What Back Conditions Do Chiropractors Treat?
You might think that chiropractors only treat certain types of aches and pains. If so, you’re not alone — but you’re missing out. Chiropractic care can treat various back conditions that may surprise you.
If you deal with exhausting back pain, here are seven common spinal conditions and how our Clearwater chiropractor, Dr. Jere, can help treat them.
Common Back Conditions
- Sciatica
- Burning or tingling sensations
- Constant pain made worse by sitting
- Shooting pain that makes it difficult to stand up
- Perform chiropractic adjustments to relax your muscles and free restricted movement.
- Use cold laser therapy (low-intensity laser) to increase circulation and promote healing.
- Offer advice on posture, ergonomics, and exercise techniques.
- Herniated Discs
- Arm or leg pain
- Severe back, buttocks, and leg pain
- Numbness and tingling
- Muscle weakness and fatigue
- Use chiropractic adjustments to move the spine into the correct alignment, relieving pressure.
- Perform spinal decompression therapy to remove stress from the nerve roots and stimulate healing.
- Employ cold laser therapy to reduce pain and inflammation.
- Recommend gentle stretches and exercises that heal damaged muscles, tissues, and joints.
- Posterior Facet Syndrome
- Dull ache in the lower back that radiates to the buttocks and backs of upper legs
- Pain that radiates locally or into the shoulders or upper back
- Tenderness directly over the inflamed facet joints
- Discomfort when leaning back
- Back stiffness
- Use a series of controlled thrusts to properly align the facet joints, resolving symptoms and preventing the condition from returning.
- Recommend specific, at-home exercises to increase your strength and flexibility.
- Provide nutritional advice, recommending a change in diet or the addition of supplements.
- Spinal Stenosis
- Low back pain that eases when bending forward or sitting
- Pain, numbness, and muscle weakness
- Burning sensations, tingling, and pins and needles in the legs or buttocks
- Impaired bladder and bowel control in severe cases
- Use spinal decompression therapy to re-align and take pressure off dislocated and herniated discs.
- Create a rehab routine that addresses your back pain and mobility issues. The prescribed exercises will improve the position of your spine and decompress the spinal nerves.
- Take-home exercises improve flexibility and relax stiff muscles that can aggravate the symptoms of spinal stenosis.
- Spondylolisthesis
- Pain in the lower back that radiates to the buttocks or back of the thighs
- Difficulty walking or standing for long periods
- Pain when bending over
- Numbness, weakness, or tingling in the legs and feet, especially after walking
- Muscle spasms in the hamstrings
- Adjust the spinal joints above and below the slipped vertebra, reducing pain but not the spondylolisthesis itself. Spinal manipulation can also improve your range of motion.
- Use the flexion-distraction technique, which is a slow, gentle pumping action.
- Exercise counseling consists of stretches that improve posture and prevent future injury.
- Radiculopathy
- Cervical radiculopathy appears in the neck and radiates into the chest, arms, and hands.
- Thoracic radiculopathy is the least common location. It affects the upper middle back and may wrap around the front of your body.
- Lumbar radiculopathy occurs in the lower back and is commonly referred to as sciatica. This area is most frequently affected by radiculopathy.
- Perform spinal manipulation to adjust the spine and improve mobility. Cervical traction is another technique that aims to increase the space between each vertebra, providing pain relief.
- Offer nutritional support, including diet advice and supplements to lessen back pain.
- Exercises, or gentle stretches, might be recommended to strengthen and stretch the area, reducing pain and stiffness.
- Failed Back and Neck Syndrome
- Numbness, weakness, and tingling
- Radicular pain (pain that spreads from one area of the body to another) in the legs, hips, and buttocks
- Back spasms
- Dull aching pain in the neck or sharp pain that radiates into the arms
- Gentle chiropractic adjustments can restore motion to the spinal joints.
- Non-surgical spinal decompression relieves and treats pain by gently stretching the spine and reducing pressure on the spinal discs. It promotes the movement of fluids and oxygen for quicker healing.
- Nutritional therapy helps boost your immune system while decreasing stress and chronic fatigue caused by failed back and neck syndrome.
- Rehabilitative exercises rebuild strength and prevent chronic back and neck pain.
Located in your lower back, the sciatic nerve is a bundle of sensitive nerves that extend through your hips and buttocks, down each leg to your feet. Sciatica symptoms range from slight aches to sharp pain that only affects one side of the body. Some people also experience weakness or numbness, as well as the following symptoms:
The most common causes of sciatica are a herniated disc or an overgrowth of bone. However, other culprits might include degenerative disc disease, pregnancy, or spondylolisthesis, which we’ll cover below.
What Can a Chiropractor Do?
Also referred to as bulging, protruding, or slipped, a herniated disc is a rupture of the soft, rubbery disc between the vertebrae. When some of the disc’s inner material escapes, it takes up more room than it should, putting pressure on the spinal nerves. Herniated discs can lead to other issues, including sciatica, spinal stenosis, and spine osteoarthritis if left untreated.
Herniated disc symptoms vary depending on injury severity and location, though the most common signs include:
Most of the time, herniated discs are the result of acute trauma, such as a car accident, awkward lift, or frequent poor posture. Annular tears (a tear in the ligament that connects your spinal discs and vertebra) are also a precursor to herniated discs.
What Can a Chiropractor Do?
Posterior facet syndrome is an arthritis-like condition that affects the lower spine and back. While uncommon, it’s typically associated with degenerative disc disease or osteoarthritis of the spine.
The condition can be painless until an injury or event triggers symptoms, some of which include the following:
Degenerative disc disease usually results from age-related wear and tear and might be advanced by injuries and other lifestyle factors.
What Can a Chiropractor Do?
Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal, often caused by age-related wear and tear. It puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerves, usually in the neck and lower back. Common symptoms of spinal stenosis include the following:
Spinal stenosis can be related to degenerative disc disease and degenerative arthritis. There’s no cure for spinal stenosis, though it responds well to chiropractic treatment.
What Can a Chiropractor Do?
Spondylolisthesis is a spinal disorder that causes the spine’s vertebrae to slip out of place. It usually occurs towards the base of your spine (lumbar area), resulting in chronic lower back pain. The condition is often due to a congenital disability or abnormal wear on the cartilage and bones.
Spondylolisthesis can have no symptoms, but some experience the following:
What Can a Chiropractor Do?
While chiropractic care won’t cure spondylothesis (usually requires surgery), it is effective in treating symptoms of the condition.
Radiculopathy is a condition caused by a compressed nerve in your spine. When one of your nerve roots is pinched or irritated, the area around it will feel painful, numb, or tingly. There are three types of radiculopathy; this affects where you experience symptoms. Here’s a quick overview:
Common causes of radiculopathy include spinal stenosis, disc herniation, bone spurs, or other conditions. While minimally-invasive surgery is an option, you can manage symptoms with chiropractic treatment.
What Can a Chiropractor Do?
Failed back or neck (surgery) syndrome is chronic pain following an unsuccessful back or neck procedure. In addition to persistent pain, other symptoms of failed back and neck surgery include the following:
What Can a Chiropractor Do?
Back Pain Treatment in Clearwater, FL
Regular exercise, healthy weight management, and chiropractic care can prevent many spine-related conditions.
For over 30 years, Family Life Chiropractic has treated back pain caused by car accidents, whiplash, and sports injuries. Our chiropractor, Dr. Jere, is proficient in many chiropractic and nutritional techniques and will choose the exact treatment or combination of treatments you need to remedy your condition.
If you’re looking for back pain treatment in Clearwater, FL, call us at 727-447-4647 or contact us today!