Back Pain Chiropractor

There are myriad causes of back pain, yet they all may have very similar or the exact symptoms as each other. They may also be uncommon, yet important causes. First and foremost it is important to distinguish what is meant when a person is suffering from back pain. Do they mean upper or lower back? Most of the time they are referring to lower back at first glance given that this is the most common area for low back pain. When one suffers from an injury to their lower back they may seek out a back pain chiropractor for help and treatment. Once the chiropractor determines the cause of the pain, they can determine the best course of action for treatment. It is important to note if the pain is resultant from an injury or muscle strain (commonly referred to as a “pulled muscle”). There may also be ligamentous strain (tearing of the ligament) involved as well. There are numerous muscles and ligament structures in the spine that may be injured, be it at work during pushing, pulling, lifting or twisting maneuvers with or without weight. There may be damage to soft tissue structures from a sports injury or there may be damage to the intervertebral disc structure and joints in the spinal column during a simple task such as picking up a pen off of the floor or sneezing. All of these common structural injuries may happen to the spine and it is important for a doctor (chiropractor, medical physician, etc.) to provide proper evaluation to determine this cause.

Disc Herniation

 There are complicating factors for certain types of back pain which may cause an increase in healing time or time it takes to return to play in sports or full duties for certain jobs. For example, one may not only have lower back pain but also pain or other symptoms traveling down ones leg or legs. This may be caused by pressure or irritation on the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve may be commonly irritated in the case of back pain that is discogenic (originating from disc disorders) in nature such as a herniated disc. A disc herniation occurs when the material inside of a disc (nucleus) protrudes out of its normal boundary within the disc, which may result from a weakened disc with age or repetitive accumulated trauma to the spine with age. Pressure on the nerve which travels down the leg can be severe or hardly noticed depending on the person.  Treatment for such an incidence from a chiropractor may include ice, heat, stretching, electric stimulation, soft tissue massage, chiropractic manipulative therapies and exercises. With rest and proper care, resolution of back pain will be done in a conservative manner where the patient will return to normal daily living within no time at all, for the 80% of the adult population who will experience low back pain. Chiropractic is a viable and effective treatment option for back pain.

References Cited in this Article

Back pain http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/back-pain/DS00171/DSECTION=causes

Herniated Discs:  What is a herniated disc?  http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/herniateddisk/a/ruptureddisk.htm

2008Henschke, N.; Maher, C. G; Refshauge, K. M; Herbert, R. D; Cumming, R. G; Bleasel, J.; York, J.; Das, A. et al. (2008). “Prognosis in patients with recent onset low back pain in Australian primary care: inception cohort study”. BMJ 337: a171

Survey: Chiropractic outperforms other back-pain treatments, including medication.   http://www.chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/11624/1483/survey-%20chiropractic%20outperforms%20other%20back-pain%20treatments-%20including%20medication/