HealthMattersBack and Neck Pain Edition

www.McPhailClinic.com with Dr. Drew K. McPhail

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1709 OLD TROLLEY ROADSUMMERVILLE, SC 29485www.MCPHAILCLINIC.com

WHAT CAUSES BACK AND NECK PAIN?Herniated and Bulging Disc:Discs are located between the vertebrae (bones of the spine) and act as shock absorbers for the spine. The outer disc wall known as the annulus �brosis sur-rounds a jelly-like center known as the nucleus pulposus. Through years of wear and tear, constant vibration or pounding, a slip and fall, coughing or sneezing, lifting and twisting or simply bending to pick up a piece of paper can cause a weakening of the disc wall and cause a bulge or tear and press on nearby nerves. This is a condition in which part or all of the soft, gelatinous central portion (nucleus pulposus) of an intervertebral disc is forced into a weakened part, (annual �brosis), of the disc, resulting in back or neck pain and nerve root irritation. This condition has been referred to as herniated disc(s) or bulging disc(s).

Sciatica:Sciatica refers to pain felt along the length of the sciatic nerve. The pain is usually felt in the buttock where it radiates down the leg. If you suddenly start feeling pain in your lower back or hip that radiates to the back of your thigh and into your leg, you may have a protruding(herni-ated) disc in your spinal column that is pressing on the roots of the sciatic nerve. This condition is known as sciatica.

Quite often leg pain or foot pain does not mean that there is a problem with the leg or foot, but rather that there is a problem in the low back, causing pain and possibly other symptoms to radiate, or be referred to, the leg or the foot. This can include muscle weakness.

An important thing to understand is that sciatica is a symptom of a problem - of something compressing or irritating the nerve roots that comprise the sciatic nerve - rather than a medical diagnosis or medical disorder. This is an important distinction, because it is the underlying diagnosis (vs. the symptoms of sciatica) that often needs to be treated in order to relieve sciatic nerve pain.

Degenerative Disc Disease:Degeneration of the disc over time produces low-grade in�ammation and irritation and is a major cause of chronic low back or neck pain. Because the discs in the spine do not have a dedicated blood supply, the discs must rely on a process called di�usion to receive their supply of water, nutrients, and oxygen. If the �ow of these elements is disrupted, the vertebral discs can degener-ate. This is a state of dehydration. Degenerative discs become more susceptible to injury from physical stress and day-to-day activities. All this can play a contributing role to serious conditions such as disc herniation, osteoarthritis and spinal stenosis.

Degenerative changes in the lower back and/or neck also can diminish the ability of the spine to carry the load of the upper body. This can lead to forward slippage of one vertebra on another, a painful condition called spondylolisthesis.

Spinal Stenosis:Your spine, or backbone, protects your spinal cord and allows you to stand and bend. Spinal stenosis causes narrowing in your spine. The narrowing can occur at the center of your spine, in the canals branching o� your spine and/or between the vertebrae, the bones of the spine. The narrowing puts pressure on your nerves and spinal cord and can cause pain.

Spinal stenosis occurs mostly in people older than 50. Younger people with a spine injury or narrow spinal canal are also at risk. Diseases such as arthritis and scoliosis can also cause spinal stenosis. Symptoms might appear gradually or not at all. They include pain in your neck or back, numbness, weakness or pain in your arms or legs, and foot problems.

The wear-and-tear e�ects of aging can lead to narrowing of the spinal canal, a condition known as spinal stenosis. Narrowing of the lumbar spinal canal pinches the nerves that go to the skin and muscles of the legs. Sometimes, the pinched nerves become in�amed, causing pain in the buttocks and/or legs.

Most often as a result of degeneration, there can be in�ammation and swelling pushed into the soft tissue struc-tures on the front and the back of the intervertebral canal causing in�ammation of the ligament on the back side of the spine, which can be referred to medically as “hypertrophy of the ligamentum �avum”. This in conjunction with degeneration and minor disc bulges can cause a narrowing of the intervertebral canal also known as stenosis.

Nerve roots

Spinalcanal

Stenosis(narrowing)

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If you su�er from chronic back pain, you are not alone. In fact, 31 million Americans experience lower back pain at any given time. During my time in practice, I have success-fully treated patients su�ering with back pain or neck pain and began to notice a trend in what they were telling me. Here are a few things I learned from listening to my patients.

They Have Tried it All After su�ering from chronic back pain for months or even years, many of my patients have tried everything in order to relieve their pain. Unfortunately, the treatments didn’t work and they continued to su�er. They’ve tried pain killers to dull the pain which only left them groggy, and the pain came back when the medi-cations wore o�. Many worried about becoming addicted to the pain medications. They tried ste-roid injections that either didn’t help or helped for a short time before the pain returned. Many had even had surgery for their neck or back pain or su�er with “failed back surgery” syndrome.

They’ve Been Told Surgery is their Only OptionIf you’ve seen a doctor about your back pain, you may have been told that surgery is your only option. Tradition-ally, doctors treat back pain with epidurals or surgery. The truth is, these invasive procedures don’t always work and should be used as a last resort. They can be dangerous, expensive, and can leave you with a long recovery time.

There are many treatments available for back and neck pain, however, most only temporarily dull the pain or may leave you in more pain than when you started. And, dan-gerous painkillers, epidurals, and surgeries may only o�er temporary relief.

They are Depressed When it comes to back pain, deal-ing with the pain is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many e�ects that back pain produces, including decreased quality of life. You wouldn’t believe how many patient’s I’ve seen that used to lead active lives who were forced to quit their favorite activi-ties due to pain. Even everyday activities such as cleaning the house, grocery shopping, gar-dening, or playing with their grandchildren are made di�cult due to chronic pain. They had become withdrawn and no longer enjoyed their lives.

At the McPhail Chiropractic Pain Relief Clinic, we’ve suc-cessfully helped patients �nd relief from their chronic pain conditions with the DRS Protocol™. Found only in the Lowcountry at the McPhail Chiropractic Pain Relief Clinic, the DRS Protocol™ treatment is a safe, nonsurgical, nonin-vasive treatment option that has been proven most e�ec-tive for treating back pain and allowing chronic pain suf-ferers to regain their active lives and get back to enjoying life. You don’t have to su�er with back or neck pain. Call today (843) 873-2225 to learn more.

“I am the caregiver of my wife who has Alzheimer's. I was helping her get out of bed one morning a couple of years ago and felt this excruciating pain in my back - I had crushed my L4 and L5. I went to my family doctor, he recom-mended I see a spine specialist; this doctor wanted to trim the disc, so we did that. Two or three months later I was still having pain, so they fused the disc. A few months later, I was still in pain. I had a laser treatment that was fairly expensive and not covered by insurance, but I was in so much pain I didn't care and just did it. I had several laser treatments and those treatments still didn't help. I went to a pain specialist; they gave me 3 epidurals, and again those didn't help. The next suggestion was to do electrical stimulus which would be surgically implanted into my back. The physician guaranteed that would work. I'm still a caregiver for my wife and I couldn't pick up anything heavier than a milk jug. My wife weighed a little more than a milk jug, so I was looking for something to give me relief. I saw Dr. McPhail's ad in the newspaper and I checked off several of the symptoms on the check list. I actually checked yes on everything on that list because I hurt all over. My pain was a 12 on a scale of 10. I had a crushed disc and nerve damage that caused my knee to hurt. I took Dr McPhail's DRS Protocol™ treatment and right now my pain level is about a 1. Dr. McPhail is working miracles with me!

Jimmy C.

I’ve su�ered with back pain on and o� for the last 10 years. I’ve tried everything from surgery to shots in the back and so on. Sometimes it worked tem-porarily and sometimes it didn’t. It got to the point that the shots didn’t work at all. I saw the program that Dr. McPhail o�ered and I started the DRS Protocol treatment. I’m about halfway through the treatment. It’s the best improve-ment I’ve had in 10 years. I can actually walk without being in pain. I’m so impressed.

James E.

I have had Lumbar fusion (L2 and L3), I also had multiple injections. I had low back pain that radiat-ed all the way down my leg. My pain level was at 9 out of 10. When I came to Dr. McPhail I could hardly do anything. When I would shave my face in the morning, I would have to stop, go get in my reclin-er to get a little relief, then go back and �nish. I could barely get through a shower without having to stop. I have been going through the DRS Proto-col and now all that pain is gone. I feel like a new person.

Gerald W.

I’ve had lower back pain which led to severe pain in the right knee, and now was radiating to the left knee. I’ve had this for about 8 years; it was slowly getting more painful. After 7 visits, I can now stand straight. I can wash dishes, I have no lower pain in the back, the right knee is 100% better and the left knee has no pain at all. He is FANTASTIC!

Nancy S.

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A sad fact: About half of all Americans su�er from chronic pain which is de�ned as pain that lasts longer than six months, and can vary in intensity from mild to agonizing, and in some cases, can be physically debilitating.

The pain can be anything from head-aches, back pain, neck pain, and/or muscle or nerve pain including neu-ropathy. In addition to being in pain, there’s also an emotional price to pay as well as resulting in depression, anger, and fatigue.

Medications and procedures such as nerve blocks may be used to ease the symptoms of chronic pain, but they do nothing to remove the source of the problem. When the drugs wear o�, the pain is still there, but now you also

have to deal with the side e�ects of the drugs, which may include addiction.

The �rst step in �nding relief is to pin-point the source of the problem. Lower back pain, for example, is often caused by injured discs in your spine where the problem developed over years of a repetitive movement at work, or from a car accident or injury, or just from years of wear and tear on your joints. Howev-er, the cause of the condition doesn’t matter, the only thing that matters is to �nd relief. Long-term drug regimens or invasive procedures such as steroid injections or surgery are just not the �rst treatment option you should con-sider. Instead, there are e�ective non-surgical treatments available to help you get out of pain.

Nonsurgical Solution for Pain Relief The founder of the McPhail Chiroprac-tic Pain Relief Clinic, Dr. Drew K. McPhail, went into practice to help put an end to su�ering by �nding real solu-tions to back and neck problems. With the DRS Protocol™, Dr. McPhail has suc-cessfully treated thousands of patients su�ering from neck or back pain, herni-ated or degenerative discs, sciatic pain, and even “failed back surgery” pain. Some of his patients had exhausted all other methods of care.

What is the DRS Protocol™? DRS™, which stands for Decompres-sion, Reduction and Stabilization, em-ploys some of the most advanced medical devices available to U.S. doc-tors for nonsurgical treatment of back and neck conditions. Millions of people seek relief for degenerative, herniated, bulging, ruptured disc(s), numbness and tingling, as well as sciatica, posteri-or facet syndrome and many failed neck and back surgery cases.

DRS Protocol™, which utilizes multiple therapies including spinal decompres-sion, reduces pressure inside of the disc. This reduces the painful hernia-tion and the pain from other disc relat-ed degenerative conditions. The pres-sure reduction results in increased blood �ow to the injured area, reduc-tion of pain, increased mobility and enhances tissue repair. “I know what we do is the solution for back and neck pain because for many years we have seen life-changing outcomes for our patients through treatment with the DRS Protocol™,” says Dr. McPhail. In research studies, the conclusions were that for patients with appropriate back pain conditions, DRS Protocol™ is a “front-line, premier treatment”.

DRS Protocol™: Nonsurgical Treatment for Back and Neck Pain ConditionsSuccessful Treatment Relieves Pain without Injections, Surgery or Drugs

If you su�er from back pain or neck pain, you are not alone! Each year, over 30 million Americans experience neck or back pain. Luckily for pain su�erers in and around the Lowcountry, the McPhail Chi-ropractic Pain Relief Clinic, their doctors and sta� have committed their lives to pro-viding relief for chronic pain su�erers.

Dr. Drew K. McPhail, Chiro-practic Physician, and found-er of the McPhail Chiropractic Pain Relief Clinic, along with his team of doctors and sta� have helped thousands of patients regain their normal and productive lives without addictive medications, sur-gery, steroids injections, or other invasive procedures.

Dr. Drew K. McPhail and his

team of doctors, are one of only a handful of doctors in the country that concen-trates in the highly e�ective neck and back pain treat-ment known as the DRS Pro-tocol™.

“There are serious risks and no guarantees when under-going back and neck surgery,” states Dr. McPhail. “The DRS Protocol™ was developed to help patients avoid surgery, or another failed surgery, and the risk associated with inva-sive procedures and pain kill-ers.”

The DRS Protocol™ utilizes multiple therapies including nonsurgical spinal decom-pression and laser pain man-agement to treat patients with herniated discs, degen-erative disc disease, sciatica

and other debilitating back conditions. The patient out-comes have been remark-able.

“Before coming to us, many of our patients have tried everything from traditional chiropractic, pain medica-tions, epidurals, back surgery, and other ineffective proce-dures,” says Dr. McPhail. “The DRS Protocol™ has been suc-cessful where other relief treatments have failed. Before coming in to our clinic many patients have given up hope that they would ever find pain relief.”

Committed to helping patients live a pain-free life, the doctors at the McPhail Chiropractic Pain Relief Clinic along with their staff have helped thousands of people

suffering with neck pain and/or back pain caused by a personal injury, auto accident or spine condition.

At the McPhail Chiropractic Pain Relief Clinic, they strive to provide predictable and successful solutions in a posi-tive and comfortable health-care atmosphere. They are dedicated to significantly reducing unnecessary sur-geries, drugs, and pain and suffering. With the DRS Proto-col™ there are no pain pills, injections, or surgeries . . . just proven results.

If you or someone you love suffers with neck or back pain, contact McPhail Chiro-practic Pain Relief Clinic today at (843) 873-2225 or visit our website at www.McPhailClinic.com.

Do You Suffer from Neck Pain or Back Pain?Drug-Free, Nonsurgical Treatments Bring Remarkable Outcomes For Patients With Back And Neck Pain

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FINALLY . . . A gentle, safe, non-invasive and e�ectivetreatment protocol for neck and back pain relief . . .

Dr. Arnold Weil, M.D., the clinical assis-tant professor of rehabilitation medi-cine at Emory University, a prominent school of medicine in Atlanta, GA, is quoted in the July/August 2011 issue of AARP magazine as follows: “Probably less than �ve percent of all back pain requires surgery.”

This is why back surgery is listed as one of the “Four Surgeries to Avoid” by the American Association of Retired Per-sons, or AARP. Speci�cally, the article advises to avoid surgery known as “Complex Spinal Fusion for Stenosis.” Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the open spaces within your spine, which puts pressure on your spinal cord and the nerves that travel through your spine. This occurs most often in the neck and lower back. The article summarizes the research of

Richard Deyo, M. D., a professor of med-icine at Oregon Health and Science University. Dr. Deyo studied 30,000 medical records of patients who had surgery for spinal stenosis and con-cluded those who had fusion surgery seemed to �nd no more relief from chronic back pain than those who had much less invasive procedures. Many experts have pointed out the high fail-ure rate of back surgery. When you fuse vertebrae, more stress is put on adja-cent vertebrae. Eventually, you’re right back where you started.

So, if according to the AARP, fewer than �ve percent of back pain su�erers require back surgery, what less invasive procedures are available? Dr. Drew K. McPhail, Chiropractic Physician, of the McPhail Chiropractic Pain Relief Clinic, has had tremendous success with a

process called the DRS Protocol™. According to Dr. McPhail, “The DRS Pro-tocol™ is nonsurgical, drug-free and pain-free. You can actually start feeling better after only a few treatments.”

Dr. McPhail is only one of a handful of doctors in the country who has been trained on the DRS Protocol™, and reg-ularly uses it in his practice in Summer-ville, SC. The DRS Protocol™ is a success-ful treatment for low back pain, as well as for neck pain.

“No one deserves to suffer the unrelenting pain faced by many back and neck pain suf-ferers. Many patients can suffer from secret depression, fear and desperation that accompanies crippling back and neck pain. Even patients that have been dismissed as untreatable or beyond all hope may gain relief from the DRS Protocol™.”

Dr. Drew K. McPhail

STOP LIVING WITH BACK OR NECK PAIN!

FIND OUT HOW BY ATTENDING AFREE SEMINAR

You’re invited to attend a FREE seminar to learn more about the McPhail Chiropractic Pain Relief Clinic and their nonsurgical, nonin-vasive, drug-free DRS Protocol™ treatment for back and neck pain.

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, 3:00 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, 3:00 p.m.Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, 3:00 p.m.

If you answered yes to at least two of these questions, you may be a candidate for the DRS Protocol™. Call McPhail Chiropractic Pain Relief Clinic today for an appointment to �nd out more about how the DRS Protocol™ can help relieve your pain.

1709 OLD TROLLEY ROADSUMMERVILLE, SC 29485www.MCPHAILCLINIC.com

(843) 873-2225