Montreal Back Pain Benefits from Good Sleep
The exercise topic of the month is…sleep?! Odd? Not at all! Sleep is just as valuable as exercise for pain management including back pain management. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic helps many Montreal pain sufferers cope with their spine, neck, and back pain with chiropractic spinal manipulation, nutrition advice, and exercise direction. Sleep – adequate sleep – is included in that list for a good reason!
CONTROLLING BACK PAIN
Since low back pain many times is a condition for life that comes and goes, a condition that is managed rather than cured, it’s a good thing that researchers are studying just how a back pain sufferer can control the Montreal back pain and how often it ‘rears its head.' Ask any back pain sufferer and you’ll know that keeping the pain away is a goal. But how? Researchers are looking at sleep, fatigue, emotion, and more to find out. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic shares the term “flare” as it has to do with a back pain episode.
BACK PAIN FLARE
A Montreal low back pain flare is one that incorporates intensified pain, paresthesia, or muscle tension, increased duration of symptoms, decreased functional (social, cognitive, physical), and negative emotions. Researchers found that back pain sufferers do not consider their back pain to be a flare just because of heightened pain, so healthcare professionals need to look beyond the pain to know what else is happening around the pain event, what psychosocial factors are at play. (1,2) The mind-body connection cannot always be overlooked! Nor can the time of day that pain is felt.
PAIN: MORNING NOON AND NIGHT
Patients suffering with low back pain for more than 3 months were studied to see what might precipitate a new episode of their pain. Researchers discovered that poor sleep quality and morning pain were risks for such flare-ups. Increased pain risk rose with days of more afternoon and evening pain, fatigue, and fear of activity. Sleep is recommended to reduce the intensity, frequency, and risk of back pain flares. (3) Sleep quality also plays a role in how Montreal back pain is felt.
SLEEP QUALITY
A study of sleep quality in mature adults in six middle-income countries found that women had more sleep problems. Additionally, age, depression, low back pain, and poor self-rated health were also significantly associated with sleep problems. (4) Sleep, perceived stress, and anxiety contribute to chronic low back pain. Fortunately, sleep quality is able to mediate anxiety, making sleep a reasonable recommendation in the treatment plan. (5)
CONTACT Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Ted Siciliano on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he discusses his use of Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction to deliver relieving treatment for his arm pain and numbness that was preventing him from sleeping.
Schedule your Montreal chiropractic appointment today. Let us talk sleep next time you’re in for a visit!
