So! Did you hear about the Egyptian Pharaoh that had low back pain? He ended up having to call a Cairo-practor! Don’t you just love Dad jokes? I doubly enjoy them because I love that humor, but also because as a dad, I can get away with telling those kinds of jokes. It like it’s expected of me.
With that opening, you likely have guessed that the topic theme for my office for the month of January is low back pain (LBP). LBP is a leading cause of work limitations in the United States. A Georgetown University survey that was published in January of 2021 reported that 4 out of 5 people will have low back pain at some point in their life. In my practice, LBP is the number one reason for people to seek my professional services.
Contrary to what most people think, most LBP cases are not the result of a disc or arthritis. The leading cause of LBP is muscular imbalance, and that imbalance most times is found first in the hip or buttock region. Muscle imbalances like these can be the result of flat feet, poor posture, poor general muscle tone, improper lifting technics, or even things like bowel irregularity.
We all know that the best treatments for any disease or condition begins with the elimination of the cause. I have found that by eliminating the cause of muscle imbalances not only relieves the pain quickly, but also retards recurrences of the symptoms. You are likely going to hear me repeat this next statement a multitude of times this year. When treating conditions like low back pain, the pain itself is not the yardstick for recovery. Remember, pain is the last symptom to arrive and the first symptom to go away. The proper measuring stick for healing and progress in musculoskeletal conditions is return of functions that were lost due to the problem.
This means that treatment must continue for a period after the pain disappears. The newly repaired tissue from our treatment that does not transmit pain signals is weak. That weak tissue needs to be exercised and strengthened to allow the movement that the patient wants to have so they can do the activities they want to do and enjoy. It is absolutely necessary to strengthen those muscles and tissues so that re-injury or aggravations of the existing injury to not occur. You may not particularly like doing the prescribed exercises or may even feel you can quit doing those exercises because you are no longer in pain. Please don’t make that mistake.
Most of the current research and published medical literature indicate that a 6-week treatment period is necessary for a total recovery of even the mildest LBP cases. We all hope for speedy recoveries, and we all are excited to see them. I promise you that your health is my concern, and I will be judging the success of my care plan for your LBP and other injuries based on your ability to do the things that you enjoy most in life without causing any increase of symptoms from your low back problem.
If you suffer from low back pain, don’t live with that pain! Almost universally, the research points to chiropractic care as the most effective and cost-efficient treatment for musculoskeletal conditions. If you have low back pain, give me a call @724-285-9093 or click on the contact tab here on the website and schedule an appointment.
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