Can Laser Therapy Help Alleviate Arthritis Pain?

by Dr. Dave Edenfield

Arthritis is a painful, prevalent condition that afflicts millions every year. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), rhematoid and osteoarthritis, in particular, affects nearly 14 percent of adults age 25 and over. Symptoms are wide ranging. Pain associated with resulting limited mobility is often debilitating, as well. Evidence indicates laser therapy may provide significant relief.

What’s the difference?

Although certain types of arthritis manifest very similar symptoms, their underlying causes may be very different. For example, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis both result in painful joint and limb stiffness; one originates from mechanical degenerative causes while the other is an affliction of the autoimmune system, however. Other types such as infectious or hemorrhagic conditions stem from site bacteria or bleeding. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, laser therapy helps reduce pain and improves site flexibility for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Therapeutic lasers did not elicit similar results for osteoarthritis.   Reports do indicate positive effects for patients with milder forms of the condition. <http://www.jrheum.com/abstracts/abstracts00/1961.html>.

How does it work?

When you get hurt or feel pain, celling signaling is partly responsible for telling your brain “what’s what.” Neurotransmitters deliver pain messages. Think of them as a kind of “mailman”; synapses are the roadway the mailman drives along. Laser therapy works <http://www.chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/14600/1/article/> by exciting these biochemical responses. Of course, your body already does this without laser therapy; processes stunted by injury, however, may not affect cell signaling properly diminishing a person’s ability to heal. Laser treatments give the body an added healing edge, so to speak. Pain from extreme site immobility, for example, is sometimes the result of inflammation; a naturally occurring autoimmune response to illness or injury. In some cases, inflammation can go awry perpetuating further strain or injury and so forth. Arthritic patients often experience perpetuating symptoms under such conditions. Energy emitted from lasers excite mechanisms that drive the metabolism and nervous system that remedy illness. It results in increased hormone, cell and neurotransmitter production.

What’s the “buzz?”

In the future, laser therapy will allow for more personalized, individual attention to specific needs. Rather than a simply randomized effect on problematic tissue, scientists will soon have the ability to isolate or “tweeze” individualistic cells. This will allow practitioners to more effectively deal with a host of rheumatoid disease and subsequent effects.

Dr. Dave Edenfield is part of the team of doctors and therapists athttp://lakewoodchiropracticjax.com who are dedicated to helping you and your family lead a healthier, happier and pain-free life.

Picture Perfect Posture

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

Most of us are born with perfect posture.  However as the years go on and life takes its toll, it isn’t unusual for our posture to start to suffer.  Think of it as a kind of reverse evolution.  As the posture slowly devolves, with it can go our health, since the spine is the nexus of our central nervous system that signals all of our limbs and organs to do what is required to maintain the body.  If these signals become blocked, this can start a domino effect of problems and pain that if left unchecked can curtail our enjoyment of life.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that with proper treatment and training, we can restore picture perfect posture.

The Deadly Duo

The problem for many of us is that we spend far too much time sitting down.  Worse yet, we spend too much time sitting in front of a computer.  If you work in an office you undoubtedly spend hours at a time sitting behind a desk staring at a computer screen.  If your monitor is positioned flat atop your desk, or you use a laptop or a tablet then this forces you to tilt your head forward to look at your screen.  In time this can lead to a head forward posture that can cause everything from pinched nerves to degenerated discs.  The cure for this scenario is to raise your monitor at least a foot off the desktop. (If you have a laptop you can plug in an external monitor to accomplish this.)  By raising the level of the monitor, you will defeat the tug of gravity that causes your head to move forward. 

Beware the Chair

Lumbar lordosis refers to the hollow in your back which is a natural feature of the spine.  It is also one of the first areas to be adversely affected by poor posture brought about by hunching when we sit.  For many people the guilty culprit is most often their office chair.  Many people do not even realize that the backrest on most office chairs is adjustable.  Turn your chair around and look for a knob directly behind the backrest that can be turned right and left.  This knob is designed to move the backrest in and out.  By twisting the knob clockwise the backrest should move forward and vice versa.   By making the proper adjustments your spine will receive the support it craves.  If your chair is not adjustable you can always purchase a lumbar roll or even roll up a towel to better support the lower back. 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Another way to determine if your posture is less than ideal is to stand sideways and look in the mirror.  If you can see that your head is tilted, your shoulder or hips are not level, or your arms or feet are flared, this is proof positive that your posture is anything but perfect.  When I make patients aware of their poor posture, many are surprised that this is at the root of their problems.  Just as an astronaut in orbit gets used to zero gravity, over time our bodies will adjust to imperfect posture. 

More than just an aesthetic dilemma, poor posture can lead to everything from lower back pain and muscle pain, to leg weakness, sciatica, circulatory problems and immune system issues, just to name a few.  Poor posture makes it difficult for the brain to transmit commands.  If you have ever had a computer crash then you can relate to this problem.  Like a computer with a balky cpu, a stressed brain can’t perform its tasks efficiently.  Add to this the fact that your brain, in its effort to correct poor posture, will instruct the muscles, tendons and ligaments to apply added pressure and stress. Since these soft tissues can only give so much, this causes a cascade of failures that quickly add up into either pain and/or dysfunction. 

If you suspect that your posture is not at its utmost, the best thing to do is schedule a chiropractic examination before things get out of hand.  By analyzing your spinal curvature, movement and alignment, your chiropractor can identify and correct the issues that are at the heart of poor posture.  More importantly he or she can create a plan of action to realign your spine, straighten out your frame and help you once again attain picture perfect posture.

Dr.’s  Dave Edenfield and Steven Warfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies.  For more information visithttp://chiropractor-jacksonville-fl.com or http://endyourpain.org 

Pill-Free Pain Relief

By Dr. Steven Warfield

When it comes to relieving back aches, muscle aches, or discomfort of most kinds, most people reach for a pill.  While pain relievers, either over-the-counter or prescription are one way to ameli

Pain Research & Management (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

orate pain, they aren’t the only or even the best solution. 

Laser Therapy

Laser therapy sounds scary, but it is anything but.  Unlike industrial lasers that use laser light to cut, therapeutic lasers work by delivering deep penetrating light energy that is absolutely painless.  In fact most patients report that laser light actually feels good, as it imparts a pleasant feeling of warmth.  The way that therapeutic lasers work is by using light to stimulate change at the cellular level. Cells soak up laser light energy and convert it to cellular energy, which leads to regeneration, tissue repair, and reduced scar formation.  Laser treatment can be used to accelerate recovery and potentially enhance the benefits of other treatments. 

The number of therapeutic laser sessions depends upon several factors, including whether it is being used as a stand-alone treatment, or whether it is being used in combination with other therapies.  As far as effectiveness, many patients notice a reduction in pain within a couple of treatments, while others may take up to 6 treatments before they begin to feel immediate relief.  And unlike pharmaceuticals, there are no adverse side effects from laser therapy.

Laser therapy can be used to treat the following conditions:

• Neck and Back pain
• Shoulder/Rotator cuff injuries
• Elbow tendonitis
• Wrist and hand conditions
• Arthritis or overuse
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Knee pain
• Shin Splints
• Sprains, strains and muscle tears
• Achilles Tendon injuries
• Plantar fasciitis/heel pain

(Below is a video that shows a therapeutic laser in action.)

Vaneton - Laser therapy opens new horizons of healing

Electrotherapy and Ultrasound

Electrotherapy is the application of micro-electrical current to the body for therapeutic purposes.  This also sounds a bit intimidating at first glance, but electrotherapy is simply the use of several electronic devices that can prevent muscle atrophy and spasms, increase or maintain range of motion, and alleviate pain. 

EMS gently and safely contracts and relaxes muscles to soothe and help them recover from injury, fatigue and/or soreness.  EMS units work by sending weak electrical impulses that stimulate targeted muscle groups. 

Ultrasound

Ultrasound uses high-energy sound waves that are designed to treat soft tissue.  Ultrasound is applied using a transducer or applicator that is in direct contact with the patient's skin. Gel is used on all surfaces of the head to reduce friction and assist transmission of the ultrasonic waves. The three primary benefits to ultrasound are:

1. A speeding up of the healing process from the increase in blood flow in the treated area.
2. The second is the decrease in pain from the reduction of swelling and edema.
3. The third is the gentle massage of muscles tendons and/ or ligaments in the treated area because no strain is added and any scar tissue is softened.

Chiropractic Treatment

Chiropractors routinely treat chronic pain by using a variety of non-surgical treatments, such as spinal manipulation, to address chronic pain symptoms, such as inflammation and muscle tension.  This is accomplished by hand or by instrument to improve the range of motion in the areas used. Chiropractors are dedicated to the non-surgical treatment of disorders of the nervous system and/or musculoskeletal system.  When it comes to pain management, they typically focus on, but are not limited to, care of:

• Mid and lower back pain
• Neck pain
• Shoulder pain
• Joint pain in the arms and legs
• Foot, ankle and knee pain
• Carpal tunnel
• Bulging or Herniated discs
• Disc degeneration
• Headaches

In Conclusion

Before you reach for that bottle of pills, remember that masking the pain and truly alleviating pain are two different things.  If you or someone you know are experiencing chronic discomfort, contact a health professional that specializes in helping patients achieve long term, pill-free pain relief. 

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies. If you or anyone you know suffers from herniated discs, degenerative discs or spinal stenosis,  visit http://endyourpain.org

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Making the Pain Go Away

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

Living with pain is no easy task, especially if it reduces mobility or interferes with one’s livelihood.  Unfortunately for all too many people, chronic pain has become a way of life.  In order to get through the day, many people rely on painkillers to make the pain go away, if only for a few hours.  While a short term fix, these products only mask the problem.  They don’t alleviate the underlying issue.  Plus, the use of prescription pain killers can do more harm than good in the long run, causing the user to exacerbate the injury, become dependent upon painkillers or worse.

English: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Druid Hills CDP in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia as seen from Emory University (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A recent report by the Center for Disease Control stated that, “An unknown number of patients were given potentially contaminated steroid injections, with a rising number of those injected now showing symptoms of fungal meningitis, While no original source of the outbreak has been 

found, the CDC has determined that all infected patients identified thus far have received preservative-free (PF) methylprednisolone acetate (80mg/ml) from among the three lots voluntarily recalled by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Massachusetts, on September 26, 2012."

While the threat of tainted medications is bothersome to say the least, there is an even a bigger threat to public health, that is the fact that during the past twenty years the use of prescription painkillers has risen dramatically. 

Increase in U.S. Retail Drug Purchases, 1997-2005 (Amount Sold in Grams)
Drug	1997	1999	2001	2003	2005	Change*
Oxycodone	4,449,559	9,717,597	19,947,287	26,655,149	30,628,971	588%
Methadone	518,736	965,389	1,893,322	3,683,878	5,362,813	934%
Fentanyl base	74,085	107,158	186,082	317,197	387,926	423%
Morphine	5,922,870	6,804,933	8,810,755	12,303,954	15,054,842	154%
Hydrocodone	8,699,309	12,102,623	15,597,209	21,106,646	25,803,541	197%
Hydromorphone	241,806	292,585	400,639	579,370	781,284	224%
Source: Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Automated Reports and Consolidated Orders System. Revised Aug. 1, 2007.  * Percentage change in amounts sold from 1997 to 2005.

What most people do not realize is that the best route to reducing or eliminating pain in their daily lives is to treat the problem and not the symptoms.  Masking the pain can lead to even greater damage that could ultimately lead to a surgical solution.  However, there are non-surgical chiropractic treatments that can both reduce discomfort while working to reduce or even correct the underlying causes of chronic pain. 

Chiropractic treatments typically focus on, but are not limited to, care of:

·         Mid and lower back pain

·         Neck pain

·         Joint pain in the arms and legs

·         Headaches

@chiropractic I Voted (Photo credit: planetc1)

Chiropractors typically treat conditions involving back pain and/or neck pain through “hands-on” adjustments of the spine and surrounding structures.  They believe that as a result of overuse the spinal column can become stressed.  This results in imbalances that can lead to pain, dysfunction and disease. 

 Employing spinal manipulation along with other proven forms of therapy, chiropractors can also bring other tools to bear to alleviate pain, such as electric muscle stimulation, ultrasound and even laser therapy. 

Laser Therapy uses red and infrared light for the relief of pain, to accelerate healing and decrease inflammation. When the light source is placed against the skin, the photons penetrate several centimeters and get absorbed by the mitochondria, the energy producing part of a cell. This energy fuels many positive physiological responses resulting in the restoration of normal cell morphology and function.  Unlike many physical therapy treatments that mask pain or only address the symptoms of disease, Laser Therapy treats the underlying condition to promote healing. This means that the treatments are effective and the benefits of laser Therapy are long lasting.

If you or someone you know is experiencing chronic pain, feel free to show them this blog and let them know that there are other remedies available that will do more to make the pain go away than simply using medications to mask the symptoms.  Through chiropractic care there is hope for long term pain relief.

Dr. Dave Edenfield is part of the team of doctors and therapists at http://www.lakewoodchiropracticjax.com/who are dedicated to helping the public lead a healthy, pain-free life. 

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