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Back Pain: Safe, Effective Conservative Treatment
At some point, nearly everyone gets hit with back pain, especially lower-back pain. Such pain can feel sharp. Or it can be a dull ache with tingling, burning, or numbness. Back pain
is the second-most common reason for a trip to a doctor and one of the major contributors to disability worldwide.
Many non-chiropractic health care professionals recognize the
value of chiropractic back pain treatment. In a Journal of the
American Medical Association article published in 2013,1 the
authors suggested chiropractic for low-back pain. Surgery was
mentioned as an option only if all else fails.
In another highly respected medical journal, manual
manipulation was shown to beat medication for short-term
relief of chronic back pain.
With prescription pain drug abuse now classified as an
epidemic3 in the United States and the number of spinal
fusions soaring 500 percent over the last decade,4 the
essential services provided by doctors of chiropractic (DCs)
represent a primary care approach for the prevention,
diagnosis and conservative management of back pain and
spinal disorders that can often enable patients to reduce or
avoid the need for these riskier treatments.
But Doesn’t Back Pain Simply Disappear by Itself?
Researchers used to believe that back pain would heal on its
own. Minor back injuries do often go away on their own within a
day or two. But although back pain may disappear temporarily,
it is relatively likely to return. It has been demonstrated that
more than 33 percent of people who experience low-back pain
find that it lasts longer than 30 days.
If your back pain is not resolving quickly, it may be the result
of mechanical problems that a doctor of chiropractic can
address. Many chiropractic patients with long-lasting or
recurring back pain feel improvement shortly after starting
chiropractic treatment.
Other Causes of Back Pain
Back pain, however, does not necessarily result from straining the
back with too much weekend basketball or golf or gardening.
It can also be caused by arthritis, obesity, psychological stress,
diseases of internal organs that may include kidney stones,
kidney infections, blood clots, or bone loss.
Back pain can also last longer than expected when a patient,
fearing further injury, cuts back on physical activity.
Back Pain Prevention
1) Maintaining a healthy diet allows the spine to receive the
nutrients it requires for good health. There’s nothing wrong
with eating snack or junk foods occasionally. Problems arise,
however, when we turn to such foods frequently. The calorie
load from snack foods tends to be high and the nutrient value
is either low or nonexistent.
2) If you still smoke, look into quitting. Smoking impairs blood
flow. When blood flow is impaired, that keeps oxygen and
nutrients from reaching the tissues of the spine.
3) The typical American lifestyle is far too sedentary. Our backs
benefit when we take a break from sitting to walk around or
exercise. Try taking 100 brisk steps every hour on the hour.
4) Good ergonomics at the workstation helps the back. Many
people hunch over their keyboards or reach for the mouse in a
way that stresses the shoulder, neck and/or back. The mouse
should always sit only a couple of inches from the keyboard.
5) Remember to warm up before indulging in physical activities
like gardening or exercising.
6) When lifting something, bend the knees and keep the object
close to the body. Above all, do not twist the body while
lifting.
7) When moving a heavy object, don’t pull. Push, instead.
8) Let comfort be your guide when choosing the shoes you wear
all day. Low-heeled shoes are best for posture and the back.
9) When shopping for a mattress, look for one that’s of medium
firmness to give your spine the proper support.
10) A program of regular exercise will help to prepare the back
and your muscles to respond in healthy, pain-free ways.
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