know how they can fix my problem. And all 3 tried different techniques. I think the last one made it much worse. All 3 came as referrals from people who has supposedly had success with each chiro. I have a 3 level problem and it's been over a year. I believe there are good chiros that can help SOME conditions - but not mine, and I couldn't offer any advise on how you find one. The last one I went too took a whopping 5 to 10 minutes max to do his adjustments - took my $45 and off I went. So i'd look elsewhere if you have gone that root.

If you have insurance get and MRI as soon as you can. Whether you have insurance or not start:

Fish Oil - I like Carlsons
Anti-Inflammatories - Tumeric, Pumpkin Seed Oil (for fatty acids), I like Zyflamed from New Chapter as it is a natural Cox-2 inhibitor and an anti inflammatory. Montmorecy cherry juice - Cox 2 inhibitor and melatonin for sleep. Also take Flax Seed oil or grind your own fresh flax seed.

Do not worry too much at this point about "disc degeneration" - we all get it as we age, it simply means the cartelidge is wearing out. Nothing you can do about it - but you can slow it with posture, supplements and not doing things to aggrevate it.

And if you not a water drinker now is the time to start. Discs need water, unfortunatley much of the repair is done while we are in a deep state of sleep.

If you drink soda stop - soda is acidic ph (not to mention sugar) and will pull the minerals out of your bones and teeth to deal with the acid it forms in bloods. Also time to cut back on the beef if you eat a lot - I still eat it but only small amounts once or twice per week.

There is an excellent book - "7 Steps to a Pain Free Life" by Austrialian Phsiotherapist Robin McKenzie - it's about $8 paperback and well worth the read.

Make sure to follow everything you can do to reduce inflammation - it's the real key, you have to get the inflammation down to start healing. If Ibuprofen works for you - give it a try but after a couple of weeks if it does not then consider going only natural. Drugs work faster but too many side effects. You can take natural supplements in the manufacturers recommended dosages with little worry. You may want to consider glucosamine/chondritan. It didn't work for me but does for some.

Do a search online for foods that cause inflammation and stop eating those.

Find a Phsical Therapist if you can afford it and get tested by muscle imbalance. The Discs are the shock absorbers of our necks. They bread under mechanical pressure or injury as a result of accident. Fix your posture. Make sure you adjust your car seats, get a soft collar as a reminder to keep your neck straight while driving. Consider a pillow that supports your neck (I hate these things but they help, and if you are going to lie awake for hours on end (trust me I've been there and I still am most night) you're neck may as well be supported.

And before all the smart alec know-it-alls weigh in consider this:

I have been to 12 doctors now including 3 chiros, 2 nuerologists, and neurosurgeon, gps, physicatrist, etc. I have had 2 MRI's, More X-Rays than I care to count. I have tried about 10 different prescription drugs - Neurontin, Zanaflex, Trazadone, etc. etc. and Clonazepam (Klonopin) which just about killed me. I also tried Ambien to no avail and some others. Ibuprofen 800mg did nothing (3 times a day - this is prescription strength). Ibuprofen is very hard on the liver after a month or two. I have had steroids shot into my back and my facet joints. So I have a little experience behind me.

If you smoke, it's time to stop - smoking has been proven to cause problems in the discs.

Unfortunately the discs do not have blood supply so healing is very very slow.

The natural supplements and cherry juice have helped as much as anything. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH PRESCRIPTION SLEEP MEDICATIONS. Use them only for short periods of time to get you through the toughest of times. It is very easy to become physically dependant upon them. Keep in mind that the FDA takes a very long time to approve drugs and what is marketed here (Lunesta for example) has been on the market in European countries for years. Look for he drug name not the brand name and do your research.

And finally please if possible see a Neurologist and get an MRI as soon as you can. It will either show bad problems which need more aggresive treatment or it will put your mind and ease. Insurance hates to pay for these, so you may have to be insistant.