posted by editor on Feb 16
A patient presented asking “Do you have an alternative approach by which I might cure my low back pain?” A few minutes into discussion I determined his low (lumbar) back pain symptoms to be relatively minor and not radiating into his legs or feet. However, he had substantial anxiety about a concurrent illness with which he had been suffering for years. Not curable by present western medicine and somewhat stigmatizing, he lived with recurrent anxiety, depression and insomnia. We completed the evaluation and determined that his primary concern was not the physical pain, rather the psychological issues that complemented his pain. He tried and disliked prescription medications, and formal medical counseling. He did not like disease associated support groups, feeling them to magnify the stigmata. He said his spiritual peers, atheists, had nothing to offer him.
After discussing numerous options, he was willing to try acupuncture and herbs. He had not grown up with traditional Chinese medicine or other herbal intervention. He did not have any prior scientific understanding or reference by which to accept the underlying mechanisms by which these alternative treatments might work. However, he stated “With hope and faith, I am willing to explore these approaches.” “Hope and faith”, maybe he should consider an alternative spiritual perspective as well.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
My fiance has such terrible back pain becuase she’s pregnant, hopefully some of this will help. Do you have any other suggestions?
February 17th, 2010 at 8:31 am
I’ll stick with the Alexander Technique. Over 100 years old and still the best method for improving posture and movement. http://www.freeyourneck.com
February 22nd, 2010 at 2:54 pm
… because you have “faith” in it and will keep “hoping” that it continues to work for you. Have a great day.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:02 pm
[...] thermal intervention (heat, ice), dietary adjustments (foods and anti-inflammatory effects), spiritualism, weight control, exercise/stretching, treatment of concurrent diseases that contribute to the pain, [...]
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