Millions of Americans suffer from low back pain each year. It is estimated that nearly 1 in every 3 people suffers from some form of low back pain. There are multiple causes of low back pain, some of which are easily treatable and some more serious causes that require immediate medical attention.
The type of back pain suffered by most of us is usually caused by overuse of muscles from activities such as exercising too long, too hard or perhaps by lifting something heavy which causes muscle strain. Other causes of common back pain include falls, auto accidents and disc herniations. All of these, including muscle strains, affect the bones of the spine in some manner. It is a common misunderstanding that a muscle strain is isolated to the muscles and soft tissue of the back. The important point to remember here is that those back muscles are connected to the bones in your spine, and therefore, may cause misalignments in the bones. If that happens, the muscle strain may become a structural problem and your back pain may become chronic pain.
Disc herniations can occur suddenly from trauma such as a car accident, or may happen by just turning or bending in a certain direction. What happens in a disc herniation or "slipped disc" is the soft center of one of the discs between the vertebrae in your spine becomes displaced, causing a bulge. This bulge may affect the nerve which exits between the vertebrae at that level. Usually, this type of back pain burns and travels from your back down into your buttocks and even into your legs. It may even ache like a toothache. Disc herniations can happen in your neck as well. When you have a disc bulge, which can only be accurately diagnosed by a doctor, you will need intervention to heal. Disc herniations may get worse as time passes, eventually causing more problems with the bones of your spine, resulting in physical disability and surgery if left untreated.
Other more serious causes of back pain may include diseases such as Osteoporosis and cancer. These types of problems warrant testing and medical intervention. Osteoporosis, which causes bones to become weak and brittle, may be hereditary but can be improved through exercise and proper diet and supplementation. Osteoporosis is a topic that I will discuss further in a future blog.
Chiropractic care has proven to be one of the best treatments for back pain. It has proven to be far more effective than muscle relaxants or pain medications, which only dull the pain and may cause serious side effects. The goal of chiropractic care is to correct what is "causing" your pain and to help you return to your daily activities without pain. A good Doctor of Chiropractic will examine your spine to determine where the problems are and will prescribe a course of treatment to correct the underlying problem that is causing your pain and disability.
A recent study conducted on 30 patients having back pain for at least 6 months showed that all of the participants had reduced pain levels after receiving 12 chiropractic treatments for a period of one month. In addition, half of the participants received follow-up chiropractic treatment every three weeks for nine months. The other half received no care after the one month of intensive chiropractic treatment. The results further demonstrated that the disability levels were improved and continued to improve for the patients who received the follow-up chiropractic care, while those who received only 12 chiropractic adjustments with no follow-up care returned to their pretreatment levels of disability.
As you can see, back pain has many causes but while there are many treatment options available, the best one, according to studies is chiropractic care. There are many types of gentle chiropractic techniques available that you may not know about. If you are interested in learning more about gentle chiropractic care and how it can help you, please visit http://www.bretonchiropractic.com/.
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