Back pain is often chronic and it may range from mild to debilitating. Whether it’s from an acute injury, poor posture, work-related strain, or aging, lower back pain can reduce your quality of life and make even basic daily tasks difficult and painful. Many people who have no sign of spinal abnormalities on X-rays still suffer from excruciating pain that may include sensitivity to pressure, pain after prolonged activity, stiffness, cramping, muscle spasms, and pain that gets progressively worse and lasts longer.
Lower back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek out chiropractic care, a holistic approach that can target the cause of your pain instead of the symptom for safe and natural pain relief.
Common Causes of Low Back Pain
About 80% of people experience back pain at some point in their lives. In most cases, pain is centered in the low back and 2-10% of people with lower back pain develop chronic pain. The lower back is a frequent target for pain because is bears most of the stress and strain of daily life. The weight of the upper body also puts a lot of stress on the upper back. The spine, which works to support all of your upper body weight, is comprised of more than 30 vertebrae. Between these vertebrae are spongy pieces of cartilage called spinal discs that absorb impact, keep the spine in alignment, and prevent the vertebrae bones from grinding together.
If the spine is out of alignment, these discs can herniate, which happens when the soft filling of the disc pushes through the outer portion. This can put pressure on the nerve running through the spine and cause significant pain. Discs also wear and shrink due to lost moisture with age, leading to a condition known as degenerative disc disease. A slipped or herniated disc in the lower back that puts pressure on the nerve can cause extreme pain, tingling, or numbness to radiate to the buttocks and down the leg in a condition called sciatica.
While damaged or degenerated discs are often to blame for lower back pain, several other conditions can also lead to pain:
– Sprains and strains. Strains and sprains often cause back pain in weekend warriors who are inactive most of the week but engage in high-impact activities at the end of the week. Overstretching muscles and ligaments in the back can cause small tears that cause swelling and pain.
– Spondylolisthesis. Wear and tear of the ligaments and joints in the spine make it difficult for the spine to hold its normal position. When vertebrae can move more than they should, they can slide on top of each other. This can cause the bone to put pressure on spinal nerves.
– Vertebral fractures caused by osteoporosis, or brittle bones.
– Spinal stenosis. Stenosis is when the space around the spinal cord through which the nerves run narrows, putting pressure on the nerves. This is usually caused by bone spurs that develop due to osteoarthritis.
– Scoliosis. This abnormal curvature of the spine can cause significant back pain.
Chiropractic Treatment for Lower Back Pain
While back pain can go away on its own after a few weeks in some cases, it can also be debilitating and lead to chronic pain for months or years. Chiropractic care is a whole-body approach to wellbeing that seeks to address the underlying cause of your back pain rather than relying on painkillers with serious side effects that only offer temporary relief and potentially dangerous surgery that often makes the problem worse.
When you see a chiropractor for back pain, a medical history and exam will be conducted to learn the source of your pain. A comprehensive and personalized treatment plan will be developed to address your condition and help your body heal.
Chiropractic adjustment is a standard treatment for spinal misalignment to relieve pressure on your nervous system, improve spinal health, and improve your overall health. Chiropractic adjustments can be a very effective way to relieve back pain and manage pain caused by herniated discs and degenerative disc disease.
Your treatment may also include therapeutic exercises, physiotherapy (physical therapy), and therapeutic massage to address problems with soft tissues like muscle and ligaments.
Schedule an Appointment
Are you struggling with lower back pain that impacts your daily life? Chiropractic treatment is a natural and safe way to treat many forms of back pain, including chronic pain from a slipped disc and pain caused by spinal misalignment. Several studies have found that manual forms of therapy used by chiropractors are effective in the treatment of lower back pain, including non-specific chronic back pain with no known cause.
Contact our office today to learn more about the benefits of chiropractic care for back pain and to schedule your initial appointment.
