Pain of any kind is a sign something’s wrong. Some people silence the pain with drugs. But that would be like removing the battery to silence a smoke detector!
Six Choices
If you suffer from low back pain, you want relief. Besides the painful symptoms, it’s distracting and interferes with your life. It disrupts your sleep, changes your personality, reduces your patience and is a constant reminder that something isn’t right. Here are the choices:
1. Ignore It
Actually, this is the most common approach. Hoping it’ll go away or resolve on its own is often the first strategy. The fact that you’re reading this suggests that you’ve already tried that. Unfortunately, when spinal problems are ignored or neglected, the underlying problem usually worsens.
Pain pills or muscle relaxers can numb the pain, but ignore the underlying cause of your problem.
2. Medication
All too frequently the next stage is some type of pain medication. Besides the possibility of addiction, drugs merely numb the pain, ignoring the underlying problem. The pain is gone as long as you take the drugs. Until it doesn’t work any longer. Then the dose is increased. Like merely making the minimum payment on your credit cards, you never really solve the problem.
3. Therapy
Some people are sent for physical therapy. And while it has its place, especially in the rehabilitation phase of an injury, stressing malfunctioning spinal joints to “harden” them can be destructive. (If the front end of your car is out of alignment, driving more, or faster, won’t help!)
4. Bed Rest
About half of all back surgeries fail, while producing irreversible damage and prompting more surgery!
Related to ignoring the problem or postponing action is modifying your daily activities. This can include asking for lighter duty at work to leaving things undone around the house. Research shows that bed rest and reduced activity can actually slow the healing process. Moving, which is often painful with impaired spinal biomechanics, is essential for proper healing.
5. Surgery
When drugs no longer work, drastic surgery actually starts to sound good. This may involve permanently cutting away spinal structures or fusing joints. Besides the considerable risks, success is so rare (only about 50%) the common result even has a name: Failed Back Surgery Syndrome.
6. Chiropractic
While it shouldn't be the last choice, it often is. Specific chiropractic adjustments can help the spine “right itself.” By restoring the way your spine works, nerve involvement causing your pain can be eased and your body can heal. And while chiropractic care has broader use than the relief of back pain, we’ve helped many with this all too common condition.
Exercising misaligned spinal joints just can’t restore proper function and reduce the irritation to nearby nerves.
What’s Going On?
The nerve-rich facet joints on the back side of each spinal bone are a common cause of back pain. The pain can be a sign these interlocking “fingers” aren’t moving right.
The discs between spinal bones can be involved, too. Stress, either physical, emotional or chemical, can cause the disc to weaken, allowing the soft, pulpy material in the middle to bulge, putting pressure on nearby nerves.
Sciatic Pain is Common
Back pain may start in lower back extend down one or both legs. It typically worsens with periods of sitting or standing. This is called sciatica.
This is usually a sign that the discs between the spinal bones of the lower back are encroaching upon the nerves. Disc bulging crowds nearby nerves, causing irritation and inflammation. Coughing, sneezing or other kinds of movement can be painful.
Take This Simple 'Contracted Leg Length' Test
Improving joint motion in the lower back with a program of safe and simple chiropractic adjustments has given relief to millions. One of the ways to see if you’re a good candidate for chiropractic care is to take this simple at home test.
Many foot, knee and lower back problems that we help every day create the appearance of a short leg.
Step 1
Have the test subject wear a pair of hard soled shoes and lie across a bed, face down, with arms relaxed at each side. (The head must remain straight down throughout the test.)
Step 2
Apply equal pressure with both thumbs to the arches of each shoe. Are both legs of equal length when the bottoms of the shoes are parallel?
Left leg short Right leg short Equal length
Step 3
Bend both legs to a 90° angle so the bottoms of the shoes are parallel with the floor. Does one leg appear shorter?
Left leg short Right leg short Equal length
Evaluation
A difference of greater than 1/4” in any of the positions is clinically significant. Uneven leg length is a common sign of spinal problems that often respond to chiropractic care. Find out if we can help. Call Fairway Chiropractic Centre now to arrange a more thorough examination!
Still Skeptical?
Taking a shower at home is more dangerous than benefiting from today’s chiropractic care!
If you’re still not sure, or have tried chiropractic in the past without the results you wanted, we understand. To help you reach an informed decision, we provide this information as a public service. Here are some other action steps to consider:
- Email Us. We appreciate the opportunity to field questions, clear up concerns and put prospective patients at ease before coming to our office.
- Ring Us. You don’t need a referral from a medical doctor or anyone else to begin chiropractic care. If you want to explore an issue privately, ask to speak with Dr. Steven Murdoch.
- No-Obligation Consultation. Arrange a private face-to-face consultation with Dr. Steven Murdoch. These 10-15 minute visits are helpful in getting your questions answered and specific concerns addressed.
“It all starts with you,” says Dr. Steven Murdoch “If we think we can help, we’ll tell you. And if we don’t think we can help, we’ll tell you that too and refer you to someone we think can.”
