About a third of the millions of people who make
appointments with chiropractors every year seek relief from back pain. Back
pain can be acute, meaning it happens suddenly, lasts 6 weeks or less and often
clears up on its own; or back pain can be chronic, meaning it comes on
gradually and lasts 3 months or more. Chronic back pain can be particularly
debilitating and can limit movement and mobility.
Traditional treatments for back pain include medication,
physical therapy, surgery or steroid injections. While these treatments may
provide symptomatic relief, they do not address the root cause of the pain.
They can also be painful and expensive to carry out.
The foundation of chiropractic care for chronic back pain is
the understanding that misaligned vertebrae can cause the pain. This
misalignment can result in many additional problems, such as headaches, body
pains and impaired joint mobility. Chiropractic treatment aims to restore
alignment to the vertebrae, returning natural health to the spine and all the
body parts the spinal nerves serve.
Chiropractors believe in the body’s natural ability to heal
itself. Chiropractic care avoids medications and their possible side effects,
and it also avoids surgery. As an example of the differences in treatment,
surgeons may remove a herniated disk from the spine in order to relieve
pressure on the nerves, while chiropractors use non-invasive spinal
manipulation to achieve the same result.
Your chiropractor will treat your chronic pain based on the
vertebral misalignments found in your body. A quick, sudden force is applied to
the appropriate vertebrae in order to restore the motion of the joint. Another
common treatment for chronic pain is known as the flexion-distraction technique.
This treatment involves a special table that stretches the spine. It is
particularly effective in treating injuries to the discs that have been the
cause of long-term back pain.
Chronic back pain will probably also require additional
treatments such as massage, exercise, and perhaps physical therapy. A good
chiropractor will work with other health professionals as needed to ensure you
get the best possible treatment for your pain. He or she will also look at the
entire picture of your life, including your diet, health habits, medical
history, family history, and other conditions you may have. This approach is
holistic and has a better chance of eliminating the root cause of your chronic
back pain than traditional treatments that only work on the symptoms.
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