St Peters Back Pain Benefits from Good Sleep
The exercise topic of the month is…sleep?! Odd? Not at all! Sleep is just as important as exercise for pain management as well as management for back pain. Old Mill Chiropractic helps many St Peters pain sufferers cope with their spine, neck, and back pain with chiropractic spinal manipulation, nutrition advice, and exercise direction. Sleep – adequate sleep – is included in that list for a good purpose!
CONTROLLING BACK PAIN
Since low back pain many times is a condition for life that comes and goes, a condition that is handled rather than cured, it’s a positive thing that researchers are looking into just how a back pain sufferer can control the St Peters back pain and the frequency that it ‘rears its head.' Question any back pain sufferer and you’ll know that keeping the pain away is a goal. But how? Researchers are studying sleep, fatigue, emotion, and more to figure that out. Old Mill Chiropractic introduces the term “flare” as it relates to a back pain episode.
BACK PAIN FLARE
A St Peters low back pain flare is one that consists of heightened pain, paresthesia, or muscle tension, longer duration of symptoms, decreased functional (social, cognitive, physical), and negative emotions. Researchers found that back pain sufferers don’t consider their back pain to be a flare just because of increased pain, so healthcare professionals need to look beyond the pain to visualize what else is going on around the pain episode, what psychosocial factors are involved. (1,2) The mind-body connection can’t always be ignored! Nor can the time of day that pain is felt.
PAIN: MORNING NOON AND NIGHT
Patients suffering with low back pain for more than 3 months were studied to see what might trigger a new episode of their pain. Researchers found that poor sleep quality and morning pain were threats for such flare-ups. Increased pain risk rose with days of more afternoon and evening pain, fatigue, and fear of activity. Sleep is recommended to decrease the intensity, frequency, and risk of back pain flares. (3) Sleep quality also plays a role in how St Peters back pain is experienced.
SLEEP QUALITY
A study of sleep quality in older adults in six middle-income countries uncovered that women experienced more sleep problems. Further, age, depression, low back pain, and poor self-rated health were also significantly linked to sleep problems. (4) Sleep, perceived stress, and anxiety play a role in chronic low back pain. Luckily, sleep quality is able to mediate anxiety, making sleep a practical recommendation in the treatment plan. (5)
CONTACT Old Mill Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Ted Siciliano on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes his use of Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction to deliver relieving treatment for his arm pain and numbness that was preventing him from sleeping.
Schedule your St Peters chiropractic appointment today. Let us talk sleep next time you’re in for a visit!
