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 | 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.
