For many people back pain is little more than discomfort, whereas for some others it can leave them immobile. Low back pain, being an incredibly debilitating condition, needs to be treated at the earliest possible time. It is well-recognized that the treatment of low back pain is most effective when sought within the first month of pain.
Low back pain is experienced by up to 80% of people at some point of their lives and, although many believe that it is caused mainly by injury through accident, the most common reason is due to stress on the joints of the back through normal, everyday activities (or inactivities). These can be: sitting awkwardly or for too long in one position; poor general posture; lifting incorrectly, bending wrong and even sleeping.
The low back area supports most of our body weight and, as a result, relies heavily on the strength of the vertebrae in our spine. If these vertebrae are out of position and fixated (or subluxated) for even a small amount of time, it can lead to anything from mild discomfort to severe disablement. If the spine is not in correct alignment, areas of weakness can occur, resulting in irritation of nerves in the spine, or in a bulging/herniated disc, which places pressure on the spinal cord.
Pain is simply a warning sign from the brain that something within the structure of the skeleton (or the brain) is not functioning as it should. Through chiropractic care the appropriate adjustment is carefully applied, depending on the location and type of pain, to correct the improper function. It is worth noting that even though pain can subside within a few days doesn’t mean that the problem is resolved. In fact pain is often the last thing to come and the first thing to go.
Many people try to simply mask the symptoms (pain) but that does nothing to correct the real problem that caused the pain in the first place. Treating the symptoms should only ever be a very short-term measure to diminish the pain and to make you more comfortable until you can get the true cause addressed.
Until you are able to get checked by a chiropractor, here are a few things you can do and questions to ask yourself in order to help prevent lower back pain.
- Avoid sudden bending, twisting or sharp movement.
- Be conscious of your posture during the day. Are you hunched over in your chair or sitting up straight?
- Can you improve you workstation? (This includes things like a supportive chair, a well-placed computer monitor and a workstation layout that does not require a lot of twisting and turning).
- How firm is the mattress on your bed?
- Do you get regular exercise? Even a low-impact exercise such as walking for a half hour each day can be good.
- Don’t retreat to your bed – laying in bed all day is the least likely treatment to get rid of your lower back pain.
- Don’t wear shoes with high heels.
- Do wear comfortable flat or low-heeled shoes.
Remember that a visit to your Tulsa Chiropractor often provides more immediate relief. Chiropractic care is most helpful in the first month after of the onset of back pain but we also treat and help those that have had years of back pain.
Schluter Chiropractic works on the principle of reducing interference so the nervous system and body can work better. Providing that any symptom or condition (including pain) is occurring as a result of nerve interference from vertebral subluxation, there is a very good chance that it will improve with chiropractic care.