Low back pain treatment and relief is with chiropractic care here in Columbus, Ohio.
The muscles in your back are very strong and are designed for endurance. These muscles can easily be strained by lifting an object improperly, or by sitting for an extended period of time.
Tender Muscles Cause Low Back Pain
If your back is injured, you may have noticed one side is more tender than the other. Usually the over-worked muscle is tender to the touch and is tight and swollen to prevent further damage from happening…this is a natural defense mechanism of the body.
The mechanical loads on the back can cause poor muscle memory that can last for days to weeks while you suffer in pain.
Low back pain can prevent you from walking upright, sitting comfortably, or getting up from lying down. It can feel achy, stiff, dull, stabbing, numb, burning, or sharp electrical pain as well.
There are many causes of low back pain, yet the most common reason is due to misaligned vertebra and joint restrictions. Sometimes this is caused by trauma from a car accident or work injury and other times basic daily activities, over time, create too much stress in the back.
When your back feels tight, it is most likely not moving properly. The joints may be mal-positioned, leading to joint inflammation, tense musculature, and pain.
Low Back Pain Treatment With Chiropractic Care
Step 1: Rest.
The first step in the treatment of a lumbar muscle strain is to rest the back. Rest doesn’t have to mean being totally sedative, but rather, simply not putting any additional strain on your back.
This rest will allow the inflammation to subside and control the symptoms of muscle spasm. Bed rest should begin soon after injury if it is serious enough, but should not continue beyond about 48 hours.
While it is important to rest the injured muscles, it is just as important to not allow the muscle to become weak and stiff. Once the acute inflammation has subsided, some simple stretches and exercises should begin.
Step 2: Chiropractic Care:
Having your spine evaluated by a Doctor of Chiropractic is one of the best things you can do for yourself after suffering with low back pain, whether from an injury or otherwise.
Chiropractors are experts in finding misaligned vertebrae with their hands, a procedure known as static palpation. They may also use x-rays to help identify misaligned vertebrae as well.
Spinal Adjustment
Once a misaligned bone is identified as the source of pain, chiropractors may recommend a spinal adjustment. Chiropractors are experts at spinal adjustments to help remove joint restrictions and muscle tightness.
A spinal adjustment is when the doctor of chiropractic applies a safe amount of pressure to the bone and “unlocks” it from its improper position. The muscle tightness that was once present will then be reduced. This allows the bone to align itself naturally, improving joint motion and reducing pain in the process.
Chiropractors can provide these spinal adjustments to your lower back safely either with our hands or by using impulse adjusting tools.
Quick Relief
Relief is often felt immediately after a chiropractic adjustment. This is because after a chiropractic low back adjustment, your tight muscles will relax, joint motion will be restored, and most joint inflammation is greatly reduced within a few hours.
However, there are severe cases that may take several treatments. This is because the muscles connected to misaligned vertebrae can often times get used to their new/injured positions (muscle memory) and have a tendency to pull the bone back out of place.
But, after several adjustments the spine begins to “hold” their original position better and the bone settles into its proper alignment reducing stress, swelling and discomfort.
Step 3: Exercises:
Proper conditioning is important to both avoid this type of problem and recover from this injury. By stretching and strengthening the back muscles, you will help control the inflammation and better condition the lumbar back muscles.
The exercises should not be painful. Without some simple exercises, the low back muscles can become “deconditioned,” or weak. When the low back muscles are de-conditioned, it is very difficult to fully recover from low back injuries.
We are able to recommend the proper types of exercises to you. We can also provide postural advice to reduce joint restriction occurrence while offering at-home exercises to perform to maintain an appropriate muscle memory.
As you perform daily activities and implement any postural tips you are already re-educating and re-training your low back postural muscles to maintain your proper spinal alignment.
Step 4: Further Evaluation
If your symptoms continue to persist despite treatment, it may be necessary to further evaluate your spine by having an MRI, CT, and/or Bone Scan performed. Laboratory work may also be needed to make an accurate diagnosis. We can refer you our for any of these tests if needed.
Regular Chiropractic Care
Receiving regular chiropractic care for most low back pain conditions provides excellent relief for both short-term pain and long-term structural stability.
We can provide excellent low back pain treatment with chiropractic care. So if you have low back pain and are looking for a good chiropractor, call 614-428-9310 to schedule your appointment in our Columbus, Ohio office.