As a Chiropractor, many patients come into the office looking for pain relief. As a general rule, we tend to do a pretty good job when it comes to pain relief (even though my opinion is possibly probably a little biased). Nevertheless, not all of our patients respond the usually effective results that we are used to. A recent article in Dynamic Chiropractic, brings up the correlation between cholesterol lowering statin medications (Lipator, Crestor, Zocor, etc) and myopathy that has reminded me of a few patients in our office that may have been experiencing statin-induced side effects of pain. Myopathy basically means, pathology of the muscles. This can be expanded to include muscle pains, inflammation, and cell death of the muscle tissues. Conditions such as muscle cramps, spasm, pain, decreased motion, and fatigue are examples of myopathic conditions.Dr. Pate sites in her article that original research placed statin-induced myopathy to be a minor occurrence, presenting in only one to five percent of patients. More current research is no placing that number between nine and twenty percent of statin users. It is estimated that over twenty-five percent of Americans over the age of 45 are taking statin medications, and that number is expected to grow.Does pain affect your life? Have you had x-rays or MRI’s that have come back “normal?” For individuals taking statin medications, there is a possibility that the statin is contributing to your pain. Working with a doctor to support a healthy lifestyle that allows your cholesterol to naturally normalize will not only help to lose weight, and protect the cardiovascular system, but it could also help you to experience pain relief.

In our office, we help patients to become pain free by supporting the underlying cause of dysfunction. Rather than recommending unnecessary drugs or surgery, we look to help out patients to improve their lifestyle that is contributing to their symptoms. Many times, patients are able to leave statins behind, and live a pain free life as their body heals itself.

For more information, contact our office: www.HaydenInstitute.com