“If I do almost anything, I’m afraid I’ll get my back out.” This is the statement I heard when I first met with Michael. It is also a statement that I have heard many times in my 34 years of practicing chiropractic. Michael was a 30 year old married patient with two small children. In the last year there had been five occasions when, playing with his children or working in the garden, his lower back would suddenly rise up sixteen years, causing him extreme pain and terribly disabling him for the next few years. two weeks. He had seen his PCP, orthopedic specialists, and physical therapists, but his back episodes kept reoccurring.
Fortunately, he was referred for chiropractic care by another older patient who had experienced the same problem many decades earlier and had received help from chiropractic therapy. After performing an exam and x-rays of his lower back we were able to find that his problem was purely mechanical. He had significant misalignments and improper movement of the joints in his lower spine and pelvic bones.
He agreed to a care plan that led to the relief of his low back pain and strength so that he could perform the normal physical activity of someone his age. As we worked through a four-week process of chiropractic manipulations to correct misalignment and improper movement, electrical muscle stimulation, and ice pack applications to relax the muscles and reduce inflammation, he began to notice significantly less back pain. While performing a simple morning stretching and strengthening exercise routine, he was able to perform more intense physical activities without fear of “back pain.”
Once her spinal vertebrae and pelvis were aligned and moving correctly and her exercise routine made her back strong, she went back every once in a while to keep it that way. She called these visits her “chiropractic adjustment.”
Six months later he returned with wonderful good news. He spent a weekend using a jackhammer to break up his old asphalt driveway and wheelbarrowed the debris away in preparation for a company to come in and lay a brand new driveway. He said he had some muscle soreness, but was able to complete the job without major repercussions.
Chiropractic care has been scientifically proven to be the best way to manage most conditions related to back pain. In fact, studies show that nearly 60% of people who take opioids do so for neck or lower back problems. If these spinal pain patients were to try chiropractic care for the first time, we can safely assume that we would not have the opioid crisis we are currently experiencing.
If one is experiencing pain or disability due to a spinal condition, it is strongly recommended that they seek chiropractic care immediately. The difference between relief or pain, normal function or disability. It could even be the difference between opioid addiction or non-dependence.
