Neuromuscular Disorders

Back, neck, extremity pain, including Sciatica and Fibromyalgia

Would you ignore the check engine light in your car? Pain and discomfort are your body’s way of letting you know that something is wrong. Better than waiting for your body’s ‘light’ to come on, get checked regularly before you get to that point of injury. We head to the dentist twice a year for cleanings, doing our preventative due diligence, and since our spine moves a whole lot more than our teeth do, we should provide it preventative care, as well. Every movement we make starts at the spine. The spine is the fulcrum that all of our levers use to move, putting it under tremendous strain. So how do you care for your symptoms once they are recognized? There are two ways that pain is reduced in the body, one is through proper joint motion, and the other is through a healthy brain.

Proper movement of joints and the small muscles around those joints allow activation of large nerve fibers in our body that are heavily myelinated. These fibers send information to our brains very quickly. The nerve fibers (1A classification) decrease the production of pain by inhibiting the smaller, slower C-fibers that carry pain sensation. Since the larger fibers are faster, they beat the smaller fibers in the race to the brain so that our brain gets information that movement occurred rather than a painful stimulus. The key to preventing pain is to keep your joints moving properly. This scenario is extremely important and is sometimes referred to as the Pain-Gate Theory. This is why chiropractic is extremely effective for joint and muscular conditions, allowing the proper motion to occur. However, don’t forget that pain is the last symptom perceived by the body, so there is still destruction going on when you don’t feel pain. When you feel pain you have progressed into a more serious problem. Prevention is the key.

The second way pain is controlled is through the Brain and Brain stem, which sends descending nerve pathways down to the site of pain in order to reduce them.

Fibromyalgia (wide-spread, non specific pain) has its origin in the brain. If anybody has ever said to you, "It’s all in your head," then they were precisely correct and I’ll explain why. The brain has two sides, a right and a left. Men are more left brain and women are more right brain. When the right side of the brain is overactive there is a high firing Sympathetic response (fight or flight), which releases stress hormones that have a widespread effect on our bodies. This causes constriction of blood vessels and decreased oxygen to muscles. This forces them to work anaerobically (without oxygen), creating increased levels of lactic acid. This overly sensitizes C- fibers, creating pain. When you work too hard at the gym you get cramping and burning in your muscles, which is caused by lactic acid. However, with Fibromyalgia, the pain is widespread and you experience it throughout many parts of the body. Fibromyalgia is not a problem with the muscles, but rather, a problem in your brain. Chiropractic neurology balances the two sides of the brain, effectively decreasing the stress response and the lactic acid production. This has extremely positive effects. You will end up feeling less pain, less stressed, less anxious, less depressed and have more energy to do the things you want!

Your pain symptoms are only the tip of the iceberg, we must locate and find the root of the problem to optimally heal your body. This may take more treatments after your pain is gone, but promising not to extend treatment beyond what is necessary or what you feel comfortable with is how Portland Chiropractic Neurology works with you. We are here for you when you need us.