Can Your Back Heal On Its Own?

Can Your Back Heal On Its Own?

Can your back heal on its own? Can you self heal? Although back pain can be very painful, many people still try putting off having treatment, whether it's surgery, or even visiting their local chiropractor, like us here at Northwest Health Solutions in Tucson. So can your back heal on its own if you do nothing about it?

Conditions such as sciatica and lower back pain with potential herniated discs need some kind of therapy performed by chiropractors, but these can require a surgical procedure to repair the tear.

In other instances, many people don't need surgical intervention and can manage their pain with other pain relief methods.

Yet why do some treatments erode away after a year or so after that first injury without any surgical treatment? Research into this phenomena seems to suggest some connection between molecular signals.

Research

A study was conducted on the Journal of Clinical Investigation report from 2016 by the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Around 300,000 operations on herniated discs are performed annually and anywhere between 60 and 80% of Americans suffering from some kind of pain in the back. It is interesting to note that a lot of people are investigating other forms of treatment to help deal with back pain. Many are turning to chiropractic as a way of managing this pain.

Findings

One doctor (Dr Dan Spengler) identified from the report that around half the patients felt relief after about 6 weeks or so. The issue was that he had no idea why some did experience this relief while others did not.

One theory provided was that certain matric metalloproteinases (MMPs) can heal by eating away at torn fibers. These torn fibers are then able to help hold in the fluids from the disc that would have otherwise infected the sciatic nerve. Once this nerve is affected, then pain or numbness usually results. Furthermore, white blood cells naturally eradicate any materials that shouldn't be there when bleeding occurs. This also helps alleviate pain.

Conclusion

It is this connection between the MMPs and macrophages that could be a big impact in self healing in some people. In their research, doctors have observed that disc resorption occurred when enzymes actually helped the healing process by chipping away at torn fibers instead of simply bashing their way through as originally anticipated. It therefore seems that back injuries can repair themselves, and that people should not simply consider surgery as a fix, at least not initially.

If you are suffering from this type of injury, or you know someone who is, the first port of call should be to your local chiropractor, in this case at Northwest Health Solutions in Tucson. Using natural treatment protocols, along with an arsenal of back pain treatment methods, a non invasive course of action is the best way to start. Your chiropractor will be able to tell you if they are able to help or not, and to advise the best course of action.