by Greenville Spine Institute | Sep 12, 2023 | Back Pain, Chiropractic Care, Health and Wellness, Pain Relief
Mom of four kids, Ashli, was taking care of her baby one morning, bent over, and heard something in her neck crack. She was in a lot of pain and remembered seeing something about a chiropractor in her church’s bulletin so thought, why not, I’ll call him.
That decision was the turning point in getting her body back to doing what it was supposed to do so she could enjoy life with children.
The Prognosis
Like all new patients, Ashli had an extensive intake with Dr. Lewis, which included x-rays and a consultation on the findings of the (painless) tests.
It turned out that Ashli had 7 subluxations (these cause inflammation) in her spine and her hips were completely misaligned, which made the rest of her body overcompensate for the imbalance.
“I wasn’t having a lot of pain because I had lived with it for so long and my body had compensated for the imbalances for years,” she said.
That had led to Ashli not being able to do a squat without falling over. Additionally, she has scoliosis, which had hindered her spine health for years. She knew most of this going in to see Dr. Lewis, except the information about the subluxations, but like many women, just had dealt with the pain and aches for years.
The Greenville Spine Institute Difference
The way that Dr. Lewis and his team at Greenville Spine handle new patients and the beginning of Chiropractic Care treatment made a world of difference to Ashli. She had been to another chiropractor in the Greenville area who had helped her with some pregnancy pain but did not have a long term plan in place for her to reach the goals she had.
“Dr Lewis’ treatment plan wasn’t just a snap-you-up-and-send-you-home kind of thing,” said Ashli.
Ashli majored in biology at Clemson University so her appreciation for Dr. Lewis’ extensive knowledge and explanation of the functions of the body and what he was planning to do was immensely helpful.
“What got me about Dr. Lewis was the way he explained things to me,” said Ashli. “I loved that he spoke in terms I understood, that he used scientific language to tell me what was going on in my body and was pragmatic. I also really liked the physical therapy part of the treatment – the exercises at home and the ice bed at the office.”
When it came to discussing treatment options, she appreciated Dr. Lewis’ individualized plan for her. She knew she would also have to put in the work and wasn’t afraid to do her part to make the plan a success.
The Results of Chiropractic Care a Year Later
In the course of only a few months, from August – November, Ashli went from 7 subluxations down to just 1. Today, it’s been a year since she first walked into Dr. Lewis’ office and her life has totally changed.
Ashli said she has so much more range of motion in her neck, back, shoulders, and hips. And one side effect she wasn’t expecting even happened.
“My clothes even fit better because my hips were rotated and one hip was higher than the other,” said Ashli. “The same thing was happening with my shoulders.”
Since her spine was aligned, the way she holds her head was also drastically different, as she stood straighter and put less pressure on her neck and shoulders.
But the biggest difference she has noticed is that now she’s able to play with her kids, to run around with them at the park, to go to the gym and get in a good workout and not fall over trying to do squats.
“I can do all the things I haven’t been able to do since college,” Ashli said. “Dr. Lewis has changed my life.”
Ready for your Chiropractic Care transformation story?
If you’re ready to take that next step in addressing long term back pain, healing your immediate aches and pains, or just maintaining your overall health, give us a call at Greenville Spine. We would be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss treatment options. Call us at (864) 631-1420 and let’s get you started on accomplishing all your health goals.
by Greenville Spine Institute | Aug 15, 2023 | Back Pain, Health and Wellness, Inflammation
“You are what you eat”. Have you heard that? It’s an oft-repeated cliche because it’s true. It is incredibly important when it comes to your overall health when working with a chiropractor because certain foods you eat can contribute to inflammation, which is detrimental to the healing process your body needs.
You can read more about how your diet affects your back in a previous post but here, we’ll be talking about foods and meals that can specifically lessen inflammation to ease back pain.
How your diet affects your back
Foods that fight inflammation will have a positive effect on how your back, neck, and shoulders feel. Subluxations (misalignment of the vertebrae) often cause inflammation, pain and swelling around the joint, loss of range of motion, and limited mobility. The muscles of the lower back and abdomen are meant to work together to keep your spine aligned and healthy. When they are strained by extra weight and/or are inflamed, aches and pains develop. This can last for a long time and get worse if not properly addressed.
At Greenville Spine, we work to reduce those subluxations through regular adjustments but patients can also work to reduce the pain they cause through their diets. It will be from your refrigerator, not your medicine cabinet, where relief comes from.
Top anti-inflammatory foods
Unprocessed foods are key to maintaining a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet. These are some of the foods that are excellent for keeping inflammation down:
- Fruits like strawberries, oranges, blueberries, and cherries
- Kale, collards, spinach and other green, leafy vegetables
- Whole grains like bran, oats, quinoa, barley
- Olive oil
- Nuts such as walnuts and almonds
- Tomatoes
- Fish like mackerel, tuna, sardines, and salmon
- Flaxseeds, pumpkin and sesame seeds
Eating an anti-inflammatory diet is similar to the Mediterranean diet, which focuses a lot on healthy fats, whole grains, fruits, and leafy greens.
To reduce inflammation, stay away from soda, sugar-sweetened drinks and foods, red meat, and fast food. These foods are the most unhelpful when trying to maintain a diet to ease back pain from inflammation.
Anti-Inflammatory Meal Plans
Sure, it’s a great idea to include anti-inflammatory foods into your diet, but making meal plans and sticking to them can be the tough part. Here are several ideas to help you to work efficiently with your chiropractor through your diet to improve function and reduce back pain. You will find below suggestions for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
Breakfast
- Really Green Smoothie – this includes almond milk, a banana, avocado, kale, chia seeds, and honey.
- Steel Cut Oats with Berries & Kefir – this filling breakfast is high in fiber and tastes delicious.
- Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes – these gluten-free pancakes are delicious and you can even double the recipe and freeze half for another day.
- Scrambled Eggs with Tumeric – some studies1 have suggested that turmeric specifically aids in inflammation reduction so adding it to scrambled eggs really kicks up the anti-inflammatory properties of this breakfast dish.
Lunch
Snacks
- Walnuts
- Whole fruits like apples, pears, or peaches. Look for whatever is in season where you live as it will be the freshest.
- Dry-roasted almonds
Dinner
Start your journey to a healthier back
If you need help getting started on living a pain-free life and learning more about how your diet affects back pain, we are more than happy to help! The benefits of working with us at Greenville Spine are extensive due to the holistic and individualized treatment options. If you’ve been experiencing pain and don’t know where to turn, give us a call at Greenville Spine. We would be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss treatment options. Give us a call at (864) 631-1420 and let’s get you started on accomplishing all your health goals.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664031/
by Greenville Spine Institute | Jul 12, 2023 | Back Pain
Tedra Coakley, 36, suffers from slight scoliosis in her back, but it wasn’t bothering her a lot and even though she experienced a significant amount of lower back pain, she didn’t seek any kind of extended treatment. Her story is one that many people will be able to relate to as she lived with regular back pain and eventually wanted to do something about it. It was through her treatment with Greenville Spine and Dr. Kevin Lewis that put her on the right track for her spine health and ultimately changed her outlook about taking care of her body with the right chiropractor.
Lower Back Pain
Tedra suffered from lower back pain for years and it eventually started to hinder her everyday life.
“Just standing up and walking around for an extended period of time, I’d have pain in my lower back,” Tedra recalls.
She ended up learning about the Greenville Spine Institute at a vendor event a few years ago and was impressed by what she learned so she made an appointment with Dr. Kevin Lewis for an initial consultation.
“Sometimes just sitting for too long would contribute to the pain. I wanted to see if anything else was going on,” she said.
Initial Consultation: “Cause for concern”
At the initial consultation appointment, Tedra had x-rays done, a multi-point exam, and sat with Dr. Lewis to discuss what was happening with her pain. After reviewing the x-rays, Dr. Lewis confirmed that Tedra had 18 subluxations and her L1 vertebrae (this is located in the mid-back) was functioning at 0%.
“Well, that was cause for concern,” she said.
Subluxations cause inflammation and pain in the body. The majority of patients at Greenville Spine often come into that initial appointment with multiple subluxations. Lower back pain is also a common complaint and after treatment, the vast majority of patients see significant improvement. Spoiler alert: that’s exactly what happened for Tedra.
Pursuing Treatment Options
Dr. Lewis put together a customized treatment plan to pinpoint adjustments for the subluxations and the L1 vertebrae. She went three times a week for four months straight and did the exercises at home that Dr. Lewis and his team suggested for her.
“Throughout those four months, every time I’d go I would feel better and better,” Tedra said.
Two weeks after she started treatment with Dr. Lewis, she started working in a job where she would be on her feet for hours at a time. At first, she said she experienced initial soreness because she wasn’t used to that type of work but then the pain subsided as treatment continued and she works pain-free now.
Results + Unexpected Benefits
After those initial four months of treatment with Dr. Lewis, she went from 18 subluxations down to three and her L1 was functioning at 100%. Her appointments now have been reduced to every other week.
While Tedra felt amazing, she came away with more than a healthy back. She’s learned that Dr. Lewis can do a lot more than just fix her initial concern of lower back pain. During her treatment, she had experienced a knee injury in her daily life and thought to bring it up during her regular chiropractor appointment.
“I wondered if Dr. Lewis could adjust my knee and sure enough, yeah, he could,” she said. “If I ever had any issues, whether it’s my knee or my back, and couldn’t wait till my next appointment, I just called to see if they have any openings and they could always fit me in.”
Tedra was already an advocate of massage therapy but now recommends adding chiropractic care into self-care routines.
“I’ve had a great experience with Dr. Lewis and I recommend everyone go to a chiropractor,” Tedra said. “If someone has neck pain or has a headache or any type of ache or pain, I always ask them if they are seeing a chiropractor. I tell everyone because it has been such a tremendous help for me. The benefits are amazing.”
And maybe the best benefit of all is that after two years of treatment, Tedra feels younger than her age.
“When I started going to Dr. Lewis, I was 34 years old but I felt like I was in my 40s. It’s not fun when your body feels broken all the time,” she said. “I’m 36 and I actually feel my age if not younger.”
Ready for your transformation story?
If you’re ready to take that next step in addressing long term back pain, healing your immediate aches and pains, or just maintaining your overall health, give us a call at Greenville Spine. We would be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss treatment options. Call us at (864) 631-1420 and let’s get you started on accomplishing all your health goals.
by Greenville Spine Institute | May 15, 2023 | Back Pain, Health and Wellness
Why are we talking about food on a chiropractor website? Not only because what you eat matters to your overall health but because it also matters a great deal when it comes specifically to pain management. Your diet can affect your back. The food you eat can cause back pain. There are certain foods that cause inflammation, which is a huge factor in chiropractic care and something that adjustments seek to lessen because inflammation often causes joint pain. There are also foods that fight inflammation.
Food Matters
“You are what you eat” – it’s a cliche because it’s true. What you put into your body matters a great deal. An unbalanced diet that mostly consists of foods high in fat and sugar and processed foods increases the risk of obesity, which puts an incredible strain on the spine and abdominal muscles. This diet can affect your back and other elements of your health. On the contrary, eating a diet of healthy foods can fight inflammation and reduce pain.
Eating a balanced diet is no easy task, especially in today’s busy world where fast food is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to eat on the go. But that fast food is often so processed that most nutritional value has been removed and all that’s left is nothing but junk. One estimate from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System states that 75% of Americans aren’t getting the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables. If you are feeling like you aren’t eating a balanced diet, you’re not alone.
How a Healthy Diet Affects Your Back
Foods that fight inflammation will have a positive effect on how your back, neck, and shoulders feel. Subluxations (misalignment of the vertebrae) often cause inflammation, pain and swelling around the joint, loss of range of motion, and limited mobility. The muscles of the lower back and abdomen are meant to work together to keep your spine aligned and healthy. When they are strained by extra weight and/or are inflamed, aches and pains develop. This can last for a long time and get worse if not properly addressed.
At Greenville Spine, we work to reduce those subluxations through regular adjustments but patients can also work to reduce the pain they cause through their diets.
Eating unprocessed foods with no added sugar is believed to help reduce inflammation. There are also “anti-inflammation” diets to follow if you want to dive more deeply into this kind of healthy, balanced eating. But the basic rule is to stay away from processed foods and instead eat more of these:
- Fruits like strawberries, oranges, blueberries, and cherries
- Kale, collards, spinach and other green, leafy vegetables
- Whole grains like bran, oats, quinoa, barley
- Olive oil
- Nuts such as walnuts and almonds
- Tomatoes
- Fish like mackerel, tuna, sardines, and salmon
- Flaxseeds, pumpkin and sesame seeds
Foods That Cause Inflammation
Saving your back doesn’t come from a pharmacy but rather from your fridge. Harming your back comes from a kitchen also – usually a fast food one – and the snack and freezer aisles at the grocery store.
Foods that cause inflammation, increase your risk of obesity, and strain your strain and joints are things like:
- Potatoes – french fries, chips, any kind of baked or fried potatoes
- Soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks
- Sugar-sweetened fruit juices
- Processed meats like bacon, salami, ham, and sausage
- Red meat like pork, lamb, or beef
- White bread, white rice, white pasta
- Sweets
- Fast food
It’s not necessarily bad to eat these once in a while but they are a main part of your diet, they could very well be causing inflammation in pain in your back.
Holistic Diets
The chiropractic practice is generally one that looks at the whole person and comes to conclusions about how best to treat an individual based on their entire lifestyle and personal challenges. At Greenville Spine, we look at each of our patients individually, what they like to do, how they exercise and enjoy leisure, what their work backgrounds are like, what their normal diet consists of, and what their particular challenges and obstacles are.
Through evaluating patients individually and as a whole person, we are able to manage their treatment to accomplish their goals as individuals. All of our treatments are holistic: we don’t use any drugs and if we do recommend supplements, they are natural.
The same holistic concept can be applied to diets as well. A well-rounded diet that focuses more on foods that reduce inflammation can positively affect all aspects of a patient: their sleep, their pain, their alertness, their endurance. Everything in the body works best when obstacles – like subluxations – are removed and the body can effectively work as it’s supposed to.
Changing Habits
Changing any kind of bad habit can be very difficult but in the end, if you’re able to run around with your kids or grandkids, get back to your job, sleep better at night, and wean off expensive medications through utilizing both a healthy eating plan and regular chiropractic care, that is life-changing.
Living a Pain-Free Life
If you need help getting started on living a pain-free life and learning more about how your diet affects back pain, we are more than happy to help! The benefits of working with us at Greenville Spine are extensive due to the holistic and individualized treatment options. If you’ve been experiencing pain and don’t know where to turn, give us a call at Greenville Spine. We would be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss treatment options. Give us a call at (864) 631-1420 and let’s get you started on accomplishing all your health goals.
by Dr. Kevin P Lewis | Mar 21, 2022 | Back Pain, Chiropractic Care
Many people with back pain go straight to a physician, and keep going, usually ending up with a pile of bills, a lot of prescription medication, and sometimes not much relief. The majority of those who choose to see a chiropractor for back pain report a higher level of satisfaction1. Their treatment plans are laid out clearly and patients have exercises they can do on their own to increase the level of comfort and decrease their level of discomfort.
While we’ll talk in this post about specific exercises to help you get started in moving towards your goal of lesser back pain, the only long term solution is to see a chiropractor. It’s through a dedicated, personalized treatment plan with a chiropractor who understands your needs, goals, body, and specific injury or pain, that a longer term solution can be gained. But for now, we’ll give you some specific exercises to manage pain and talk about why a chiropractor is your best option for long term success.
Managing Back Pain at Home
Can you really manage back pain at home? Yes and no. It depends a lot upon what kind of pain you have and where it is located. For most people, back pain is concentrated in their lower back so that is what we’ll focus on here.
The goals of these exercises for lower pain are threefold:
- To increase flexibility
- To build strength
- To increase mobility
All three of these goals work together. Flexibility and mobility will help stretch and strengthen the muscles needed to support your lower back. Greater mobility will lead to more flexibility, which will lead to muscles being stronger as they are built up in areas where they are the weakest – one of the causes of lower back pain.
Four exercises to manage lower back pain at home
You can do these exercises every day to start managing lower back pain at home. Consistency is key to any treatment plan and creating good habits by sticking with specific exercises will serve you well in the long term.
These exercises shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes a day and can be done once in the morning and once at night.
Lower back rotational stretch
Lay on your back with both legs bent at the knee. Push your knees to one side of your body while keeping your shoulders on the floor. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat with the other side of your body. Do this exercise three times with each side. You should feel a nice stretch in your hip flexors. Extend the top leg for an even deeper stretch through your legs.
Knees to chest stretch
This one is easy since it’s exactly like it sounds. Lay on your back and bend your knees. Pull your knees to your chest and hold for 30 seconds. Do this three times. You should feel a stretch in your lower back.
Cat-cow stretch
This is a stretch that seeks to lengthen the spine. Go on your hands and knees on the floor and arch your back, pulling your belly button to your spine, and hold for 15 seconds. Then arch your back in the opposite direction, raising your head and neck while you push your belly to the floor. Repeat each motion three times for 30 seconds each.
Hamstring stretch
You’ll need a towel or rubber exercise band for this stretch. Lay on your back and raise one leg straight up. Wrap a small towel or rubber exercise band around the ball of your feet while holding one end with your left hand and the other end with your right hand. Try to straighten the leg as much as possible and gently pull on the towel/band until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg – the hamstring. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat three times on each leg.
Why working with a chiropractor can help relieve back pain
Managing back pain at home is an excellent first step to taking control of your pain. As a chiropractor who works closely with his patients on their goals, it is always encouraging to me to work with a motivated patient because they need to be just as dedicated as I am to managing their back pain.
Improving alignment
It is crucial that the spine is aligned correctly because that is when everything works the way it is supposed to – and with little to no pain. If something is out of alignment, it will likely cause pain not only at the place of misalignment but many other places throughout the body because everything is connected and works together. Spinal adjustment is at the crux of chiropractic care because it is the most important part of what makes your body work the way it’s supposed to.
Increasing movement
Spinal adjustments will help to increase movement in the joints and reduce tightness and tension. Lower back pain can result from not only from misalignment of the spine but the consequential tightness that results from that misalignment as other tendons and joints try to make up for the misalignment. Through regular adjustments, tightness and tension is lessened in the upper, middle, and lower back, leading to better movement, flexibility, and less pain.
Preventing injury
Working with a chiropractor to ease back pain also has the added benefit of preventing future injury. When muscles are strong and a patient has better flexibility, they are more easily able to absorb impact and often result in fewer injuries.
Long term solution to back pain
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to back pain but there are many options to manage back pain while strengthening the muscles that patients need to ease their back pain and avoid further irritation or injury.
At home exercises are a great way to start managing back pain at home but a thorough intake and examination by a chiropractor, followed by a detailed and personal treatment plan is the best way to manage back pain. There are no drugs and no surgeries. It is a completely holistic approach to health that aims to get the body back to doing what it should be doing.
As a well-trained Gonstead chiropractor who has been practicing for more than ten years, 98% of my patients achieve their goals. If you want to see what the possibilities are for less back pain in your life, give our office a call, 864-631-1420, to set up your consultation. Can you remember what a pain-free life looks like? I would like to have the chance to get you back there.
1 R. P. Hertzman-Miller, H. Morganstern, E. L. Hurwitz, Fei, Y., Adams, A. H., Harber, P., and Kominiski, G. F. (2002). “Comparing the Satisfaction of Low Back Pain Patients Randomized to Receive Medical or Chiropractic Care: Results from the UCLA Low-Back Pain Study.” American Journal of Public Health, 92(10): 1628-1633.
by Dr. Kevin P Lewis | Feb 18, 2022 | Back Pain, Chiropractic Care
If you are experiencing back pain, you are not alone. More than 65 million Americans report a recent episode of back pain and more than 16 million deal with chronic back pain1. It probably comes as no surprise that back pain healthcare-related costs are astronomical, amounting to more than $12 billion a year. And many people miss work, causing them to lose income. Others suffer from anger and depression as well.
In this post, we’ll look at the different areas of back pain, what it feels like, and possible causes.
No “One-Size-Fits-All” Treatments
Addressing the causes of back pain and working to correct things like posture and overall health can make a huge difference in the life of someone dealing with back pain. Approaching back pain through a comprehensive treatment plan with chiropractic can also save thousands of dollars in healthcare costs in the long run. Best of all, people who have little to no back pain report feeling less nervous and anxious than those with chronic back pain issues.
An important thing to note is that every person is different. Every injury is different. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment plan for any patient that entrusts their care to me. I listen to my patients, hear and understand their goals, conduct the necessary tests needed for diagnosis, and then I plan out their treatment. There are so many causes of back pain and I want my patients to have the greatest chance of success so our treatment plans are all individualized.
Areas of Back Pain
There are three main areas of back pain:
- Upper (thoracic)
- Middle
- Lower
Upper Back Pain
This is the area around your neck and it can become tight, limiting movement and causing pain down the sides of your neck, shoulders, and back. Pain and tightness here can also lead to migraines and headaches. Remember, everything in your body affects everything else in your body. If one area of your body, like a vertebrae, is not in alignment, that can easily cause pain throughout parts of your body.
Middle Back Pain
Middle back pain can be caused by poor posture, injuries to other areas of your back, sitting all day, or just sleeping in an awkward position.
Lower Back Pain
This area can be injured through a slip or fall, by lifting something too heavy, or by repetitive movements like swinging a bat. Injuries, like a herniated disc, here can cause spasms, which are quite painful, and can interfere with normal, everyday movements and work.
How the pain feels
Back pain can feel different to different people.
Here are some questions a chiropractor may ask about your back pain
- Does it feel like a stabbing pain?
- Is the pain dull?
- Does it hurt only when you make certain movements?
- Can you sit or stand without pain?
- Does anything make the pain better or easier to handle?
- Does your back pain interfere with your daily life?
- Does it restrict movement, work, or sleep?
- Are there other symptoms related to your back pain like swelling, chest tightness, or numbness?
The duration of pain is also an important aspect a chiropractor will consider when planning treatment.
Consider these questions
Is the pain acute?
- Does it last longer than a day, a week, a month?
- How long have you had back pain?
- If you’ve had back pain longer than about three months, it may be considered chronic pain.
- Oftentimes, a back injury is not given the proper time and treatment to heal, which leads to chronic back pain.
Chiropractic solutions to back pain
Can a chiropractor really help alleviate back pain? Do I need to think about expensive surgery? Can natural remedies without drugs truly help me get back to the life I want to live without back pain? These are all valid and normal questions you should be asking when considering a visit to a chiropractor.
At Greenville Spine, we do everything possible to help you achieve your goals and get your body where you want it to be, which, in the cases of back pain, means working towards alleviating that pain without drugs or surgery. Through expert spine manipulation, consistent adjustments, and exercises done at home, the vast majority of my patients that come in with back pain experience extensive relief. How? Stay tuned to our next post where I’ll talk about how I work with patients who have back pain, give specific exercise to get you started on the path towards decreasing back pain, and why a chiropractor is a good option for those experiencing back pain.
1 B. Druss, Marcus, S., Olfson, M., and Pincus, H.A. (2002). “The Most Expensive Medical Conditions in America.” Health Affairs, 21(4): 105-111.
2. M. BenDebba, W. S. Torgerson, D. M. Long (1997). “Personality Traits, Pain Duration and Severity, Functional Impairment, and Psychological Distress in Patients with Persistent Low Back Pain.” Pain 72: 115-125.
