Pain Hurts, But It's Helpful

Pain is a language our body uses in order to communicate to the brain that there is dysfunction with the area that hurts. This could be due to an injured muscle(s)/muscle groups, injured bone, disc injuries, nerve injuries, and even organ/system dysfunction such as kidney stones. So, how does the brain know which one it is? The short answer - it doesn’t. It does its best to stop the damage being done by sending pain signals to the area and/or by guarding the area, depending on the signals it’s receiving. This is where the issues begin.

Guarding is a term used to describe actions the body takes in order to protect itself. These usually include tightening of the surrounding musculature and by default the joints near the area. Guarding over long periods of time leads to what’s called bony changes such as arthritis and/or osteophyte formation, also known as “bone-spurs” that are built due to bone-on-bone contact. Osteophytes can get long enough to puncture/slice the surrounding nerves which slow nerve function. Extreme cases lead to muscle-wasting because the muscle isn’t getting the necessary nutrition over a long period. 

Guarding is helpful at the beginning of a traumatic injury in order to protect, however the muscle imbalances, if left for long periods of time, lead to micro-adhesions within surrounding muscle groups; the body ends up accommodating by working in a limited range of motion. This leads to an increase in muscle imbalances, causing you to use the joints in unintended ways; wearing down the tissues of surrounding structures faster creating instability of the joints. Instability will present as pain. It’s a vicious cycle that can snowball and can eventually limit the fun and adventures you have, not good.

So, the next question would be, how do you stop long-term guarding and avoid serious issues down the road? The answer is movement. Getting adjusted on a regular basis along with exercise and a whole food diet will keep your joints mobile allowing the range of motion required to live your best life. The adjustment is a high-velocity low amplitude force placed at the correct segments of the spine which allows for optimum mobility.

What if you have a long-standing or chronic injury? The beginning of the treatment will consist of chiropractic adjustments and therapies which break down adhesions, stretching tight muscles, strengthening loose/weak muscles, and of course, retraining the muscles to move in the range intended for your body. AMC Chiropractic uses instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) to break up the adhesions, cupping therapy to bring the fluid to the surface allowing the body to get rid of it naturally and quickly, and exercises to retrain the muscle memory.

To get started, I need to get the full story of how the pain began. This includes but is not limited to:

• Asking how it happened
• Asking about the timing of the pain for example, “it only happens at night after a long day”, or, “it hurts every time I do *this action*”
• The pain levels, and the quality of the pain, for example, is it sharp, dull, or achy?”
• Getting radiographs (x-rays)

These are characteristics that help me figure out where the pain is actually coming from; once we find the source of the discomfort, AMCC creates a treatment series that will get you out of pain for the long term.

This is why I like pain, it simply lets us know that there is dysfunction. AMCC uses pain/discomfort and mobility patterns to find the best solution to the discomfort. Take note of the actions you do which make your body hurt. Take note if the condition has gotten worse or better and the causes of each state.

I hope this information was helpful. Please don’t hesitate to call/email with any questions!

To book your first appointment with AMC Chiropractic click here.

Here’s to you living your best life.

Sincerely,

Dr. Stephanie Morales, D.C.

Owner - AMC Chiropractic

dcsamorales@gmail.com

Office: 408-386-2223

http://amcchiropractic.business.site/