Are you living with chronic back pain or recently injured you back? Pain medications and surgery are not the only options to get you back to feeling well. Chiropractic care in Dawsonville could be the best course of treatment. Everyone knows someone that has had back pain. Minor cases that involve strained muscles all the way up to disc herniations radiculopathy in the arms or legs. Even minor back pain can cause issues with simple daily activities or work. Chiropractic supports proper spinal mechanics that eases tight muscles and reduces pain. See what Ascent Chiropractic can do for your back pain today.
Back Pain in Dawsonville
Back pain is a pretty broad term and includes many different types of pain. Generally back pain is going to be any pain from the shoulders to just below the belt line on the posterior side of the body. Any pain above the mid scapula and top of shoulder would be considered neck pain. Back pain can be due to several different issues or injuries. The back is a complicated structure comprised of bone, ligament, tendon, muscle, nerve and disc. Below are some of the more common conditions that cause back pain and how chiropractic can assist with management and recovery.
Muscle Strain
Muscle strains are the least severe and most common cause of back pain. Simply put muscle strains are an injury to the muscle tissue. Many muscle strains will heal on their own without treatment, but that doesn’t mean they feel good or cannot heal faster with proper treatment. Generally muscle strains are due to lifting something that was too heavy or doing labor your body isn’t accustomed to. When it comes to healing most strains will heal within 4 weeks without reinjury. It is common to reinjure a muscle strain which can lengthen healing time significantly and why we recommend treatment even for routine muscle strains.
Ligament Sprain
Ligament sprains are still considered a relatively minor back injury. A sprain will take longer to heal than a strain and significantly more likely to reinjure. A sprain is a soft tissue injury that occurs when a ligament is stretched. In minor sprains the ligament is just injured which causes pain, in more severe sprains the ligament can be stretched enough to cause laxity or too much movement in the joint. Sprains typically take 6 to 8 weeks to heal even under the care of a professional.
Disc Herniation or Bulge
Disc herniation also known as a bulging disc can be on of the most severe causes of back pain. The disc is located between the vertebra of the spine. Think of it like a gel or marshmallow consistency with a tough fibrous shell that holds the gel in place. When there is a tear or that shell has a weak spot the gel can push out from within the disc. When this bulge touches the nerve it can be extremely painful. and cause pain going into the legs. In severe cases this can also cause weakness in the legs in addition to pain. In many cases a chiropractor can maintain spinal motion and decrease pain during healing to avoid more invasive procedures.
Subluxation
Subluxation is the misalignment and irregular motion of a segment of the spine. This irregular motion can cause pain and tension in the muscles surrounding the spine and may effect the nerves where they exit the spine contributing to nerve pain in the arms or legs. Chiropractors are trained to identify this irregular motion and correct it quickly with non-invasive adjustments.
Stress
While stress is generally considered to be more closely related to neck pain it can contribute to back pain as well. Chronic and acute stress increases tension in the muscles across the body but especially in the neck and back. This increase in tension can cause pain alone but also increases the risk of injury. Chiropractors in Dawsonville are trained to treat stress related muscle tension with massage, trigger point therapy and adjustments to restore proper spinal motion.