Skip to main content

Living with pain

by Corner on Wellness
Chronic disease is a major problem in U.S. health care. More than one-third of Americans have one or more chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The personal costs to patients and families are often severe, daily, and ongoing. The economic costs to society are almost $1 trillion annually.1

Heart disease includes high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, coronary artery obstruction, angina, and heart attacks. Most of these conditions represent a chain of events. Left untreated, of course, high blood pressure is a leading cause of heart attack and stroke.

Most cases of diabetes develop from a pre-diabetic state which is also known as insulin resistance. Insulin - a hormone produced by the pancreas - is necessary for cells to be able to absorb glucose from the bloodstream and use the glucose for energy. If cells become insulin resistant, glucose stays in the bloodstream, leading to a pre-diabetic condition.

Left untreated, pre-diabetes likely advances to diabetes, in which insulin resistance is combined with insulin depletion, as the pancreas loses its ability to produce this important hormone. Diabetes may lead to many severe problems, including kidney failure, and is a leading cause of death from heart failure.2

Cancer is now being recognized as a chronic disease.3 Rather than being a mysterious disorder that occurs randomly, many cancers are now understood to have many elements in common with other chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

Pain is a common element to chronic disease. Affected persons often take daily pain medications. Most people become tolerant to their medication and require increasingly stronger doses. The pain of chronic disease is notoriously difficult to treat.

In recent years a holistic approach has been successfully applied in the treatment of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Chiropractic care is an important component of the holistic approach.

Chiropractic care helps restore more normal biomechanical function to the spine, which in turn improves the ability of the nerve system to effectively communicate with the rest of the body. Important benefits of this restored function may be an improvement in the body's ability to repair damaged tissues, a strengthened immune system, and reduced levels of musculoskeletal pain. Such improvements may help lead to improved daily functioning. As levels of pain decrease, a person may be able to engage in more physical activity. Multiple benefits follow.

Chiropractic care is a key part of an integrative approach to the management of the pain of chronic disease. Your local chiropractor will be glad to help you determine whether chiropractic care is right for you.

1“An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease”. Santa Monica, CA, Milken Institute, 2007
2 Eddy DM, et al: The metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk: implications for clinical practice. Int J Obes 32(Suppl 2):S5-S10, 2008
3"Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer". Washington, DC, American Institute for Cancer Research, 2007

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pregnancy and Low Back Pain

  Pregnancy is a unique and challenging condition – for both the female who is pregnant and for her chiropractor! The effects of major hormonal shifts, an incredibly rapid weight gain (and then loss), and the stress associated with being a new mother all combine to make pregnancy one of the most common causes of low back pain. The Stats   Low back pain statistics for pregnant females are quite alarming. For the general population, it is estimated that approximately 70-85% of us will experience at least one bout of acute low back pain in our lives. 1   In the pregnant female population, the rate is 50-80% during a 9-month window! And for those women who experienced back pain during pregnancy, over 60% of these women described the pain as at least moderately severe, and close to 10% said the pain was “completely disabling.” 3 The Main Cause of Pain   Since low back pain often occurs in the later stages of pregnancy, experts suggest that the main cause of thi...

What You May Not Know About Fiber

We have heard a lot about how we should get plenty of fiber in our diet. It is good for us, right? But what exactly is fiber and why does it aid our health? What is the difference between soluble fiber and insoluble fiber? Is one better than the other? What foods are the best sources of fiber? And how much do we need each day? In this issue of Wellness Express™, we look more closely at fiber, the different types, and the research that supports its remarkable health benefits. Fiber 101 What exactly is fiber? It is a food substance, predominantly found in plants, that cannot be digested by humans. Most fiber materials would be classified as complex carbohydrates. Because it cannot be broken down and absorbed into our bloodstream, fiber moves through our intestines, helping to remove waste and toxins, before being excreted. Dietary fiber refers to foods with naturally occurring fiber. Functional fiber is fiber added to a food product to boost its content of this substance. Solu...

Can Chiropractic Improve Your Game?

Athletes place a high physical demand on their bodies. They ask the body to work like a finely tuned, well-oiled machine. The rigorous training and competition schedules leave little time for injuries. Perhaps this is why almost every professional team in sports has a chiropractor looking after its athletes. As an example, 95% of NFL teams will employ chiropractors regularly to treat their players.1 Professional sport involves a combination of: coordination, balance, strength and flexibility. To reach the pinnacle of achievement in any sport, requires split-second reflexes, peak structural strength and stability and a will and determination to keep going when the going gets really, really tough. It requires a body that is functioning at its highest capacity. How Does This Relate to Chiropractic? Chiropractic is a healing art that focuses its attention on the function of the spine, and the precious nerve tissue (the spinal cord) that is encased in it. When it is aligned properly, ...