Lower Back Pain
One of the most common reasons patients come to our practice is lower back pain. But just because many people deal with lower back pain doesn’t mean it’s normal. There are plenty of people who don’t have it but they’re also proactive in preventing it from happening.
In regards to lower back pain, there are many areas that may impact or cause the symptoms, so finding the origin of the pain, rather than focusing on it, is key. it may originate from the lumbar spine, SI joints, pelvis, sacrum, hip joints, paraspinal muscles, glutes, QL—any of these can play a factor. Our doctors are skilled at identifying the cause(s) in order to effectively treat the problem.
Surface Level Pain
Lower back pain is a surface level symptom. The longer the root cause goes undetected and uncorrected, the more likely you’ll start to feel more repercussions. Nerve impingement, tingling and numbness, muscle spasms, and radiating pain in the legs are just some of the deeper issues.
Many people don’t realize that these same nerves control the digestive system, bowel and bladder function, and reproductive organs. Impingement may cause functional issues. This might manifest as digestive problems, fertility issues for women, pregnancy difficulties, and more.
If our doctors see arthritis of the lumbar spine or degenerative disc disease, we take it seriously, because we often see a correlation of prostate issues in men with deterioration in their lower lumbar spine. We want to address this quickly to ensure we’re being proactive.
Changing Demographics
In the past, we saw more men with lower back pain, because they tend to carry their excess weight in the abdomen, while women carry theirs in their hips and butt areas. At Freedom Chiropractic, we are starting to see more women come in with pain. We believe sitting has become the new smoking—it’s a silent killer. So many people are sitting at a desk all day long. The back, spine, body, and neurology all thrive off motion, and if we’re just sitting for hours, it’s going to cause a lot of pain and other symptoms, whether male or female.
What to Expect
As with any condition, our doctors will perform a comprehensive exam with X-rays. Once complete, they will analyze the X-rays and measure where the spine and alignment should be, compared to where it is. That measurement helps determine how and where the adjustment is done, and the technique used.
Degrees make a difference anywhere in the spine, but even more so in the pelvis where rotation occurs. We like to use the analogy of a foundation of a home. If the foundation shifts or rotates, bad things will happen to other parts of the home. We don’t know where or when, but we will start to see cracks in walls and ceilings, and shifts in window frames and door jambs; it’s just a domino reaction.
The pelvis is the foundation for the spine and weight-bearing, whether sitting or standing. It’s a very important area to assess and address, so everything else moves in the right direction from there.
If there are misalignments in the pelvis or lumbar spine, a sympathetic fight or flight response will occur, which is great when done in small bursts, but when it’s stuck on full throttle, it creates chronic pain and inflammation. The longer it’s left uncorrected, the more pressure and impingement happens on the nerves. All the symptoms are from this stress response, but once we get deeper to the root cause, we can reduce and eliminate the stress response.
With treatment symptoms start to go away. In order to keep you pain-free, we provide specific rehab exercises to retrain the muscles. The muscles in the lower back are big, bulky, and stubborn, and they don’t want to change right away. Unless we continue to try to retrain them, they will keep pulling back, and put the patient in the same situation over and over.
Take Care of Your Back
Low back pain doesn’t have to rule your life. Our team has the knowledge to relieve your pain and restore your function, so you can live the life you want. Contact us to learn more.
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