October 2021 Healthy News from Dr. Butwell Monitoring Pain Leads to Improved Pain Relief and Not Being Sedentary Helps Too

The Georgetown chiropractic back pain treatment plan is guided by patient feedback on how their pain is.

MONITORING PAIN and ASKING QUESTIONS HELP PAIN RELIEF

Your Georgetown chiropractor grasps how disturbing back pain may be for our spine-related pain patients. A study that explored the issue of whether focusing on pain for low back pain patients - by asking them questions about their pain weekly – affected the patients in a negative way. The result: regular monitoring of pain did not turn out to be a bad thing. It may have even been helpful! The low back pain intensity scores at 12 months’ follow up were lower for the patients who were questioned than the scores of patients who were not monitored every week! (1) Our chiropractic treatment plan which incorporates spinal manipulation - 90% of which is delivered by chiropractors in the US - is managed by your input about your pain experience. We ask you about your pain at every Georgetown chiropractic appointment and alter your treatment frequency and type as you get better according to the 50% Rule like visits are decreased by 50% when 50% relief is attained and treatment protocol may shift from protocol 1 (single segment, one motion) to protocol 2 (single segment, all ranges of motion, may include more segments as tolerance testing allows). We can talk more about these protocols if you like. A little focus on pain goes a long way toward pain relief!

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he explains the central role the patient’s pain experience and feedback plays in the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Dr. Butwell shares research touting the benefits of exercising twice a day – 30 minutes each time – instead of once a day (60 minutes) for older adults.

TIP OF THE MONTH: Don’t Be Sedentary

A sedentary Georgetown lifestyle at any age is not good. As we age and want to enjoy our older years, we cannot let ourselves be sedentary. Grow old actively! Comparing how and when non-active older adults exercised – 60 minutes in the morning or 30 minutes each in the morning and evening – researchers found significant improvements in lower limb strength, large improvements in walking speed and daily activities, improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, and enhancements in agility as signified by TUG (time-up-to-go from a seated position) test results in both groups. There were slightly better outcomes in the 30/30 group suggesting that there may be a benefit to breaking up afternoon sedentariness with exercise. Physical activity exercise for older adults is key for physical as well as mental and psychosocial health. Dr. Butwell encourages our chiropractic patients to not be part of the 31% of the world’s population who are thought to not currently meet recommended levels of activity. (2) Let’s explore together what activity is best for you!

CONTACT Dr. Butwell

Schedule your next Georgetown chiropractic appointment today! We will see you then and be sure to ask you how your pain is and how active you are! We are here for you!