Back Injuries

Inuries of the back / spine and the therapies to treat them.

Postural strain

The spine and its supporting muscles and ligaments are constantly under stress while sitting, standing, and moving. Poor postural habits puts excess strain on these muscles, joints, ligaments, and even discs. The result is aching pain in the spine and even shooting pain as a result of disc damage.

Just re-teaching proper posture is only half the battle. Introducing the proper joint mobility and improving the postural strength is needed for the body to properly attain and hold the proper posture. Teaching on desk set up and other ergonomics are also important. Modalities to reduce pain and muscle spasm like ClassIV laser, Ultrasound, deep tissue myofascial release, and deep moist heat with electrical stimulation can all calm down the sensitized and painful tissues. Therapeutic exercises and Chiropractic adjustments are part of a complete program. Trigger point injections can help with focal spots of spasms if needed.

Slipped disc

Sometimes from awkward sleeping positions, quick movements, injuries in sports or accidents, one’s low back can feel like it is stuck in one position and standing straight up nearly impossible. The pain can literally take your breath away and cause your knees to buckle. Typically the underlying cause is a combination of joint capsular pain, severe muscle spasm, and nerve root irritation all compounding one another.

Getting to the root of the problem helps alleviate this painful condition. Modalities to reduce the spasm and pain like electrical stimulation, ultrasound, and Class IV Laser, moist heat, and gentle mobilizations can begin to restore motion to the locked segments. Once the pain and inflammation subside, deeper stretching, and more aggressive mobilizations and adjustments can help fully restore function. Therapeutic exercises to turn the affected muscle groups back on, and massage are incorporated as well.

Arthritic pain in the back

As we age, the weight of our body on our spine causes pressure through the disc and the joints of the spine. This eventually causes wearing out of the joints and flattening of the discs. The condition can cause pain from the discs flattening into the nerves and the joints from the pressure can get very sensitive.

Therapies targeted at the problem can help relieve inflammation, reduce pressure on the nerves, and restore mobility to the spinal segments. Electro-Acupressure can reduce nerve sensitization, and manual therapy to the tissue structures can relieve tension and spasms around the area. Along with these modalities, proper alignment through chiropractic adjustments, stretching of tight structures, mobilizing the bogged down joints, physical therapy to improve posture, and modalities to reduce pain and inflammation all can be effective to treat these conditions.

Trauma / Accidents

Quick unforeseen forces through the spine can cause disc trauma, herniations, ligamentous tears, muscle tears, and joint irritation. This can be from car accidents, slip and fall trauma, or during athletic events.

Studies have shown that early return to mobility is best for traumatic injuries to the spine. There are some occasions where a supportive brace can help in the initial phases, but pure bedrest is rarely needed. Gentle guided return to motion can be accomplished by reducing pain, inflammation from the trauma, and improving healing through enhancing circulation and lymphatic drainage. Modalities like moist heat,electrical stimulation, ultrasound, Class IV Laser , intermittent traction, electro-acupressure, all help reduce the spasms from the traumatic event. Deep tissue myofascial work, chiropractic adjustments, and joint mobilizations all help restore proper functioning of the cervical spine. Once motion is restored and pain controlled, a course of rehabilitative exercises to re-teach the deep spinal muscles to stabilize the spine will further accelerate the healing process. If needed, trigger point injections can help reduce spasms.

Sciatica

When the nerves exiting the spine are inflamed through irritation from a disc or from arthritic compression it can cause the nerve to shoot pain down the leg. This can be from a disc issues, arthritis, and stenosis. Sometimes it can even be from a compression in the deep hip muscles like in a piriformis syndrome. Weight bearing through the leg is usually very painful and there may be numbness, burning, tingling and even weakness accompanied with this condition.

Often times, a combined approach of reducing inflammation and pressure at all sites of compression is key. Chiropractic adjustments, stretching, postural correction, are all paramount to relief. Modalities to reduce the spasm and pain like electrical stimulation, ultrasound, Class IV Laser, moist heat, can all help. Lumbar traction could relieve pressure, as well. Rehabilitative exercises can strengthen and balance the musculature to reduce pressure on the nerve chain. A comprehensive approach will help reduce the nerve issues and restore proper function and relieve pain.

Sacro-illiac Pain

Pain in the very low back/buttocks region that is sharp with weight bearing is often times related to a joint called the sacro-illiac joint; where the pelvis and sacrum meet. This joint can be very tight or strained and loosened, both cause pain. Slip and falls, and other traumas can aggravate this area. During and even before child birth this area can get loosened to a point of instability. This can be an arthritic problem, as well.

Addressing the problem is key to success. If the area is tight, then mobilizing the joint and stretching the area helps. If the area is loose, and unstable, then exercises to hold the area tight, as well as an SI belt are key to relief. Modalities for pain such as electrical stimulation, ultrasound, Class IV Laser, moist heat, kineseo-taping, and myofascial tissue work can all accelerate healing. Chiropractic adjustments can help align this and surrounding joints, as well.