The low-down on low back pain

Low back pain is one the most common conditions for which many of us seek treatment from a health care professional. It costs the country millions of dollars and thousands of days of lost work time each year. It can be a debilitating, frustrating, and continuing cause of misery and loss of quality of life.

The good news is there is plenty you can do to help yourself. Research shows that only about 15 percent of back pain has a definite structural cause, such as a disc herniation, fracture, or injury. About 85 percent of back pain is known as functional (or mechanical) back pain. This means that it is the way the joints, muscles, and nerves work together that is the problem. In most cases, functional spinal pain can be relieved through a combination of professional help, and self-help

Professional help

Chiropractors see more spines than any other profession; it's what they do all day. In Australia it takes a minimum of five years full-time university training at Masters degree level to be able to call yourself a chiropractor. A Doctor of Chiropractic will take a thorough case history of your condition; how long has been there for, what kind of pain is it, does it radiate or spread anywhere, is it getting better or worse, what aggravates it, what relieves it, what other treatment have you had.

After the case history your chiropractor will examine the motion and function of each of your vertebrae, perform a range of neurological and orthopaedic tests, and will most likely order some x-rays to assess damage and measure misalignment.

After putting all this information together, he or she will then know how best to manage your condition. Most often it will be with a combination of gentle and specific spinal adjustments, and supportive exercise from you.

Self-help

Prevention is better than cure, and there many things that you can do to make life easier for yourself. Start with your work environment - does it support you or does it contribute to your spinal problem? Remember, most spinal problems are NOT due to one incident, but and accumulation of many small things over a period of years, and the pain is an END RESULT, not a beginning.

What about your bed? The furniture you slouch in at the end of a long day? Could these be contributing to your problems? Are you overweight? Excess weight places much more load on the discs of the spine and makes them more vulnerable to injury.

The most important thing that you can do for yourself is exercise! Not just walking every now and then, but proper muscle toning exercise in a gym, under supervision. Research shows that either chiropractic or exercise can reduce back pain by themselves, but when done together they give more than DOUBLE the benefit of either one done alone.

Your chiropractor will show you which exercises are best for your specific condition.

The overall message is to take responsibility for your spine - you only get one! You want to make sure it lasts as long as you do. Regular exercise, periodic adjustments, good nutrition, and good work habits will together add years to your active life.

And remember; always make sure that your chiropractor is a member of the Chiropractor's Association of Australia.

Article courtesy of Lee De Coster, Chiropractor in Leederville WA. For more info visit www.leedervillechiropractic.com.au