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Managing Low Back Pain

Back pain is limiting and can be frustrating when it comes to routinely functioning on a daily basis. Although common, feeling pain in your lumbar spine is not normal and could be a sign that there is a fixated joint. Back pain can originate from that joint that is stuck or locked up, putting pressure on the nerves in your nervous system. This pressure causes improper function, decreased range of motion, and can often be painful. The nervous system controls everything in your body. Ninety percent of these nerves control all of your organs’ functions and your muscles. The last 10% of your nervous system is sensory, and that portion of the nerves is what notifies you of pain. If you only focused on pain you would be living your life only using 10% of your nervous system.
The back, or lumbar spine, is the last 5 of the 24 bones in the spine called vertebrae. The cervical spine is where the spinal column and spinal cord begins. The long bundle of nerves within the spinal column sends neural signals that communicate to the brain and the rest of the body. When that transmission is interrupted by a subluxation, also called a pinched nerve, the body stops performing at its absolute best. Think of the nervous system as a garden hose. The water flows through the hose with no restriction until it is stood on or there is a blockage within the hose. Once the opposing force is removed, the water begins to flow again. Pressure on any joint or nerve in the spine causes pain and a multitude of other problems, but there is a solution. Releasing the nerves to operate at their full capacity allows your body to begin to function at its highest level of natural health, which relieves the neck pain. The design of the lumbar spine is very stable and strong as it protects the spinal cord. With this strength comes flexibility and mobility as it enables the spine to bend from side to side, rotate, and use flexion and extension.
If this back pain affects you on a day to day basis, there are a few things you can do at home to help ease the symptoms that can be restricting to your daily life. If you are wanting to get rid of back stiffness and soreness, try doing some back stretches and exercises. A lot of yoga poses can relieve back pain. The cat cow pose is a great example of this as it is a gentle flow pose that activates the core and helps encourage flexibility in the spine. Seated stretches, such as the piriformis stretch, can even be done seated at your desk as it is important to take your back through its full range of motion every day. While working with a computer at your desk, it is critical that proper posture is used. The monitor should be even with your eyeline and your shoulders should be pulled back, not rounded from sitting improperly. If improper posture is used, back pain can be aggravated. Another at home remedy for the back stiffness or soreness can be helped by icing your low back, relieving the inflammation and introducing better range of motion through that area of the spine.
A valid question that may be asked is what does the cost for Chiropractic care look like? The University of Ottawa reviewed the international evidence on not only the management of low back pain but the cost as well in the manga report. The result of the study from Pran Manga, Ph.D. was that it is more cost efficient for patients to switch from physicians to chiropractors for the management of low back. Another outcome of the study was the safety of chiropractic is far greater than the methods that medical practices use to manage low back pain. “Many Medical therapies are of questionable validity, safety, cost effectiveness and patient satisfaction.” Dr. Manga concluded that “chiropractic should be fully insured (and) fully integrated into the Ontario health system”.
Another source says, “The British Medical Research Council documented a ten-year study which compared chiropractic and hospital out-patient management of seventy-four patients with acute and chronic mechanical low back pain. The results showed that chiropractic care was significantly more effective than medical treatment for patients with chronic and severe pain. Furthermore, these results were long-term and remained consistent throughout the two year follow up period. Chiropractic was also shown to save the British more than ten million pounds a year by having hospital out-patients with low back pain under chiropractic care.” -Terry A. Rondberg
What can chiropractic do for your back pain? The purpose of chiropractic care is to correct nerve interference and in doing so, gives the body the chance to heal in the most natural way possible without the use of drugs. “Chiropractic first, drugs second, and surgery last”- Terry A. Rondberg D.C. With the chiropractic adjustment, Chiropractors release the nervous system from being blocked or pinched and reinstates proper communication between the brain and the rest of the body. As we treat the cause of the back pain, we in turn take care of many other symptoms that the nerves in the lumbar spine control. Digestive issues, leg pain, and hip pain are a few symptoms that may be caused by a pinched nerve in the lumbar spine.
In our office we have corrective wellness care plans and maintenance plans to fit your spine if you are a candidate for chiropractic care. Within these plans we will introduce a life changing adjustment that will allow your nervous system to be able to function at its fullest. “It’s very rare to find someone with the spine that’s perfectly aligned. In most people, the spine curves slightly to the right or the left and sometimes, on or more of the vertebrae are twisted or rotated.” As Chiropractors, we are allowing the spine to heal itself, and in doing so, the rest of the body’s normal functions begin to shine through.

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