Low Back Pain Care in Hiawatha & Cedar Rapids
Around 200 billion dollars are spent annually on one of the most debilitating issues in America, that is low back pain (LBP). Low back pain has many causes and cellular inflammation is at the root of all of them, yet why is this inflammation persisting?
The origin could be from injured tissues such as muscles, ligaments, and tendons. It could be from chemicals (inhaled, or from food and drinks), dehydration, medications, auto-immunity, or micro-nutritional imbalance. It could be from nerve tissue irritation or compression. Biomechanical and postural issues, post-surgical complications, and pregnancy can cause LBP. Issues with organs such as the kidneys, bladder, uterus, colon, and even more deadly issues such as cancer can also be a cause. Whatever the cause, it is a BIG problem.
Subluxation Complex
In reality, the most common cause which does not receive the credit it is due, is the chiropractic subluxation, or the subluxation complex. There are many definitions for this, but the common theme for all of them is nervous system interference. In Re.A.L. Technique we like to call this “active nervous system interference.” What is happening inside, is a vertebra or multiple usually, is/are not functioning optimally causing inflammation and pressure on nerves that come out of the holes called intervertebral foramina.
This nerve pressure leads to faulty incoming signals called afferent pathways from muscle sensory receptors called mechanoreceptors which alters proprioception, thus leading to faulty output signaling. Think of the classic telephone game. The message passed along must be correct the whole way, or at the end it is far off from the original message.
The symptoms that may manifest vary based on which spinal segments are involved. LBP is just one of those symptoms resulting from the chiropractic subluxation of the lumbar spine. Pain is sometimes the last symptom and actually might not be present. Other symptoms can include difficulty sleeping, leg pain, foot pain, toe pain, alterations/difficulty in walking, shoulder pain/dysfunction, sexual issues, diarrhea, constipation, numbness/tingling of the buttocks/legs/feet, pelvic floor issues, intestinal dysfunction, bladder dysfunction and urinary issues, shin splints, lack in coordination, foot drop, some claudication, front-side pain in the belly area, and more.
Why Chiropractors Can Help
When someone experiences low back pain, the absolute most credible expert in this area is the Doctor of Chiropractic (DC). It is not a medical doctor, physical therapist, massage therapist, or anyone else. DCs get the most education out of all health professionals on this subject. The classes a Palmer DC goes through in their education related to the low back are as follows:
- Anatomy & Physiology 1 & 2
- Gross Anatomy 1 & 2
- Neuroanatomy 1 & 2
- Advanced Physiology courses
- Neurophysiology
- Subluxation Analysis
- Neuromusculoskeletal Diagnosis 1 & 2
- Differential Diagnosis
- Diagnostic Imaging 1 & 2
- Active Care
- Passive Care
- Four chiropractic adjusting courses
- Biomechanics
All these courses address LBP or something related or involved in LBP. This is the reason a DC should be the first person anyone goes to for LBP. If the DC cannot handle the patient’s health issue, then they can refer elsewhere. However, most of the time a patient arrives in the MDs office to receive drug-based therapy. This solves nothing. Societal norms must change, so the plague of LBP can be drastically reduced. If everyone visited a chiropractor at the start of the first incidence of LBP, the amount of money spent on this health issue would be drastically reduced.
Find Out More Today
Learn more about how Re.A.L.™ Technique can help with low back pain. Contact us today to book your first visit.
1. Freburger JK, Holmes GM, Agans RP, Jackman AM, Darter JD, Wallace AS, Castel LD, Kalsbeek WD, Carey TS. The rising prevalence of chronic low back pain. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Feb 09;169(3):251-8.