Explaining Lower Back Pain

Do you suffer from lower back pain? It is now the leading cause of disability worldwide. Back pain guidelines recommend seeing a chiropractor or other form of healthcare before medications such as relaxants or opioid-based pain relief. 2, 3

Back pain can be frustrating and debilitating. With so many suffering from back pain, doctors often don’t know what’s causing the pain, as most of the time, back pain isn’t due to something like a fracture or an infection.1 It’s often due to a change in how your back is moving and functioning, which changes how your brain senses what is going on in your back.4-7

Chiropractic care improves low back pain and may even stop the pain from becoming chronic. This is because chiropractic care improves the way the spine moves and allows the brain to properly sense and control the spine, heal, and prevent injuries.8,9

There have been many research studies on the effects of chiropractic care on low back pain. A study has shown that the earlier someone gets chiropractic care, the better their long-term outcomes10. This is likely because chiropractic care changes the way the brain functions and particularly affects the part of the brain that is involved with pain becoming chronic.8,9,11,12

This means chiropractic care may stop the brain from learning to be in pain. 

This study also showed that people who had regular chiropractic care, even when not experiencing back pain, had an average of thirteen fewer days of low back pain over the course of the year-long study than those who only saw a chiropractor when they were experiencing back pain.10 In another study of 750 military personnel with low back pain, thirteen scientists explored what happened when they added chiropractic care to the usual medical care that they were receiving. In this study, they found that over six weeks, the group that saw a chiropractor had less back pain intensity and less disability than the group that only received their usual medical care.

What’s more, the chiropractic group was more satisfied with the care they received, thought they’d improved more, and reported taking fewer drugs to help control their back pain compared with those who only got the usual medical care.

Remember that chiropractic care offers much more than just helping you with your back pain. Chiropractic care is about improving the communication between your brain and body9 so you can function optimally.

So, if you want to keep your back pain at bay or simply want to function at your best, see your family chiropractor because the research suggests that your spine and brain will love you for it.

References

1. Hartvigsen J, Hancock MJ, Kongsted A, et al.Lancet 2018;391(10137):2356-67. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(18)30480-x
2. Non-invasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain 2017;166(7):514-30. doi: 10.7326/m16-2367 %m 28192789
3. Corp N, Mansell G, Stynes S, et al. 2021;25(2):275-95. doi: 10.1002/ejp.1679
4. Hodges PW, Danneels L. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2019;49(6):464-76. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2019.8827
5. van Dieën JH, Reeves NP, Kawchuk G, et al. 2019;49(6):370-79. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2019.7917
6. Hodges PW. 2011;21(2):220-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2011.01.002
7. Meier ML, Vrana A, Schweinhardt P. 2019;25(6):583-96. doi: 10.1177/1073858418809074
8. Haavik H, Murphy B. 2012;22(5):768-76. doi: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2012.02.012
9. Haavik H, Kumari N, Holt K, Niazi IK, Amjad I, Pujari AN, Türker KS, Murphy B. 2021; doi: 10.1007/s00421-021-04727-z.
10. Eklund A, Jensen I, Lohela-Karlsson M, et al. 2018;13(9):e0203029. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203029
11. Lelic D, Niazi IK, Holt K, et al. 2016;2016:3704964. doi: 10.1155/2016/3704964
12. Seminowicz DA, Moayedi M. 2017;18(9):1027-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2017.03.008
13. Goertz CM, Long CR, Vining RD, et al. 2018;1(1):e180105. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0105
    
    Acknowledgments
    
      Dr. Heidi Haavik – BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD
      Dr. Kelly Holt – BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD
      Dr. Jenna Duehr – BChiro, BHSC (Nursing), MHSc