Back Pain & Chiropractic Care

According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), 31 million Americans experience low back pain at any given time. A few facts about low back pain:

Back pain is the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work days. In a large survey, more than a quarter of adults reported experiencing low back pain during the past 3 months.

Back pain can happen a number of ways: from car accidents, auto injuries, slips/falls, sport injuries, common every day activities just bending over to pick something up, injury at work, sitting too long, pregnancy, old back injuries that never healed can return again, and the list goes on.

Although back pain is an awful sensation, the good thing about it is the fact that it is your body’s way of letting you know that something is not right. It is a signal, warning sign, telling you to address it. So what are you going to do to address your back pain?

Back Pain Options including Chiropractic

You can ignore it, live with it, cry about it, or better yet, do something about it.

Oftentimes people self medicate to address back pain, but that is only masking the problem. What is worse is going to a medical doctor and being prescribed opioids because they are pain killers and terribly addicting; ruining lives and can lead to premature death. Opioids do nothing to address the cause of your back pain.

Other ways that are used to address back/low back pain is acupuncture or physical therapy. While these are great resources, they can take time to treat the symptoms and it is unknown if they address the cause.

That is where Chiropractic care is different. Chiropractic addresses the cause of your back pain. Chiropractic science states that where there is misalignment of the spine or any of the individual bones in the spine, this can put pinching and pressure on the nerves that come out from the spine and a pinch nerve can then cause pain.

Subluxation & Chiropractic

The shifting or misaligned bones in the spine are called Subluxation. Chiropractors are the only trained doctors to detect and correct Subluxations. Physical therapists on the other hand are concerned about functionality and range of motion to support the spine or a person’s performance. But Chiropractic care is so much more than just addressing your back pain.

When your spine is adjusted by a chiropractor, this takes pressure off of the nerve / s that are causing your pain. This in turn allows your body to start to heal. The body is amazing because it was designed to heal. If you cut your finger, the cut bleeds, but eventually over time, your body heals that cut. Not a band-aid or antibiotic ointment. These tools are to keep the cut clean which is important, but it is your body, in fact your nervous system that heals that cut.

What is the nervous system and what does that have to do with your back pain?

The nervous system is your brain, spinal cord, and all of the nerves that come out from it. When your nervous system is working at its optimal potential, then your body can function and heal at a higher level. You can put in all of the good nutrition in the world, expensive medications, or supplements, but if your body is not working right on the inside, you are only spinning your wheels. If you stop taking the pain meds to address your back pain, the problem is still there. However, if you are getting your spine adjusted for subluxation, this takes pressure off of your nervous system and specific nerve being pinched causing the back pain and this allows your body to heal naturally without putting in toxic chemicals in your body.

Address the Cause of Your Back Pain Sooner Than Later

If you do not correct the underlying cause of your back pain, it can get worse leading to missed time from work or social time with loved ones. If however, your pain goes away from medication, understand that this is not a guaranteed fix as back pain can come back if the problem is not fixed. Only 9-10% of the nerves feel pain, so you can have subluxation and not know it. In other words, this is why back pain often times returns because if your spine is not fixed, it just continues to cause nerve pain which = back pain.

Another reason to take care of the underlying problem sooner than later is because subluxation can lead to more problems such as herniated disc, degeneration of the spine, fusion of the spine, and other health related problems. The nerves that come from the spine that are pinched causing back pain, feed to parts of your body such as your digestion, reproductive system, adrenal gland, lungs, heart, etc. The reason why a pinched nerve aka Subluxation is the cause of most back pain and other health related issues, or difficulty with sleep is because chiropractic care addresses the nervous system. Your nervous system controls everything in your body, including your immune system.

Therefore, when back pain is gone, you have to remember that you can still have subluxation in your spine especially if you are living with other symptoms. Address the cause and not only feel better, but get your body functioning and healing at a higher level.