5 Of the Most Common Patient Questions
I spend a lot of my time repeating myself. Day after day, I see a lot of similar injuries, which often lead to the same questions. The truth is, that’s OK with me! In all honesty, I love educating people and helping them understand how to aid in their own recovery and health improvement. Of course, as people are focused on improving their own health, the questions follow. In this blog, I’ve decided to share a handful of the most common questions I get almost on a daily basis. There are many health related questions to ask, but here are some that you may have been wondering yourself.
Q: Are Inversion Tables Good or Bad?
A: Inversion tables have become fairly popular for personal home use. These are the tables that flip you upside down, you hang by your ankles, and the intent is to take the compression off of the joints of the spine. It’s a similar idea as the decompression table that we use in our office. Decompression work is great for people with disc issues and it’s a regular part of our treatment protocol. Overall, I like the idea of inversion tables, but I do have some issues with them. The major concern with inversion tables is if someone is using one for back pain, but they do not know the underlying cause of the pain. In the past, I have seen patients become injured as result of using an inversion table. Simply put, there are some circumstances when you should NOT use them and it is important to know these prior to use.
Q: Should I Do Yoga?
This is easily one of my most common questions. My short answer is yes, yoga is great, as is almost anything that gets you more active. That being said, if you do have an injury, there are specific poses that may not work well for you. It is important for you to know what your injury is, the mechanics you can and cannot do, and skip over the poses that may trigger pain. If you don’t know the answers to those questions, I’ll be happy to guide you through it.
Q: Are Low Back Braces Helpful?
Back braces can be helpful at specific times, though I really try to discourage people from using them all the time. If you’re experiencing back pain, have a job that’s hard on your back, and can’t take a sick day, then that’s a great example of when they can be useful. The problem with back braces is that they can become a crutch and hinder progress. Believe it or not, you have a built in back brace in the form of abdominal muscles! The real key is to strengthen them properly and stabilize your spine. Once you’ve developed that strength and improve your body mechanics, the brace shouldn’t be necessary.
Q: When Do I need an X-Ray?
To x-ray or not to x-ray? In the world of health care, this has become a hot topic of debate. The truth is, research is finding that problems found in x-rays (such as arthritis) are not linking very well to the pain experienced by the patient. In other words, that thing that looks terrible in your x-ray may not be the source of pain at all, but will likely be the thing that gets blamed! I stick to a specific criteria when deciding whether to order an x-ray. The first is to rule out “red flags” - the signs that the pain could mean something bad that’s underlying. The second time I will order an x-ray is if a patient is compliant with their plan of care, but is not seeing improvement. I will generally give it about four weeks before making this determination.
Q: Do Upper Back Harnesses Help Posture?
I generally don’t recommend posture harnesses because, like the back braces, they serve as a crutch. While your posture may look nice while the harness is on, you really aren’t doing anything to truly correct the issue. The best thing you can do is consistently work on exercises that improve your posture and correct the daily activities that can make it worse. It’s takes patience and work, but if you stick to it, you really can see improvements over time.
– Dr Rob Liguori
