Physical Therapy
Most of us have aches or pains on occasion, and usually we either just wait it out, or take an over the counter pain reliever. If you have pain in one area that lasts a long time, and really interferes with your life, then you may need to seek other solutions.
Take, for example, back pain. You can keep taking over the counter pain relievers, you can use heating pads or a rub on analgesic, but these may not really solve your problem, and even over the counter pain relievers can cause health problems if used to excess. You can try a chiropractor, or your doctor may recommend prescription medication. I don?t know much about chiropractic treatment. I have heard rave reviews from friends and co-workers, who visit their chiropractor on a regular ongoing basis. Prescription medication may relieve your pain, but may not get to the underlying problem, and can result in dependency or other medical problems.
I had back pain for about two years, which had become so bad that I was sometimes crying as I drove home work at the end of the day. (Sitting in one position made it worse). After complaining for a long time to my doctor, I finally insisted that she recommend a solution. She referred me to a physical therapist at HealthSouth (www.healthsouth.com) in Billerica.
What I loved about going to physical therapy was that the practitioner really tried to get to the cause of the problem I was having. She offered real solutions, too, such as changing my sitting position at work. She taught me exercises that I could continue to do at home, to improve and maintain the strength of my back, as well as other muscles that help to support my back. The best part was, I only needed about 6 visits to the facility. After that, I was on my own, and I find that as long as I keep up with my exercises my back feels a lot better. If I skip even a couple of days I can feel that twinge, and I know I need to get back on schedule. A side benefit of my experience was that as I began to exercise regularly I was motivated to have a more healthy lifestyle overall, and managed to lose about 20 pounds in the process!