By WIN Provider: Dr. Matthew Bird, Chiropractor

For the great majority of us, we have experienced low back pain (LBP) at one point or another throughout our lives. For some, it was a one-off occurrence yet for some of us it ends up being a chronic issue. The current evidence tells us that LBP is by no means a straightforward situation and is influenced by numerous factors including biological, psychological, social and environmental. Unfortunately, these factors cannot be separated from one another and most definitely cannot be separated from the individual.

 

So, what does this all mean? It means that pain cannot only be explained using a univariant analysis, ie: anatomical or psychological or environmental etc. Pain is a complex multi variable issue that affects everyone differently which means we must address each person’s situation carefully to the full context of what their lifestyle details.

 

It is not a rare occurrence that I hear from my clientele that they have no idea how their pain started or started after an inconspicuous motion that was deemed normal (ie: sleep wrong, turned the wrong way or simply bent over to pick up a pen). Generally, the description of pain is vague and simply described as pain. Now, don’t get me wrong there are times when we know exactly what we did which makes it that much easier to understand. These moments also have less anxiety and fear associated with them thus removing the burden of the psychological factor of pain.

 

As much as I discuss the aspects of posture in my day-to-day handling of painful episodes, it cannot be the sole link to an individual’s recovery regimen. The foundation of posture is a starting point to get people to think about the aspects of where their body is lacking attention and where they are establishing good control and co-ordination. This brings the mind and body concept to the forefront. Our thoughts are the language of the brain, and our emotions are the language of the body. If these languages are not inline with one another there is a disconnect in ourselves and we tend to gravitate to the usual short-term reliefs of our day-to-day processing, which evidently provide little success long term. It is here where we must achieve a higher level of coherence that balances the body and mind to form a singular whole, communication flows effortlessly. If we merely only think about an issue and it doesn’t match our true emotion for said issue, then we are merely taking part in an intellectual exercise.

 

As a manual practitioner I attempt to “add weight” to the choices around an individual’s lifestyle needs and challenge my clients to step outside the box of their current dilemma and assess the possibilities of where they have PLENTY to draw from instead of the LACK in their lives. Education is the cornerstone of developing the skills to navigate life. A quote that I have cherished over the past 2 years is “Suffering is a characteristic of life, you can’t take it so personally” Jordan B Peterson. We all struggle in different ways which means our life lessons have difference solutions.

 

Find what motivates you and get after it! I am always willing to have a good chat or debate (your call) on how to navigate the plethora of possibilities of reconciling your pain.