Finding the source of your pain is our ultimate goal!
Noel Claraso
Every problem has its solution; the problem is where to find it
In my office, I see so many clients come in with low back pain issues, only to discover that the root cause is related to constipation or digestive problems. This is one of the reasons I got into functional nutrition, and later, nutrigenetics/nutrigenomics—because often, the source of your pain, whether it's in the muscles or joints, isn’t actually coming from the muscles or joints themselves. Sometimes, you need to take a broader perspective to uncover the real cause.
When you’ve had pain for some time, and you’ve tried several manual therapies, from physical therapy, to chiropractic, to massage, and acupuncture, without any lasting results then we have to look at your digestion, stress, your environment, etc. Finding the root cause of your pain and treating for lasting results, instead of just putting a bandage on your symptoms becomes a priority.
As patients you want your pain to be gone yesterday, and I honestly can understand that. Sometimes you have to be patient, I remember a patient of mine a few years back came to me with both shoulders frozen, she couldn’t lift her arms up more than a foot from the sides of her body. It took us a few months, and now she’s 100% and back doing her martial art.
You have to be patient, in some cases I may ask to look at your blood test results or suggest saliva or genetic testing done, in the hopes that with your help I can figure out the root cause. And once we do figure out where your pain is stemming from, then we can create a plan to get you out of pain.
I know that you want your pain to be gone yesterday, I want that for you as well.
Having a little patience helps, and following through with the suggestions is a MUST.
So, if you’ve been living with pain for a while and have tried several manual therapies without success, then maybe it’s time to look deeper and see where is that pain coming from.
Because I hate to see you come to terms with the fact that living with pain is your new norm.
Here are few things to pay attention to
Your Digestion
a) Transit time, this means from the moment you ate that food and the moment you eliminate that same food; how long did it take? The best way to figure this out is to eat beets, write down the time you ate them, then notice when it comes out, the elapsed time = your transit time. Why beets, because it’s easy to spot the color when you wipe 😊
b) Incorporate insoluble fiber into your diet. Helps promote bowel movement and prevent constipation. Example: root vegetables, celery, cucumber, beans, couscous. In my office I see quiet often patients with low back pain and it's due to constipation. Once I do a visceral massage, they feel better.
c) Take multi strain probiotic for couple of months to increase your gut ecology. Important: If you have allergies, high histamine then make sure your probiotics don't increase the histamine. Learn more here and make sure to download the product sheet for more details.
d) Do you get bloated or gassy after eating certain foods? Pay attention to these signals. If you need to, try an elimination test—remove the questionable foods from your diet, and after a couple of weeks, reintroduce one food every 3-4 days to see if you experience any negative reactions.
One of my clients started getting migraines at a very young age, and she would often feel bloated after meals. Her genetic report showed that she has the HLA genetic variant, which makes her sensitive to gluten. Once she eliminated gluten from her diet, her migraines and bloating disappeared.
Inflammation
This is a big one. So many people are living with low-grade systemic inflammation, and they don't even know it. Most of the time your blood test will show if you have low-grade inflammation, especially looking at your WBC (white blood cells) and differentials (neutrophils, lymphocytes, etc.). Would you like me to take a look at your latest labs?
Your Diaphragm
The diaphragm plays an important role in back pain due to its structural connections. It's attached to your sternum, the 6th through 12th ribs, and the lumbar vertebrae, making it a key player in both posture and movement.
To support your back and overall well-being, make sure to practice deep belly breathing. Most of the time, we don't even pay attention to our breathing and don’t realize that we’re taking short, shallow breaths. This can be one of the reasons for neck muscle tightness as well.
See the diaphragm release technique below.
Check out these easy tips for back pain relief.
