Chronic pain afflicts millions of Americans on a daily basis, and it is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed ailments of the medical world. With chronic pain, it is often seen as an easy fix, but sometimes, there is no single cause that can be reversed. Lifestyle choices and habits can create chronic pain, and unfortunately, the most common solution, pain medication can only cover up the pain for so long.

 

 

Posture: A main cause of chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain is lifelong poor posture. We generally develop our posture at a young age, and without correcting it early, it can lead to chronic pain that cannot be helped much with the use of pain medications and common procedures.
 

Traumatic Injury: One of the most common, and often the most treatable causes of chronic pain is traumatic injury. Since it is apparent why the pain occurs, it is often much easier to isolate the issue and eliminate the pain. Long-term shock from accidents and injuries, as well as harsh impacts and surgeries, are often the causes of chronic pain.
 

Mattress: Sleeping on bad mattresses or unsupportive beds and couches can cause chronic pain, most often in the neck and back.
 

Shoes: Wearing high heels, improper shoes for your foot/gait type, and unsupportive athletic wear can greatly affect the comfort of your bones, joints, neck and back. Though changing your shoes can make a difference, many years of poor shoe choice can lead to chronic pain.
 

Congenital and Developed Spine Conditions: Congenital issues such as curvature of the spine can cause chronic pain, as well as developed spine conditions such as ordinary aging and degenerative changes.
 

Obesity: The facts of obesity are quite dismal. Excessively overweight people put strain on their muscles, joints, and bones, which can lead to severe chronic pain issues that may take extensive training and therapy to reverse.

 

 

Pain medications: While it is proven that many medications do an excellent job of blocking pain, there are very negative side effects. Forming an addiction is very likely, and also very dangerous, while forming a tolerance just means that you have to increase the dosage of medication. Eventually the effectiveness of pain medication wears off and the chronic pain returns. Additionally, you are not able to function normally with moderate to high doses of pain medication. It is not advised that you operate machinery, and the drugs cloud your brain and cause severe drowsiness.
 

Acupuncture: It is somewhat difficult to determine the exact effects of acupuncture for chronic pain. Simply stated, it works for some people but not for all people. Much like therapy, it must be repeated for many months. It doesn’t normally eliminate the pain completely, but it is known to put a dent in the severity of the pain.
 

Chiropractor Therapy: Physical therapy is a common and natural solution to chronic pain, but it is not very effective on its own. You generally have to visit a chiropractor for many months, and it is often coupled with pain medications for a full elimination of pain.
 

Surgery: Some chronic pain issues are treated with invasive surgical procedures. Generally, more severe issues such as a pinched nerve or a slipped disk require invasive procedures, but many times surgery has more negative side effects than positive results.

 

 

Cold Laser Treatments: Low level laser therapy is a new and unique approach to chronic pain reduction, and it has zero side effects.  The way cold lasers work is quite different from traditional methods, and the results are monumental.

 

Cold laser therapy, also known as low level laser therapy (LLLT) is a groundbreaking method for treating a variety of medical issues, including chronic pain. You can simply visit your doctor a few times a week and undergo the short treatment. The pain relief is almost immediate, and the results are astounding. When you begin treatment, you may be prescribed to go a few times a week, but you will be able to go less often as your body naturally responds to the treatment. In early 2002, the FDA approved cold lasers for use in chronic neck and back relief, and as the creators, we at Erchonia have helped to make cold lasers a medical modality rather than an alternative medicine solution. Medical technology is changing the way we think about medicine, and traditional surgeries and procedures are being replaced by non-invasive alternatives. The cold laser is one of the first steps towards this future.

 

Simply put, LLLT penetrates the muscle tissue on a cellular level, and uses biostimulation to activate natural biological reactions. This simple stimulation encourages your body to work for you to eliminate the chronic pain. It is a natural reaction that is merely enhanced with the use of cold laser therapy. This non-invasive solution is the future of medicine.