Do you suffer from lower back pain? If so, first you need an accurate diagnosis.
Images, whether x-ray and/or MRI, are not enough.
A good back doctor needs to take a thorough history and understand your whole story.
Then, they need to do a physical exam, and touch your pain, and find the motions that aggravate your pain. It is sad how few practitioners take the time and/or know how to do this.
There is no such thing as “Non-Specific Lower Back Pain.” You need to know what is wrong with you to get well. (P.S. Degeneration of your discs is usually a normal part of aging, like gray hair and wrinkles. It is rarely the main cause of your back pain).
Once we know what is wrong, we can begin. We will start by figuring out what movements and activities are continuing to keep your back flared up. So many people get bad advice and get shown exercises that can further irritate the back. Yoga and Pilates irritate many lower backs, with too much forward bending. Many common stretches may give 20 minutes of relief, and then further irritate the lower back. For most lower backs, the initial goal is not to increase your motion, but to increase your stability. Start with addition by subtraction; stop doing the motions and exercises that are hurting you.
The next step is to find out what movements and exercises are going to help you. It’s up to you to listen and do the work. Once back pain is ramped up, the nerves, the muscles, and the brain, are all sensitized and creating ongoing pain. It can take time to gradually reduce the pain. That does not mean treatment goes on for months without results. You should start to feel a positive change quickly.
Core strength is a poor term. Don’t do sit-ups. The back does not like to be bent, over and over. We will train your core to control or stop motion. Again, your job, with our guidance.
Yes, I’m a chiropractor, but I have not mentioned adjustments or spinal mobilization in the first 400 words of this article. Yes, I am going to mobilize your spine. But for 90% of lower back pain, that is not where I start. First, find out what is wrong. Second, identify the mistaken motions you are making daily. Third, show you what you can do. Finally, there are helpful adjustments and soft tissue work I can do to speed up and assist you. Usually, my adjustments are more likely to be above and below the lower back, in the stiff areas of your hips and mid-back.
If you are still suffering, call me. I’m still working so I can help the back pain sufferers who have not gotten the help they need.
