Low back pain is one of the most common reasons to visit a chiropractor, affecting up to 80% of the population at some point in life. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study (2013), low back pain is considered the top leading cause of years lived with disability globally.
There are many potential pain contributors within your back. This can include the joints between the vertebrae in your spine, the capsule that surrounds each joint, ligaments, tendons, muscles, the discs that are between the vertebrae in your spine, and even nerves can become irritated or compressed to give symptoms.
Each case of low back pain is unique and may have one or a combination of sources causing symptoms. Numerous symptoms can present, such as sharp pain, dull ache, stiffness, numbness, tingling, etc. The location of the symptoms can vary: on one side or both sides of your back, into your buttocks, or even down your leg.
When you visit a chiropractor, they will ask different questions and perform different tests to try determine the source of your pain (eg. disc), as well as the cause of the injury. This can be a one off event such as lifting improperly or a culmination of events that is typical with an overuse injury. The exam will also help the chiropractor rule out non-musculoskeletal causes of back pain. If this is the case, the chiropractor will refer you to the appropriate healthcare professional.
The findings from the exam will help the chiropractor determine the type of treatment that will help you and your back. This can involve a variety of treatment types including adjustments or mobilizations of joints, soft tissue therapy, acupuncture, rehabilitation, ergonomic/lifestyle assessment and education. The goals are to help speed the recovery of your injury, reduce pain, improve function, and prevent recurrence of back pain.
At Haptic Health and Chiropractic, it is our mission to help you restore, maintain, and achieve optimum physical function so that you can carry on with what’s important to you.
References
Evans, Mike, [DrMikeEvans]. (2014, January 24). Low Back Pain. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/BOjTegn9RuY
Friedly, J., Standaert, C., & Chan, L. (2010). Epidemiology of Spine Care: The Back Pain Dilemma. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, 21(4), 659–677. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2010.08.002
Vos, Theo et al., Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. The Lancet , Volume 386, 743 – 800. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60692-4
Image Reference
Lower Back Pain by David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net