Low Back pain is one of the most common causes of pain in Australia with around 70-90% of the population experiencing back pain at least once in their lifetime(1). It is common in people of all ages, shapes and sizes and is one of the main reasons people come to see us in practice.
What Defines Low Back Pain?
To understand what low back pain is we must first understand what the low back includes. The low back is the area of the spine between the last rib and the top of the pelvis. It is made up of 5 large vertebrae and the discs between the. There are a lot of muscles and ligaments which support the low back and enable it to move while still being stable. Spinal nerves exit between each vertebrae and supply your legs and internal organs of pelvis and abdomen. Your 5th vertebrae connects to your sacrum and pelvis which allows for greater stability, support and movement.
Low back pain can show itself as many different symptom pictures. It can range from mild to severe in intensity and from aching to stabbing to burning in type of pain. It can be in the middle of the low back, on one side or radiating on both sides. Basically the definition of low back pain is very broad
>> Suffering with low back pain? Try a Chiropractor for low back pain and ease your pain. Contact us.
What Causes Low Back Pain?
There are many causes of low back pain which is why it’s important to get a professional assessment and opinion on what is causing your low back pain.
The most common causes of back pain include joint dysfunction, muscle or ligament strain, postural dysfunction, disc injury, degenerative changes and osteoarthritis.
Obvious injury or trauma such as a fall, car accident or direct blow will be obvious causes of low back pain. However, in practice this is only a small portion of what we see. Most people who come in with low back pain have been experiencing it on and off for years where it has slowly gotten worse or the pain started with a small incident such as picking up a pencil or bending over. This is the sort of pain Chiropractic can really help with as this sort of pain is usually caused by ongoing joint dysfunction in the spine.
Chiropractic And Low Back Pain
Chiropractic is a great treatment choice to help with low back pain. There are several studies and lots of personal experiences that corroborate this. One study completed in 2018 showed that chiropractic manipulation has moderate quality evidence for the treatment and management of low back pain compared to mobilisations(2). Mobilisations are what is typically performed by a Physiotherapist whereas Chiropractors perform manipulations. Another study which was a randomized controlled trial showed that Chiropractic was better in reducing the number of days patients experienced low back pain rather than a symptom based approach(3).
Chiropractic aims to help manage your low back pain by:
- Increasing the mobility of spinal joints to allow for proper motion
- Reducing tension in tight muscles
- Increasing strength in the surrounding muscles of the low back
>> Looking for a Chiropractor for low back pain in Basywater. Contact us.
As Chiropractors there are different options we use to help with your low back pain.
1. Spinal Adjustments
The bread and butter of Chiropractic care. Spinal adjustment for low back pain aim to improve motion in the joints, improve function and reduce pain. During your examination the Chiropractic will assess and identify specific areas of joint restriction and then apply specific adjustments to correct these. At Innerbloom Chiropractic we don’t just check the area of concern but instead take a whole body approach as the body is all interconnected which usually means your low back pain is either affecting somewhere else or being affected by somewhere else.
2. Soft Tissue Therapy
If required your Chiropractor will work on and release some tight muscles before or after your adjustment. This can help to allow the adjustment to hold better and also take away some pain and tension.
3. Home advice – Stretches and exercises
Your Chiropractor may recommend some simple stretches or exercises to perform at home which will assist your body in not only holding your adjustment but preventing the pain from returning. The type of exercise recommended will be specific to what is happening with your body and have the aim of restoring proper spinal motion and preventing future flare ups.
4. Postural advice
Posture has a huge effect on our spine and therefore our low back. It causes our weight bearing to shift, shortens muscles, tighten up other muscles as well as other effects on things such as our lungs and stomach. It can also be a big contributing factor to peoples low back pain. As part of your care for low back pain we may give you some easy and simple postural advice or exercises.
>> To book a Chiropractor for Low back pain who you can trust. Contact us.
(1) Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2018. Back problems snapshot. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions/back-problems/contents/what-are-back-problems.
(2) Coulter ID, Crawford C, Hurwitz EL, et al. Manipulation and mobilization for treating chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Spine J. 2018;18(5):866–879. d
(3) Eklund A, Jensen I, Lohela-Karlsson M, et al. The Nordic Maintenance Care program: Effectiveness of chiropractic maintenance care versus symptom-guided treatment for recurrent and persistent low back pain-A pragmatic randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. 2018;13(9):e0
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