How did this happen?!
Simply put, pain results from tissue injury and the inflammation that follows.
Many times we know immediately that we have injured ourselves -- an acute injury. Often these need little to no treatment but watching and waiting.
Other times, all we've done is get in an awkward posture and our back/neck simply locks up. Interestingly, holding awkward postures may be THE primary cause of back pain. Examples of awkward posture include bending over the fender to work on a car engine, or a counter top to do dishes, holding a phone between your ear and your shoulder. Simply put, avoid holding awkward postures or your back/neck can hang up.
Often times however, we did nothing -- "I just picked a sock up off the bed"! The body is skillful at adapting to problems as best it can. An injury from long ago may have required postural adaptations that, over time, eventually become painful -- a chronic injury. Think auto accidents here.
So, what happened to you may be from an acute and/or chronic injury. This is something we should be able to determine in our consultation, examination and during the initial course of treatment.
Q -- If pain is the result of tissue injury and inflammation, and if the body is a self-healing organism, why doesn't back/neck pain often heal itself?
A -- As noted above, your body often does heal itself from an acute injury. You strain your back, it's feeling better in a week, and gone in a couple. However, many cases are not so simple. The bottom line is the muscles in our back are wired such that when they get irritated they are prone to a positive feedback loop. The muscle contracts restricting blood flow; a tight, working muscle creates waste products which cannot be transported out because of the restricted blood flow; these metabolic waste products trigger the muscle to become more active, restricting more blood flow, on-and-on. Until this positive feedback loop is brought to a halt the muscles will continue to try and tighten.
What works to break this muscle tension positive feedback is:
heat -- promotes blood flow
stretching -- opens up the muscle, promoting blood flow
massage -- promotes blood flow
manipulation -- affects the neurologic process by which the muscle is induced to become tighter
Manipulation is especially helpful with the small, intrinsic muscles of the spine, where heat, stretching and massage can't reach.
This is a short, simple version of what often happens. The long, detailed and complicated version is here.
Many times we know immediately that we have injured ourselves -- an acute injury. Often these need little to no treatment but watching and waiting.
Other times, all we've done is get in an awkward posture and our back/neck simply locks up. Interestingly, holding awkward postures may be THE primary cause of back pain. Examples of awkward posture include bending over the fender to work on a car engine, or a counter top to do dishes, holding a phone between your ear and your shoulder. Simply put, avoid holding awkward postures or your back/neck can hang up.
Often times however, we did nothing -- "I just picked a sock up off the bed"! The body is skillful at adapting to problems as best it can. An injury from long ago may have required postural adaptations that, over time, eventually become painful -- a chronic injury. Think auto accidents here.
So, what happened to you may be from an acute and/or chronic injury. This is something we should be able to determine in our consultation, examination and during the initial course of treatment.
Q -- If pain is the result of tissue injury and inflammation, and if the body is a self-healing organism, why doesn't back/neck pain often heal itself?
A -- As noted above, your body often does heal itself from an acute injury. You strain your back, it's feeling better in a week, and gone in a couple. However, many cases are not so simple. The bottom line is the muscles in our back are wired such that when they get irritated they are prone to a positive feedback loop. The muscle contracts restricting blood flow; a tight, working muscle creates waste products which cannot be transported out because of the restricted blood flow; these metabolic waste products trigger the muscle to become more active, restricting more blood flow, on-and-on. Until this positive feedback loop is brought to a halt the muscles will continue to try and tighten.
What works to break this muscle tension positive feedback is:
heat -- promotes blood flow
stretching -- opens up the muscle, promoting blood flow
massage -- promotes blood flow
manipulation -- affects the neurologic process by which the muscle is induced to become tighter
Manipulation is especially helpful with the small, intrinsic muscles of the spine, where heat, stretching and massage can't reach.
This is a short, simple version of what often happens. The long, detailed and complicated version is here.