Unfortunately, often people will suffer for years after injuring their backs. Traditional doctors, though they can work wonders with some issues, really don’t do well dealing with back problems most of the time.
Traditional doctors’ typical first line of treatment, prescription drugs, either can’t fully eliminate the pain or they’re so strong they practically knock you out, and they can be addictive. Surgery, medicine’s other mainstay, is tricky when done on the back thanks to the fact that the spinal cord runs through the middle of the problem area. Fusing vertebrae together can stop pain that is related to back motion, but at the cost of loss of mobility in the back. Other types of back surgery are typically riskier and less likely to produce effective results. Unfortunately often surgery does not give lasting relief and really should be considered after conservative treatment has been unsuccessful.
These problems leave patients with suboptimal healing and plenty of frustration. Fortunately, there is an answer: Chiropractic care. As a chiropractor in Colorado Springs I take a different approach than the average back doctor. I don’t prescribe any drugs for patients and I don’t do surgery either. Instead, I work to adjust the vertebrae (bones of the spine) so that the patient can move without aggravating the injured area. This provides fast relief, and on top of that, it gives the injury a better chance of healing.
What if Pain is Coming from Somewhere Other than the Back?
In a large number of cases, the root problem of stubborn pain is the back – even if the pain is felt in a place that seems to have nothing to do with it. The neck involves the upper spine and is often treated by chiropractic care, but leg and foot problems can also arise when spinal nerves are irritated. Arm and hand problems, while rarer, may also occur. This happens because the body reports the pain as coming from the part that the nerves go to instead of the location where the irritation is actually happening.
Of course, not all limb problems are actually back problems. Proper diagnosis is essential for obtaining relief. Some things that point to underlying back problems are a lack of effectiveness of treatments aimed at the painful part, known back issues or co-existing back pain, altered posture, tingling in the problematic area, and a lack of known injury to distant painful parts. A good chiropractor will be sure to get the patient’s injury history as well as any existing medical reports to help be sure of where a problem actually lies.
Once it is determined that a back problem is at fault, treatment begins. For most people, relief will soon follow.
