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What Causes Back Pain and Treatment Options

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What Causes Back Pain and Treatment Options

Suffering from back pain? Most people will experience back pain sometime during their lifetime. Chiropractic care is considered a safe, Back Paineffective treatment for back pain. Led by Dr. Scott Shaw, Shaw Chiropractic Center (located in Richmond, VA) offers full-service, state-of-the-art chiropractic care to the patients it serves. Read on to learn about the causes of back pain and treatment options.

Causes of Back Pain

Spinal Arthritis: Spinal arthritis — the slow degeneration of the spinal joints — is a common cause of low back pain. Everyone experiences wear and tear as they age, and it's normal for your lower back to start acting up as you get older. As the cartilage breaks down between the joints, surrounding tissues may become swollen. The swelling and thinning of cartilage increase friction in the joints, which may cause back pain.

Back Injuries: A car accident or fall can cause a back injury. But so can carrying a heavy object up the stairs. Some back injuries can be sudden, and some happen slowly over time. Everyday tasks can also lead to back injuries when done incorrectly. If your back pain is from a mild injury, your chiropractor can help.

Herniated Discs: A ruptured, or herniated, disc is a disc that has “spilled out” of its lining. This happens most often in the lower back. Some ruptured discs cause no symptoms. Others can irritate nerves and result in numbness, pain, or weakness in an arm or leg. Chiropractors offer a variety of treatments for herniated discs.

Skeletal irregularities: A condition in which your spine curves to the side (scoliosis) can lead to back pain. Most cases are mild with few symptoms. Severe scoliosis can be painful and disabling. Chiropractic treatments are used to treat patients with scoliosis. There is no cure for scoliosis, but the symptoms can be reduced with treatment.

Spondylolysis: Spondylolysis refers to a stress fracture in one of the vertebrae of the spine. This condition is most common in kids and adolescents who play sports, such as football or gymnastics, that place repeated stress on the lower back. Spondylolysis can also occur from the degenerative changes of aging, which cause loss of the normal stabilizing structures of the spinal column.

 

Treatments for Back Pain

Spinal Manipulation: Spinal manipulation is often used to treat back pain. Spinal manipulation is a technique where chiropractic doctors use a device or their hands to apply a controlled thrust to a joint of your spine. Spinal manipulations can ease back pain by taking the pressure off nerves or tissues, reducing muscle tension, boosting blood flow, and increasing range of motion.

Therapeutic Exercise: Therapeutic exercise is good for back pain. Your chiropractor can design an exercise plan to help with pain relief. Therapeutic exercise refers to a range of physical activities that help build strength, endurance, flexibility, stability, and balance. The aim of therapeutic exercise is returning patients to a pain-free, fully functioning state.
 

Get your life back! Whether your goal is getting back to sports, the office, or just enjoying life, we can help. Call Shaw Chiropractic Center at 804-741-3068 today to schedule a consultation in Richmond, VA.

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Monday

8:30 am - 6:00 pm

Tuesday

8:30 am - 12:00 pm

Wednesday

8:30 am - 6:00 pm

Thursday

2:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Friday

8:30 am - 12:00 pm

Saturday

Closed

Sunday

Closed

Monday
8:30 am - 6:00 pm
Tuesday
8:30 am - 12:00 pm
Wednesday
8:30 am - 6:00 pm
Thursday
2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Friday
8:30 am - 12:00 pm
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed