Your health is one of the two factors that determines your recovery as well as the type of patient you are. Although the majority of our patients are satisfied with their recovery with káyros, their overall health may not allow the best possible recovery.
With káyros, your health and your recovery depend on your problem and your pains, in addition to variables such as other health problems, past failed treatments, the physical state of your body, and your lifestyle. The number, time, intensity and range of your problem and your pains and of the additional variables will also influence your health and recovery.
káyros has several suggestions on how to assess your overall health. You don't have to visit a specialist to ask an opinion or undergo tests to tell you if you can use káyros or not. káyros works directly with their patients — with you.
This is our reason for existing; we are based on a self-management program for a very specific problem that many people, even many times unknowingly, suffer — rigid body.
According to káyros, you can have a rigid body or a normal body. Your problem and your pains are due to rigid body, the chronic health problem káyros manages.
The recovery from your problem and your pains is determined by:
The condition and symptom that you suffer.
Your recovery depends in part on what condition and symptoms you have. And, you can't always recover from any condition as you wish. Sometimes, the same type of patient will recover better than another who suffers the same condition.
Your recovery from some specific conditions may be limited.
The number of conditions and symptoms that you suffer.
In general, the more conditions and symptoms you suffer, the more it will take for you to recover. For example, if you have back pain, herniated disc, cervical pain, vertigo, and scoliosis, it will take longer for you to recover, and you may not recover as well as someone who only has back pain.
The time that your problem and your pains have been affecting you.
Usually, the longer you have suffered from your problem and your pains, the longer it will take you to recover. However, time is relative. If you have suffered your problem for twenty years and you recover in one year... is your recovery slow or fast? What took time was that you spent twenty years to make the decision to manage your problem with káyros and recover.
The intensity with which your problem and your pains affect you.
In general, the more intensely you are affected by your problem and your pains, the longer it will take for your recovery. For example, if you suffer migraines that affect your personal life and job on a daily basis, your recovery will take longer, and you may not recover as well as those who have migraines and still can do some activity.
The extension of your problem and your pains.
Usually, as more parts of your body are affected by your problem and your pains, the longer it will take you to recover. For example, if you have a herniated lumbar disc with radiating pain to both legs and feet, it will take you longer to recover, and you may not recover as well as someone with herniated lumbar disc whose pain only affects one leg to the level of the knee.
We do not mean to say that the cause of all your health problems is rigid body. Apart from it, you could be suffering other health problems — even not detected — or you may in the future suffer other health problems that affect your health and recovery and manifest in various symptoms, even some similar to those associated with your problem. Those are not related to your problem or your self-management with káyros.
These are some examples:
Gout, calcification, torn rotator cuff, pelvic floor disorders, poor leg circulation, osteoporosis, cerebrovascular accidents, influenza, infections, AIDS, prostate disease, multiple sclerosis, asthma, tendonitis, calcaneal spurs, torn ligaments, spasticity, hemorrhoids, arthritis, mental illness, depression, cancer, glaucoma, mononucleosis, obesity, spastic torticollis, Morton's neuroma, bursitis, torn meniscus, psoriasis, kidney stones, appendicitis, infectious diseases, tuberculosis, tumors, mumps, terminal illness, cholesterol, inguinal hernia, plantar fasciitis, ankle sprain, muscular dystrophy, varicose veins, diabetes, fractures/dislocations, cold, virus, pneumonia, measles, Parkinson's disease, anemia, others.
Sometimes, the line that separates the pains associated with your problem from other health problems can be very thin, especially if they share a physical origin.
If you suffer any other health problem not related to rigid body, you must visit another specialist and follow the recommended treatment — without worsening your rigid body. However, if you suffer from other health problems, you should continue managing your rigid body; otherwise, it could worsen and cause you a setback.
If you suffer from a terminal illness, káyros can't offer a "cure" to save your life.
More and more people visit káyros after their problem and their health have been worsened. For some, that happened gradually, and for others, the onset may have been at a single moment even without their realizing it.
Sometimes, people believe that to recover from their problem, they require strong and sudden treatments or maneuvers applied to their bodies. They may even think that the worse they are, the stronger those treatments should be. If that does not work, they undergo more and different treatments. And, if those still don't work, they undergo spinal surgery.
káyros has nothing against conservative treatments or surgery. At any given time and in specific cases, those may be necessary and beneficial to some patients with other health problems besides rigid body. But, our clinical experience shows us the following:
Management with káyros is a priority in recovering from rigid body.
It is better to do nothing than to make your problem worse.
Many people undergo back surgery when they could recover with káyros without surgery. Although some patients may require surgery because a problem aside rigid body may have reached irreversible extremes, rigid body should still be managed with káyros after such intervention.
In general, recovery for patients whose problem has been worsened with conservative treatments and/or failed surgeries will take longer and recovery may not be as complete. This is one of the reasons why káyros does not recommend other treatments to manage your problem.
Your problem is linked to the physical state of your body, especially your spine. Its state depends on how you have treated your body throughout your life, either consciously or unconsciously.
All kinds of physical experiences in your life may have affected the physical state of your body and made your problem worse. For example, some people can worsen the state of their body when performing risky activities (car racing, reckless exercise, a hard physical job, or lifting heavy weights), either occasionally or on an ongoing basis. As they age, they feel the consequences. The physical state of your body also may be associated with conditions of an unknown origin that you have not been able to control. During your youth, you could have developed scoliosis (spinal deviation), or with age, you could have developed arthritis (degenerative joint disease) or a herniated disc.
One way to assess the physical state of your body, especially your spine (cervical and lumbar) is by the use of imaging tests such as X-rays or MRI. These tests will not show your problem nor they are necessary to manage your problem with káyros, but they can give you an idea of the state of your bones and joints and can help predict your recovery.
The recovery of your problem depends on the physical state of your body. For example, a borderline patient who has had a hard job during thirty years, several motor vehicle accidents, scoliosis, arthritis and has an abnormal cervical curvature (a kyphosis), will not recover as well as a moderate patient who has had less damage and has a normal cervical curvature (a lordosis).
Spinal conditions such as osteoarthritis or discopathy, unless they have reached a very extreme limit, aren't necessarily an impediment to your recovery. They will just affect the degree of satisfaction with it. Our clinical experience has shown us that patients without imageable spinal conditions can suffer from intense pains, too.
The X-rays that can be used to know the physical state of your body are:
Lateral cervical spine X-ray. |
Lateral lumbar spine X-ray. |
Full spine weightbearing X-ray. |
Several aspects of your life need to be considered during your recovery. These aspects don't mean that you can't recover, nor are they causing your problem. It just means that they may affect to some degree the satisfaction with your recovery and that it may take more time to achieve the goals of recovery.
Your age.
Usually, the younger you are, the better you will recover, although some young patients require more time to recover than some adults. Our experience has shown us that the physical condition of many young people is quite deficient, something that will worsen over time if not managed.
Your gender.
In general, women have a more fragile body than men and may be more vulnerable to falls, motor vehicle accidents, or injuries and be more sensitive to conditions and symptoms associated with rigid body.
Your job.
Having a physically demanding job, such as that of a painter, a carpenter, a builder, or a welder, can affect your recovery in different ways than if you have a less strenuous job. We also have patients who have a lighter job like a receptionist or patients who have no job, and their recovery is slow, too.
Your family.
Having to care for babies and children, or having to care for or lifting an older family member can affect your recovery along with a lack of proper sleep.
Your stress.
Stress at work, family issues, or an altered emotional state are also factors to consider for your recovery.
Your medications.
Some medications can cause side effects like fatigue, pain, discomfort, weakness, and even affect your mental capacities. The use of substances such as tobacco, alcohol, or other recreational drugs may affect your recovery, too.
Your physical exercise.
Some patients give more priority to their exercise/physical activity than to the management of their problem. Excessive or reckless exercise can affect your problem and your recovery with káyros. In such cases, we recommend that you prioritize the management of your problem before your physical activity and set an agenda to do both correctly
Your locality.
Where you live and the change of weather or the seasons may affect your body and temporarily cause you some discomfort.
Some of these aspects are inevitable (your gender or your age), some are solved by themselves (your locality), and others will depend on your lifestyle and the decisions you make in your life (your physical activity and stress levels).
Many people who visit káyros have already visited other specialists to manage their problem, including the best and most popular in their city or country. During the visit, they explain in great detail their pains, discomfort, physical ailments, and even their psychological state. Then they are subjected to all kinds of tests, given the results, and are told that they have "such problem," "such syndrome," or "such condition" and may undergo treatment — but at the end, they don't recover.
The same patient, with similar tests, may receive various opinions from different specialists. This type of situation occurs commonly due to the lack of scientific knowledge in the field of physical problems. From a positive point of view, these tests may rule out other possible health problems.
káyros will know some aspects of your health through the first consultation form. (PDF)
At káyros, we prefer that, instead of using your time to explain to us your problem and pains in detail, you use that time to focus on understanding your problem and how to manage it.