When Is The Best Time To Start Looking After The Spine?
A few days ago, I had a new patient who was suffering from acute pain in the neck radiating down the arm. It’s a common ailment for which many people seek chiropractic care. He said it had started only a few days previous. Still, on questioning, he admitted that it had bothered him for some time, but he just ignored it and continued playing golf, thinking it would go away.
This is a typical response from most people. They believe that if they feel relatively OK, then things must be OK. When I saw x-rays of his spine, they revealed severe degeneration of the discs in his lower neck, with severe distortion of his neck.
My examination revealed that he had over 50% restriction, turning his head to the left. I asked him how long he had been that way. I knew the answer––” for quite some time, I guess”. This is the problem; we get sure signs, but then we tend to ignore them, and as the years go by, things deteriorate to the point where, one day, we really know about it.
This is much like what happens with the heart. Coronary artery disease doesn’t start when you are 50 or 60. In fact, from autopsies during the Korean and Vietnam wars, they found that some soldiers who had died from war injuries, even in their late teens, had signs of heart disease. It’s only when a person clutches their chest in pain or is having difficulty breathing that the illness gets discovered.
Similarly, with the spine, Subluxations, those vertebrae that are misaligned and causing nerve interference, can be there before symptoms appear. When is the best time to have a spinal evaluation? The answer may surprise you.
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