Low Back Pain and What To Do

Low back pain has to be the number one reason people come to LifeStyle Chiropractic in Lexington, KY. The amount of people out there with low back problems is enormous. Many people that come to my office tell me that they've given up hope. If you'd like to learn more, please visit https://www.lschiro.com/.

Let me tell you a short story of one patient. I met a lady in the gym in the town where I took my first job as an associate Doctor, following graduation. She proceeded to tell me her story of the past 3 years of the unrelenting low back and leg pain she had endured. This lady was in her 30's, a single mom of two young teenage girls, and working full time. She was in excellent physical condition, and she exercised routinely. Her primary complaints were intense unrelenting right lower back pain, with pain radiating into her right leg, down to her foot. She had experienced the pain for going on 3 years. She explained that in the prior 3 years, she had consulted with her primary care doctor on more than one occasion. He had referred her to physical therapy, which didn't work. On a subsequent visit to her primary doctor, he referred her to an orthopedic specialist for evaluation. The orthopedic doctor referred her for a MRI. The MRI was negative, so surgery was not a necessary option. She persisted with the anti-inflammatory medications, pain medications, and muscle relaxer medications, that she had been prescribed, being that she didn't know what else to do. And none of the doctors that she saw had referred her for a chiropractic consultation. She had been taking all of these medications for 3 years, without any relief!

Following my evaluation, I found that her tailbone (sacrum) had misaligned, causing insult to the L5 disc and the nerve roots comprising the sciatic nerve. As soon as I adjusted this patient's sacrum, she experienced instant relief from the leg pain. I kid you not! Relief can come that quickly sometimes. After just a few treatments, this patient was completely out of pain! Three years of pain gone in a matter of a few days. Needless to say, this woman's life was changed dramatically. The moral of this story is, if you're experiencing low back or leg pain, see a Doctor of Chiropractic first. In my 24 years of experience, the vast majority of people that presented to my office with low back problems, had a musculoskeletal condition that was treatable through chiropractic.

What causes Low Back Pain?

As I noted above, the vast majority of people that presented to my office with low back pain, have a musculoskeletal condition. Chiropractic treatment is typically the best approach for this type problem. Consider this: your core structure, the spine, is made up of many movable parts called vertebrae. The spine in mechanical, if you will, in its function. These vertebrae need to be able to move in various directions, as intended, because that's how we can twist and bend as humans. Normal motion between the spine's vertebral segments, allows for normal function of the body's core structure, the spine. Essentially, motion equals function! The problem lies in the fact that the spinal bones can become misaligned, and stuck. Through our activities of daily living, running, jumping, sitting, standing, bending, twisting, etc, our spinal bones can become misaligned and stuck out of place. It happens a lot, and the problem is, most of the time you don't know it has happened, because most of the time, it doesn't produce a symptom.

When one or more of the spinal bones misalign, the disc sandwiched between the vertebrae shifts or displaces, if you will. This causes inflammation in the disc, because the disc's tissue is being hurt. It also causes the misaligned bones joint surfaces to get inflamed, because the joint surfaces are being hurt. And lastly, the misaligned bone can pinch a nerve root, and then it gets inflamed. All of these bad things caused by a misaligned spinal vertebra, can cause pain. There have been people that come to my office, contorted sideways, because they bent over, or shoveled snow, or lifted their child, etc, and misaligned their back. The low back bone and disc shifted or displaced and caused their low back muscles to spasm. This contorts them sideways and causes a whole lot of pain! You may have seen this before, or even experienced it. What I'm trying to relate is that a misaligned low back spinal bone causes a musculoskeletal condition that requires chiropractic intervention.

Can you see your medical doctor? sure. Can you go to physical therapy? Certainly. But, in my 24 + years experience, a Doctor of Chiropractic is the best avenue of approach for low back pain. Why? Because the spine is their specialty of care, and the spine is usually involved with low back pain. A Doctor of Chiropractic is extensively educated in treating musculoskeletal conditions. You wouldn't go to a Chiropractor to get a recommendation on what medication to take for a cold or flu, or infection, right? So, why go to a medical doctor for a musculoskeletal condition, like low back pain? And the Doctor of Chiropractic can refer you for further diagnostic testing if you need that too. In essence, utilizing the appropriate specialty of care is a must if you want the best results for your condition. So, if you have ongoing low back problems, or know of someone that does, give them hope. Recommend that they go see a Doctor of Chiropractic. They will be ever thankful to you.