Back Pain in General

If you haven’t experienced back pain in the past, count yourself lucky. NIH studies indicate that about 79% of the population will have back pain in some form during their lifetime. In adolescence about 30% will have lower back pain. Of those, 88% will have lower back pain in later years, so early back pain is a predictor of the chronic condition.

Many back problems are acute, where the pain comes on suddenly but then goes away within a short time. When the problem is more serious, it will linger for days or even weeks. Chronic back pain stays around for months at a time before the cycle is broken. Usually resulting in joint damage and arthritic changes.

Components

Let’s look at what is happening in the body. Damage is done with each episode of minor back pain. As injuries reoccur, more and more damage is done and the damage at a particular joint will add up. That means with each incident, the next episode will be worse. The body’s natural response is to form scar tissue around previous injuries. This scar tissue is less adaptable than the original tissue, leaving the back more susceptible to injury.

Eventually, there is enough scar tissue and joint damage of the spine that arthritic changes occur with its’ uneven cartilage and spur formation. These are all natural processes in the adaptation to changing conditions within the body. The final outcome, later in life, is to have such arthritis that the motion are severely restricted and pain lingers permanently.

There is good news for back pain sufferers. The joint derangement can be reversed and normal motion restored by getting a few adjustments. This process is drug free, relatively painless, involves no surgical intervention, and has the added bonus of restoring nervous system function. Adjustments are safe for people of all ages. There are extensive clinical trials that demonstrate effectiveness as superior to many of the other interventions that are more invasive.

Other treatments for back pain

Other treatments are available. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories help to reduce swelling in the area, but can damage to kidneys and liver over the long term. Muscle relaxers and pain killers help you through an episode, but they don’t restore normal motion to a deranged joint. Surgical intervention is a consideration but many times the condition is not serious enough (yet) to warrant such an intervention.

Why wait until permanent changes have occurred. Adjustments at Arbor Vitae Chiropractic are simple and very cost effective in the treatment. It’s worth an evaluation in the early stages of the problem, don’t you think?

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