Chiropractic and back pain

Approximately 90% of adults experience back pain at some stage in their life. In fact back pain is so common that some people just assume it is normal but there is a big difference between common and normal. Back pain is an indication that something is not right.

Often people will simply silence their back pain with medications. I like to use an analogy of a car to describe this process. Imagine you are driving along in your car and the oil light comes on. Would you a) pull over and top up the oil or b) reach under the dash and pull out the wire to the oil light? Well, masking your back pain with medications is just like pulling out the wire. Sure the light stops flashing (the pain goes away), but the underlying cause is still there and in actual fact is probably getting worse.

So what is the underlying cause? People often want to diagnose the underlying problem by saying that it is either a muscle problem, a joint or ligament problem, or a nerve problem. The truth is that it is most likely all of the above. It is not possible to have a joint dysfunction without it affecting the nerves. It is similarly not possible to have a muscle problem without it affecting the joints. So what we have is a nerve/joint/muscle/ligament problem. We chiropractors call that a subluxation.

Specific chiropractic adjustments can help restore the proper functioning of your spine and nervous system and remove these subluxations. This removes the underlying cause of your problem and allows your body to start to heal. A good chiropractor will also give you advice on what aspects of your lifestyle caused these subluxations in the first place, allowing you to not only correct the problem but also helping you stop recreating it in the future.

And remember: only 10% of your nerve fibres are pain fibres. So it is quite possible to have significant amounts of joint dysfunction and nerve interference without it causing you any pain. What this means is that even in the absence of symptoms it is a good idea to get a spinal check-up. In fact you may have significant amounts of wear and tear as well as nerve interference and resulting poor bodily function without even realising it.