So… my back hurts. Now what?

Pretty much all of us will experience back pain now and again. As a matter of fact, many of us will endure crippling, stabbing back pain, even pain or numbness into the butt or legs.

Another fact is that most people pay very little attention to the physical health of their backs or necks until things are really starting to hurt. That’s why so many people have their first visit to a “back doctor” be a visit to the orthopedic surgeon or neurosurgeon. Of all the “back doctors” to see first, those should not be on your list.

pain descriptive words

I’ll be honest, chiropractic is GREAT for treating simple low back pain. Good ol’ regular biomechanical low back pain responds GREAT to chiropractic adjustments. Countless research studies in proper, well-respected medical journals have confirmed this. Some of that research is here, but that’s not the point of this article.

You have a few things you can try first. Like everyone else in the world, your first attempt at fixing something should probably be a relatively inexpensive option that has the smallest likelihood possible for something bad to happen.

You can try any one of these things:

Chiropractor Visits
Course of Physical Therapy Sessions
Acupuncture
Massage Therapy
Ice or Heat 		Stretching or Exercise
Painkillers
NSAID’s
Steroid Injections
Nerve Block
Spinal Surgery

Looking at this list, we can tell right off the bat that some of these are easier, safer and less expensive than others.

Stretching or exercising is free. It’s not necessarily easy, especially if you are in pain, but it’s one way to go. Massage and acupuncture are both safe and natural, so they are good places to start if you want to avoid drugs. Physical Therapy, depending on your therapist, is probably going to be mostly or somewhat natural, and besides needing to have you come in three times a week so they can watch you exercise, it’s a great way to recondition your out-of-shape back.

Painkillers and NSAID’s are, well, drugs. So if you are trying to get the back pain monkey off your back without drugs, they aren’t going to be on the list. For what it’s worth, painkillers will probably do something to get rid of the pain. Of course, when they wear off, you will be back in pain. NSAID’s may be able to deal with the injury in your back by reducing the inflammation, and this may get the pain to disappear for a while even after the medicine has left your system. The problem here is that NSAID’s aren’t safe for everyone, and even if they work for you and are safe for you, whatever caused the inflammation (and therefore the pain) in the first place is still probably causing inflammation just like before, and it’s only time before the pain returns (probably worse).

Nerve blocks and surgery are very poor first-lines-of-defense if your back pain is non-emergency and non-traumatic. In other words, if your back hurts because your posture sucks and you never exercise, then a nerve block isn’t the right way to go unless you are into injuring yourself on purpose. And surgery obviously shouldn’t be on your Christmas list, either.

Since a chiropractor is the author of this article, you can bet I saved chiropractic for last because I was saving the best for last. And it is. Chiropractic is great for so much more than back and neck pain, but our bread and butter is helping people get rid of back or neck pain. People (who have never been adjusted before) are almost always surprised at how effective chiropractic is. The reason chiropractic is so effective is because you and me have bodies that are designed to function normally, and a chiropractic adjustment takes a screwy spine and, for lack of a better description, straightens that spine out. Then the spine works better…and then it doesn’t hurt any more. Rather than cover the pain with medicine we adjust the body so that it will work normally, and since normal function is supposed to be pain-free, the client typically feels better. It’s not magic, it’s actually basic physics, a touch of the basics of mechanics, and some rudimentary biology. The body is supposed to work normally, and without pain, so sometimes it just needs to be pushed back in the right direction.

So, if you want to be pushed in that direction, give us a call. Thanks for reading. -Rob

Headaches and Migraines

Many people suffer from headaches and migraines on a regular basis. Depending on the type of headache you have, your pain may be relieved with chiropractic adjustments. It would be great to go to a wellness center like QC Kinetix (Kansas City) clinic to have medical specialties to people who are in need of pain relief and treatment. You can also check over here for some pain relief options.

There is a term, “cervicogenic headache”. This term describes a headache that is caused by a problem in the neck (also called the cervical spine). Hypertonic muscles (overly right muscles) in the back of the neck, where the neck meets the skull, can send pain all around the eyes. The pain may even feel like it is behind the eyeball. Other muscles, such as the muscles that go from behind your ear and around the side of your neck to your sternum, can also refer pain into and around the head causing headache as well as neck pain.

Many headaches are caused by stress, quite often from the stress that accumulates in the shoulder muscles and back of the neck. After prolonged tension in those areas a headache can develop. An adjustment to the bones of the upper back and neck often causes immediate relaxation of the involved muscles and the headache will begin to dissipate shortly after.

You can find some great details on research regarding headache and chiropractic by heading over to this link here.

Migraines are a different breed. They often come on with specific “triggers” such as red wine, chocolate, certain smells or foods, bright light or loud noises. Treating chronic migraines involves discovering the triggers and working to avoid this things as well as making sure the spine is clear of imbalances that may be an underlying exacerbating factor, or even may be the trigger. Research into the relationship between migraines and spinal disorder is in an early stage and no firm conclusions can yet be drawn, but as more information comes out we will update our research page to reflect this new information and incorporate the new research findings into our treatment protocols.

A Simple Explanation of How a Chiropractic Adjustment Relaxes Your Muscles

As a chiropractor, sometimes I forget to just use simple terms to describe how chiropractic works. This short article here will outline some of the scientific fundamentals regarding how chiropractic is able to help so much despite seeming so simple. Different chiropractors focus on and talk about different aspects of how chiropractic can help…this short post will just try to summarize how the mechanics of a chiropractic adjustment create positive change in the muscles. While my real goal is to put it out there in simple terms, I use plenty of scientific language upfront to allow anyone who reads this article the ability to head over to Google and search for more information about the terms I use. An educated person tends to make better healthcare decisions. At the end of this article, before the reference links, you can find the simple part in bold.

The Muscles

The muscles which cross a joint are typically innervated by the same nerve which innervates the actual joint (as well as the skin covering the distal muscle attachment [insertion]). That is known as Hilton’s Law, and this is an important fact to consider. A chiropractic adjustment creates a barrage of sensory input from nerve cells found in muscles called muscle spindles and golgi tendon organs, and from nerves in the joint capsule. Large inputs of proprioceptive sensation can lead to immediate decrease in pain sensation.

When you get a chiropractic adjustment from chiropractors, such as experienced ones from Nationwide Chiropractors, is taking a spinal joint beyond it’s normal range of motion. The brief expansion or stretching of the joint is accompanied by a similar fast stretch of the muscular tendons that cross that joint. The tendon stretching immediately leads to a reflex response that causes those muscles to relax and become less tense. This is most effective with the deep back and neck muscles, and a chiropractic adjustment is effective whether it is specific to one vertebrae or to a vertebral region.

Summarized in laymen’s terms: chiropractic adjustments reduce tension in spinal muscles.

Additional information about the topic discussed can be found at the US National Institute of Health PubMed site,such as the Neurophysiological effects of spinal manipulation and Immediate Effects of Region-Specific and Non-Region-Specific Spinal Manipulative Therapy in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Numbness in Fingers

so, you’re getting some numbness or tingling in your hands and fingers? This article will briefly explain some of the reasons you may be experiencing this discomfort, which can feel like a mild pain, pins and needles, numbness, tingling, or a heavy feeling in your hands or arms.

Vascular Cause – the blood supply to the arms passes through the shoulder area. An important location to consider outside of what people typically consider is the area underneath and behind the clavicle bone. It is this area where most of the anatomy going into the arms originates. Problems there will likely cause arm problems.  With vascular causes, look for swelling or discoloration.

Some of the main causes of vascular insufficiency leading to arm, finger or hand numbness or tingling include:

-traumatic – when an injury or accident causes damage to the arteries feeding the arm or hand.

-compressive – when a blood vessel is compressed causing decreased blood, such as when sleeping with your arm under your head and waking up with your arm “asleep”. Other times, muscle spasm can squeeze a blood vessel, or postural distortions can stretch (traction) a vessel and decrease the diameter enough to decrease blood flow.

-tumors/malformations – tumors or deformed blood vessels can block blood flow.

Vascular problems may occur more commonly in individuals with certain diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, or kidney failure, or in dialysis patients. Occupational exposure (vibrating tools, cold) can be a factor, and smoking also can aggravate and cause vascular disease. – Source

Neurological Cause – damage or interference to the nervous system can cause symptoms like pins & needles, numbness or tingling. Quite often the area to look to is the same as with vascular issues – the area behind and underneath the clavicle bone. It is here that many nerves exit the spine to innervate the upper extremities. Problems here,  or right at the spine, often show up as pain or numbness in the hands or arms.

Some of the main causes of neurological numbness or tingling include:

-trauma / disc injury – if the vertebral discs of the cervical spine (the part of the spine that comprises the neck bones) are injured or inflamed, this can irritate delicate nerve roots and cause pain or numbness in different parts of the arms. Other traumas, such as bending the head and neck sideways too much (especially by impact with something) can tear the nerves or completely sever them, and cause paralysis or neurological deficits in the arms.

-tumors – tumors on or near nerves can pinch the nerves.

-vertebral misalignments – commonly called “subluxations”, these spinal misalignments put either direct or indirect pressuree on the nerves that feed the arms, and cause pain or numbness into the arms or fingers.

-muscle spasm – hypertonic, spastic muscles can put pressure on nerves.

 

If you have symptoms like there, consult your doctor. If you live in Frederick, give us a call. Take care.

Low Back Pain from Running

Many runners present to our office saying that running has been causing them lower back pain recently. This is not an unusual thing to occur. Due to the anatomy of the lower back, running may greatly increase the burden the bones and joints of the lumbar spine and hip have to carry.

Many people already know that when running the amount of weight, or force, transmitted up the legs from the feet each time the foot hits the ground is a multiple of the person’s actual body weight. If a 200 lb. individual is running, each time one foot hits the ground because of the force of gravity and momentum that single foot will absorb more than 200 lb’s of force, and all that force must travel up the leg (the kinetic chain) and into the lower back and spine as it is dissipated. Running, therefore, puts a lot of force into the feet, ankles, knees, hips, and lower back. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it may cause pain or health problems if their are imbalances in the body that cause this force to be asymmetrically transmitted, or if the back or legs or already weakened by injury and are unable to dissipate the forces adequately.

Sometimes this pain in the lower back is actually pain from the sacroiliac joints. These joints can be felt as two bony bumps at the bottom of your lower back, and at the top of your butt area. Many people complain of “low pack pain” and then point to these joints. Hip misalignments or imbalances in how force is transmitted upwards can cause pain at these joints. Because they are MAJOR weight-bearing joints and they are the main joints connecting the legs to the rest of the body, they are susceptible to misalignments knows as subluxations, and they often refer pain into the lower back or the buttocks.

Other times the pain is actually located in the low back, either in the muscles or in the joints. Muscular pain will likely be to the side of the spine bones, either on one side or both, and may be relieved with some heat or stretching. The question that must be answered is: what is causing the muscle problem?

  • Is it a lack of proper hydration causing cramping and spasm?
  • Is it a strain from lack of stretching beforehand?
  • Is it a strain due to bony misalignments at the points where the muscle originates or attaches?
  • Is it a muscle spasm caused by nerve irritation?
To properly resolve the muscle problem, the cause must be identified.
Many times, the issue is with the joints of the lower back, such as the discs or the facet joints. If this is a disc issue, you are likely experiencing increased pain with things like:
  • Bending over
  • Bending over with trunk rotation
  • Sitting, and getting up from being seated
  • Each time the foot hits the ground as you run
If it is a suspected disc problem, it is recommended that you consult a chiropractor (like me, hint hint!) and see if you can resolve the disc pain without drugs or surgery. If chiropractic is not sufficient, then consult an orthopedist and see if you are a candidate for surgery. BUT do not go straight to the orthopedist because you should begin with less-invasive options that are reversible, and you should NOT begin with highly-invasive and irreversible options.
The facet joints are often hard to pinpoint as the cause of the lower back pain. They may cause increased discomfort with:
  • Standing tall, or leaning backwards
  • Running downhill
  • Standing tall and rotating your trunk
Facet joints issues are typically simple to treat with chiropractic adjustments. The joints must be mobilized to ensure that there is no pressure on the adjacent spinal nerves. Postural advice or exercises would likely be beneficial.
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If you think you may be experiencing some of these problems, call out office today at (301) 378-0334 and you can come in for a free, no-pressure consultation. The doctor will take a look at your issue, ask some questions, do some good listening, and let you know if we can help. Until then, run safely and drink plenty of water to make sure it isn’t an issue of dehydration causing muscle strain.