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Back Pain What causes back
pain? Back pain/problems
are the most common physical complaints among adults in the United States.
It affects almost everyone at some time, causing untold misery, stress,
restricted movement, and discomfort. It also causes millions of people
to take valuable time off work, resulting in decreased production and
costing companies enormous sums in sick pay. Chiropractic adjustment/manipulation
has been recognized as highly effective in treating back pain, and the
Industrial Medical Council issued guidelines which recommended manipulation
for the relief of acute low back pain. Doctors of Chiropractic
are trained to diagnose and treat the specific cause of your back pain,
and once you have been treated, they may also advise you on an appropriate
rehabilitation and maintenance exercise plan to prevent a recurrence.
The bones of your
spine protect the spinal cord; if they lose their normal motion or position,
this can irritate the nerve roots that branch off the spinal cord to the
organs and tissues of your body. Sciatica is a general term describing
pain in the sciatic region, which extends from the base of the spine down
the back and side of the upper leg. Unless there is a specific injury
to this region, pain here is 'referred' from other areas. The irritation
of the nerve in one area can sometimes lead to pain, known as 'referred'
pain, in other parts of the body. The nerves that supply the sciatic region
come from the lower back. In order for the spine to be flexible, the vertebrae are joined together by soft tissue structures known as discs. Each disc is made up of two parts - a central soft core and outer rings of tough cartilage. The discs allow movement and also help to absorb shock. A slipped disc is the rather inaccurate term used to describe the condition, often in the lower back, where trauma or 'wear and tear' have caused damage to the outer rings of cartilage, so that the core is squeezed outwards. This can eventually result in a bulge which can press on the spinal cord, the nerve root or the nerve itself. It can cause excruciating pain, either in the back or referred elsewhere - for example in the lower leg or foot. Chiropractic treatment can mobilize the spine to reduce any pressure around the spinal cord or nerves. Trigger points sometimes referred to as “fibrositis” are very common and related to back pain. They occur in the neck or shoulders (often caused by bad posture or stress) or sometimes in the sacro-iliac region at the base of the spine. Painful knots form within muscles which have gone into spasm - a reaction which the body triggers in order to tighten muscles round a problem area to prevent further injury. This is why the condition so often occurs in patients who have had a back pain problem for some time, and it can make the treatment of the original complaint more difficult by putting unequal pressures on joints when they have been adjusted. Your chiropractor will therefore use manipulation to adjust the relevant joint, but also deep massage and soft tissue work to relieve the condition. Since the knots of muscle are often very tender, the soft tissue treatment may be painful at first. |