Soft Tissue Determinants and Spinal Relief

     Low back pain is probably the number one reason people seek chiropractic care.  Many patients are given diagnoses such as Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome, which may not be correct. In order to correctly make a diagnosis associated with low back pain, considering the surrounding soft tissue is crucially important. In the US, “85% of the population will report having at least one episode of low back pain within their lifetime.” Physically-active individuals report having between 10-15% of low back pain annually. While 5% have chronic debilitating low back constantly. One soft tissue determinant is Myofascial Pain Syndrome; which may begin insidiously or post-trauma. According to Current Pain and Headache Reports in 2006, Myofascial pain syndrome is “pain that originates from myofascial trigger points in skeletal muscle, either alone or in combination with other pain generators.”  Trigger points are hyper-irritable spots in taut muscle that cause pain upon palpation. Men and women are affected equally with this condition. This syndrome results in increase of acetylcholine which results in sustained contraction of the muscle. Exercise, including stretching is one of the most effective spinal relief treatments of this condition. This allows the body to restore normal muscle function, including increased range of motion and pain reduction. Some deep muscles of the low back include the paraspinals: Interspinalis and Multifdus, and the lateral stabilizer of the spine known as the Quadratus Lumborum. Many researchers are speculating the extreme importance of the QL muscle and its direct link to low back pain and spinal relief post treatment. CT, MRI, and ultrasound are the specialized diagnostic studies that prove paraspinal atropy with chronic sufferers. Most acute low back pain incidences are due to mechanical stresses and conservative spinal relief treatments such as massage therapy and chiropractor help to eliminate or reduce the symptomatology.