Lifetime Spinal Health

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a patient that I’ve had hundreds of times over the last 20 years. He couldn’t believe how quickly his back and leg felt after getting just 3-4 treatments at Better Body Solutions. He had come in a couple of weeks ago unable to walk for more than a block or two, having to stop and squat until the back and leg pain subsided enough to walk another block. Patients like this can spend a fortune on cabs.

We began treatment with him to correct his posture, strengthen his cerebellum (the part of the brain that helps to control posture) and we used non-surgical spinal decompression on a disc in his low back. Not everyone receives such fantastic results after a handful of treatments, but this particular patient was feeling great so he said, “You know, I feel so good it’s tempting to stop getting treated.”

Let’s just say that I’ve heard this before. Occasionally, a patient believes that once they begin to see positive results, it is unnecessary to complete the duration of their treatment. However, here are 3 reasons to stay on track with your treatment instead of jumping the gun at the first signs of progress:


1. The disc itself does not contain many pain fibers, except at the very periphery. Therefore, your disc could be ripped and torn on the inside and you wouldn’t know the difference. Pain is an unreliable indicator of your spinal health.

2. Most disc conditions are part of a degenerative process than can prematurely age your spine and cause significant pain and disability in the future if they’re not properly healed now. It’s best to slow or even stop the degenerative process!

3. Objective diagnostic analysis is a better measure of your health than the presence or absence of pain. For example, a cardiologist doesn’t say, “How does your heart feel?”and leave it at that. The doctor examines your heart and the objective test results tell the real story. If you think you’re better and want to quit, let your doctor run some tests to see what’s really going on.

Remember to think of your spinal health in the long term, you’re going to have the same spine throughout your life.