4 Facts About Back Pain

top rated chiropractor for back pain

This article was provided by Dr. Isaac Mooberry, a chiropractor at Lifetime Wellness & Chiropractic in Denver, CO. To learn more about Dr. Mooberry, please visit https://www.denver-chiropractor.com/.

The 4 Things You Need to Know About Back Pain

  • Over 80% of people will experience severe low back pain during their life.
  • More than 60% of people will have multiple episodes of back pain.
  • There is over $86 Billion dollars spent on back pain every year and growing.
  • Low back pain is the #1 cause of disability worldwide. Low back pain can affect many areas of our life, it’s no wonder so much money is being spent on searching for a cure. I work with a number of primary care doctors and low back pain is one of the more challenging conditions for them to treat.

There are many common misconceptions of back pain:

  1. My leg hurts not my back. Leg and buttock pain can be a result of a low back problem. Often times a disc herniation, bulge or spinal degeneration will put pressure on a nerve and it can cause numbness, tingling, pain into the hip or leg. Sometimes no back pain is present with the hip or leg pain. If these problems go unchecked they lead to arthritic changes in the spine.
  2. Bed Rest is one of the worst things to do for back pain. Movement helps to push inflammation away from an injured area. Movement is vital to a healthy long life. A lack of movement causes degeneration and with injuries encourages scar tissue to build.
  3. Beware, Tylenol-a common pain killer and fix for low back pain as little as 500g can increase chances of death 240%. The New England Journal of Medicine published a study that found that odds for kidney failure in those who took 500 grams of Tylenol “Acetaminophen” vs aspirin was 2.4 more likely to have kidney failure. As you see, it is not only the opioid epidemic that increases mortality rates.
  4. Spine surgery is not always the answer to low back pain Dr. Eugene Carragee, of Stanford University said that he performs the operation only on a select group of patients who have been carefully screened, the estimates that less than a quarter of the operations will be successful. What other options are there when over the counter, prescription and surgeries have side effects that most want to avoid?

What is helpful for low back pain? Conservative care is recommended! According to Harvard Medical School “you shouldn’t try to diagnose your own back pain, make a call to a professional such as a…chiropractor.” Dr. Andrew Cole, MD the past president of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation said “Overall, manipulation has the advantage of reducing pain, decreasing medication, rapidly advancing physical therapy and requiring fewer passive modalities.” The American College of Physicians recommended non-surgical treatments such as chiropractic for treating low back pain.

Treatment guidelines have been developed for chiropractic care, to treat spinal pain this example is for chiropractic care following a auto accident for a spinal injury. Dr. Mooberry is a Denver doctor of chiropractic and he has over 12 years of experience, having worked with 1,000’s of patients that have back pain that stems from a whiplash injury, work injury, or repetitive stress injury.

Here are some “Should Be Asked Questions” before undergoing care for back pain:

  1. What exams are done to evaluate me from different perspectives? We use posture, physical exam, computerized nerve testing, and when needed x-rays, to evaluate the patient from 3-4 different perspectives to develop a clear clinical picture.
  2. Will I know after the evaluation what my problem is so I/we can correct the problem? After a thorough evaluation we will show you what your problem is and what would be the best course of action for you to get back to being your best.
  3. In a typical low back problem what therapies/treatments are done? We typically will utilize chiropractic adjustments, therapies and exercises to strengthen weak muscles in the office and at home. We like to approach care from multiple angles to get better longer term results.
  4. When should I see a chiropractor? If pain or symptoms like tension, weakness, fatigue, numbness,, tingling causes an interruption and restriction in your daily life.
  5. How long does it take to get better? Most commonly some relief is noted within the first several sessions. However, to correct the actual underlying problem that is causing the symptoms can vary from patient to patient, several visits to multiple months.
  6. What is the doctors area of expertise and education? All doctors of chiropractic have passed all the National Board Exams and are licensed in Colorado. Dr. Mooberry specializes in challenging neck and back conditions that not only cause back pain, hip pain, sciatica, but also neck pain, headaches, migraines, numbness, tingling, shoulder pain and whiplash to name a few common issues that we see improve with our care.

BACK PAIN TOPICS: