Pain is a warning sign. Like the piercing sound from a smoke alarm, the alarm isn’t the problem. The alarm has a cause, just like every ache or pain has a cause. Some people choose to cover up the pain instead of correcting the cause. What’s your approach?
The nerve-rich facet joints on the back side of each spinal bone are a common cause of back pain. If these pairs of interlocking “fingers” aren’t moving right, they can cause painful symptoms.
The discs between spinal bones can be a source of back pain, too. These rings of fibrous tissues act as spacers, connectors and “shock absorbers” for the spine. Trauma can cause the soft, pulpy material in the middle to bulge or herniate, putting pressure on delicate nearby nerves.
Once you know the cause, you have several choices. One approach is bed rest. But research shows that prolonged bed rest can actually delay recovery and make the problem worse!
Physical therapy is another option. But exercising spinal joints that aren’t working right is like continuing to drive your car with misaligned tires!
Another choice is to numb or cover up the pain with drugs. While drugs can offer temporary relief, they can’t correct functional problems of affected spinal joints.
The most drastic measure is surgery. A laminectomy cuts off the offending facet joints, leaving the spinal cord exposed! A spinal fusion cuts out the disc tissue and immobilizes the joint. While there may be times when surgery makes sense, it’s expensive, risky and more than half of all back surgeries fail.
More and more people are choosing chiropractic care first. Specific chiropractic adjustments can help improve spinal function.
Better yet, chiropractic is safe. Chiropractic is natural. And chiropractic looks to correct the underlying cause of the problem.
- While a sedentary lifestyle can make symptoms worse, back pain affects those who are tall, short, thin, heavy, young and old.
- While overexertion can cause back pain flare-up, the underlying problem may have gone undetected for years.
- Besides being dangerous and the results temporary, more than half of all back surgeries are considered failures.
Ironically, many insurance companies would rather pay for expensive surgery than conservative chiropractic care!