CHRONIC NECK or BACK PAIN

Are you one of those people who just cannot seem to hold an adjustment? Believe me; you’re not alone.  My first ten years of practice, I was routinely frustrated why some patients would hold adjustment so well; and others, with seemingly identical symptoms and x-rays, would not hold an adjustment more than a few days; sometimes a few hours.  15 years ago, I discovered a big piece of the puzzle —-  FASCIAL ADHESIONS & MICROSCOPIC SCAR TISSUE of the muscles surrounding the spine.

All muscles have sheaths around them called Fascia; the translucent, white / yellow, cellophane-like membranous connective tissue that surrounds muscles, groups of muscles, blood vessels, and nerves.  Not only is fascia arguably the single most pain sensitive tissue in your entire body; it cannot be seen with even the most advanced diagnostic imaging techniques, including MRI. This is one heck of a nasty combination — an incredibly pain sensitive tissue that cannot be seen with standard tests (HERE).

As long as the individual collagen fibers that make up the fascia are aligned parallel to each other, the tissue is stretchy and elastic.   Think of healthy Fascia in terms of long hair that has been combed out. If you run a comb or brush thru it, it glides smoothly and unrestricted.   But what happens when Fascia around the spine or neck is injured?  It ends up more like a hairball!

When the fascia along the spine is stretched beyond its normal load-bearing capacity, it begins to tear. Bear in mind that these tears are so microscopic that few doctors even realize what’s going on.  And those that do often hesitate to call this microscopic “Scar Tissue” by its official medical name — Fibrosis (HERE).

Fascial scarring can be caused by sports injuries, repetitive trauma, repetitive jobs, car wrecks, postural distortions, falls, child bearing, abuse, etc, etc, etc.  As strange as it may sound, the majority of the time, patients have absolutely no idea how they ended up with Fascial Adhesions.  Bottom line: If something causes fascia to stretch beyond its normal tensile capacity, it will cause a physical disruption of the tissue, leading to microscopic “scarring” and adhesion.  It’s a recipe for restriction and pain.

Those of you struggling to cope with Chronic Pain know exactly what all of this means.  When you go to various doctors (orthopedists, pain specialists, neurologists, etc), they will look at you as though you are crazy.  Or like you’re just another drug seeker.  Or trying to get on SSI Disability.  Or maybe they’ll just chalk it all up to birthdays. “After all Mrs. Smith, you aren’t as young as you used to be.”

Whatever the case, their answer is almost always the same. A blank stare, a roll of the eyes, ridiculous explanations, and  always the recommendation for more pills.  Or injections.  The latest thing is prescribing SSRI’s anti-depressants and telling folks that their chronic back or neck pain is the result of Depression —– when just the opposite is closer to the truth (HERE).   For your benefit, I have included a blog post on SOLVING YOUR CHRONIC BACK PAIN YOURSELF, as well as several posts pertaining to CHRONIC NECK PAIN.