About 80 percent of men and women experience lower back pain at some point in their lives, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Chronic Low Back Pain in Florissant MO is considered a neurological disorder because it involves the nervous system. It also is a musculoskeletal disorder, affecting the back muscles and spine.
Common Causes of Back Pain
Back pain can occur for many reasons. In some individuals, it happens because of an injury from an accident like a vehicle collision or a fall. A vertebral fracture may occur that causes significant pain that becomes ongoing for the person’s lifetime. Muscle strains from activities like lifting heavy objects or doing too much physical labor also cause back pain.
Managing Severe Episodes
Many people suffer from episodes of severe Low Back Pain in Florissant MO that occur a few times a year. They miss work because it becomes so hard for them to sit up straight or to stand for any length of time. Some of these individuals seek chiropractic treatment when they experience this level of pain, finding that the spinal adjustments and other therapies reduce their discomfort and shorten the time it takes to fully recover.
These episodes can take anywhere from one to four weeks to be resolved, on average. Chiropractors with a clinic such as Back & Neck Care Center typically advise patients to continue being active with gentle exercise and walking. Becoming sedentary because of the discomfort can be very tempting, but that can lead to more stiffness and compromised flexibility. This, in turn, worsens the pain when the person does move.
Minimizing the Use of Pain Medication
Chiropractic doctors understand that over-the-counter pain relief medications are effective for most people dealing with lower back pain, but they would like to see everyone minimize their use of these drugs. Taking any of these medicines in large doses or over a long time frame can cause unpleasant and even serious side effects. Some men and women who take ibuprofen regularly eventually develop intestinal ulcers, for example. Acetaminophen is connected with liver damage in some individuals, especially those who drink alcohol.
