Back pain is more than an inconvenience. It’s one of those physical discomforts that affect our entire day. You feel it when you’re sitting, standing, walking, sleeping, etc. You even have to adjust the way you pick things up, so you don’t aggravate it even more. Maintaining a level of physical fitness becomes a hazardous task with back pain.
While back pain strikes all age groups and lifestyles, there are a few common causes, and chiropractic care can help.
Here are the common causes of back pain:
- Bad Posture and Sedentary Daily Life
Whether you’re in school or working in an office, you end up sitting for many hours each day. This weakens your stabilizing back muscles, causes imbalances, and also leads to poor posture in a hunched position. On top of this, when you do end up having the chance to walk and stand, it is usually spent looking down at a phone.
- Spinal Misalignment
Unaligned vertebrae (vertebral subluxation) can occur from physical impact, recurring actions, and bad posture. This can severely aggravate the nerves in your back, causing impaired movement and back pain.
- Strains/Sprain
You’ve probably heard or used this phrase before: “I threw my back out.” This is usually said when a back strain or sprain happens. You can throw your back out while picking things up, working out, playing sports, or even sneezing. This type of back pain causes inflammation, restricted movement, and overcompensation with other muscles.
- Herniated Discs
Herniated discs happen when the cushioning disc between the vertebrae ruptures or expands. This can cause temporary loss of leg function as the back locks up. The pressure on the nerves causes back pain, numbness and tingling.
- Stress Fracture
A stress fracture or spondylolysis, usually caused by repetitive stress, is a small crack in the bone, and it is a major cause of back pain in athletes. Some symptoms are low back pain, tight hamstrings, tingling, and numbness.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help:
Chiropractic care is designed to offer relief and correction. Chiropractic adjustments are geared towards:
- Correcting posture issues
- Realigning the spine
- Restoring balance
- Relieving pressure on nerves
- Decompressing the spine
- Improving function in the back
If you have back pain or need help even identifying your back pain, reach out to us at any of our three locations here at Encompass Chiropractic Centers.