Oxford Back Pain Patients Tips for Waiting on Relief: Walking, Breathing, Walking

Liminality. A time of waiting. A time of transition. The holidays have many of us waiting and transitioning to holiday gatherings and a new year. Back pain has many of us Oxford back pain and neck pain sufferers waiting and transitioning on the arrival of pain relief as well. The waiting is sometimes the hardest part. Waiting for the big holiday and waiting for the relief of back pain or neck pain are accompanied by anticipation. Exercising, breathing, and walking are good ways to cope with the liminality. Satterwhite Chiropractic is right there with our Oxford chiropractic patients as they wait.

HOW TO HELP YOURSELF THROUGH BACK PAIN’S LIMINALITY

Back pain specialists will frequently prescribe ice/heat/exercise for home care. New reports are describing how deep breathing exercises (particularly the pursed-lips version which patients reported to be more calming and pleasant with a more sense of control) (1), diaphragmatic deep breathing (6 breaths a minute for 10 minutes twice a day for 4 weeks effectively generated positive outcomes to improve autonomic function by decreasing sympathetic activity) (2), and long-distance walking (which allowed for time to be in a ‘liminal space’ to contemplate on one’s struggles, relish some calmness, and process current thoughts) (3) are useful. Satterwhite Chiropractic encourages any of these ideas to boost the healing, pain-relieving process with Oxford chiropractic services.

LIMINALITY IN BACK PAIN AND SCIATICA CARE

An interesting outcome from a study performed in the UK - SCOPiC (SCiatica Outcomes in Primary Care) – described the thinking state of ‘liminality’ many sciatica or sciatic leg pain sufferers use to manage their pain and its path to recovery. The study has researchers interview low back and sciatica sufferers. Sciatica is accompanied by its own distinctive group of issues in terms of its persistence and symptom severity. Researchers illustrated the concept of “biographical suspension” as it related to sciatica patients who seem to put life on hold while expecting an ultimate return to their prior, pain-free selves, holding onto hope while also controlling concern. This is a form of ‘liminality’, the time between pre- and post-pain, strengthened by a belief that sciatica is temporary and fixable, not a long-term illness. Even those who had sciatic leg pain for some time kept this belief. (4) Satterwhite Chiropractic is manytimes amazed by the persistence of back pain and leg pain sufferers to discover something that works for them. They oftentimes talk with many different types of healthcare providers and try many different approaches as they are confident that there is help. Oxford back pain and Oxford leg pain patients often find that relief when they finally arrive at Satterwhite Chiropractic as we take the time to clearly explain the spinal problem, its treatment, its expected outcome, and its treatment plan including the frequency of visits and the expected timeframe for relief. The 50% Rule guides both: 50% subjective relief (how you feel) along with 50% objective relief (via specific test findings) reduce the treatment plan frequency by 50% (ex: daily visits change to every other day). Satterwhite Chiropractic is always monitoring the back and leg pain sufferer’s progress toward pain relief with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

CONTACT Satterwhite Chiropractic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Robert Patterson on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares the role of patient expectations in their pain relief via The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Schedule your next Oxford chiropractic appointment today. Waiting while transitioning from pain to pain-relief is a time of hope combined with a little concern. Satterwhite Chiropractic knows this and has the experience in walking this path with our low back pain and sciatica patients. Liminality need not be experienced alone!