Low Back Pain
Low back pain is a syndrome that can be seen in any period of life in 60-85% of today’s society and has a wide variety of causes.
Although low back pain is seen in all age groups, its incidence increases with advancing age. The most important factor in this is the degeneration of the spine. Posture disorders and decreased strength in the abdominal and back muscles that come with weight gain are important risk factors.
Causes of Low Back Pain
Muscle stiffness; The cause of low back pain is often the involvement of the muscles that keep the body upright and allow us to turn left and right. The source of the pain is the muscle fibers that are involved. While moving, sudden, knife-like pain is felt. Even if the pain is so severe that sometimes it forces the person to go to the emergency room, only painkillers and bed rest are sufficient for treatment.
Lumbar Hernia (Lumbar Disc Herniation) ; In our body, there are rubbery cushions called “intervertebral discs” between both spinal bones. These prevent the bones from rubbing against each other. We benefit from the flexibility of these discs when we bend forward and backward or rotate our body where we are. They ensure a balanced transfer of body weight from the upper bone to the lower bone . sometimes discs wear out over time. Tire consistency deteriorates. Discs compressed between two bones under body weight balloon, become cambered and begin to touch the nerves passing behind them. Patients describe it as “pain hitting my legs and feet”. Sometimes ankle movements can be weakened. Again, as a result of contact with the nerves, there may be a tingling sensation in the legs and feet.
Vertebral Fractures ; Especially in the elderly, the bones are prone to fracture when they lose their minerals. While an ordinary fall does not cause any fracture in a young individual, compression fractures are especially common in the elderly. When the vertebral bones are broken, it causes chronic low back pain.
Spinal Canal Stenosis (stenosis); It is the compression of the spinal cord by the vertebral bones and joints through which it passes. Pain occurs when patients walk for a while. However, these pains are relieved by leaning forward. With the surgery, the piece of bone that is compressing the spinal cord is removed and the spinal cord is relaxed.
Treatment of Low Back Pain
An acute low back pain caused by an inverted movement or position responds to rest, painkillers and muscle relaxants (only in the acute period). Chronic low back pain is pain that lasts more than 3 months.
Scientific researches show that depression symptoms and reluctance to life are experienced much more intensely in patients living with chronic pain and who have accepted this condition. Patients with pain have to make movement restrictions unavoidably, decrease in movement, increase in weight and longevity. It causes deterioration of mental balance at the same time. Various muscles of the skeleton gradually weaken and lose their strength due to inactivity. When this situation comes together with weight gain, the load on the painful area increases and the problem in the region deepens. Over the years: the vicious circle of pain, immobility and weight gain reduces the patient’s quality of life completely.
One of the areas that modern medicine remains unanswered is the spectrum of different diseases that cause chronic pain. Unfortunately , in the treatment of chronic pain in our country , just as acute pain is still approached , other alternatives are ignored ( only physiotherapy is recommended ) , and the only solution is drug therapy . In addition, people now try to use these drugs as little as possible, as they are more or less aware of the side effects that can come from long-term use of pain relievers. The result is always coping with pain and accepting it as signs of aging. Surgery is rarely needed for low back pain. Although the pain is severe, many people with low back pain do not need surgery.
Effective methods of complementary medicine in the treatment of chronic pain
Soft Laser Therapy;
In cold laser or soft laser treatment, light energy is absorbed by the cells. The characteristic of this energy is that it is in a physiological dose, that is, from the moment the treatment is applied, the repair process is initiated on a cellular basis (photobiotherapy).
For whatever reason, the cells of the damaged area are affected. Cellular energy (ATP) production decreases or stops, as a result, the cell membrane (the membrane that provides the integrity of the cells) loses its water balance. Protein synthesis (production) is also paused in cells that are about to deteriorate. The synthesis (production) of special proteins is necessary to ensure cell integrity. These protein production mechanisms are very sensitive and when they are affected by external factors (physical trauma, stress, oxygen deficiency, factors occurring in blood flow), vicious circle begins and the extent of the destruction increases. Pain can be the primary symptom as a stimulant and defense mechanism. If the treatment method is to solve the main problem, for example, providing and regulating the oxigenation in the vessels, stimulating the immune system; the disease can be healed in a shorter time with treatment before it gets deeper. Cell metabolism is balanced, energy (ATP) production is supported, protein synthesis is stimulated, which means improvement in the functions of cells. In these cases, painkillers have a symptomatic effect as they suppress the pain and their therapeutic effects are not in question.
Electroacupuncture therapy ;
Electro Acupuncture and Acupuncture is a very effective treatment method in knee osteoarthritis. It both relieves the pain of patients with OA and improves knee function to a great extent, so it is included in the OA standard treatment protocol of modern medicine in the USA and Europe as an effective treatment method.
It is done with acupuncture needles or with electro-bands for those who do not like needles. It is a very effective modality in pain treatment, where we can get faster results. Body acupuncture points and trigger points, specific groups of points are selected according to each disease and the necessary frequency settings are made, 15-30 minutes of electrostimulation is given to the points in each session. This treatment is more effective when combined with auricular acupuncture and activates the body in a systemic way. In addition, electroacupuncture and electrolipolysis have a local effect on the abdomen and hips, reducing the appearance of cellulite and making the abdominal region firmer.
How is the treatment done?
Laser is applied to the points in the treatment plan from 30 seconds to a few minutes. After the treatment session, normal daily life and activities can be started immediately, there are no restrictions and side effects. Determines chronicity. If less than 6-8 months have passed from the symptoms of the disease, the treatment provides the maximum effect and most of the time, surprisingly, the complaints can completely disappear. (for example, in tendonitis and bursitis, sports injuries) Healing in diseases exceeding 1 year can be achieved at certain rates, depending on the type of pathology, whether a systemic disease accompanies, and the severity of the damage. relief in joint movements is expected. These rates are much higher in rheumatic joint diseases (due to the effect of laser therapy on edema and inflammation), and in newly started Osteoarthritis.
Researches
Scientific research of the SWEÇ Laser institution, which was published for the 4th time in the British Medical Journal, the restorative effects of Soft Laser and the healing of osteoarthritis patients, drug treatment (NSAIDs = Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs). ) demonstrated its advantages. In this study, 10,845 patients were divided into 3 control groups. Without ignoring the benefits of painkillers in short-term use in acute situations, we should also consider that they cause serious side effects and organ disorders in long-term use in chronic diseases. In England alone, 2000 people die as a result of the side effects of painkillers (NSAIDS), because half of the 8.5 million osteoarthritis patients use painkillers regularly. (Swedish Laser Medical society) The laser applied in cold laser treatment is low-intensity laser energy and its effects cannot be compared with the burning laser we know. Soft laser stimulates the cells of the target area and initiates the healing and repair process. Photon energy (energy particles of laser light) has a systemic effect as it creates some positive stimuli in the blood vessels and immune system cells in the blood vessels of that area, as well as regional effects in the area where it is applied. Thanks to these functions, inflammation and pain begin to ease from the first treatment. Due to the special frequency and intensity of the laser used in this treatment method, it is painless and completely without side effects.
National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine and National Institute of Arthritis, under the supervision of NIH, as a result of extensive research in 510 OA patients, the strong therapeutic effect of acupuncture in the treatment of OA patients has been scientifically proven, so Acupuncture has an important place in the standard treatment protocol of osteoarthritis in America. won. (National Institutes of health) 20 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis and this disease is considered the most important cause of physical disability among adults (Barnes P, Berman BM, May 2004), so controlling the symptoms of osteoarthritis means greatly improving the quality of life.
Important note: The severity and chronicity of joint destruction are in an inverse relationship with treatment response rates. For the cause, if it is delayed in starting the Reparative Treatment, as the age progresses, the movement becomes more and more restricted and the quality of life decreases. This leads to further establishment of the pathology causing the pain.
