Sometimes, you will take a step back to get two steps ahead
The flare-up – it can happen with any number of medical conditions, even with an appropriate program of care.
It can happen to people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis or from neuropathy (nerve damage) as a result of diabetes. And then there are those old injuries or complaints that give us fresh grief when the weather changes.
What form a flare-up takes is of course case specific, but one thing is consistent – it’s not fun. Generally speaking, a flare-up is a sudden, even severe, return of symptoms, often characterized by pain.
Patients who experience a flare-up related to the health issue that brought them to us may question why this would happen while under our care. After all, isn’t their care supposed to improve their condition and reduce pain?
The simple answer is life happens
The push and pull of daily living constantly subjects the body to fresh stresses. Physical, emotional, and chemical. By chemical, we mean from what you eat (such as inflammatory substances like sugar and preservatives), and whatever environmental contaminants to which you might be exposed (such as cleaners, scents, pesticides etc).
All these various stresses can cause muscle and joint stiffness that raises your risk of an injury like a muscle strain, lead to bio-chemical imbalances that impact your body’s ability to heal and recover, and leave you vulnerable to catching a bug by weakening your immune system.
These stresses, and their consequences for your health, don’t disappear just because you are undergoing care in our clinic for whatever ails your spine. They don’t disappear with any form of medical treatment for any condition.
And bear in mind that healing is a process that often takes time. We live in such a fast-paced society – people sometimes have unrealistic expectations as to when they should be better.
What habits might you need to change?
It is true that for some people, a few Chiropractic adjustments may be enough to restore proper alignment in their spine and remove the tension on their nervous system.
For others, it can take months, even years. The problem might always be there—they will need regular maintenance for the rest of their life. We wish we could tell them different, but it’s just the reality of their situation. If regular care means the difference between remaining independent for long as possible as you age so you can play with you grand-kids, versus being bed-ridden in a nursing home getting food in one tube and drugs in another, I think the choice is obvious.
The rate of your recovery is not only determined by the severity of your condition when you first walk through our door, but by how much you continue to aggravate the problem we are trying to fix with your lifestyle habits.
As we have written before, that aggravation can take the form of rough contact sports, too many hours hunched over a computer or mobile device, or performing some other repetitive physical task that has negative health effects. Changing your habits, adopting better ergonomics, and looking at what accommodations can be made on the job are all key to your recovery and reducing the chances of a flare-up.
The other critical element is your diligence in keeping up with your at-home exercises, if we have prescribed you any, and not missing your appointments at the clinic.
What’s the alternative?
Letting the problem persist and worsen through lack of action for even more complications down the road.
Just like we talked about last week, it all comes down to what you value in life and what money and effort you are willing to invest in your health to hold on to those things that matter most.
Our relationships are the most important things that we have, and being healthy is the only way to make the most of them.
Call us today and schedule your appointment!