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What Causes Low Back Pain?

Low back pain is the number one reason people worldwide visit their doctor and miss work. If you’ve dealt with it in the past (or maybe even right now), you know back pain can change your life in an instant. Not being able to enjoy hobbies, diﬃculty in your ability to work, and a sneaking suspicion that you may never get “back to normal” are all normal when you’re experiencing a bout of back pain. So why do so many people struggle with back pain?

Habits, Stress, and Injuries

In many cases, your daily habits are a big contributor to your back pain. Repetitive stress, nagging injuries, a diet ﬁlled with inﬂammatory foods, and a lack of daily exercise and movement can contribute to an increased likelihood of back pain. Here are the three most common causes of back pain.

Sprain/Strain Injury: Repetitive stress can create inﬂammation and lead to sprain/strain injuries.
Spinal Disc Issues: Disc bulges and herniations can cause back pain that travels by pressing on your spinal nerves.
Arthritis: As you get older, your body will go through degenerative changes, but if your spinal joints get inﬂamed, you may notice pain associated with arthritis.

For over 80% of us, back pain will be something we deal with at some point in our lives. And while it may feel like you’ll never get back to your old self, chances are you will. An overwhelming majority of people recover from back pain naturally or with a little additional help from a chiropractor. Even if you recover by taking it easy for a few days, it’s still a smart decision to visit a chiropractor to discover the speciﬁc steps you can take to reduce your chances of experiencing back pain in the future.

How to Move Your Way to Back Pain Relief

Movement is one of the best ways to recover from back pain. Science has shown us that medications and rest are a few of the least eﬀective ways to ﬁnd relief. Your body is designed to move, and often it’s a lack of daily movement (or chronic postural changes) that causes back pain to begin in the ﬁrst place.

Discovering the right movements and exercises can help you recover more quickly and prevent future back pain episodes.

Movement is Critical

Your body has three types of movements: Segmental, regional, and whole body. Segmental motion occurs between the individual joints of your body. Regional movement occurs in a body region such as your neck, mid-back, or low back. And whole-body movement is typically what we think of as exercise. All three types are essential and work together to keep your spine and musculoskeletal system healthy and functioning at its best.

Segmental Movement: Moving the individual joints of your body is what chiropractors are speciﬁcally trained to do. Proper segmental movement can help reduce pain, improve your range of motion, and inﬂuence your central nervous system.
Regional Movement: Dynamic stretching with regional range of motion exercises can reduce low back stiﬀness.
Whole Body Exercise: Daily whole-body exercise can help your brain and body feel better as well as improve your rest and recovery at night.

The foundation of all movement is segmental. If your joints aren’t moving correctly, then you’ll never be able to optimize your regional or whole-body movement. Moving may be the last thing you want to do if you’re struggling with back pain. But top research organizations have proven that proper movement and exercise are two of the best ways to ﬁnd relief from back pain. If you’ve dealt with back pain, call us today. Our team will be happy to provide you with a complete movement assessment and personalized movement and exercise plan to help you get (and stay) well for years to come.

Is My Leg Pain Coming from My Back?

It may seem weird to think that leg, calf, or foot pain can often be traced back to a low back problem. But if you’ve had pain in your leg or foot, a pinched nerve in your low back may be creating your issue. Pain that travels along a spinal nerve is called radicular pain, and it’s one of the most common types of pain that occurs as a result of spinal nerve compression.

How Spinal Nerves Affect Leg Pain

Your spinal nerves can be pinched or compressed by bone, disc, or ligament. Facet hypertrophy or bone spurs sometimes grow large enough to pinch your spinal nerves. Disc herniations or bulges can invade the space of your nerves and cause narrowing of the canals. And ligament hypertrophy can happen with age and injuries and ultimately cause your nerves to get squeezed. Whether your pain is coming from bone, disc, or ligament, it’s important to know that all have a great chance of recovery without the need for drugs or surgery.

Bone Spurs – bone spurs or osteophytes form due to joint damage associated with osteoarthritis.
Disc Herniations – disc bulges, herniations, or tears can cause inﬂammation and pressure on your spinal nerves.
Ligament Hypertrophy – ligamentum ﬂavum hypertrophy or overgrowth happens due to biomechanical stress and aging.

Leg pain that begins in your low back can start with an injury or for what seems like no reason at all. Either way, your body is telling you to Pay Attention Inside Now! Every day our practice helps people regain their quality of life from compressed nerves. Reducing inﬂammation, establishing proper motion to your joints, and taking proactive steps to reduce the likelihood of the pain coming back are all part of our care plans. If you’ve felt leg pain, give us a call today.

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Why Medications Aren't Recommended for Low Back Pain

A staggering 100,000 people each year are hospitalized due to NSAIDs. Just because these medications can be purchased over the counter doesn’t mean that they don’t have risks and dangers. Leading healthcare organizations have taken note and now recommend that movement-based care options, such as chiropractic, are explored for most low back issues before any medications. The added beneﬁt is that most people who explore chiropractic care take far fewer medications than those who don’t. Why? Because it works.

An Alternative to Medications

Over the past twenty years, we’ve seen the eﬀects of low back pain change our healthcare landscape forever. The numbers of people with low back pain have remained the same even as we’ve lost millions to the opioid epidemic and hundreds of thousands more due to complications from NSAIDs. The good news is that major healthcare organizations have updated their guidelines, and the care that chiropractors deliver ranks at the top of nearly every list.

Over 100,000 people are hospitalized each year from NSAID related complications.
Each day, over 100 people pass away due to Opioid overdoses.
Leading healthcare organizations now recommend the care delivered by chiropractors as the best ﬁrst-line treatment for low back pain.

Medications are designed to mask the pain, not ﬁx the problem. Receiving a complete and comprehensive evaluation is the ﬁrst step towards ﬁnding relief. After discovering the cause of your pain, we can work together to craft a care plan that will help you reach your health goals. If you know someone struggling with low back pain, call us today.

Sources:

Mayo Clinic. Back Pain Symptoms and Causes. 2023.

Harvard Health Publishing. 5 Steps to a Pain-Free Back. 2016. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Radiculopathy. 2023.

Noninvasive Treatments for Low Back Pain. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2017.

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Whiplash: The Symptoms You Need to Know

Whiplash is an injury that occurs when your body is suddenly forced backward and forward. It’s the most common injury that happens during an automobile accident, and it’s one of the leading causes of chronic neck and back pain. While a little fender bender may not seem like a big deal, new research has shown that even small accidents can result in signiﬁcant injuries.

The violent forces that occur during an auto accident can cause damage to your spinal discs, ligaments, tendons, and bones-even at “low” speeds. Most of these injuries happen because your head is whipped backward and forward very quickly. This rapid back and forth motion frequently results in ligament tearing and spinal disc injuries. Symptoms such as neck pain, back pain, headaches, confusion, and even depression indicate that you’ve suﬀered a whiplash injury. Because of a spike in adrenaline at the time of the accident, you may not immediately notice any immediate pain. For many people, these symptoms may take hours or even a few days to develop after the initial shock of the car accident wears oﬀ.

Whiplash is an acceleration-deceleration injury that can aﬀect your ligaments, spinal discs, muscles, and facet joints.
There is often a period of little to no pain before the symptoms become worse.
Symptoms of whiplash include neck or back pain, headache, radiating pain, confusion, and diﬃculty sleeping.

It’s smart to get a complete evaluation after an auto accident to minimize your risk of long-term pain. Getting the right care at the right time can make a big diﬀerence in your ability to heal quickly and avoid long-term chronic pain. Remember, even small accidents can cause injuries, so if you’ve been involved in an auto accident, be sure to reach out to our oﬃce as soon as possible so we can help you get on the relief road.

How Long Does Whiplash Last?

Symptoms of whiplash include neck pain, back pain, headaches, dizziness, or confusion—none of which sound like a good time. So if you’ve been involved in a car accident, you may be wondering how long these symptoms are going to last. The good news is that with a proper evaluation and early treatment, you have a high likelihood of getting well within a matter of weeks.

Ligament Tearing

One of the most common injuries associated with whiplash is ligament tearing. Ligaments are short, tough bands of connective tissue that hold together the bones in your neck and joints of your body. If these ligaments are torn, it can cause neck pain. The average time it takes a ligament to heal is about six weeks with the proper care and treatment. If you notice symptoms like headaches, dizziness, or memory issues, you may have suﬀered a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). A majority of people with a mild TBI recover within three months.

Whiplash injuries frequently cause tearing of the ligaments that support proper spinal motion and stability.
The acute inﬂammatory phase of injury lasts up to 72 hours, the repair phase takes up to 6 weeks, and the remodeling phase of healing can last up to a year.
A non-healed ligament injury can result in osteoarthritis.

After an accident, the most important step you can take is to receive a full evaluation. Only after a complete evaluation will you be able to know what type of injuries you’ve sustained, and, most importantly, how to get well. You would be surprised at how many people shrug oﬀ a “small” accident and push their symptoms aside. While that may save you a little time today, it’s likely to result in much more pain down the road.

Shoulder Pain After a Car Accident: What does it mean?

You may be surprised to learn that shoulder injuries are some of the most common challenges after a car accident, in addition to whiplash. If you are the driver and have your hands on the wheels at the time of the crash, the sudden force created by the accident can lead to a torn rotator cuﬀ. Your shoulder is one of the most complex parts of your body and is made up of a collection of bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles.

The Rotator Cuff

The rotator cuﬀ is a ball and socket joint made up of three bones: your arm bone (the humerus), your shoulder blade (the scapula), and your collarbone (the clavicle). The supporting muscles, ligaments, and tendons are designed to help you lift and rotate your arm. Your shoulder is one of the most dynamic and unstable joints in your body. It’s hard to ignore a torn rotator cuﬀ because…it hurts! Signs of a tear include shoulder pain when lifting your arm, weakness, pain when lying down, or a limited range of motion.

Shoulder impingement (the pinching or rubbing together of tissues inside a joint) has been estimated to occur in up to 10% of people involved in car accidents.
The shoulder is one of the most complex, dynamic, and unstable joints in the body, with a complex network of bones, ligaments, and muscles.
The risk of neck or shoulder pain seven years after a collision was three times higher for patients with initial whiplash injuries than those without.

Ignoring a shoulder injury after a car accident is not a good idea. Your shoulder is designed to move, and if you try to “let it heal” by not moving it, then you’re putting yourself at risk for a frozen shoulder. Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is when your shoulder develops adhesions due to lack of movement. This can result in severe pain that takes months to heal. If you have shoulder pain after an accident, time is of the essence! Our team is here and can provide a complete evaluation and treatment plan for you to get moving safely and heal quickly.

Finding Relief After a Car Accident without Drugs or Surgery

Screech. Bam. Uh-oh. You’ve been involved in a car accident. Your day has been thrown upside down, and a million thoughts are racing through your head. If you don’t feel immediate pain, you may be tempted to think you don’t have a problem. But waiting too long to seek care has been shown to increase the chances that you’ll need more aggressive interventions. Taking the right action steps as quickly as possible after a car accident can make a huge diﬀerence in your overall health and healing. With the stress of an accident, calling the insurance company, getting a car repaired, etc., it’s not uncommon for people to make the mistake of putting their health and well-being last on their to-do list.

Don't Wait to Get Care

The problem is that the longer you wait to get evaluated and receive care, the higher your likelihood becomes of needing more aggressive medical care. Without a proper diagnosis and treatment, your body may begin to “heal” with more scar tissue than necessary. You may also try to live “around” your injuries, which can cause additional stress and compensation on other parts of your body and lead to additional injuries. Research has shown that active care involving range of motion, mobilizing exercises, and strengthening can eﬀectively reduce pain. To give yourself the best chance to ﬁnd relief without the need for drugs or surgery, we recommend three simple steps.

The three steps to ﬁnding relief after a car accident :

Get an evaluation: A full evaluation can provide you with an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.
Begin receiving care: After reducing inﬂammation, movement-based techniques are often recommended to help you regain your quality of life.
Stay consistent: Getting well is a process. Stay consistent with your care to heal as quickly as possible.

Next Steps

There’s no way around it- auto accidents aren’t fun. But with the right healthcare team, most people can get back to their full life and activities without the need for drugs or surgery. The key is to follow the three steps of evaluation, care, and consistency. While it seems simple, following the three steps will give you the best chance to get well quickly and stay well for years to come.

Science Sources:

The Association Between a Motor Vehicle Collision and Future Neck Pain. Eur Spine J. 2010. Whiplash. WebMD. 2021.

The Treatment of Neck Pain and Whiplash-Associated Disorders. JMPT. 2016. The Impact of Musculoskeletal Injuries Sustained in Traffic Crashes. BMC. 2018.

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What are Spinal Discs Made Of?

We all know spinal discs are important- but to understand why, the real question is; what are they made of? Your spinal discs are little cushions that sit between the bones or vertebrae in your spine. Each one of your discs is made up of a tough, ﬁbrous outer layer (annulus ﬁbrosis) and a jelly-like inside layer (the nucleus pulposus). The tough outer layer contains and protects the softer inside layer. These small discs have a big job. They enable your spine to move in all directions.

Why it Matters:

The nucleus pulposus (inner layer of the disc) is mostly made up of water. The high water content helps your discs stay supple and moveable. It acts like a small swivel to allow your body to tilt and rotate. As you get older, your discs tend to lose their high water content and can become degenerative. Degenerative discs don’t move as well, are more prone to cause pain, and even contribute to compression on your spinal nerves.

Your spinal column has 24 moveable bones with spinal discs between each pair.
Spinal discs are designed to help you move in all directions.
Movement of your spine can help keep your spinal discs healthy.

Movement is one of the best ways to keep your spinal discs healthy. Since your spinal discs don’t have a very good blood supply, movement is how they bring in nutrients. Moving your spine helps your spinal discs get in nutrients to stay healthy and push out waste contributing to pain and inﬂammation. If your neck or back hurts, give us a call – we’ll help you get your life back from pain.

Types of Spinal Disc Problems

If you’ve had a spinal disc problem, you know how painful it can be. Every movement seems to hurt, and it can feel like you’ll never be back to your old self. But, with the proper care and a little time, you can get your life back. Pain is a signal to “Pay Attention Inside Now.” If you notice neck or back pain, it’s a warning sign from your body. It’s your body’s way of letting you know you’ve pushed past its limits.

Why it Matters:

The most common type of spinal disc problem is called a bulge or herniation. A disc bulge or herniation is when your spinal disc’s inner portion is trying to (or has) pushed through the tough outer layer. When the inside pushes or bulges, it can cause pain in two different ways. If the disc bulges far enough to press on a spinal nerve, you may notice pain that travels down your arms or legs. If the inside of your disc pushes through the outer layer, it could also cause severe inﬂammation resulting in pain.

A herniated disc is when the soft middle of a spinal disc pushes through the tough outer layer.
Age causes the spinal disc to dehydrate, cartilage to stiﬀen, and can result in disc bulges/herniations.
Exercises that “centralize” your spinal disc may be able to prevent future episodes of sciatica.

Spinal disc injuries most commonly occur between 45-65 years of age. If you have spinal pain or pain that travels down your arm or leg, you may be suﬀering from a disc injury. The good news is that your spine is incredibly resilient. Research has proven that movement-based care, such as spinal adjustments and spinal rehab, is incredibly effective at helping you heal from spinal disc injuries. Our practice focuses on using the latest research-based movement treatments to reduce your pain and improve your quality of life.

How to Strengthen Your Spinal Discs

No one wants to deal with back pain. If you’re struggling with pain today or looking to reduce your risk in the future, you may be curious about how you can strengthen your spinal discs. When you think about strengthening your disc, you need to consider how you strengthen your core. Your core is the set of muscles, ligaments, and tendons that support your spinal column and help your spinal discs move.

Why it Matters:

Your core needs to have a balance of strength and ﬂexibility. Strengthening your core allows your body to have the support it needs to move, bend, and twist without causing injuries. Flexibility is also crucial. Being able to move through your entire range of motion helps your spinal discs stay healthy.

Core exercises can help your back maintain a balance of strength and ﬂexibility.
Movement of your spine promotes the delivery of nutrients to the spinal discs.
Spinal adjustments can improve your range of motion and decrease pain.

Maintaining the proper balance of strength and ﬂexibility can help keep your core and spinal column functioning at their highest level. It is much easier to keep your spine moving than to get your spine moving. It’s been said that we don’t get old and stiﬀ; we get stiﬀ and then old. Our practice is here to help you stay active, healthy, and happy. Contact us today to schedule a visit to assess your movement and create a plan of action to keep you pain-free and at the top of your game.

Keeping Your Spinal Discs Healthy

Proactively doing things today to help your spinal discs stay healthy in the future is a smart idea. Ain’t no one got time for back pain! Every day your spinal disc absorbs stress related to gravity, your posture, and your movement patterns (or lack thereof). Over time this stress can cause your discs to degenerate and become painful. If you want to minimize your chances of back pain in the future, here are a few ways you can keep your discs healthy starting today.

Why it Matters:

Movement and exercise are the top ways to keep your spinal discs healthy. Each day try to move your spine through its full range of motion and be cautious about sitting for hours in front of a computer. Using a standing desk can help to engage the small muscles supporting your spine, which is essential for your disc’s health. Another thing to keep in mind is your posture. The combination of inactivity and long periods in an unbalanced posture can wreak havoc on your spinal discs.

Prolonged sitting significantly reduces the disc height of L4-L5.
Changing positions every 15 minutes helps the discs retain their height.
Use a standing desk and change positions frequently to reduce your risk of low back pain.

Keeping your spinal discs healthy is one of the best things you can do to reduce your risk of experiencing neck or back pain. If you spend long hours at the computer, you need to take proactive steps to counteract that stress. Call us today, and we’ll be happy to work with you on a plan to keep your spinal discs healthy for years to come.

Sources:

Intervertebral Disc: Anatomy-Physiology-Pathophysiology-Treatment. Pain Practice. 2008.

Bulging Disk vs. Herniated Disk: What’s the Difference? Mayo Clinic. 2022.

Exercise for Sciatica from a Herniated Disc. Spine-Health. 2021.

Exercise and Physical Therapy for Treatment and Pain Management. Spine-Health. 2006.

Disc Changes Associated with Prolonged Sitting. PMR. 2014.

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