Low Back Pain Treatment in Lakeville
It’s no surprise that low back pain is one of the most common reasons why people see the chiropractor. This condition can result from a strain to the muscles or tendons in the back. Other causes include arthritis, structural problems, and disk injuries.
Here’s a look at some of the most common reasons for low back pain at Family Chiropractic and Wellness:
Prolonged Sitting
Our Providers see a lot of “keyboard warriors,” people who spend many hours a day working at home. They don’t move much, so they’re sitting for eight or more hours in a chair that may or may not be ergonomically friendly. When we take X-rays, we see that the spine looks fine structurally (e.g. there are no fractures, arthritis, or disc degeneration).
However, we see that functionally things aren’t moving. What happens is that the muscles have to compensate, and we see muscles on X-rays, which we should not, as muscles don’t show up on X-rays. However, if they’re overused, overworked or just fatigued, they tend to get a little bit more “angry.”
What happens is the muscles tighten up, and then we can see the psoas muscle, which means things aren’t moving the way they should. That is one of the easier things to correct. However, it takes some time, like wearing braces on teeth, to straighten them. It doesn’t happen overnight, but we can help restore the function of how the lumbar spine moves.
The second, most common thing that we see is that somebody has pain in their low back because their pelvis isn’t moving. The hip joints are where your leg and pelvis come together on the side of your body. Your pelvis is what your spine is sitting on top of. If that is misaligned, and not moving properly, then the stress either goes to our glutes, or into our lower back again because we’re sitting often.
By balancing the pelvis, we restore normative function in the pelvis lumbar relationship. The muscles will restore their normal function, and that will help resolve some of that pain.
Sometimes we’ll see that a patient has arthritis or degeneration. At this point, chiropractic care and most things outside of surgery can’t repair that. That is usually due to prolonged years, if not decades, of a sedentary life at a computer, or not moving enough. If the lumbar spine isn’t moving, it starts to eat away at the discs. And then that then causes degenerative arthritis, and our body lays down more bone to try to stabilize that area.
When we talk about low back, the discs that we have in our spine are in between each of our vertebral segments, and those are the “marshmallows,” or the shock absorbers of the spine. They’re called avascular, meaning they don’t have a blood supply.
They are similar to those green and yellow pads that we use to clean dishes. If somebody took that sponge and put it under the water and got it wet, then that sponge can be twisted. It’s more malleable because it’s full of water.
However, if you put that same sponge on your counter and come back and try to do the same thing, the following morning, it’s going to break in half. That’s because it’s dry, dehydrated and brittle. That’s what happens to our discs when they become dry; they start to shrink and erode, and then our body has to compensate for that.
Just as we do with every condition, Our Provider will sit down and discuss all your concerns and try to identify triggers. They’ll ask how long your pain has been present. Here’s what you can also expect: physical range of motion, orthopedic testing, and muscle evaluation to see if the muscles are firing properly, or if they’re inhibited. If necessary, they will also take X-rays to see how your low back is functioning and if you have arthritis in the spine.
Based on their findings, Our Provider will create a care plan to get you out of pain and back to your life.
Book an Appointment
We want to help you get relief from your low back pain. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.
