If you were in a room with 100 people, and were asked to predict how many of these people would likely develop back pain significant enough to cause them to miss work at some point in their life, what would be your answer? If you said “80” you would be pretty darn close! Now the next question is, without speaking to any of them, how can you pick out the people who are most likely to develop this back pain? While no one can necessarily predict who amongst the more than 80% of Americans will develop back pain, we do have some very reliable indicators that we use as specialists of the spine to assess a person for potential back pain problems.

Let’s try this. Do you get your teeth checked at least once a year? Is this because you have a toothache, or your gums are bleeding? No, it’s because you have learned that you don’t want your teeth to fall out before you reach the ripe old age of 100, right?

Do you get your oil changed in your car at least twice a year or do we wait till the engine warning light comes on? No, of course not. Why do we take it in before the warning light comes on? So that your car will run more efficiently, will perform better, and will last a lot longer. Now, how about your eyes? Do you get your eyes checked once a year? Or do we wait till things get blurry, and we begin to go blind. Of course not, we get them checked to avoid those things, and to keep our eyes healthy for anything we need to correct to make them work more efficiently.

So why is it that so many Americans over look their spine? The truth of the matter is, most of us don’t know much about the spine and how important it really is. Your spine is what actually allows us to walk upright and erect. Our spines are essentially the foundation of our bodies. It also protects the whole nervous system, which controls everything in our body from our heart, to our lungs and breathing, to our muscles, and joints.

Picture the foundation for a house. Can a house stand tall without a good frame and wall structure? If there are cracks in the foundation, the house begins to deteriorate quickly and fall apart. When our spinal bones become dysfunctional, much like a house, we start to “fall apart”, or deteriorate prematurely. As a result, we start to develop headaches, back pains, and tend to suffer injuries more easily. We also develop premature degeneration or arthritis.

Sports injuries, auto accidents, genetics conditions such as scoliosis, and even giving birth to a child, can cause your spine to compensate for these injuries and develop back pain and spinal problems. Certain compensations our bodies start to develop over time are; rounded and uneven shoulders, unlevel hips, short leg syndrome, and Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD). These are just a few you can look for when evaluating yourself or a family member.

Rounded shoulders are extremely common for computer users. Picture yourself sitting in front of a computer right now and 2 hrs later you are still sitting there. Your shoulders automatically want to roll inward and your head gets too far forward. This puts strain on your upper back, and causes back pain. This poor posture leads to headaches, neck and shoulder pain, and even numbness or tingling in the arms and hands.

Uneven shoulders are also typically a sign of muscular imbalance or spinal dysfunction. Try this at home. Stand in front of a mirror; if one shoulder appears higher than the other, then most likely you have uneven shoulders and are experiencing a shoulder imbalance. This can lead to neck pain, arm pain, and even upper back pain and headaches.

Unlevel hips can throw the entire bodies mechanics off. If one hip is higher than the other, you start walking differently to compensate. Oftentimes, one of your legs will feel shorter than the other, and this can lead to leg pain, hip pain, back and neck pain. When one of your hips is higher than the other, your body will start compensating, therefore causing everything else in your body to function improperly. One way of seeing if you have uneven hips, other than having your Chiropractor perform an exam on you, is to look for abnormal shoe wear. Typically you will have a lot of wear and tear on the outside edges of the heel.
Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) is not a really “disease” but more of a degeneration condition of your spine. As we age, so does our spine. We start to lose the fluid that’s in-between our discs and when this happens; our discs become less flexible, and begin to deteriorate. Sometimes we even don’t feel pain, but typical early symptoms are popping or grinding of the joints, back pain or stiffness, and decreased flexibility. However your Chiropractor can see DDD on an X-ray, by looking at the disc spaces.

So don’t wait until it’s too late. If you are outside the Raleigh area, call your local Chiropractor today to get checked. Why Wait? We all know the risks of letting your car go past that 3,000 mile mark, or going 5 years without getting your teeth checked. Why wait until your body “fails to start” or “falls apart” before getting checked for spinal problems. If you begin to experience numbness, tingling, aches and pains in your spine or legs at any time, call your Chiropractor immediately. These are all warning signs, (your oil lights on!!) It’s your body’s way of telling you there is a potential problem. If you are in the Raleigh, NC area, we’d love to see what we can do to help you.

Please visit our website at http://www.chiropartners.com/dr-greg-baldy for more information. Feel free to call or email us w any further questions.