Nine out of every ten Americans will have back pain at some point during their lives. Disability from low back pain is second only to the common cold as the leading cause of lost work time. Chances are, back pain is a problem for you.

There are 4 things you can do about it:

	Option #1.		Resign yourself to a life of pain or disability ("learn to live with it").
	Option #2.		Mask the pain with drugs.
	Option #3.		Find a healthy way to obtain pain relief.
	Option #4.		Prevent the pain from recurring.

Option #1. "Learn to live with it."

No matter how difficult your problem may be, we don't buy the theory that there is no hope for chronic pain relief or reduced disability. So if you've been told to "learn to live with it," we recommend you visit our clinic for a second opinion. We have extensive experience in treating patients with pain due to back injuries or chronic conditions.

Learning to live with pain should not be your first option. Medical research has clearly established that there are many options and treatments to choose from in order to control and reduce pain.

Option #2. Mask the pain with drugs.

While prescription drugs may provide temporary relief to your condition, there are two problems with this option.

First, drugs only help the symptoms of your pain and do virtually nothing to stop the cause of it.

Second, taking medication for a long period of time is detrimental to your health. The New England Journal of Medicine has reported that people who consume two or more tablets of acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) daily for at least a year triple their risk of developing disabling kidney disease. Acetaminophen also reduces your liver's ability to remove toxins from your body (toxins are a known source of pain). You could use aspirin instead, but chronic aspirin consumption can result in intestinal bleeding. And ibuprofen can increase your risk of ulcers.

Masking your pain with drugs is a temporary expedient. Beyond that, drugs are definitely not your preferred option.

Option #3. Find a healthy way to obtain pain relief.

The best way to get real pain relief is to identify as many of the causes as you possibly can, and then take steps to remove those causes. This is the specialty of New Heights Integrative Therapy.

We have found that back pain is caused by a variety of both structural and biochemical factors.

• Structural factors relate to the condition, strength and alignment of your bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves.
• Biochemical and physiological factors relate to organs and processes in your body that may contribute to back pain. For example, back pain can actually be caused by digestive or gallbladder trouble. Low back pain and disc pathology can be related to menopause, food allergies, bone loss, and chronic inflammation.

In our evaluation, we carefully assess all of the possible contributing factors for your back pain and develop a comprehensive, highly customized treatment and healing program. If appropriate, we will refer you to a naturopathic, medical, osteopathic or chiropractic doctor for an in-depth evaluation of biochemical or physiological sources of your pain. We work as a team with your physicians to get you well.

Your treatment program may focus on restoring movement and range of motion of your spinal vertebra. Or, if indicated from your evaluation, the treatment program may focus on stabilizing any segments that may be hypermobile (moving excessively). Your program will also work on restoring the health to your ligaments, cartilage, nerves, and tendons.

Therapeutic exercise is individualized to your needs, with an emphasis on restoring the endurance and strength of the small muscles of your back. These muscles are responsible for how your spine stabilizes itself throughout the day. Clinical research has shown that weakness in these muscles may be associated with degenerative changes to the spine, or a future disc injury.

Option #4. Prevent the pain from recurring.

Once your pain is reduced, our therapeutic support continues. There is always the possibility that you could relapse - our intention is to make sure that doesn't happen.