Backaches and sciatica image.

Is Your Job a Pain?

Neck and low back pain, previously associated primarily with jobs involving physical labor, is now striking an increasing number of white-collar workers. If you thought pain could only occur with heavy lifting, turning, bending and repetitive motions, you may be surprised to learn that back pain is becoming a plague among those who lift nothing heavier than a stapler.

While workplace design and employee fitness are factors in office workers developing neck and back injuries, an overlooked element is the psychosocial factor: that is, how positive a person's mental outlook is, and especially how much they like their career.

Instead of taking drugs to reduce the symptoms of neck and back pain, more and more recommendations involve reducing the amount of stress and taking steps to increase job satisfaction.

Experts say that up to 80 percent of adults will seek treatment for work-related neck or back pain at some point in their career. Getting to the underlying cause of the pain is the key to helping your body heal itself naturally!

Dr. Michelle Asks some important questions of interest to Encinitas residents - Chiropractor Encinitas Dr. Michelle Asks...

What's the difference between chiropractic and medicine?
Medical treatment focuses on the disease or the symptom. Chiropractic focuses on the person with the disease or the symptom. Medical treatment usually involves changing blood chemistry. Chiropractic involves restoring nervous system integrity. Medical doctors prescribe medicine. Chiropractors adjust the spine—a common source of nervous system interference.
Are aches and pains good or bad?
While aches or pains may be unpleasant, they're merely warning signs. As a Encinitas chiropractor, I see this all the time. The pain is not the problem! It just means a limitation has been reached and something needs to change. That's when we get to work correcting the underlying cause.