We often see patients in our clinic who come in with back pain. It can be ranging from severe to mild to acute and chronic. Back pain can be localized to the spine or it can travel into the legs if a nerve is being irritated from a disc herniation. 

What conditions do we typically treat in our office?

In our office we treat many low back conditions. Lumbar sprain/strain injuries "whiplash", lumbar segmental dysfunction, lumbar disc lesions along with lumbar radiculopathy, pregnancy related back pains. We also see the more severe issues such as lumbar stenosis and Spondylolisthesis.. 

When should I seek a providers help?

This answer is different for every patient and it depends what the patient is comfortable with. I would say when patients are not able to relieve or recover from their back pain on their own or their pain is to high to tolerate is definitely a time when patients should seek help. One thing to be aware of is with every injury or episode it can take less and less to create more and more of an issue. Since we do frequently see these issue we are typically able to get patients over their back pain quicker and make sure they have the most full recovery possible. 

Will I need surgery?

There are instances in which surgery is recommended or needed. However, with the vast majority of low back injuries conservative treatment such as chiropractic or physical therapy has shown to be just as effective as a surgery. Chiropractic and conservative care has also been shown to be very safe and doesn't have the complications a surgery can possibly have. The instances in which we have to consider surgery is when a patient has a progressive neurological deficit (they are losing muscle strength and not responding to treatment), they are having unrelenting pain that is not responding to treatment, or they are having bowel and bladder issues they are unable to control along with their back pain. The great majority of the time patients do not need surgery and respond very well with conservative care.

What exercises can I complete to help my condition?

There are many exercises that can be used to rehab lower back conditions. The muscles that typically need strengthening are the abdominal muscles, the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and the multifidus. My favorite exercises for the lower back are the bridge, cat/camel, dead bug, side bridge, and McKenzie exercises. Depending on the patients diagnosis and presentation these exercises can be modified to get the most out of the exercises and the most out of rehabbing the spine. 

If you need help with a spinal issue please let our office know. We would be glad to help!