If you are reading this because you are having low back pain, you are not alone. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders, over 80% of adults at some point will deal with low back pain. That’s a crazy stat, right? But this is a very common (but not normal) problem that most people deal with.
How did this get so common? Well, it’s a combination of factors, including poor posture from the way people sleep, sit, and work; sports injuries; exercise; and trauma, etc. We as a society sit more now than at any other time in history, and look down more on tech than at any other time in history. These bad habits, combined with repetitive motions, can create a perfect storm for low back pain.
From my years of experience, patients’ Low back pain usually stems from subluxations (misalignments) of the spine. Your spine should be straight from behind, with level hips, and, from the side, we should have stability in the lower back and neck. What I find regularly with patients that come into my practice with lower back pain is that they usually have lost the natural curve in the lower back or from behind their spine bends where it should be straight. This puts abnormal tension on the nerves that the spine should be protecting, which affects the muscles, tissues, and organs they control.
It’s important to treat your low back pain promptly. In most cases, when you feel pain regularly in your lower back, that process took years to form, and you are just now noticing the problem. Letting this go untreated can typically result in not only increased pain, but decreased range of motion, sciatic pain traveling down the legs, muscle spasms, degeneration of discs, and even digestive and bladder problems.
Corrective Chiropractic Care is very effective at correcting the root cause of lower back pain. The PACBACK Trial, published in JAMA, found that Chiropractic Manipulative Care was more effective than medical care (drugs, surgery) for reducing disability in patients with acute or sub-acute low back pain. By correcting the spine and restoring it to its normal state with specific adjustments and targeted muscle rehab, patients can recover and return to a normal life. In my experience, this should always be the first option, not the last, for people with low back pain. According to the Journal of Spine, 42.7% of patients who first saw a surgeon for low back pain underwent surgery, compared with only 1.5% of patients who first saw a chiropractor. In my opinion, the choice is very simple. Chiropractic works and is much safer!
$49 New Patient Special
Includes Consultation, Spinal Thermography, Postural Evaluation, Digital X-Rays, 1st Adjustment & Report of Findings
How Our Care Plan Works
1. Identify The Root Cause Of The Problem
Schedule a consultation with one of our doctors to review your history and perform a detailed exam. If necessary, we will include X-rays to determine the exact cause of your pain and develop a plan to resolve the problem.
2. See Exactly What Is Wrong And Get A Plan On How To Fix It
After your first adjustment, the doctor will observe how your body responds and determine the best course of action. Our goal is to not only provide immediate pain relief but also to ensure your long-term health and peak physical function.
3. Regain Your Freedom To Do Everything You Want To Do
Receive the specialized care you need to address your health concerns today. Our goal is to help you return to the activities you love, ensuring that pain no longer dictates your lifestyle or prevents you from living life to the fullest.
How We Treat Lower Back Pain In Fort Worth, TX
Comprehensive Consultation and Exam
No two patients with LBP are the same. Different factors lead to a patient’s problem. Trauma, work, sleep, exercise, repetitive movements, and many other factors can contribute to a patient’s low back pain. We want to find the root cause so we can help you correct it! To help identify the root cause, our office uses posture evaluation, range-of-motion testing, thermography (when nerves are damaged, they give off heat), and digital X-ray analysis to show exactly where to adjust the patient.
Specific Chiropractic Care in Fort Worth, TX
When a patient comes into our practice with low back pain, we will check their spine for subluxations. What is a subluxation? It’s when the spine gets so stuck out of alignment that it starts to compress, stretch, or impinge the spinal cord or the nerves that run muscles, tissues, and organs. This results in localized pain, or radiating pain down the legs, muscle spasms, bulging or herniated discs, Osteoarthritis, and even problems with digestion or the bladder. When a patient starts to get adjusted, the vertebrae are realigned to their normal positions, taking pressure off the nerves and the spinal cord, allowing the area to heal and function better. Most low back pain is caused by structural problems (subluxations), and our office focuses on correcting the root cause of your pain. Medication doesn’t fix a structural problem, so the 1st option to get better with low back pain should be chiropractic!
Digital X-rays
This is the most important test we perform to identify the cause of your lower back pain. We can identify subluxations in your spine based on the X-ray findings and see exactly where you need to be adjusted. This is the safest way to have chiropractic care. Not seeing is guessing, and we don’t guess with your health! We perform seated X-rays in our office because, when you are seated, your spine is in a more stressed position, allowing us to identify problems that might be missed in a standing position.
Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan
Low back pain, in most cases, develops slowly. Many lifestyle habits can create bad muscle memory in the supporting muscles of the spine. When these muscles and tissues break down, they can pull the vertebrae out of alignment and contribute to your lower back pain. That’s why in our practice, we adjust the spine AND rehab the surrounding muscles to retrain the body to hold the adjustment in place longer. This helps us restore a patient’s spine to a more normal position, which helps the patient heal faster and achieve a more long-term result. We utilize Wobble Chair therapy with our patients to warm up the lower back before they are adjusted. This exercise warms up the muscles and discs of the lower back, making the adjustment more effective and lasting longer. We also utilize pelvic blocks and lumbar rolls to lie on after the Adjustment to help mold the spine in a more normal posture. We also use body weights to help strengthen the surrounding lower back muscles to hold the adjustment longer.
Common Causes of Low Back Pain in Fort Worth, TX
Herniated or Bulged Lumbar Disc
A bulging disc happens when the outer layer of the disc, called the Annulus Fibrosus, protrudes out but doesn’t tear. A herniated disc occurs when the annulus fibrosus tears, and the inner layer of the disc, called the Nucleus Pulposus, leaks out onto the spinal cord or the surrounding nerves. Both can cause significant pain and are usually the result of a person losing the natural curve of the lumbar spine (lower back). Losing this vital curve results in abnormal forces on the discs between the vertebrae, compromising their integrity and pushing them posteriorly. Traction and spinal adjustments effectively reduce pressure on the nerves, spinal cord, and discs. Restoring the natural curve of the lumbar spine is critical when finding a solution to your disc issue.
Spinal Stenosis
Spinal Stenosis is a condition in which the spinal canal narrows, causing pressure on the spinal cord or the nerves that exit the spine. This is most common in the lumbar and cervical spines. Symptoms include back or neck pain (depending on the area involved), weakness, and numbness in the extremities that worsen with activity but improve with rest. Structurally, the lumbar and cervical curves are often lost, leaving the spine very straight, which can stretch the spinal cord and narrow the spinal canal. We see great improvement with our patients when we help restore the affected part of the spine to a more normal curvature.
Degenerative Disc Disease
DDD is a condition that occurs when the entire disc breaks down or degenerates, meaning it dries up and withers away due to a lack of nutrition. There is no blood supply to a disc. It gets its nutrients through proper spine movement. When the spine gets stuck (subluxates) and the problem isn’t addressed, the discs can starve and break down over time. Certain things increase your chance of disc degeneration, such as smoking, drinking, being dehydrated, and a sedentary lifestyle. It can be devastating to the body when this occurs, as movement becomes painful, it can weaken the muscles, cause disability, it can spread up and down the spine, and even cause radiating pain down the extremities. One of the best ways a person can help with DDD is through corrective chiropractic care. By restoring motion to the vertebrae through adjustments, the discs hydrate better, which slows the degenerative process and helps patients function better.
Subluxation
This is the term used to describe when the spine misaligns and compresses, stretches, or impinges a nerve root or the spinal cord. This results in interference with communication between the brain and the muscle, tissue, or organ the nerve controls. This can result in pain, numbness, and weakness in the extremities. This can also result in pain and a limited range of motion in the lower back and neck. In the case of the lower back, this can even result in sciatic pain down the legs, muscle atrophy, and even organ dysfunction like digestive and bladder Issues. We identify and correct subluxations by performing a series of tests: Posture, range of motion, thermography, and X-ray analysis. The way we correct subluxation is by gently adjusting the Vertebrae back into proper alignment, thus taking pressure off the Nerves. This causes the body to calm down and begin healing toward a more normal state. This results in less pain, more strength, more energy, better sleep, and more normal digestion and bladder function. Chiropractors are specifically trained to locate and correct spinal subluxations more than any other healthcare professional.
Stretches for Lower Back Pain
These are some helpful Stretches that you can use for your LBP. If your LBP has persisted for more than 4 weeks without improvement, you need to consult a Corrective Care Chiropractor. But to help you in a pinch, these 3 exercises can relieve it somewhat.
Hamstrings Stretch: Lie on your back flat with one leg raised in the air. Wrap a towel around the foot of the raised leg and extend your knee so that your entire leg is straight. Then pull your leg back to you as you lie flat, and you will feel the hamstring muscle stretch. You might not be able to pull your leg back very much at first due to tight hamstrings, but that should improve the more you do this stretch. Do both sides for 30 seconds. 2-3 sets each side.
Knees to Chest Stretch: Lie on your back and pull your knee to your opposite shoulder. This will release the glute muscles and relax the lower back. 20-30 seconds for each side. 2-3 sets each side.
Cat-Cow Stretch: On all fours, alternate between arching your back (cat) and dipping it (cow) to improve your lower back flexibility.
Check Out Our Location Near You
3250 Hulen Street, Suite 140, Fort Worth, TX 76107
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my low back pain is serious?
If you are having a limited range of motion and/or pain when you bend, roll over, bear down, sit, stand upright, or walk, and the symptoms last more than 2-3 weeks, then it isn’t a simple muscle pull at that point, and you should consider seeing a chiropractor.
What causes lower back pain?
In most cases of LBP, the cause is structural, meaning the lumbar spine is misaligned or subluxated, which can put pressure on the nerves, spinal cord, or the muscles of the lower back.
How should I sleep with LBP?
It’s best to sleep on your back, with a pillow under your knees to relieve pressure on your back. If you sleep on your side, place a pillow between your knees to help level your hips.
Why won’t my LBP go away?
If you have pulled a muscle in your lower back, the pain should subside within 2-3 weeks with rest and ice. If it isn’t improving with rest and ice, it’s most likely an alignment issue in your lumbar spine.
Can a chiropractor in Ft Worth, TX help with lower back pain?
Yes! People who go to a chiropractor as their first option for lower back pain typically get better with a more natural approach, without taking medications or even undergoing surgery, as if they had gone to an MD first.
When should I see a chiropractor in Ft Worth, TX, for LBP?
The sooner the better! The longer you let the problem go untreated, the harder it can be to restore the spine to a normal state.
How can you tell if your spine is out of alignment?
If you notice a restricted range of motion, pain with movement, back muscle spasm, abnormal posture when you stand in front of a mirror, or numbness or weakness in your lower back or legs, you should see a chiropractor right away.
$49 New Patient Special
Includes Consultation, Spinal Thermography, Postural Evaluation, Digital X-Rays, 1st Adjustment & Report of Findings