A leg up on back pain

Sleeping on your side comes highly recommended by doctors of chiropractic, and, if you snore, your spouse as well. Also called the fetal position, this is the position God or Nature chose for us for the duration of our 9-month stay in the womb.

Place one or two pillows under the head and neck, depending on their thickness, to ensure that your cervical spine (see first illustration) is straight and elongated. An extra pillow between the knees opens your hips and prevents knees from knocking together or legs from chafing.

Another option is to buy a body pillow, which provides a “partner” to throw your limbs over… and best of all, it doesn’t move just when you’re getting comfortable.

Understanding why you are feeling pain

Famous Southern author William Faulkner once said, “Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.”

Although pain is a part of life, few of us would choose it. In fact, most of us do whatever we can to be as pain-free as possible. Although “No pain, no gain!” was a mantra in the 1980s, it doesn’t seem to be now.

Quite often I hear people say that they don’t exercise (or that they stopped) because “It hurts!” When they have pain from activity, they believe exercise is actually making things worse and they quit. Ironically, many studies show that movement is one of the most effective methods to reduce, eliminate, and manage pain. The evidence is clear that exercise IS medicine and that, in fact, the lack of movement, activity, and exercise is the cause of many of the aches and pains that people have.

The key is knowing what to do — and what not to do. The right kind or exercise can make you feel better — and the wrong kind can make you worse.  We need to start with a basic understanding of physical pain. With some minor overlap, physical pain can grouped into some basic types.

Acute Pain is new pain and it typically results from an injury. Pain is our body’s messenger. It gets our attention so we take care of the problem. Acute pain is part of the natural healing process that the body goes through — much as it does when we cut a finger and bleed. When the bleeding stops, the blood clots, then a scab is formed over the cut. Underneath the scab, scaring and new tissue are laid down. (The same healing process occurs on the inside.) When you take care of a cut correctly, it heals quickly and with minimal long-term scaring. If you don’t care for the cut properly, it takes longer to heal and you may end up with a ugly mark.

Chemical Pain is created as a part of the inflammation process that comes with injury. Again, it’s part of the healing process. Along with bleeding on the inside, the body releases chemicals that irritate the surrounding structures and receptors in surrounding tissues. Bleeding and swelling make it worse — adding a mechanical element to chemical pain. This is the kind of pain that responds to certain medications designed to control this reaction within the body. Chemical pain is evident when a pain is acute — and this type of pain is less responsive to treatment as it becomes more chronic in nature.

Mechanical Pain is response pain. Bend your finger back, it hurts. Stub your toe and it hurts, too. When we put pressure against something, the receptors in the skin and other structures transmit the information back to brain as pain. It’s a protective response that’s critical to our survival. Otherwise, we would go around bending our fingers back and stubbing our toes and without being aware of it — and, pretty soon, our fingers and toes wouldn’t work very well! The tricky part of mechanical pain is that “pressure” is always there. Gravity is a constant force pushing down on us and all our muscles and joints in our postures and positions at rest, work, and play. Most physical pain is mechanical in nature.

Chronic Pain is old pain that’s been around for at least three months. Quite often, chronic pain is related to an event or to acute pain that did not heal completely. Chronic pain can also develop over time when an underlying issue is not addressed. Once pain is chronic, it may never go away completely. Here’s why. The longer a pain persists, the more “hard wired” into the nervous system it becomes. This communication link is so effective that even when the original physical problem has been resolved, the pain pathways continue to transmit pain signals they had been. In our practice, the clients that are the hardest to help are those who have let something linger too long before trying to address the problem. Often, we are still able to help them, but not as quickly and easily as if they’d received proper attention when the initial systems occurred.


Bottom line. There are several very different types of pain — and each one an important messenger. Did you know that research indicates that “knowledge” or education is one of the most effective treatments we have in health care? Studies show that patients feel better and get better — just knowing what the problem is and having someone to take the time to explain it to them.

If you or someone you know suffers from chronic low back pain or sciatica, contact our office for a complementary assessment of their condition to see if they qualify as a candidate for the spinal decompression Therapy. Contact us at 604-984-4601 or visit www.vanspinaldecompression.com

Another Spinal Decompression Success Story

“I came to Dr. Akhavan feeling hopeless and convinced that I would never run again. I had chronic back and leg pain. I couldn’t even walk the dog.  After two weeks of treatments, I was sleeping through the night for the first time in 8 months.  After 6 weeks, I was walking and biking to work. After 8 weeks, I was biking the seawall and my leg stopped burning.  After 10 weeks, I have started to jog.  Spinal decompression therapy  has given me my life back and there is no greater gift.  I would recommend the spinal decompression therapy to others because it works and I didnt have to get surgery!

The positivity, professionalism, and optimisim of Dr. Akhavan made me feel very well taken care of, supported and mentored. I think you are amazing. “

K. M. Vancouver, B.C.

Another Spinal Decompression Sucess story:

” From the very first treatment, I felt an immediate relief.  My backache in the mornings are gone and I am not so stiff that I have to sit down to get dressed. Aside from the benefits of the treatments, I found the support of Dr. Akhavan very assuring.” A.E. Vancouver

The Top Ab Exercise:

If you’ve always wondered why your abdominal muscles refuse to shape up, no matter how many hours of crunches you punish your body with, California researchers have some very welcome news for you.

According to a recent study published by the American Council on Exercise, pushing yourself to accomplish a thousand crunches every second day isn’t the most effective way to tone, tighten and strengthen your gut. In fact, the classic crunch – or abdominal sit-up as it is better known – is amongst the most ineffective ways to work your abs… second only to those gimmicky abdominal exercise equipment advertised on late-night television shows. What’s more, rather than carving the flab away from your abdominal muscles, crunches are actually harmful to your back, and are the most common reason for back strains, sprains and other injuries.

Over the years, numerous fitness experts have rallied to and fro about the most effective ab exercises. After years of scientific research and experiments, scientists conclude that in order to bring about the best results, abdominal exercises must stimulate the two major muscle groups in your mid-section – the rectus abdominus which is the long flat muscle extending along the length of the front of your abdomen and the obliques or the long flat muscles along the sides of your abs. The more intense the stimulation – the better the results.

The Plank

To do this exercise:

- Lie face down on a mat.

- Lift your torso up on your forearms with your palms flat on the floor.

- Push off the mat, raising your body on your toes. Lift your knees off the mat. Your body should be balanced on your forearms and your toes.

- Keep your back flat such that your head, shoulders, hips and heels are in a straight line.

- Tuck in your abdominal muscles to keep your hips from jutting upwards.

- Hold for 20 – 60 seconds and then slowly lower your body back to the starting position.

The Plank is an excellent strength and stability exercise which builds core strength, stability and taut abs. This exercise targets your rectus abdominus and your obliques, while also strengthening your back and glutes.

When performing this exercise, concentrate on bringing your belly-button towards your spine, by squeezing your abdominal muscles as tightly can you can. While most adrenaline-addicted bodybuilding enthusiasts scoff at any exercise that doesn’t call for at least a several hundred repetitions, the plank is undoubtedly a lot more challenging than it seems at first blush. This exercise makes you push against the dual forces of gravity and your bodyweight to keep your back from arching and sagging, by tightening all your abdominal muscles.

The Side Plank:

A slightly more advanced variant of the basic plank, the side plank is very effective in building core strength and stability. When performed correctly with perfect form, this exercise can tremendously strengthen and tone your abdominal and lower back muscles.

To do this exercise:

- Lie on your left side with your feet stacked, one on top of the other. Your left forearm should be placed flat on the floor, extended at a right angle from your body. Rest your left arm on your left side.

- Lift your body upwards on your forearm, with your weight balanced on your left forearm and the side of your left foot.

- Be sure that you aren’t arching your shoulders and / or holding your breath. Remember to keep your right shoulder, your hip and your foot in a straight line.

- Hold this position for as long as you can, and then slowly lower your body back to the starting position.

- Switch sides and repeat

For a more advanced version of this exercise, lift your arm and extend it straight towards the ceiling, such that it forms a straight line with your supporting elbow.

If you’re having trouble with balancing your bodyweight, start with lifting your body on your left forearm and the side of your left knee, maintaining a straight line with your head, right shoulder and right knee.

Although surprisingly uncomplicated, this exercise will make you break a sweat with the core stability and strength it calls for. If your oblique muscles aren’t strong enough, this exercise can be very challenging. Start simple, increasing the duration and complexity of this exercise as you gain more strength and balance.

At the Vancouver Spinal Decompression Center, along with the non-surgical spinal decompression therapy, we emphasize the importance of the strong core to help our patients acheive full recovery and prevent future injuries.