Heat vs Ice for Lower Back Pain Relief?

Hello everyone, Happy New Year 2009; Wishing everyone a wonderful healthy new year ahead !

Today I want to discuss one techinque for lower back pain relief that I often get asked about. Heat or ice for Lower Back Pain?

The good news is that they both can be good and they are all natural. So no side effects like medication.

To get the best results use ice when there is inflammation. This is often hot, red and feels tender. Areas are usually inflammed when they are initially injured or re-aggravated.

Heat works very well to loosen an area. So, couple of days after the initial injury when inflammation has disippated from using ice, use heat. For the ara to heal completely it may take weeks. With the use of heat to now keep the muscles loose and increase blood flow you can often get better much sooner.

Here's an example: If you watch football, you'll notice before the game most players are wearing extra clothing like sweats or sports pants and jackets. This keeps their backs, legs, and arms heated and warm. After the game often they're sore especially if they injured an area they'll have ice packs on thier back or knee, etc..This is because the area is often strained and inflammed.

The same holds true for someone with a back injury. Use ice to decrease the inflammation and back pain. If you continue to work or do physical activity you can heat your back to loosen the muscles before you begin your activity. The ice and hot packs we recommend patients are often shaped specially for certain parts of the back.



For example, if you are icing or heating your lower back, use a larger ice pack that is 10"x13", square in shape. For your neck area, use a 6" x 20" ice pack that is shaped with a special pouch area to cover your neck area. There is also a special ice pack for your neck and upper back, with dimensions of 9" x 16" trisectional ice/heat pack- it had two side flaps for your shoulders to better coverage. Just keep in mind tha this ice pack will be a little heavier than the cervical or lumbar ice pack.

To get rid of your low back pain once and for all look into this advanced new technology we use at our office called Spinal Decompression.

Dr. Matt Bellinger
CT Spine and Disc Center LLC

Photo Credits: Flickr Monstershaq2000

Addtional Resources:
Hot and Cold Therapy for Lower Back Pain Relief- Ice/Heat Packs for Pain Relief

Low Back Pain (…or is it?)

Have you ever had leg pain and immediately blamed your low back? Me too! Many patients (and unfortunately, many doctors) conclude this to be “sciatica” or a “pinched nerve.” When this diagnosis is wrong, it can lead to an inappropriate type of treatment, delaying appropriate care, or worse, it may result in death due to a missed diagnosis of a blood clot. There is currently a government campaign seeking to warn the public about this hard-to-diagnose 'silent killer.'



Here’s the news flash that was recently released (updated 8:28 a.m. CT, Mon., Sept. 15, 2008): “WASHINGTON - Far too many Americans are dying of dangerous blood clots that can masquerade as simple leg pain, says a major new government effort to get both patients and their doctors to recognize the emergency in time.”

"It's a silent killer. It's hard to diagnose," said acting Surgeon General Dr. Steven Galson, who announced the new campaign Monday. "I don't think most people understand that this is a serious medical problem or what can be done to prevent it."


Blood clots make headlines when seemingly healthy people collapse after prolonged sitting, such as long airplane flights or being in similarly cramped quarters. Vice President Cheney suffered one after a long trip last year. NBC correspondent David Bloom died of one in 2003 after spending days inside a tank while covering the Iraq invasion.

According to the Surgeon General’s new campaign, there are about 100,000 deaths associated with blood clots each year. Risk factors include increasing age (especially over 65), recent surgery or fracture, falls, car crashes, prolonged bed rest, smokers, obesity, pregnancy, and hormone replacement drugs including birth control pills. Other less controllable causes can include genetic conditions so it is important to tell your doctor if a relative has ever suffered a blood clot.

People with these factors should have "a very low threshold" for calling a doctor or even going to the emergency room if they have symptoms of a clot, said Galson, who issued a "call to action" for better education of both consumers and doctors, plus more research.

Symptoms include swelling; pain, especially in the calf; or a warm spot or red or discolored skin on the leg; shortness of breath or pain when breathing deeply. Unfortunately, studies suggest only a third of patients who need protective blood thinners for major surgery get them. And patients can even be turned away despite telltale symptoms, like what happened to Le Keisha Ruffin just weeks after the birth of her daughter, Caitlyn. In her case, after being turned down by several visits to the doctor and ER, only after a very hot bath did her leg swell to 3-4 times its normal size, tipping off the doctors to make the right diagnosis.

Don’t wait for your medical doctor or our office to make the diagnosis if you’re suspicious of a blood clot. Ask us if it’s a possibility. Rest assured that we have been properly trained to diagnose this condition and we work with other health care providers when needed.

YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR DRUG FREE RELIEF!
FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 633-8756

Eating Right For Optimum Health

If you read the last blog post you learned there are 5 things you must do to achieve your best health and also maintain it: 1) Eat right 2) Exercise 3) manage their stress level 4) Get proper rest 5) maximize their nervous system potential by getting their spine checked.


Today we are going to expand on Eating Right...

Let’s clear up something right now, I’m not a big fan of any serious diet plans out there. Especially one’s that starve you and one’s that advertise still eating a dessert after every meal or a chocolate shake for breakfast. First, everything in moderation. It’s fine to drink a glass of soda once in a while, just not every night. Same goes for other sweets – make them a treat. Also, if you want a glass of wine with dinner at night that’s ok too, just don’t drink till you are hammered night after night. If you drink a cup of coffee every morning ok, just hold back when going for that 2nd, 3rd, and 4th or more cups; I know who you are. I also see some awfully big cups out there. There is actually some benefits of some of these things, in moderation of course. Second, if you actually believe a no-fat or low fat diet is good, get with the times. Use common sense with what you are eating. They chemically alter these foods to remove the fat or remove something else. And think about it, ever since this low fat diet fad started, people have only gotten fatter. The same goes for unnatural soy, that stuff is chemically engineered from the get go, just so humans can eat it.

Let’s go back to the basics. When we were put on this earth, what did we eat? Did we eat hostess snack cakes, or pilsberry rolls, or in other words all of these complex carbs and sugars – No. We ate fruits and vegetables and meats and all the other good stuff that comes from these plants and trees and animals - natural, unaltered foods, with normal ingredients.

There really is so much to go over on this one subject alone of eating right we will come back to it again soon. I want to stay on track and cover all 5 bases of how to achieve and maintain optimum health 1st.

So keep your eyes open for the next blog on how exercise is another component and why so many out there are just lost when it comes to what to do, when to do it, and how to get started!

...And remember we must do all of these things to stay healthy. Most importantly we have to keep our nervous system healthy because it runs the show! For the body to even absorb all the nutrients it needs, and for each body reaction that takes place, the nervous system needs to be at its best. Chiropractic treatment keeps that nervous system doing it's job. And now with DRX9000 spinal decompression we take natural treatments for the spine and chiropractic to the next level.

The 5 Things You Must Do To Stay Healthy!

There are 5 things one must do to achieve their best health. 1) Eat right 2) Exercise 3) manage their stress level 4) Get proper rest 5) maximize their nervous system potential by getting their spine checked.

With just one of these 5 things missing our health will not reach 100%. For example we can eat great, getting all the important nutrients but constantly live with severe emotional stress and be well below your maximum potential. Or one can have misalignments in his or her spine putting stress on our nervous system thereby not allowing all the parts of the body to use those nutrients in the 1st place.

Before We Can Achieve Anything (Being Healthy!), We Need To Know What That Something Is?.

The definition of health is mental, physical, social or spiritual well being, or normal function, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In other words - Health is normal function of the body. Just like a plant cannot live without water (nutrients), sunlight, air, and the proper temperature. We cannot live without the proper environment – food (nutrients), water (nutrients), air (exercise replenishes and recycles oxygen), proper rest, and nerve supply.

So what can we do to maintain and improve these 5 things? Keep reading this blog, and next time that is what I will be going over.


If you can't wait and need help with your health NOW!, Call our office at 860-633-8756 or visit us on the web at www.ctbackdr.com.

The Common Answers To Solving Back Pain From a Herniated Or Bulging Disc...And Why They Almost Never Really Work!

Until recently, the only advice for many of you suffering with back pain was to try the following:

-Try Exercises
-Try Physical Therapy
-Try These Pain Medications
-Try Muscle Relaxers
-Try Pain Shots Or An Epidural
-Try Risky/Dangerous Back Surgery
-Try To Live With The Pain

If you're like most, none of these have actually worked for you or you are afraid of what could happen if you do try some of these.

Exercising or exercises at PT makes your pain worse. The muscle relaxers or pain meds just cover the problem up, give you side effects, and only give short term relief.

Pain shots are scary, made things worse, didn't work, didn't last, had side effects as well, and really did nothing to fix the cause of the problem.

Back surgery, if you had it, gave you one of the following outcomes: it made you worse, it din't work, or it actually did help but now your pain has returned worse than ever.

Now there's finally an answer to your low back pain that Does Work!

Whatever your situation, you owe it to yourself to check into this new breakthrough treatment, right here in the Hartford area of Connecticut.

My Doctor Told Me To Lose Weight...Then Come Back And See Him!

Definitely more weight added on to an already unstable or degenerated spine and discs doesn't help but it's rarely the actual cause of your back pain.

Most often, the patient's that are really hurting from back pain or leg pain can't exercise!

Since They Cannot Exercise It's Extremely Hard To Lose Weight!!

The DRX9000 Spinal Decompression machine is designed to handle someone who weighs up to 400lbs, and can treat anyone up to 6'10" tall. At CT Spine And Disc Center we have helped many of those patients that have gained a good deal of weight simply because they were in so much pain they couldn't be active anymore.

Once we got their backs better they were then able to work out, be more active, and therefore take off the pounds!

If your back or leg pain has caused you to stop being active and even gain weight,call the Chiropractors at CT Spine & Disc Center today. For pain relief - Call 633-8756 now!

I Have Osteoporosis Or Osteopenia Bone Deterioration...Can The DRX Or Chiropractic Treatment Still Help Me??

Most often the answer is YES!, it can still help. Most people at some point in their lives get bone and disc deterioration or breakdown. This is the same thing as arthritis or degeneration which will happen somewhat with age.


Some get more of a weakening of the bones called osteopenia. If that steadily gets worse and becomes what we call severe osteoporosis where the patient presents with stress fractures and collapsed vertebrae unfortunately they will not be a drx9000 candidate.

They may still be a candidate for another therapy in our office. Things like heat or ice therapy, gentle muscle work, Electric muscle stimulation therapy, or a specific chiropractic technique such as activator.
This is a very gentle type of chiropractic done with the "activator tool" vs the usual hand on approach.

However, to put things in perspective - out of the hundreds of patients we've had come in for drx9000 treatment , or the hundreds we've had for chiropractic treatments - only a few had severe osteoporosis where they could not get drx9000 spinal decompression, or hands on chiropractic. They did receive other therapies that helped as well as our special gentle chiropractic techniques that gave them relief.

Do not let your spine break down completely before you get into our office. The sooner we address your aches, pains, and health issues, the faster and easier they are to take care of.

The best thing to do if you are suffering back pain, neck pain, or extremity pain is call our office for an absolutely free consultation at 860-633-8756. There is no obligation to pursue any treatment if you are accepted by us as a patient.

The Many Causes of Low Back Pain!

Low back pain can be caused from an injury – a fall at work, a sports injury, a car accident. It can also come from sleeping in an awkward position too long, lifting something with poor form, years of wear and tear on your body…I could go on and on. But what it comes down to is pressure on the nerves in the lower spine.

This is most often due to disc degeneration, bulging of the discs, ruptured spinal discs, misalignments in the spine or pelvis, and muscle strain. Any of the previously listed or any combination puts direct pressure on the nerves or creates internal inflammation that causes the nerve pressure.

Not to mention any of the above can contribute to other problems as well. A degenerative disc usually flattens and bulges. A misalignment of the spine creates instability, and the discs between each spinal segment will not be held there as securely. This can lead to a disc rupture, herniation or bulge. Continuous pressure on nerves can cause faster breakdown and degeneration.

The doctors at CT Spine And Disc Center will perform a complete examination, consider other contributing causes, and will treat the problem(s) causing the LBP condition. If needed, working with other allied health care providers will be arranged. Exercise, dietary recommendations, ergonomic or work modifications, spinal manipulation, and modalities will all be considered to help eliminate or control of the LBP.

YOU MAYBE A CANDIDATE FOR DRUG FREE RELIEF! FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 633-8756

Back Surgery Costs Us 16 Billion A Year And A lot Of The Time Doesn’t Even Work!

Back Surgery Costs Us 16 Billion A Year And A lot Of The Time Doesn’t Even Work!

Today I was reading an article in a well known magazine about the exorbitant cost of our health care system. I was shocked to hear a big chunk of it – billions of dollars, in fact, a year goes toward unnecessary surgeries.

One of the major unnecessary surgery’s was back fusion surgery. The reason it’s often unnnescessary is there is actually no evidence back surgery is any more successful conventional treatments like physical therapy, chiropractic, medication and others.

Being a chiropractor and seeing patients for over 5 years I already know that back surgery is very unsuccessful and that the results of other back treatment and therapies were much cheaper to do, easier to do, and even worked better. I was glad to hear someone spoke up and wrote about this in a major magazine.

Not only is back surgery very unsuccessful its very risky. People often forget that people get infections in the hospital, people have to take all sorts of medications and even knocked out with anesthesia, and mistakes happen. And lastly, even if everything goes well – the pain often returns a few years later. Not to mention a lot of the time you are still left with some pain or restrictions in certain activiesl you can and cannot do.

In some cases surgery is required and necessary, but most times it can be avoided. I urge every person that asks me about it to try every kind of non surgical treatment first before electing for surgery.

At Ct Spine and Disc Center we now have new treatment with over 80% success rate for eliminating back pain and sciatica. To learn more, visit www.CTBackDr.com.

Your Back Pain May Not Only Be Hurting You!

At our office in Glastonbury we’ve seen hundreds of patients who were suffering some form of back pain. Nearly every one of them has told us how their back pain has stopped them from doing the things they used too do and enjoy doing.

Some have put their golf clubs away indefinitely because their back hurts to much to play or maybe even just walk on the course. Others have given up exercising, going to the gym, skiing, horseback riding, playing ball with their kids, traveling to family members houses for the holidays; the list is never ending.

But back pain from a herniated disc doesn’t just hurt YOU, and prevent YOU from the fun hobbies you enjoy, and YOUR daily chores and activities. It also affects everyone around you – your spouse, kids, co-workers.

I’ve had patients tell me they can’t even go grocery shopping because of the pain, or go to work without popping pills all day long. But that’s not all; they’ve also expressed how it’s hurt their family life – leaving them dependent on their spouse, feeling sick from all the medications they’re taking, not being able to play with the kids, and so on.

Finally there is now a technologically advanced treatment for getting rid of severe back pain called DRX9000 Spinal Decompression.

So don’t wait! With the help of the doctors at CT Spine & Disc Center, you can finally end the pain you are suffering with. And again enjoy the favorite things you like to do but haven’t been able to because of your back. And even more important, end the pain your family, kids, and friends are having seeing you in pain.

Contact our office now to see if the DRX may be for you!!