In November of 2020 Jane presented to our office with back pain. Jane's back pain was mainly affecting her while sleeping at night. The pain would wake her up and then she would be unable to fall back asleep due to the pain. She tried Advil, stretches, icing, but none of those options seemed to help. Not only was Jane losing sleep at night, but the longer she sat at work the worse the pain was getting. 

Exhausted and tired of the pain Jane decided she needed some professional help. Seeing our office was in-network with her insurance company and that our office gets very good results with back pain she called our office to schedule an appointment. 

As a chiropractor that's certified in Cox Flexion Distraction and FAKTR we conducted a comprehensive low back evaluation along with a functional exam. We noticed the following findings in Jane's low back: 

• Significant pain in the lumbar spine (lower back).
• Difficulty getting out of a chair and on/off the treatment table.
• Edema/Swelling/Inflammation in the tissues of the lower back. 
• Restricted range of motion in the lumbar spine. 
• No neurological findings or red flags associated with the disc injury.
• Weakness in the gluteus medius muscles which are stabilizing muscle of the lower back.

Here is a short video of Dr. Jeremy discussing back pain.

After evaluating Jane, we discussed her condition and her prognosis. We discussed daily/nightly activities such as what can be done to sleep better at night and get a good nights rest. We also discussed her concerns such as not wanting to have a cortisone injection and wanting to treat the cause of her injury. We also discussed her goals of trying to avoid this issue in the future.

Jane is dealing with Acute Low Back Pain. 

• Edema/Swelling/Inflammation is caused by an injury to the tissues in Jane's lower back. 
• The Edema/Swelling/Inflammation needs to be controlled to decrease the pain and allow Jane to sleep and function better.
• Typically with high pain levels and inflammation patients respond better to "gentle" therapies such as cupping, Cox Flexion Distraction, anti-inflammatory topicals, and home exercises that involve movement.
• As a patient progresses and a patient can tolerate more we can add the side posture adjustment for the lower back and more aggressive strengthening exercises.

I discussed with Jane our treatment plan. We could achieve the results she desired with a combination of Chiropractic, Cox Flexion Distraction and FAKTR soft tissue therapies and specific exercises for her condition. I explained to Jane that our first goal is to reduce the inflammation and swelling with pain reduction over the course of 1 week. Cupping and Cox Flexion Distraction are two of the best therapies to help reduce inflammation. The ability to sleep better would come with the pain reduction. I also explained that it may take longer to develop her strength lower back and change her abnormal muscle patterns that have developed over the course of the last few years.. Most of this strength would be developed from a home exercise plan.

Here is the most important exercises I gave Jane to improve her range of motion and then strengthen her back.

Following our treatment plan and completing her home exercises Jane noticed an immediate improvement after the first visit. After the second visit Jane was 40% improved. Over the course of the 3rd and 4th visit Jane was able to get to 90% improved and eventually obtained a full recovery. Jane was able to improve the strength of her lower back without a return of her symptoms and she was able to avoid a cortisone injection.

Jane has been just one of many patients who has responded to our treatment of hip pain. If you are dealing with a similar issue feel free to start with the exercise provided. If it's not doing the trick and you need more help contact our clinic and we would be glad to help.

We're ready to help! 

Thank You for taking the time to read Sarah's story!