Studies show that as many as two out of three adults will suffer from chronic or recurring back pain at some point in their lives, making it second only to the common cold as the most prevalent reason for visiting a doctor .
In more than 85 percent of the cases, traditional medical doctors fail to identify the source of the pain, leaving them to speculate amongst a wide variety of reasons from muscle, joint, and disc damage to stress and psychological trauma.
According to many health care practitioners, our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, centered on long work days sitting in front of the computer and long car commutes home, worsens our backs. Poor posture is also particularly hard on the back because it distorts the natural curve of the spine, forcing the low back muscles to do the work intended for the abdominals1. As a result, back surgery rates are soaring nationwide, with US surgeons performing 40 percent more back operations than their counterparts in any other industrialized country1.
However, Dan Neary, ND, chair of the physical medicine department at Bastyr University says, “for chronic low back pain, surgery is seldom a good option.” He goes on to assert that while, “it may give them some relief, it often comes at the cost of reduced mobility, which may lead to further complications down the road.”
Learn how a StayBetter chiropractor can help reduce the effects of BACK PAIN in your life. Click here to schedule a complimentary appointment with a doctor in your neighborhood.
The good new for those who do not want to go under the knife or fill themselves with chemical analgesics is that chiropractic care offers a proven, holistic alternative to surgery. In fact, clinical studies have indicated chiropractic treatment to be superior to medical surgeries and anti-inflammatory drugsi for the treatment of many types of back pain.
According to the British Medical Journal, which conducted a study of 741 patients with acute and chronic low back pain, the results show a “strong and clear advantage for patients with chiropractic careii.” The study concluded the advantage of chiropractic care over conventional medical treatment was “not a trivial amount…but rather a highly significant one.”
Chiropractors restore lower back mobility by adjusting the vertebrae to prompt movement in stiff joints, allowing the nervous system to return to normal function. The advantage of this approach lies in correcting the actual source of pain, rather than simply isolating and treating where the patient feels pain. Chiropractic treatment is based on the concept that restricted motion of the spine leads to pain and reduced functioniii. Spinal adjustment is one form of therapy chiropractors effectively use to treat and restore spinal mobility, improving function and eliminating lower back pain as a result.
Learn how a StayBetter chiropractor can help reduce the effects of BACK PAIN in your life. Click here to schedule a complimentary appointment with a doctor in your neighborhood.
iMarshall, Lisa. “Back to Basics.” Alternative Medicine. Dec. 2006.
iiThe Lancet, et al. Chiropractors and Low Back Pain. July 1990. Pg. 220
iiiOrlin and Didriksen. “Results of Chiropractic Treatment.” Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 4 (2007). Pg 30.