EX.FebMar.Back.p53.MP

HEALTH BACK PAIN?

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BACK TO THESUTURE

Fickle trickle: From drinking the stuff to rubbing it directly onto the skin, advocates of urine therapy believe the golden elixir cures everything from strep throat to stiff back joints. The Romans even used it to whiten their teeth!

A twinge here, an ache there, the life of a back pain sufferer ain’t pretty so here are the vital stats of common cures

Referred to as an “unscientific cult” by the American Medical Association in the 1980s, chiropractic care has made major headway in medical circles ever since. Chiropractors focus on the spine, joints and, to a lesser degree, the muscles, to perform “adjustments” – that is, to move and twist your back to snap, crackle and pop in ways you never knew it could. One that’s worth her salt can pinpoint the exact spot on your back that is out of whack using her fingers alone. Pain relief can be immediate but usually a schedule of treatments is prescribed.

Though it varies by country, osteopaths can have full medical

degrees and undergo internships and residency training similar to other medical professionals, so schooling can be more intense. Rather than focusing solely on the spine, osteopaths are concerned with the body as a whole rather than the problem area itself, says Dominic Bourne of the Osteopathic Treatment Centre (osteopathy.com.sg). Treatments include joint

stabilisation and manipulation, soft tissue stretching and deep pressure techniques, but don’t

be surprised if you leave with advice – solicited or not – on

posture, breathing, stress and diet.

Magnet therapy improves b l o o d c i r c u l a t i o n b y

manipulating the magnetic fields surrounding the painful site. We’re talking magnetic mattresses, strapping on magnetic braces and taping magnets to your spine. Easy enough, right? But the downside is rather significant – there is little to no credible scientific evidence to prove that it works. Don’t tell that to diehard proponents though. And when your upper back is as stiff

as your mother-in-law’s brow after she stumbles upon your decades-old stag-do photos from Vegas, slipping

a magnet under your pillow is the least you’re willing to try.

Massage therapist Magnet therapist

BY MONICA PITRELLI

Chiropractor Osteopath

The spine reigns king

THE DIFFERENCES:

The lazy man’s cures – just lie back and let the therapists go to work

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We’re all familiar with this one. Whether the problem is related to nerves, the skeleton or muscles,

studies on massage have been kind. A 2011 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that two thirds of people

who were treated with massage – both deep tissue and Swedish relaxation styles – found pain relief, versus only a third of those who relied on meds and physical therapy alone. It’s not a cure-all for everyone, but even if it doesn’t work, you still get a nice rubdown out of the deal.

HEALTH BACK PAIN?

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Need to find a practictioner? Head online to exmag.sg/backs for a list of back specialists in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Bee skeptical: Proponents of bee venom therapy, or apitherapy, allow bees to sting their backs in order to get at the anti-inflammatory melittin inside – a painful, unproven, overall bad idea, especially for those with bee allergies.

While a sports physician’s tools are physical examinations, X-rays and MRIs, he’ll also use pain meds and outsourced rehab to get you up and running again – both figuratively and literally. Though versed in fitness-related injuries, you don’t have to be a super-stud athlete to use their services. Dr Low Wye Mun of The Sports Medicine Clinic (sportzdoc.com) says that poor posture, inflexibility and weak core muscles are to blame for nearly every back patient he sees. Exercise is usually just an aggravating factor.

Strategically placed needles are inserted to increase the flow of qi through your body’s meridians. It probably sounded wild the first time you heard it, but acupuncture is pretty routine these days. A bunch of big-name medical organisations have thrown their weight behind it despite the fact that many studies indicate that sham acupuncture – using retractable needles or even a few careful twirls of a toothpick – works just as well as the real thing. This leaves many to believe that a placebo effect is at play. No matter, the therapy is safe, works quickly and – above all else – if you feel your pain has decreased, placebo or not, you win.

The “s-word” may keep many away from the surgeon’s office, but when pain gets severe enough or where paralysis is at stake, there is very little else you can do. Orthopaedic surgeons perform everything from injections and keyhole surgeries to more complicated procedures, however they recommend non-surgical treatments, too. Dr Benjamin Tow of the Orthopaedic and Spine Clinic (drbenjamintow.com) says that most conditions can be managed without surgery, which explains why many patients seek other

forms of treatment first.

Created by Shakespearean orator Frederick Alexander in the 1890s, this technique teaches you to replace bad physical habits – standing with your weight unevenly distributed or walking “inefficiently” – with a more balanced, poised approach. Everyone from computer fiends to athletes and actors are adherents; even the Pauls – as in Newman and McCartney – are supporters. You’ll learn to walk, talk, sit and lie down in ways that improves your posture, breathing and stress levels. In a study of 579 patients, the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that just six private lessons produced long-term back pain relief. Good luck finding a teacher

though – there are few in Singapore.

THE DIFFERENCES:

Western medicine they are not

Acupuncturist Alexander Technique Teacher

Physiatrists (pronounced FIZZ-ee-a-trists) are full-fledged physicians

who specialise in r ehab i l i t a t ion medicine. This

means they can read and interpret MRIs, perform nerve tests and prescribe drugs and devices (such as braces and immobilisers). The role of a physiatrist is largely managerial – they oversee the rehabilitation process, which often includes physical therapy as a component, rather than rolling up their sleeves and doing the dirty work themselves. And, ones that work in integrated spinal clinics can refer to you to a number of therapies, all located under one roof, while supervising the entire process from the sidelines.

They’ll try to make you go to rehab…

Physiatrist Physical Therapist

The shortlist of herbs and natural

remedies thought to reduce back pain is surprisingly long

– dong quai, St John’s Wort, arnica, devil’s

claw, valerian, white willow bark, Jamaican dogwood, kava kava, cayenne – the last one mercifully administered via a plaster rather than by mouth. And there simply isn’t space to go into all the potions and powders for back inflammation used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. But for fans of nature’s cures, these remedies are a decent starting point.

A study from McGill University in Montreal found that a single

(yes, just one) puff of marijuana held for ten seconds, three times a day, decreased nerve pain. And, a study by the University of California, San Francisco suggests patients treating chronic pain with morphine or oxycodone experienced greater relief when vaporised medical marijuana was added into the fold. Sound too good to be true? If you live in Singapore, it is. Don’t even

think about trying this here. If you think your lower back hurts now, try sleeping on a

Changi Prison floor mattress for twenty years. Save this one

for your next trip to Amsterdam.

Drugs, man…

Herbalist Local Dealer

For the birds: An old remedy from Sussex, England called for back pain sufferers to roll on the ground at a cuckoo’s first call in spring. Cuckoo indeed.

Angkor what? After a Cambodian man with an injured leg was supposedly cured after being licked by a bull, villagers made the leap to eating the animal’s dung in an effort to cure their aches and pains.

THE DIFFERENCES:

Are you not entertained? The Romans are believed to have resorted to hot coals, skin hooks and bloodletting to treat sciatica, while Mark Antony’s wife Octavia preferred throwing back a decidedly less morbid, but no less appetising, cocktail of marjoram, rosemary, wine and olive oil.Also called physiotherapists,

phys ios o r PTs, phys i ca l therapists are hands-on medical professionals that go to work on the muscles through massage, ice, heat, electrical stimulation and, if you’re lucky, a ten-minute swing on the inversion table. The good news? It can actually feel good, though strong-fingered ones have been known to reduce grown men to tears. The downside is that you’ll leave with some sort of home exercise programme to increase core stability or upper

back mobility. And no one likes homework, now do they?

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Sports Physician

Impressive medical degrees in musculoskeletal medicine

Orthopaedic Surgeon