It’s an unfortunate statistic that at some point in our lives, around eight out of ten of us will experience back pain in some guise. This could be anything from a few days pain due to lifting a heavy item incorrectly, to ongoing discomfort due to a spinal problem. Whatever the cause and degree of the pain, you shouldn’t have to live with it at its worst levels, and the general aim of treatment for any kind of back pain is to diagnose correctly, treat appropriately, and dull pain down to manageable levels, to enable the individual to go about their daily lives relatively unaffected.
If this sounds like something you’re familiar with you, are obviously one of the many people living with an ongoing, chronic back pain problem.
The thing is that backs are very complex structures, and are made up of muscles, ligaments, nerves, and discs, which all work together to function correctly. If one particular part of this little system becomes damaged, then it affects the whole area, causing pain and discomfort. Back pain generally occurs because of muscle problems, nerve problems, arthritis, or generally degeneration, due to age.
You wouldn’t walk around all day with a bad stomach ache which has been going on for weeks without going to the doctor to get a proper diagnosis, so it’s important to do exactly the same thing for ongoing back pain, in order to identify the cause and go ahead with necessary treatment. If you carry on without this, or even attempt treatment without a diagnosis, then you risk causing further damage and pain. You might even think a niggle isn’t worth getting checked out, but if it carries on for more than a few days, you must seek advice. Back pain can be a variation of many different forms, and can occur anywhere along the spine; this is not a one size fits all kind of problem.
We tend to think more towards medication and surgery to treat such issues these days, however when it comes to back pain, chiropractic is a very popular and successful treatment method.
What it is this?
Well, chiropractic is a totally hands-on, holistic approach to treating back pain, with roots firmly anchored in the belief that correct alignment of the spine and surrounding structures helps the body to correct and heal itself, without major medical intervention. This can take the form of manual repositioning by a highly skilled practitioner, with other outside effects also drafted into the treatment plan, such as exercises to do at home, certain foods to eat etc.
The great thing about chiropractic is that it is a totally individually focused treatment option, meaning any therapy given is targeted completely to the person involved, their degree of back pain, their particular problem, and how they conduct their lives. Nobody is the same as another individual, and one treatment option rarely fits everyone.
Chiropractic is hugely popular for a reason, and after proper diagnosis, could be the answer to your back pain problems.