3 Ways Chiropractic Treatment Helps with Back Pain

Most people experience back pain at least once in their life, if not frequently or even chronically. Regardless of whether your back pain is a constant (but “bearable”) ache or completely debilitating, there are things you can do to prevent, relieve, and treat it so that you can decrease your discomfort and increase your quality of life.

Chiropractic treatment is one of the best ways to combat back pain because chiropractors take a natural, drug- and surgery-free approach to healing the body. Chiropractors believe the body has the ability to heal itself, but sometimes our bodies need some adjustments to aid in the healing process.

What Exactly Does a Chiropractor Do for Back Pain?

The misalignment of the vertebrae, called subluxation, is one of the most common causes of back pain. The vertebral column is composed of bones – the vertebrae – that encase and protect the spinal cord, which is central to the body’s nervous system.

So if something is even slightly out of position in that area, your spinal nerves can relay a message of pain to your body. This misalignment, however, can be corrected with an adjustment by a chiropractor.

One of the main chiropractic treatments for back pain is manipulative therapy, or a spinal adjustment. With spinal manipulation, chiropractors apply force to specific joints with their hands in order to correct the alignment of the vertebrae.

Depending on where your pain is located and the severity of the pain, chiropractors might also perform spinal mobilization, a gentler treatment focusing more on stretching problem areas instead of applying as much force as is used in manipulation.

Chiropractors can also use massage therapy, ultrasound, electric STIM therapy, intersegmental traction, hydromassage, and kinesio taping for treating back pain.

What Chiropractic Treatments Can Do for Back Pain

If you’re currently experiencing back pain, here are three ways chiropractic treatment might be able to help you today:

1. Reduce pain and pressure.

When a chiropractor uses manipulative therapy, patients usually feel an immediate relieving sensation due to the release of gas – oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen – in the joints. Sometimes this release of gas can be heard during treatment as a popping or cracking sound. Once this gas is released, your discomfort should be reduced due to the reduction of joint pressure. With continual chiropractic treatments, your discomfort could eventually be eliminated.

2. Improve posture.

Poor posture is another common cause of back pain. Many people spend a lot of time looking at their phones or hunched over a desk working on a computer day after day. Eventually, these habits can take a toll on your body, and in addition to having a posture imbalance, you will also have back pain.

Your head, shoulders, hips, pelvis, and the curve of your neck or back can affect your posture. A chiropractor will diagnose where your pain is coming from and try to correct that area, which, in turn, will improve your posture for the long-term.

3. Relieve stress and tension.

Stress and tension can cause back pain on their own, but having back pain can also cause stress and tension. Chiropractic treatments can help loosen tight muscles in spasm that are causing you pain, which can then decrease your stress levels. By getting your body back to its natural balance, you’re relieving the stress and tension not only from your back but also from your everyday life.

If you’re experiencing back pain, you can help get your pain under control by reaching out to an experienced Florida chiropractor today.

About the Author:

Dr. Craig Singer has been a practicing chiropractor for more than 20 years, and USA Health & Therapy has been around since 2004. Over the course of his career, Singer has helped tens of thousands of people with all kinds of issues by using a wide variety of treatment strategies. He has extensive knowledge of chiropractic modalities, including Gonstead, Diversified, Thompson Drop Table, and Activator, and in 1997 he earned a special adjunctive Chiropractic Certification in Spinal Trauma (CCST) to better provide care for car crash victims. Dr. Singer is licensed to practice chiropractic medicine in both Florida and New York.