Low back pain is any pain, discomfort, or stiffness in the area between the bottom of the ribcage and the top of the gluteal muscles. Unfortunately, almost everyone will experience low back pain at some point in their lives. What’s good about this same scenario is that a significant portion of these people will not have a serious cause of their back pain such as organ dysfunction, tumor, or infection but rather will have a musculoskeletal component that can easily be addressed by a skilled clinician.
Types of LOW BACK PAIN
There are three major types of low back pain. 1. Axial, referring to the center of the body or within the spine. 2. Referred, which is simply one region of the body producing the actual pain, yet someone feels the pain in another; this type of pain is usually dull and achy. 3. Radicular, the last type, may be associated or caused by one of the other two types noted above. Radicular refers to pain down into the hip, thigh or leg from some level of disc irritation, and is often very sharp in its path. Most people and general physicians lump all radicular pain into the label of “sciatica”. As chiropractors, we know there are different variations of radicular pain that may or may not involve the sciatic nerve.
Why does my LOW BACK PAIN keep coming back?
Any complaint that does not either fully resolve or continues to return is likely that it’s root cause is not being addressed. It’s very easy to get caught up in reducing someone’s symptoms and calling it a day but it takes a skillful clinician to see past the pain and look at function as well as other potential causes of a patient’s back pain. Be sure to check out our blog on Top 6 Tips for Choosing a Chiropractor – Pure Health Medical to be better equipped in finding a high quality provider for your healing journey.
Potential causes of LOW BACK PAIN
There are four categories of causes of low back pain: Non-specific, Spinal disease, Visceral, and nerve root. Luckily around 90% of people will have what we call “non-specific low back pain” in which the pain is caused by the muscles and joints of the lower spine. Nerve root would be the next most common cause of low back pain, meaning there is some level of encroachment on the nerve that leaves the spinal cord whether it is from the disc itself, or the bones around the spine have overgrown in a condition that we call stenosis. Visceral pain is defined as pain being generated from an organ due to dysfunction, inflammation etc. that is felt in another area; in this case, it’s the low back. Common organs that refer pain to the low back are the kidneys, gallbladder and reproductive organs.
* This does not happen often, but if you truly suspect your low back pain is coming from a more serious condition as mentioned above, please consult your general care physician to get appropriate care. *
If you are given medications to cover up your symptoms from organ dysfunction, please know that other options are out there, such as functional medicine, that can help you get on the right track with natural solutions while minimizing side effects. Lastly, spinal disease such as infections, compression fractures, tumors, and cauda equina syndrome are the LEAST common yet most serious of the causes of low back pain. These are things that get ruled out during a thorough history and exam.
LOW BACK PAIN relief using chiropractic?
Low back pain is a chiropractors “bread and butter” so to speak. It is the condition that the general population knows us to treat, and rightfully so, as we have been trained extensively to rule out more serious causes during the exam and effectively treat common, less serious, causes of low back pain without drugs or surgery. The first step is getting a good idea of what is causing your pain, which starts with a high-quality history and exam where we listen to the patient and determine if we are the best place for you to see results.
LOW BACK PAIN relief using exercise and stretching techniques
Sometimes exercise alone can help improve low back pain and the good news is that our amazing staff at Pure Health Medical has made some videos that are worth exploring to see if they help your low back pain. If they don’t, we would love the chance to assess you in person so we can appreciate all factors that may be contributing to your low back pain; This way we can not only give you an accurate reason as to why we think you may be having low back pain, but we can prescribe specific exercise FOR YOU.
How can chiropractic treat LOW BACK PAIN?
Chiropractors are typically known for our treatment of low back pain. We use any combination of adjustments / mobilizations, soft tissue techniques, decompression, exercises and other modalities that are needed for the patient to decrease pain and get back to living a high-quality life! The reason our approach is different at Pure Health Medical, is we will address the pain (symptom) while addressing the root cause (movement dysfunction).