Back pain has afflicted man since the beginning of time and especially since he started walking around on two legs. Though four legged creatures are sometimes afflicted with back pain, it is far more common for humans. I have adjusted a few dogs in my day and could tell you some cool stories; they get dramatic results. It is estimated that at least half of us will experience disabling back pain at some point in our lives and it is estimated that back pain is the second most common reason for doctor visits behind upper respiratory infections.
Back pain can be caused by a host of issues such as strains and strains,infection, arthritis, diseases of the spine and stress, but the most common cause is mechanical. What that means is that the moving parts no longer move the way they were designed to move and this results in muscle spasm, stiffness, inflammation and, over time, premature degeneration of the spinal joints and disks. If all that were not bad enough, just as the skull is protecting your delicate nerve tissue, the spine is protecting the main communication pathway from the brain to the rest of the body, the spinal cord. The spinal cord and the nerves that branch off it are very intimately connected to the bony canal that houses and protects them and when the spine is out of alignment or not working well those nerve tissues become irritated and do not allow proper communication. The job of the chiropractor is to identify those areas that do not move well or are out of alignment and then work to improve function and alignment. In doing so we take stress off the nervous system and allow people to stay healthier.
The reason chiropractic care is so effective in helping people with back pain is that, as I said earlier, most back pain is mechanical in nature. What we do affects the mechanics of the spine and that is why we can help. Medical doctors generally treat back pain with muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory drugs and pain killers. Here is the question: If the problem is mostly mechanical, how are drugs expected to improve mechanics? Answer: They don’t. And that is why we have more success treating back pain than anyone else out there. If, in addition to getting adjusted, you systematically work to maintain core strength and flexibility of the back, hips and legs you stand a good chance of avoiding back pain and staying much healthier.
Tim Fargo D.C.
