About Back Pain

Lower back pain is an extremely common condition with up to 80% of the population experiencing back pain at some time during the lives. Although the underlying pathology of low back pain is usually not serious, it is an important cause of pain in the community and has considerable impact on the economy due to time taken off work. Whilst the vast majority of patients with back pain will recover within 6 weeks, a small number will go on to develop chronic back pain and a gradual deterioration of functionality.

Causes

Most causes of back pain are the result of irritation or poor function of the bones, joints, ligaments or muscles in your back. Such irritation can be the result of Vertebral dysfunction, a common condition that occurs when the spinal vertebrae compress or irritate the delicate nerve structures of your lower back.

Other causes of lower back pain include inflammatory arthritis (e.g. ankylosis spondylitis, Rheumatoid arthritis), and fractures due to osteoporosis. Back pain may also be ‘referred’ from another location.

Less common conditions causing low back pain include cancer (usually from another source such as the prostate or lung), serious infections and compression of the spinal cord.

Assessment

Your Chiropractor will perform a detailed history, orthopaedic, neurological and spinal examination to determine the exact cause of your lower back pain. Other tests including x-rays and digital scanning may also be recommended.

If you’re one of the many Australians that suffers with neck pain, you will be pleased to know that our proven Chiropractic approach may offer the solution you have been searching for.

Neck pain is very common with about one in 10 people having it at any given time. This comes as no surprise when we consider the activities of modern life such as sitting in front of a computer, watching prolonged periods of television and an increasing incidence of poor posture – particularly forward head posture.

Problems within the neck can also cause headache, shoulder pain, TMJ or jaw pain, pins and needles in the hands, carpal tunnel syndrome and upper back pain.

If you regularly experience any of the following, we encourage you to contact us for a thorough assessment:

• persistent neck ache first thing in the morning
• neck stiffness when reversing in the car
• clicking neck noise when turning
• constant aching neck muscles
• tingling in your hands or fingers

Causes

By far the most common cause of neck pain relates to the effects of poor posture. In order to understand the impact of poor posture, we must first consider why spinal alignment within the neck is so important.

Your head weighs about 5 kgs and in normal alignment it is very carefully balanced on top of your seven neck bones (vertebrae). Your muscles work very hard to maintain this position and can easily withstand short periods of variation. The problem arises when we assume awkward positions for prolonged periods, the fine balance is disturbed and the nerves, muscles, joints, ligaments and discs of your neck become strained and irritated. In fact, the tension in your neck and shoulder muscles doubles for every 2-3 cm’s that your head is forward!! Over time, the neck strain and pressure accumulates to a point where it becomes chronic and even the smallest changes in posture cause significant effects. Coupled with the stresses and demands of modern life, it’s no surprise why neck pain is so common.

Other common causes of neck pain include whiplash, arthritis and sporting injuries.

Please contact us to arrange your comprehensive neck pain assessment…we look forward to hearing from you!