Back Pain
Common back problems that chiropractors treat include:
Pain & Aches | Weakness | Joint Restriction | Numbness / Tingling (Paraesthesias)
Lower back pain is one of the most common complaints we see presenting to The English Chiropractor. The lower back consists of 5 vertebrae, 5 inter-vertebral discs and spinal nerves that exit at each level of the spine. Often therefore, lower back issues will affect these nerves, producing a wide variety of symptoms in the many areas they supply.
SYMPTOMS IN MORE DETAIL:
Pain: When sharp indicates inflammation, possibly of a tendon, bursa or ligament.
Ache: Commonly associated with muscular problems including tightness or overuse.
Restriction: If the joint(s) fail to move, compensatory strain is placed on the rest of the area. Restoring good mechanical function is important for the injury to heal.
Weakness: This can occur secondary to pain, trauma or nerve damage. It is often a more involved symptom and needs to be fully examined to determine the cause.
Swelling: This will often occur after a trauma, most commonly after a sprain of the area.
Facet Dysfunction
Facet joints are small stabilizing joints located between and behind adjacent vertebrae. They are found at every spinal level (except at the top level) and provide about 20% of the torsional (twisting) stability in the neck and lower back. Facet joint disorders are some of the most common of all the recurrent disabling lower back and neck problems and can cause serious symptoms.
Acute episodes of lumbar joint pain are typically intermittent, generally unpredictable and occur a few times per month or per year. Typically there will be more discomfort while leaning backwards than while leaning forward.
Lower back pain from the facet joints often radiates down into the buttocks and the back of the upper leg. The pain is rarely present in the front of the leg and rarely radiates below the knee or into the foot, as pain from a disc herniation often does.
This is a very common condition that many of our patients present. Evidence shows along with recommendation from the Department of Health that treatment including manipulation and home exercises given by your chiropractor is an effective form of treatment for these conditions.
Disc Herniation
This is a less common presentation of back and leg pain, with a prevalence of approximately 1-3 % of symptomatic herniations although recent studies have found that up to 50% of the population can have disc herniations without symptoms, therefore, not all disc herniations cause symptoms. Herniations usually occur due to tearing of the outer fibres of the intervertebral disc allowing the softer central matter to bulge out irritating the adjacent spinal nerves which is characteristic of producing buttock and leg pain, weakness of the foot and often associated with numbness and pins and needles. This complaint does not always present with back pain and is often referred to as a slipped disc or sciatica.
Sacroiliac Joint DysfunctionÂ
The sacroiliac joints are two joints at the bottom of the spine that along with the sacrum form the pelvis. They are a common area of pain and discomfort with patients pointing to one side or the other and often associated with radiating pain into the buttock and or around the groin.
SI joint pain does not often refer past the knee and patients often report pain on sitting, from sitting to standing and pain when slightly leaning forwards as when brushing teeth. Pregnant women can often have pain around this area (please see our pregnancy page).
