Published: 2009-07-20 22:03:56
Author: Brie Zeltner | The Plain Dealer | June 30, 2009
The only kind of back pain Kim Welch knew before 2002 was the kind many mothers are familiar with -- that caused by the extra weight of a pregnant belly.
But after a seven-month stay at the Cleveland Clinic waiting for a heart transplant -- including two weeks in the intensive care unit recovering from the successful surgery -- the forced inactivity and hospital beds turned her back into a hot web of agony.
Welch, 47, of Chester Township found herself nearly incapacitated by back pain, a situation about 80 percent of Americans will experience at some point in their lives. Fortunately, on her last day in the hospital, Welch met Karen Fink, a massage therapist on staff at the Clinic who also does in-home massage as a private practice.
It took six months of weekly treatment, but Welch got better, and she attributes her good health post-transplant at least in part to Fink's "special hands" -- so much so that she has a monthly massage to keep feeling good.
Judging by Welch's experience, it's not surprising that about 14,000 people surveyed by the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Centerrecently rated massage therapy and other hands-on treatments for lower back pain higher in satisfaction than medication and primary physician care.
Fink and chiropractor Lori Christian, who owns a private practice in Woodmere, cite two main reasons that people are more satisfied with hands-on treatments: because they are effective, and because more people today want drug-free pain treatment today.
"A lot of times, people walk out of here feeling better than they did when they came in," says Christian. Many of her patients don't want to see a medical doctor because they don't want to take medications that will make them "sleepy or dopey."
Fink agrees. She believes that some of the appeal of hands-on therapy is in the time a practitioner spends with a patient and in the importance of touch to healing.
"There's a real connection with the practitioner, it's one-on-one, there's touch and nurturing," she said.
Chiropractic care, rated highest in the survey at 59 percent of patients completely or very satisfied with treatment, is based on the idea that restricted movement in the spine leads to pain and loss of function. Chiropractors treat patients primarily by adjusting or moving the spine, what many people refer to as being "cracked" or "crunched."
Christian describes the adjustment as the "meat and potatoes" of
her treatment for low back pain and says she adds physical therapy,
laser therapy, massage and acupuncture as needed for each patient.