Shiprock Chiropractic | Back Pain treated by Kenneth Wingrove Doctor of Chiropractics

KENNETH WINGROVE

CHIROPRACTOR

Back Pain

Aside from the common cold, studies have shown that low back pain is the biggest reason for missing work. In fact, the estimate is over 20 million suffer with debilitating back pain. And it’s sad that despite all the tools and knowledge made available today we don’t have this problem under control yet. Back pain should not plague so many people.

Free From Back Pain

Can you see yourself free from back pain?

If so, then we invite you to take an active roll in starting today. It begins with a simple decision to move and maintain each day, even when you feel good, so you can recover quickly and stop it from returning.

It helps to get a diagnostic check from your primary care physician or chiropractor so you can get to the primary cause of the issue. But assuming you have not yet found out what the specific diagnosis may be, Im going to attempt to provide you with several general approaches to relieving your pains.

Three Things You Can Do Now To Relieve Your Back Pain:

First: Reduce the inflammation

First put out the fire. With every joint injury, the surrounding nerves and muscles are irritated and swollen. It may even feel warm like it has a localized fever. This is inflammation. So if you have back pain then you more than likely have inflammation. Use ice to reduce the inflammation. 20 minutes, each hour. I like to tell people that if you can ice the back at least three times before bed, then you should see good success in getting the inflammation down.

One government study reported that the initial treatment of choice recommended is ice and an oral anti-inflammatory. Here’s my warning…some people don’t tolerate anti-inflammatory medications well and may even have an allergic reaction. So, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor before using any drug. But among our patient base, we’ve realized much success with ice.

We’ve found the flexible gel packs to be the best because they are easy to lay over. But you can also use crushed ice if you wish, but it may feel lumpy if you lay down on it. The frozen flexible gel packs need to be wrapped with a paper towel because it can get to super-freezing temperatures that can cause frostbite on your skin, but crushed ice should not be covered because we need it to penetrate deep enough to work.

Push through the cold and I promise the pain will soon go numb in a matter of a few minutes. It’s worth the relief and will get the inflammation and swelling down quickly.

The little known secret to using ice effectively is to stay flexible. You’ll find that cold tends to stiffen the muscles, so a good idea is to stretch as you lay on the ice.

How to Stretch for Low Back Pain Relief

Here’s how to stretch to relieve your low back…

Knee to Chest = Pull your knee one at a time, gently to your chest. Relax your back muscles while you pull the knee. Then relax the pull and transfer to the other knee to be pulled to the chest. Hold each for 5 seconds. Next pull both knees simultaneously to the chest and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat this stretch five times. It’s a great way to start your day. How effective this stretch is dependent on how well you can relax your back as you stretch.

Pelvic Rocking = Lie on your back with your knees up as if you are about to do a normal sit up. Focus on the arch in your low back. Keeping your tush on the ground, arch your bellybutton up so you create a tunnel in the low back rising off the floor. Hold for 5 seconds. Then roll the pelvis backward toward the floor to close the tunnel and flatten the spine against the ground. Match the 5 second hold or go for up to 20 seconds. This move will stretch the surrounding muscle spasms of the low back and aligning the pelvis.

Step two: Improve mobility of each vertebral joint

The most common mechanical problem anywhere in the spine, including the upper back that causes pain, is when a joint gets locked up. This usually happens after an injury occurs. The surrounding muscles spasm to protect the joint from being injured again. The spasm will lock the joint down and prevent it from moving. If this loss of joint motion lasts too long then it can cause more pain and spasm creating a vicious cycle. Meanwhile the disc that gets it’s nourishment from normal joint motion begins to wither and die because it doesn’t receive the nutrients it needs. And it will go from a fat fried egg look slowly down to a piece of beef jerky in time if not treated.

The way to treat that disc to restore it to good health and have the joint moving on its own to provide nutrients to the disc is by way of the chiropractic adjustment or manipulation. A government study on back pain showed this as the best method to mobilize the spine and reduce locked up joints. These gentle manual manipulation normalize joint mobility and allow the vertebral segments to move without fixation.

You’ll discover those fixations and stiffness return within just a few hours of your adjustment if you just go back to your day of constant sitting. Start your day with those two stretches I mentioned above, the knee to chest and the pelvic rolls. It will maintain the mobility of your low back after your treatment. Begin each morning with these stretches and I expect you will notice an improvement in the way you feel within a matter of 5 days.

How to Stretch For Upper Back Pain Relief

The above instructions, including ice and improving mobility for the low back are very similar to relieving the upper back pain. The main difference is you want to focus more on stretching the shoulders and the neck.

Here are two stretches I enjoy and recommend for anyone needing to relieve tension causing upper back pain…

Wall Prayers = Stand with your feet about two to three feet from the wall and then lean into the wall with your arms reaching high above the head. Touching your hands high on the wall, dip your head forward and through the outstretched arms. Dip your body toward the floor as you maintain the hands high on the wall. You will notice your shoulders getting a hurt-so-good stretch. Hold this stretch for up to 30 seconds and repeat a second time.

High Prayers = Clasp your hands and your elbows together. Raise the arms together clasped as high as possible. Once it has reached the highest point, continue holding that position for as long as 30 seconds. You will notice the upper back working. Repeat a second time.

The upper back muscles will be stretched and strengthened and you should notice an improvement within a matter of only a few days.

Step Three: Strengthen the “core” muscles (The back and the abdomen)

The back has support by the muscles at the surface and by tendons and ligaments deep and closer to the joints. You have to exercise to get them strong. After you check what exercises you should and shouldn’t perform from your doctor, begin strengthen your back after getting flexible first. If you skip the previous steps there is a higher chance you can strain or sprain your back.

Once you are out of pain, the next step is to strengthen the surrounding muscles of the abdomen and back so as to prevent flareups. Seriously, just 3 minutes each day will make a huge difference.

The ab muscles support 50% of the core and the back supports 50% of the core. Instead of doing your core exercises all in the evening or all in the morning, create three one-minute time frames to do them separately throughout the day. When at night, get on the floor while watching television. Get on the floor instead of sitting on the couch. Then during every commercial perform your knee to chest, pelvis rockers and a plank. It works. Consistent training. Moderate intensity. This is the key to core strength and minimized low back pain without much effort or time.

Remember to tighten your abs through the day, as you’re walking, working and driving. It’ll relieve the load off your back as you go about your day.

For women who have had a baby, you will be prone to back pain if you just let your abs go. For you men, a beer belly will tilt the pelvis forward just like a woman who is pregnant, forcing the low back joints to jam together, setting you up for back pains.

As your stomach muscles learn to become strong enough to hold your back well, use a support belt. Its like a back brace but it moves with your body as you work. It’s like a flexible belt that acts as a second ab muscle to support the spine when bending and twisting and lifting. You may have seen manual workers wear them. We’ve recommended these belts to many back pain sufferers and have seen great success as the belts help relieve the stress of daily activities and allow the body to heal itself at a more rapid pace. And always remember that the belt won’t ever replace strong core muscles, but it will support your spine while you get to well.

Chiropractic Solution for Back Pain

The chiropractic approach to relieving and fixing back pain has proven to be one of the most valuable formulas for properly treating hurt and sore backs.

Chiropractic is drugless and does not use surgery to heal an individual’s injured and sore back joints. The licensed chiropractor has been trained specifically to correct structural body imbalances by using adjustments and manipulations for the spine and other joints. They also can prescribe exercises and therapeutic modalities for the use of improving joints and speeding up recovery. Biomechanical improper motion between the vertebrae irritates the spinal nerve and disc…leading to back pain, neck pain and future injury.

Because we specialize in relieving back and neck pain, and we work with hundreds of patients suffering from these symptoms every week, we are confident that we can help an individuals back recover from injury as long as the issue is a chiropractic issue. How do you find out if your issue is a chiropractic issue? Just let us know you have a back pain and we’d be delighted to bring you in for a consult to discuss your pains and discover whether we can help or not.