05 Dec Treating Lower Back Pain
According to WebMD, about 25% of Americans are affected by lower back pain in a given year. More time is spent treating it than any other medical condition except high blood pressure and diabetes. In fact, statistics report that 31 million Americans suffer from lower back pain at any given time. This isn’t that surprising when you think about all that the back is required to do to support your body and activities. Many people fail to consider the health of their spine until back pain becomes a daily companion. Your team at Mile High Spine & Pain Center is trained to offer you the best treatment options modern science and technology can offer you. By coupling both modern and alternative techniques, our team is able to make a treatment plan that is tailored to your unique needs.
Millions of People in Pain
If you have ever experienced lower back pain, then you are not alone. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke have found millions of adults experience lower back pain regularly. In fact, they found that about 80% of Americans experience lower back pain during their lifetime. It doesn’t affect one gender over another, but seems to affect men and women equally. However, for many people, job environments and stress seems to play a part in back pain.
About 31 million Americans suffer from lower back pain at any given time. In fact, more time is spent treating lower back pain than almost any other medical condition. The good news, however, is that most lower back pain only lasts for a few days to a few weeks. You could be experiencing pain simply because you changed up your routine, have bad posture, or are doing new exercises that are working different muscles. However, if back pain persists, we recommend seeking professional help to relieve it.
Anatomy of Your Back
Did you know that lower back pain is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide? The American Chiropractic Association also reports that it’s one of the most common reasons for missed work. It’s not that surprising when you think about all that the back is required to do to support your body and activities. Without your spine and the structures that support it, you wouldn’t be able to sit, stand, walk, or even give someone you care about a hug. The back is the part of your body that all the other limbs connect to and the part that centers everything. The lower back is also the center of your body and the place that experiences the most work and pressure on a day-to-day basis.
Your back is where your spine is located. It is one of the most important parts of your body, because it’s where your spinal cord is located. The vertebral column (or your backbone) goes from your head all the way down through your lower back. It is made up of 33 different bones that protect your spinal cord and carry your body. You have various sections of your back that carry different weight. Your lumbar spine consists of the 7 vertebrae that are in the lower back. This area gets the most use in the body, which is why so many people end up having lower back pain.
What Will You Feel?
We see back pain on a daily basis. Most of the patients we see come into our office with symptoms such as:
- Stiffness along the spine or in the muscles surrounding it
- Pops, cracks, and other noises or sensations when moving after resting
- Pain that is worse or better after resting
- Pain that worsens with exercise
- Inflammation in either the lower back, neck or mid-back regions
- Spasms throughout the back that make it hard to stand, sit or lie down
- Neuropathy symptoms such as numbness in the back
There are many causes of back pain, but as we mentioned, work or stress can make a big difference in the pain you feel. Activities such as running and jumping can put a lot of wear and tear on the back. Some patients have their symptoms simply from bad posture, or they have had a previous injury from a sports or car accident. Many others, however, experience back pain from degenerative conditions due to aging such as osteoarthritis, stress on the joints, scoliosis, fibromyalgia and more. You could even have a compressed or herniated disc and not know it.
Remedy Your Back Pain
There are many reasons why you could be experiencing lower back pain, but that doesn’t mean that you have to keep experiencing it. Many people turn to invasive surgeries or narcotic painkillers to ease their pain. However, we know that there are better, natural remedies. At our office, we specialize in non-invasive techniques to help curb your back pain and relieve your symptoms. We use treatments such as:
- Steroid shots to reduce pain in a specific area
- Electrical stimulation to calm irritated or damaged nerves
- Spinal alignment therapy to straighten-out slipped vertebrae and relieve pressure on discs
- Recommendations for braces or other support appliances to protect your back
- Physical therapy exercises to strengthen and stretch parts of your back that experience pain.
We custom-make a plan for every patient and our approach will be unique with each person. With so many different treatment techniques, we will definitely have a treatment option that can help you! If you want to stop having back pain and want a stronger, healthier body, don’t wait to get help. Call Mile HIgh Spine & Pain Center today at (720) 507-0080 and get “back” to your life pain-free!