Why would I tell a patient to "Own your spine. Own your spine pain."? It's the only one he's/she's got! Where is this bluntness coming from? Well, it’s one of those days. A talk with a patient who wants the fix for back pain NOW got my head spinning. I want to share all I know with the patient, assure him that all will be well beyond this pain episode, that if he just embraces his spine for what it can do, all will be well. But pain gets in the way. I get it. Pain turns our rose colored glasses to gray ones in moments like this. Yet reality intervenes with truth, truth that we all must own our own spine as well as its pain on occasion.

This is what I’d like to share with my patient...

So why must we face this reality? Let’s look at it.

For many with spine pain (neck, mid back or low back with or without arm and leg pain or headache), there is no cure for the spinal condition, only control of pain with proper daily living habits. Let’s consider some facts…

Let’s start with genetics. You may be born with a spinal condition that will never by “normal”. Such conditions have big names like spondylolisthesis, transitional vertebra in which one has 4 or 6 lumbar vertebrae instead of 5, scoliosis, fused or incompletely formed vertebrae. These conditions will always be yours to contend with. No one can remake your spine. Like a bruise on an apple that remains on the apple, the spine is still whole even after attempts to remake it, but it remembers what was done.

Same with life experiences the spine goes through. Let’s take aging. Amazingly, the human spine normally begins to degenerate in the second decade of life, in the teen years. Some people have greater disc degeneration than others. However, if one is deconditioned, that is, out of good physical shape, and then does lifting, bending and twisting with such a compromised spine, the scene is set for back pain. Most of us develop some spine pain early in life, and the pain recedes often with no treatment. Then we continue the same lifestyle of eating too much, lifting heavy weight in the wrong posture to lift, etc.,  our spines then continue to degenerate while we do nothing or very little to maintain good health. Then, later in life, we develop more severe spine and extremity pain and think something can be done to allow us to continue this lifestyle without change. Some even think surgery will reverse all their problems only to find it can make them worse.

Let’s next consider injury from falls, lifting heavy weight, car wrecks, etc.

Now if you have a spine that may have developed in a weakened state - the body of a patient deconditioned - and then add injury to it, pain results. Now, if you are such a person and you develop pain in the back or extremities or headaches and go to a doctor expecting some form of care to relieve this pain, hopefully a pill, surgery, exercise, nutritional supplement or spinal manipulation, you want it quickly so you can return to what you were doing and have the pain not return. So many factors play into the equation for injury (even for work injuries - is it alway entirely the job's fault for a work injury?): genetics, lifestyle, physical condition, life choices in deciding how to use the body to avoid injury or pain may come into play.

DO YOU SEE THE FOLLY OF THIS ATTITUDE?  There is no cure for many spine problems, only control through maintaining a healthy body, learning what you can and cannot do, exercise, visiting the chiropractor for spinal alignment, spinal decompression, spinal manipulation, and conditioning, and supplementing with nutrition to develop and maintain healthy discs in the spine.  A person with a weak spine cannot expect to nevertheless do anything with that spine that he or she wants without a pain consequence forever.  That is like asking a diabetic person to eat a box of chocolates and not be adversely harmed.

OWN IT.  There is no way for you to make a race horse out of a pony. Be content with what you have, and make it work. Appreciate your spine as it is. You may not like these facts, but can you change them? No. Own your spine, and allow it to perform at its peak performance for you and your lifestyle. That requires honest realization of your limitations and living with them while being in the best physical health you can attain. YOU ARE THE ONE WITH THE MOST TO GAIN. The chiropractor is your back pain specialist, your treating doctor, coach, cheerleader, and guide. Work with the trained and even certified in Cox Technic chiropractic physician who uses flexion distraction to maximize your spine’s usefulness and ability!

Respectfully submitted, James M. Cox, DC, DACBR, FICC, HonDLitt, FACO(H)

Dr. James Cox presented a webinar that included cases from his clinical practice and demonstration of their treatment on The Cox8 Table by Haven Innovation:

• degenerative scoliosis with osteoporosis
• compression fracture care and options
• disc herniation, spianl stenosis
• disc extrusion

It's always a comfort for both the doctor and the back pain patient to see that other doctors and patients have successfully dealt with the same condition or combination of conditions successfully for relief of pain. Dr. Cox shares the history, examination findings, imaging, diagnosis, treatment and ancillary care (exercise, nutrition, belt, electrical stimulation, hot/cold therapy, etc.)

In a practical way, Dr. Cox shows that these cases come into the chiropractor's office seeking relief and can get it.

The recording is now available of this presentation of 4 cases. Click here to register. You will receive personal log-in instructions and codes to watch the recording on your own time, computer and pace. 

The red sheets are infamous! We'll always know what is meant by "red sheets" when talking about Cox Exercises, but a new day is dawning. A new, revised lower back pain exercise sheet is coming! Colored pictures with detailed explanations modernize the Cox Exercises. Keep your eyes open to see them! Still available in pads of 50 tear-off sheets, but they're glossy pages now. So professional! Just sharing...