Tag Archives: back pain

Common Causes of Back Pain

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Understanding the cause of your back pain is the key to proper treatment.  There are many different underlying conditions that cause back pain. The more common causes of back pain are described below. Don’t try to make your own diagnosis. A trained chiropractor that deals with back pain complaints on a daily basis will know what to look for and what questions to ask you to determine the underlying cause.

  • Muscle strains and muscle spasms are the most common cause of low back pain.  Patients may or may not remember the initial event that triggered their muscle spasm. Back pain from muscle spasms can be incredibly painful and feel like nerve pain when the muscle tighten and twitch around a key nerve such as the sciatic nerve.
  • A ruptured intervertebral disc, also called a herniated disc, is another common cause of back pain. The terms ruptured, herniated, slipped and bulging disc don’t really have precise definitions to distinguish one from another and are often used somewhat interchangeably to describe protruding disc material. It is important to note that a large percent of the population is walking around with bulging discs that cause no symptoms, so not every herniated disc warrants treatment or intervention.
  • Discogenic back pain is the result of damage to the intervertebral disc, but without disc herniation.  Diagnosis of discogenic back pain may require the use of a discogram.

 

  • Spinal stenosis causes a lot of back pain in the elderly.  As we age, the spinal canal can become constricted from arthritis and other conditions.  If the spinal canal becomes too tight, back pain can be the result.

 

  • Arthritis most commonly affects joints such as the knees and fingers.  However, arthritis can affect any joint in the body, including the small joints of the spine.  Arthritis of the spine can cause back pain with movement.

 

  • Spondylolisthesis causes back pain because adjacent vertebra become unstable and begin to “slip.”  The most common cause of spondylolisthesis is degenerative changes causing loss of the normal stabilizing structures of the spinal column.

As stated earlier, backaches are hard to self-diagnose.  The causes listed above are just a few of more common possibilities.  If you suffer from acute or chronic backaches, consult a qualified chiropractor for a complete exam.

Some Surprising Statistics About Back Pain

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Back pain relief is just one component of chiropractic care, but it is often a patient’s first introduction. Back pain is horribly debilitating affecting all aspects of work and personal life. If you are suffering from back pain, you are not alone. Here are a few facts about back pain that may (or may not) surprise you.

  • Back pain is the number one disability for those under age 45.
  • In the United States of America alone, there is an expected 31 million people with lower back pain at any given time.
  • Back pain runs second, after only the common cold, as the top reason for visiting a healthcare provider in the United States.
  • Experts place the likelihood of any person to experience some type of back problem in their lifetime at about 80%. That’s four out of every five people!
  • Over 50 billion dollars are spent per year in the pursuit of clearing up cases of back pain.
  • Around 30 to 40 percent of all workplace absences are due to back pain.
  • Approximately one quarter of U.S. adults reported having low back pain lasting at least one whole day in the past three months, and 7.6 percent reported at least one episode of severe acute low back pain within a one-year period.
  • One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year.
  • Approximately 2 percent of the U.S. work force is compensated for back injuries each year
  • Lower back pain accounts for two thirds of all back pain-related cases.
  • More than two-thirds of back strains are caused by lifting and other exertions like pulling and pushing.
  • Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic—meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.

The key to proper treatment of back pain is to understand the cause. Remember, pain is always a sign that something else is wrong and if continually ignored may lead to more serious harm. Chiropractors are experts in assessing the root cause of your back pain and putting you on the right course to recovery.

PRACTICAL MAGIC

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I see a chiropractor on a regular basis for chronic lower back and neck pain. After each session I feel great for awhile and then the pain returns. Is there anything else I can do to either minimize the reoccurrences or eliminate them completely?

In my opinion the best approach is to utilize what is called chiropractic nutrition. Chiropractic nutrition includes the use of whole food supplements to support the chiropractic adjustment and the tool for addressing the biochemical aspect of the subluxation.

The subluxation is the way the body speaks to us about its needs. Disturbances in function cause specific subluxations by way of the viscera-somatic reflex.

In a study published in the European Journal of Pain, July 2007, the researchers noted that referred visceral pain can be evoked experimentally by applying substances such as capsaicin  to the gut. The purpose of the study was to try to induce referred visceral pain from the small and large intestine. Patients with ileo-or colostomy were selected and in order to quantify the somato-visceral reflex response, the researchers utilized thermography and Laser Doppler flowmetry. The test revealed that all subjects experienced pain and referred pain.

Unfortunately, some chiropractors do not consider the visceral involvement as a source of back pain and just concentrate on the subluxation complex as the sole cause of the patient symptoms.

Therefore, the best recommendation is to find a chiropractor who utilizes whole food supplements vs. the most common synthetic vitamins as chronic visceral dysfunction and or overload will cause a persistent or recurring subluxation. The combination of chiropractic and nutrition is in my opinion your best bet for better health.

Back Pain and Spinal Decompression

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I injured my lower back and was diagnosed with a bulging disc. It has been over 6 months since the injury and I am not any better in spite of receiving medical care and physical therapy. Could spinal decompression help my condition?

The typical medical approach to a patient suffering from lower back pain is medication and a referral to physical therapy. When the patient does not progress enough the patient may then be referred to a surgeon for possible surgery. Conservative chiropractic care has proved to be very helpful in many cases. Yet, there have been some cases where surgery seemed to be the only option… until now.

Today, you don’t have to live with that pain anymore. Spinal decompression was developed to effectively treat lower back pain and sciatica resulting from herniated or deteriorated discs. Spinal decompression not only significantly reduces back pain in many patients, but also enables the majority of patients to return to a more active lifestyle.
If your pain is due to herniated and bulging discs that is more than 4 weeks old, or if you have  recurrent pain from a failed back surgery that is more than 6 months old, or persistent pain from degenerated disc not responding to 4 weeks of therapy, then you are most likely to be a good candidate for decompression.

Contraindications to spinal decompression are: post surgical where screws and rods were placed for stability, or if you are pregnant, or had a lumbar fusion less than 6 months old, cancer, spondylolisthesis, compression fracture, disc space infection, severe neuropathy, hemiplegia and paraplegia.

If none of the above contraindications apply to you, then I recommend that you find a chiropractor who utilizes a spinal decompression unit and begin you journey to better health.