Lower Back Pain

Most common causes:

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• Muscle Strain - Muscles are made of small fibres, putting too much stress on a muscle can cause these fibres to tear to varying degrees. Muscle strains must be well cared for and treated properly to allow for complete recovery. 

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• Ligament Sprain - Ligaments are strong bits of soft tissue that connect bone to bone. Whilst these are stronger than muscles they can still be stretched and strained. 

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• Disc Herniation - In between each of your vertebrae are shock-absorbing discs, which can herniate or wear down, this is often wrongly called a slipped disc. These discs are also prone to wearing away as we get older. 

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• Facet Joint Inflammation - Facet joints also known as Zygapophyseal joints connect your vertebrae to one another, these mediate the motion of your spine. Facet joints can become worn down through improper posture, improper lifting techniques, the daily grind and old age. 

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• Osteoarthritis - Normal wear and tear of joint's that occurs as we age, this is natural but can be very painful and the symptoms can be treated. 

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• Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction - The sacrum is wedged into your pelvis, this weight-bearing joint is known as your Sacroiliac Joint. If the sacroiliac joint is not functioning as it should then this can cause people a lot of pain and discomfort. This is often confused with Disc Herniation due to the similarity in their symptoms. 

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• Poor Posture - Having poor posture puts numerous structures in your body under increased stress causing long term pain over time. 

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 Statistics:

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• Back pain is extremely prevalent in our society. 

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• According to the office of national statistics, an estimated 30.8 million working days are lost in the UK each year due to musculoskeletal problems with back pain being the most common. 

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• At one time or another, back pain will affect 80% of us.

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• Back pain is very rarely a serious condition however it can be very debilitating. 

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• Back pain is a complex disorder as there are many structures in the back which can contribute to the pain such as the bones, discs, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. 

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• Whilst most causes of back pain are benign, back pain may be considered a medical emergency if:

  • It is extremely painful

  • You have altered sensation of your inner thighs/genitalia/buttocks also known as the "Saddle region"

  • You have bowel/bladder changes such as incontinence or inability to pass urine that started around the same time as the back pain. 

 

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How could Chiropractic help?

 

Our chiropractor's first job is to figure out what is causing your lower back pain. Once we do this, we can work with you in formulating a plan of management. Chiropractors are probably best known for treating lower back pain through the use of spinal manipulation therapy, you may know this as "cracking your back". Whilst this is a very safe and painless technique that our chiropractors are trained extensively in, it is just one of the many treatment methods we have at our disposal.

We also use massage, TENS, Ultrasound Therapy, IASTM and trigger point therapy.

 

Lower back pain is commonly a result of the musculature within your core not being as strong as it could be, therefore your plan of management will usually contain a functional rehabilitation programme that will consist of some simple exercises to help strengthen your core.

 

A treatment plan typically consists of 3 phases.

1. Get you out of pain.

2. Once you're out of pain we aim to get you back to your normal lifestyle through functional rehabilitation.

3. Optimise and maintain the lower back to prevent re-occurrence of your back pain.

 

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