Lower Back Pain Treatment
Lower back pain is one of the most common conditions we see in patients at the Living Well 4 Life Center in Hillsborough Township NJ and Hazlet NJ. Research shows that 80% of all men and women will suffer from low back pain at some point in their lives. Low back pain is also the #1 cause of disability in our country. The reason why lower back pain is so common is because it is the area of the body under the most stress throughout the day, every day. Things like walking, sitting, lifting, standing, and bending all involve your lower back and take their toll over time.
If lower back pain is not treated properly and quickly, it can lead to spinal disc degeneration and arthritis. Lower back pain can be acute or chronic. Acute lower back pain develops suddenly, perhaps due to lifting or bending wrong, suffering a sports injury, or as a result of an auto accident. The pain can be sharp, burning, or stiff, and the pain could last from a few hours to a few weeks. If acute lower back pain is not treated properly and quickly it may become chronic. Chronic lower back pain can last as long as three months and is more difficult to heal. When assessing someone with low back pain it is important to address the discs and bones, as well as the muscles and ligaments. Lower back pain is a very complex area of the spine and may involve the bones, muscles, discs, and ligaments. Dr. Steven Loniewski has over 25 years of experience in caring for lower back pain with great success in helping you live a pain-free life.
How to Treat Low Back Pain
Comprehensive Consultation and Exam:
When you come to the Living Well 4 Life Center we will take our time to sit with you and ask you about your lower back pain. You will talk one-on-one with Dr. Steven Loniewski about your health concerns. He will thoroughly examine your spine and feel the area where the pain is coming from and any other areas that might be related. He will ask questions to get to the root cause of your pain as well as ask you about your health goals.
We will perform a highly specialized final exam to find where your pain is coming from. We will also perform different neurological and orthopedic tests as well as a posture analysis. Those tests will let us know how to focus on the cause of the lower back pain and map out a successful plan for quick recovery.
Digital Motion XRays:
After the physical examination of your lower back, the next step may be to take X-rays. At the Living Well 4 Life Center, we utilize the most advanced technologies called 20/20 Digital Motion X-rays. These advanced X-rays will help us determine the cause of your pain. A very common finding associated with lower back pain found on X-ray is a subluxation. This is when a bone (vertebrae) is stuck or locked up and not moving properly. This can put pressure on the nerves, muscles, and discs of your lower back and adversely affect your spinal cord.
It is important to know exactly what we are working with before starting chiropractic care, as everyone is different. With digital motion X-ray analysis, we can make sure that there are no instabilities or permanent damage to your spine. This makes your chiropractic care very specific to your problem.
Specific Chiropractic Care:
As a chiropractor, our job is to locate the cause of your lower back pain, not to care for the symptoms. One of the most common causes of lower back pain is subluxation. A subluxation is a bone that is not moving properly and can cause pressure on a nerve. If the subluxations are not corrected it can cause pain, headaches, numbness, and tingling and can lead to arthritis. At the Living Well 4 Life Center, we use only the most advanced and scientifically specific techniques to get you feeling and functioning better quickly. Through our detailed analysis, we will choose a technique that is extremely comfortable and relaxing that will take the pressure off the nerve therefore correcting the cause of your lower back pain.
Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan:
Healing is a 50/50 process. This means that the patient will need to take an active part in the healing process. We will design a custom exercise program for each patient to do at home that will facilitate faster healing, and faster repair and lead to long-term correction. This therapeutic exercise program is designed to address muscle imbalance and weakness and is designed by our Functional Movement Specialist. The purpose of your exercise program is to allow your chiropractic adjustments to hold better and longer.
Flexion Distraction:
Over the past 25 years, Dr. Steven Loniewski has perfected a technique to help correct the cause of lower back pain called Flexion Distraction. This gentle approach is very specific to lower back pain. Flexion distraction works to decompress the discs of the spine and eliminate spinal pressure. This helps create proper spinal alignment and balance the muscles and discs of the spine. Proper spinal alignment is essential for long-term lower back pain relief.
Common Causes of Lower Back Pain
Subluxation:
A subluxation is one of the most common causes of low back pain. A subluxation or misalignment is a bone that is stuck or not moving properly and puts pressure on the nerve. This pressure can cause low back pain, sciatica, SI joint pain, or numbness in the legs or feet. Chiropractic doctors are the only doctors trained in the detection and correction of spinal subluxation.
Muscle Strain:
Low back pain may have a muscular component as well. Muscle strains may feel like a dull, achy pain or even like a tight muscle that gets worse with movement. Muscle strains may be caused by repetitive movement, poor posture, weak core muscles, sports injuries, and auto accidents.
Muscle strains rarely resolve on their own and can develop into more complex issues. If you continue to have the same muscle issues over time, it can be a symptom of a structural issue. At the Living Well 4 Life Center, we will determine if your lower back pain involves the muscle and design a custom exercise program for your specific needs.
Bulging/Herniated Disc:
In between the bones of your spine or spinal discs. These discs act as shock absorbers of your spine. If the discs get damaged that causes a bulge/herniated disc and causes lower back pain and even numbness and pain down the legs. The Living Well 4 Life Center has a non-surgical approach to help disc problems avoid spinal injections.
Arthritis:
Arthritis is also known as degenerative disc disease and it is a very common cause of low back pain. Many people feel that if they have arthritis they have to live with the pain. This is not true. Dr. Loniewski has over 25 years of experience caring for patients with arthritis with very gentle and effective techniques.
The most common form of arthritis in the spine is osteoarthritis. This can be caused by excessive wear and tear, repetitive movements, injuries, or even poor posture. Through a very detailed analysis, we will determine if you have arthritis and if chiropractic care can help. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to either slow down or stop arthritis from getting worse thus providing the person with a conservative approach to low back pain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a chiropractor in Hillsborough Township NJ and Hazlet NJ good for low back pain?
Absolutely. A chiropractic should be the first doctor you should call when you have low back pain. With over 25 years of experience the Living Well 4 Life Center has helped thousands of patients correct the cause of their low back pain naturally and without drugs and surgery.
When should you see a chiropractor for low back pain?
Is it OK to “crack” my own neck?
Are chiropractic adjustments to the low back safe?
Is chiropractic care covered by my insurance?
How can I tell if my low back is out of alignment?
