Pain medicine consists of so many specialists including physical therapists, pain specialists, joint doctors, rheumatologists and more. I have met many patients who have visited some or all of these, spending thousands of dollars to find the answer to why they hurt. Some have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, polymyalgia, rheumatoid, gout and more, yet they are still in pain after months or years of treatments designed to solve their problems. Some have continued the drugs which often include Gabapentin which seems to be the new opioid crisis developing before our eyes and there is evidence developing that long term use may result in dementia. Do we need all these people or are is pain better diagnosed with a simple approach; looking at patients instead of their symptoms. From birth we are introduced to the medical system which begins with pediatricians and then to primary care which was the gateway to the rest of the system. This is no longer true as corporate interests in insurance, hospitals, wall street and others have turned healthcare into a hub and spoke money making enterprise. Now it is urgent care, a primary visit if you can get one and then a specialist merry go round that values notes and documentation and tests more than understanding the 55% of the body that comprises the musculoskeletal system. This is a huge blind spot. The fascial system is much better understood as it was 40 years ago when I was in school and we now understand that movement determines function, health and more. We also understand that all systems are integrated into how we move, breathe and function. What we eat causes health or inflammation in the gut over time and will result in diseases such as insulin inhibition and systemic problems called metabolic syndrome, the main reason so many Americans are over weight and diabetic. This also causes systemic inflammation, a prime reason for pain. As doctors we need to evaluate people, not just their pain. If pain medicine was an employee, you would have fired them years ago. Always understand the mechanism, rather than calling everything degeneration or disease. Robots are designed as mechanisms before they design the parts that go into them. The engineers design things to work a certain way. Why does medicine look at our problems so one dimensionally? In the healthcare system, patients visit in all shapes, sizes, sexes and histories. Unlike robots, we do not come off an assembly line and while we have the same basic parts such as knees, shoulders, hips, spine etc., how we function and adapt determines how we feel and move. Some of us are built for speed, some of us are not. Some of us rarely have pain and others are always in pain. We are healthcare practitioners must understand patients by asking them taking a proper history and perform a thorough evaluation of how they function. As a doctor of chiropractic who is primary care for the musculoskeletal system, that 55% of the body mostly ignored medically, we begin to understand why you hurt. When we suspect a medical disease process, we refer you to the appropriate provider. We do not act as the large systems do to make sure patients have to stay in our system for care, either by failure to refer by discouraging medical providers from doing so, or using tiered networks to make it financially difficult to get the help you require. As a chiropractic sports physician, patients are often surprised at what we know, how thorough we are and what we can accomplish during our time helping them resolve their problem. There still persists a stigma regarding chiropractic care even though science supports the idea that better movements improves health, the quality of life and is good for all the systems in our bodies. Eating better and avoiding excess sugar early on reduces disease and reduces the likelihood of diabetes later on. Better function improves how we move and feel and avoids irreparable joint damage years later, which drives the healthy business of joint replacements which are painful, risky and once you have one done, it is likely it will be another and then another joint because this resolves the symptom, however the problem causing the damaged joint continues to destroy other joints. Chiropractic helps you move, feel and function better with low risk and high reward. Chiropractors have one of the lowest malpractice costs in the healthcare system, likely due to their level of safety. Most patients visiting us for a chronic problem are frustrated by their issues, and want a better answer than a disease, or a drug, or a syndrome. During our evaluation, we show patients everything resulting why they hurt. When they are in pain, they may only hear every 4th word. I work for the patient and I am always working toward helping them achieve the best outcome. Putting out the fire on an acute episode is not a one and done event, even if your feel improved. Most acute episodes are weeks, months or years in development. We are on your team and no, you don’t need a committee to diagnose why you hurt. You need a holistic approach, someone to help you feel and function better and improve quickly, efficiently and safely without making your problem more complicated than it needs to be. Yes, it is that simple. Patients are explained fully and shown their progress even though they may still be in pain. Eventually, better function improves inflammation, reduces pain and helps you feel and function better. Keep it simple. For pain, think chiropractic first. Need help today? Call now or book online today.