Lower back pain is an incredibly common problem. More people are spending extended periods of time sitting at desks or craning over tablets, mobile phones, and other personal devices. Repetitive motion activities, heavy-lifting, and other lifestyle factors can be culprits as well. While many consumers who suffer for this pain are prone to using over-the-counter and prescription pain medications to dull their discomfort, this is often a musculoskeletal issue that must be addressed directly at its source. Fortunately, there are numerous safe and natural ways in which a Birmingham Alabama chiropractor can alleviate or resolve this problem.
Chiropractic care is often largely focused on restoring proper alignment to the spine. When this central supporting structure is perfectly aligned, nerve to brain communication is optimized, balance and movement are improved, and general and localized discomforts can abate. Natural alignment can be compromised by a number of things including but not limited to:
- Car accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Excess body weight
- Sedentary living
- Heavy lifting
- Poor posture
- Poorly performed movements
As such, chiropractors take a whole-body approach to promoting and restoring wellness in individuals with chronic or recurring back pain. With individualized and needs-specific care, each patient can recognize significant improvements in comfort and mobility with every chiropractic session. The addition of targeted lifestyle changes can help facilitate the healing process, while also promoting higher overall life qualities and long-lasting results.
At the very start of their chiropractic care, patients always receive thorough examinations. Although back pain is a common problem, it can have many different causes, and it can also lead to many different outcomes. These exams give chiropractic doctors the opportunity to learn more about the alignment, history, and current condition of the spine, and can include diagnostic imaging and other diagnostic techniques that provide insight into the underlying problems. With the results of these assessments, needs-specific treatment plans can be devised that include many hands-on elements, along with strategies for improving both general health and the patient’s living habits.
How A Birmingham Alabama Chiropractor Treats Lower Back Pain
Chiropractors are best known for their use of spinal manipulation therapies. This is a hands-on method of gradually adjusting the spine to improve its overall alignment. During this therapy, the lightly applied force is used to finesse displaced vertebrae back into their original positions. This allows the entire musculoskeletal system to perform more optimally given that it eliminates the need for any structure to compensate for misalignment. In many instances, lower back pain is the result of excess stress being placed on the local muscles due to misalignment in other nearby areas. In addition to spinal manipulation, inversion table therapy and therapeutic massage can also be leveraged to foster improvements in alignment. With inversion, a special table is used to fully invert the body so that spinal tension and stress are completely relieved. As the spine naturally lengthens, it becomes significantly easier for chiropractic doctors to adjust displaced discs. These treatments can be further enhanced with massage techniques that reduce built-up tension in nearby muscle groups and other soft tissues, promote increases in blood circulation and oxygen delivery, and foster greater ease of movement. Chiropractors can perform adjustments manually, or they may opt to use computer-assisted techniques for greater precision and expedited healing.
Beyond merely correcting alignment issues, the goal of this care is to ensure that all parts of the body are moving and functioning like they should. Certain lifestyle changes can make the body significantly more effective in healing itself, even as they limit the likelihood of future alignment problems and continued pain. When patients are significantly overweight, chiropractors can assist with individualized dietary and fitness advice, supplementation, and special strength-building exercises. All of these strategies help reduce spinal pressure and stress while increasing overall wellness. Given that the abdominal muscles both support and oppose the spine, targeted strength-building in this area can be key for ensuring proper posture, safe movement, better balance, and fewer alignment issues going forward.
By offering individualized care and multi-pronged treatment plans, chiropractors can help their patients resolve problems with lower back pain in a natural, reliable, and effective way. Best of all, this care additionally fosters a far greater understanding of the musculoskeletal system, its functions, and its needs. Due to this fact, receiving chiropractic care is an excellent way to become empowered in managing your own spinal health going forward. Are you ready to get started with natural pain management and effective, lasting strategies for resolving pain in your lower back? Call us today at 205-637-1363.
