Staff Writer
Here’s something you already know: Low-back pain is very common…and if you are experiencing pain or decreased range of motion, you are not alone! Here’s something you should know: chiropractic care is very effective in treating low-back pain. Chiropractors believe in optimizing health through food nutrition, constructive exercise, stress management, and focus on the importance of good posture and joint mobility.
Why is Low-back Pain so Common?
In simple terms, the spinal column is a complex system composed of bones (vertebra), ligaments, discs (providing a cushion between the bones), nerves, joints, and muscles. The function of the spinal column is to provide the support that allows people to stand upright and allow bending and swiveling motions by the body.
That’s a lot of physical stress on a complex system. Most causes of low-back pain are due to injury or disease to any of these structures of the spinal column. Low-back pain can be sharp or dull, long-lasting, and sudden.
The Pain of Low-back Problems
Most Americans will experience back pain at some point in their lifetime. Millions of workdays are lost every year due to low-back pain. Statistics indicate low back-pain or diminished flexibility consistently accounts for the type of disability that people live with the longest.
Everyone’s low-back pain is different. People may experience low back pain following a specific event or trauma, such as playing a sport, a car accident, poor posture, and increasingly, as the cumulative result sitting too long or having poor posture.
Often, many people don’t recall anything specific to cause their low back pain – and feeling pain is typically the last symptom to show there is dysfunction in the low back. Spinal dysfunctions that could cause low-back pain include spinal misalignments, age-related degeneration, nerve compression, overuse (sprain/strain), and inflammation.
Good News: Self-care Strategies You Can Use
Here are some helpful tips to prevent low-back pain:
How, and Why, Chiropractors Can Help
Chiropractors specialize in finding the cause of musculoskeletal conditions such as neck and back pain. A Doctor of Chiropractor will assess the spine to find areas where there is restricted motion. If there an alignment dysfunction, one treatment a chiropractor may perform is a gentle, specific thrusting technique called an adjustment. The chiropractic adjustment restores motion to the spine, which reduces inflammation and improves range of motion.
Following chiropractic care, patients typically notice a reduction in low-back pain symptoms. During your visit, a chiropractor may advise you on correct posture, icing instructions, workplace ergonomics, and recommend stretches or other exercises to perform at home.
CUKC Chiropractic Health Center
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC), founded in 1922, is a private, nonprofit, chiropractic and health science-focused university in Overland Park, Kansas. The on-campus CUKC Chiropractic Health Center is open to the public and treats patients from Kansas City’s 15-county metro area. Our goal is to provide care and solutions for a better, more productive life for our patients.
