Chiropractic: Physicians Plus

80 Sumner Avenue · Springfield, MA 01108 · Phone: (413) 732-4800 · Fax: (413) 739-4239

CONDITIONS AND CONCERNS

Low Back Pain

Low back pain results in millions of dollars of lost work and untold suffering every day. Improper sitting or lifting, over-exertion, trauma, or inherited spinal abnormalities can be the cause

There are many sources of responsible for the cause of low back pain - .improper posture, bad knees, heel pain.

Many of the pain-sensing nerves of the spine are in the facet joints, the two interlocking "fingers" at the back of each spinal bone. The normally smooth surfaces on which these joints glide, can become rough, irritated, and inflamed.

Another cause of lower back pain can be a bulging disc putting pressure on the spinal cord or a nearby nerve root. The result is often numbness, tingling, or pain down the leg. Cutting away the bulging disc tissue can permanently alter its ability to separate and cushion the adjacent bones. This rarely addresses the underlying structural cause(s) of the problem.

Some of the cases termed "lower back pain" are in reality piriformis syndrome. In piriformis syndrome, the piriformis muscle gets tight (due to overstretching, trauma, prolonged bad posture, etc.) and compresses the sciatic nerve, producing numbness and pain going down the thigh and calf.

Low back pain can also stem from bad/poor shoes (i.e. old sneakers or heels), muscular imbalances (weak and or tight from side to side, front to back).

In the past, treatment has involved bed rest, pain medications, muscle relaxers, physical therapy, and even surgery. Surgical treatment often involves removing these facet joints, exposing the spinal cord! Chiropractic care is safer and often more effective than surgery.

The chiropractic approach is to help restore a more normal motion and position of affected spinal bones by specific chiropractic adjustments. The simplicity and success of this approach has been documented in numerous research projects and has helped many patients avoid risky surgery.

Guidelines published by the Federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) concluded that spinal manipulation was one of only three treatments for acute low back pain for which there was at least moderate research-based evidence of effectiveness. In addition, patients seeking care for back pain from chiropractic physicians tend to be more satisfied than patients treated by medical doctors.

Epidemiologic Data Shows LBP Is More Chronic than Previously Believed

Did you know that 12 months after initial consultation for LBP the majority of patients have not recovered?
Even though patients have stopped seeking care, this does not mean they are asymptomatic or fully functional.
It is better to advise patients that LBP tends to recur, rather than build up expectations that it can be "fixed" or cured. Reassurance about the safety of reactivation and warnings about the dangers of deconditioning are recommended.

Does back pain go away on its own?

Until recently, researchers believed that back pain would heal on its own. We have learned, however, that this is not true. A recent study showed that when back pain is not treated, it may go away temporarily, but will most likely return. The study demonstrated that in more than 33% of the people who experience low-back pain, the pain lasts for more than 30 days. Only 9% of the people who had low-back pain for more than 30 days were pain free 5 years later. [More]

Source: Croft PR, Macfarlane GJ, Papageorgiou AC, Thomas E, Silman AJ. Outcome of low back pain in general practice: a prospective study. BMJ 1998;316:1356-1359.