Back Pain
Find Pain Relief
Do you suffer from back pain? We understand how debilitating it can be. But you don’t have to live in pain, and you can prevent back pain from recurring. We believe one of the first steps in finding back pain relief is understanding your pain, how your back works, and what’s causing the pain in the first place.
How your back works
Your back consists of your spine, spinal discs, ligaments, back muscles, and nerves. A healthy back and spine let you stand upright, sit up, stretch, bend, twist, and lift without pain. You have flexibility and mobility when everything is working right.
Your spine has 4 regions:
- Cervical Spine (Your neck)
- Thoracic Spine (Upper Back)
- Lumbar Spine (Lower Back)
- Sacral Region (Bottom of the spine/back of the pelvis)
Your spine is made up of 33 vertebrae, with spinal discs forming a cushion between them. Your back muscles support your spine and help keep it in alignment. Core muscles like your abdomen, buttock, and thigh muscles help take the strain off your back muscles.
You experience back pain and mobility issues when something is wrong with your spinal alignment or back muscles.
Types of back pain
There are several types of back pain which vary by location and the “feel” of the pain. These include:
- Low back pain
- Mid back pain
- Upper back pain
When we say the “feel” of the back pain, we mean how you might describe it, such as dull and achy, shooting pain, burning, etc.
Common Causes of Back Pain
More than 80% of people will experience back pain at some point in life. It’s one of the most common medical issues people have. And it has several very common causes, many of which are preventable. Some of these causes include:
- Poor posture (sitting or standing)
- Weak back and core muscles from lack of exercise
- Improper lifting
- Heavy lifting
- Car accident injuries
- Herniated disc
- Arthritis of the spine (spinal stenosis)
- Pregnancy
Back Pain Symptoms
Of course, your main symptom is pain. But different kinds of back pain can mean different things. And the location of the pain is also important. Symptoms to tell your provider about include:
- Location of the pain
- Type of pain – dull and achy, shooting pain, etc.
- Constant pain vs pain only when you twist or bend
- Back stiffness in the morning that goes away with activity
- Back pain that radiates into your buttocks or down one or both legs
- When the back pain started – came on suddenly or slowly increasing
The type of pain and the location of the pain can be indicators of what the root cause is.
Back Pain FAQs
Q: What is causing this pain in my back?
A: That’s a good question. We went over some causes of back pain above, but the only way for us to know the cause of the pain in your back is to do a comprehensive evaluation.
Q: How do I know if my back pain is serious?
A: Your back pain is serious if it:
- Is severe and doesn’t improve with rest
- Lasts longer than a few weeks
- Spreads down one or both legs
- Combines with weakness, tingling, or numbness of the legs
- Causes incontinence
Q: Who gets back pain?
A: Anyone can get back pain, at any age, including children and teens. Back pain becomes more common as we age, especially if you have gained weight.
Q: Can constipation cause back pain?
A: Yes, it can. The build-up of stool in your large intestine can cause a dull lower back pain. If constipation is the cause of your back pain, it should resolve as soon as you go to the bathroom. Try drinking more water, increasing the fiber in your diet, and getting more exercise to prevent constipation.
Q: Is back pain a sign of pregnancy?
A: Just like low back pain can be a sign of PMS, it can be an early sign of pregnancy. If you think it’s possible you could be pregnant, you should take a pregnancy test.
Q: What's causing pain in my back and the left side of my chest?
A: If you have sudden back pain along with pain in the left side of your chest, you may be experiencing early warning signs of a heart attack. Even if you’re not sure it’s a heart attack, call 911 to get checked out.
Q: Which lifestyle factors contribute to lower back pain?
A: This is a very good question, because by changing your lifestyle, you can help find back pain relief. Lifestyle factors that contribute to lower back pain include:
- Lack of exercise – causes weak back and core muscles.
- Excess weight – puts a strain on your back, spine, knees, and ankles.
- Improper lifting – using your back instead of your legs to lift can strain your back.
- Smoking – coughing can cause back pain, and even herniated discs.
- Poor posture – causes back pain and spinal problems.
- Poor form in exercise or sports.
How Cima Health Can Help
Cima Health provides restorative, lifelong solutions that target the root cause of your back pain. Your care will start out with a comprehensive evaluation to assess your pain. We will also ask questions about your work and home life, lifestyle, and habits before making recommendations for an integrative plan of care. Together, we come up with conservative and alternative treatments that can help you achieve whole-body wellness and live pain-free for life.
Treating and preventing back pain involves several treatment modalities, all of which you can receive in one location. They include:
- Chiropractic Care
- Stretching Programs
- Physical Therapy
- Massage Therapy
- Physical Fitness
Let’s take a look at how each of these areas works together to provide you with natural pain relief and inspires you to make lifestyle changes to prevent back pain in the future.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care may provide nearly immediate back pain relief, depending on the location and underlying cause of your back pain. Spinal adjustments, manual therapy, dry needling, and Class IV laser treatment can all help relieve your pain.
Our Palm Beach Gardens chiropractors are all highly trained professionals and include:
Working with back pain
Working with back pain can be difficult, if not impossible, depending on your occupation. Regular chiropractic adjustments can help tremendously. But if your job requires you to stand all day or lift heavy boxes, you may need work accommodations until your back heals and you return to full duty.
Your chiropractor can recommend work restrictions to your employer if needed, such as an ergonomic chair, being allowed to sit instead of stand, weight lifting restrictions, etc. This is especially true if you are seeing the chiropractor as part of a workers’ compensation claim. Your doctor will discuss this with you as necessary.
Stretching Programs
Tight back muscles can lead to increased back pain. We will develop a stretching program for you that will help ease pain before it gets worse. These are stretches for back pain you can do here under our supervision, but also at home.
You will want to memorize these stretches and add them to your daily routine to prevent back pain. Many of our patients do their stretches first thing in the morning and before going to bed. It’s also a good idea to do your stretches before exercise.
Physical Therapy (PT)
Physical therapy, when combined with other treatments can also help with back pain. And we will help you strengthen your core muscles with Pilates. Strong core muscles help relieve the back muscles from doing all the work.
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy is another modality we offer that can target back pain from a strain right at the source for fast relief. The massage therapist will stretch and massage your back muscles for optimal effect. Depending on the location of your pain, the therapist may also massage your gluteus medius muscle, as a problem with your hip muscles can also cause back pain.
Physical Fitness
The last component of preventing back pain is becoming physically fit. You may think you’re physically fit already, but if you’re experiencing back pain, your core muscles may not be as strong as they need to be. If you’re even slightly overweight, those excess pounds can cause back strain. Our physical fitness team of personal trainers can help develop an exercise and weight loss regimen to help you kick back pain to the curb.
The entire team at Cima Health works together to provide you with restorative, lifelong solutions.
Testimonials
Book an Appointment
Back pain can make it hard to enjoy life, let alone play with your kids or play a round of golf. If you’re looking for a conservative treatment for back pain, book an appointment today. One of our chiropractors will do a comprehensive examination to get to the root cause of your back pain and develop an integrative plan of care to relieve your pain and inspire you to achieve whole-body wellness.
