Back pain is an all-too-common condition, one that many in Georgia and throughout the world struggle with. The underlying causes of back pain can vary greatly, depending on the patient’s medical history as well as factors of their lifestyle. As a result, lower back pain treatment plans must be personalized to the patient, sometimes requiring multiple forms of intervention and therapy.
The severity of back pain can range from a temporary discomfort to chronic and debilitating. If your low back pain is interfering with your ability to carry out simple, everyday activities, it’s likely time to see a Georgia chiropractor about treatment options.
Optimum Health Rehab provides a comprehensive range of diagnostic, treatment, and wellness services with the goal to target all of the underlying sources of pain and discomfort. We can provide you with a licensed, certified chiropractor as well as pain management specialists, physical therapists, massage therapists and other professional healthcare providers. Our sole goal is to provide you the relief you have desperately been seeking, so reach out to schedule an initial consultation when you call 877-704-1761 or contact us online.
How to Relieve Back Pain Fast
When back pain is triggered by a number of minor factors related to health and lifestyle, such as poor sleep quality and repetitive stress, it can often be alleviated through methods that can be performed at home. Some of these methods include the following:
- Taking over the counter NSAID medications, like naproxen, ibuprofen, acetaminophen
- Increasing daily water intake
- Stretching and performing yoga
- Using a heating pad, hot compress, or hot bath/shower
- Incorporating anti-inflammatory foods into your diet
- Reducing physically strenuous activity, especially lifting and bending over
- Upgrading your office chair or mattress to a firmer, more supportive product
- Performing light exercise, including walking, swimming, and biking
- Paying closer attention to posture to reduce stooping and leaning
- Practicing breathing and mindfulness exercises to reduce stress
Back pain that is accompanied by numbness, weakness or tingling in the extremities, tremors, blurred vision, fever, loss of bowel control, or unexplained weight loss should prompt a visit to a doctor or emergency room. Severe back pain that does not resolve after a few days or weeks should also be investigated by a licensed physician.
Depending on the source and severity of your back pain, you might have several potential treatment or pain management options. Some of those back pain treatments are strictly focused on masking the pain, while others are intended to treat the true source of your low back pain.
If you’ve only experienced short-term benefits from past back treatment, there’s a good chance the treatment was geared towards the symptoms of low back pain and not the cause.
Non-surgical treatment options for persistent back pain include:
- Chiropractic adjustment
- Pain injections
- Physical therapy
- Massage
- Medical devices
- Hydrotherapy
- Nutrition and lifestyle changes
What Should I Expect During My Lower Back Pain Treatment Visit?
A typical round of lower back pain therapy begins with a thorough evaluation by the chiropractor. You will be asked to describe your symptoms, how often they occur, and how they affect your ability to perform daily tasks.
At Optimum Health Rehab our care professionals can perform X-rays and other tests to further assess your condition. Your provider will recommend a treatment plan based on your test results and their analysis.
Depending on the results of your assessment and your own preferences, your care may involve the services of one or more healthcare professionals. Frequently, Optimum Health patients are given a series of initial adjustments followed by massage therapy and physical rehabilitation appointments to strengthen and stabilize the back region. We also offer specialized neurology treatments to pinpoint any nerve impedances that may be contributing or contributing to the pain you are experiencing.
Treatment options are offered on a flexible basis, with many patients electing to take their treatment plan week-by-week in order to see which intervention can bring the relief they seek. Other patients choose to book a series of massage appointments while meeting regularly with their chiropractor and pain treatment specialists to develop an ongoing care plan. Once you meet with your care provider and develop an initial diagnostic profile you have many options available at your disposal, with the possibility to modify or customize your treatment plan according to your progress.
Common Underlying Causes of Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain is most often caused by a combination of repetitive stress injury and muscle tension or strain. In many cases, years of cumulative stress coupled with posture issues and muscular imbalances leads to direct pressure being applied to the lower back, triggering pain and other symptoms. This underlying cumulative tension and strain is the reason many physical rehabilitation experts will focus on stretching and rebalancing the hamstrings and quadricep muscles rather than targeting the lower back itself.
Pain that is accompanied by tingling or shooting pains may be caused by nerve compression or acute injury to the spinal cord and other important nerve conduits. These issues are similar to sciatica and other common chronic pain issues that plague 75% of Americans, according to the CDC.
Many patients come to us after suffering a previous injury via sports activities, a fall, or a car accident. Often, these patients will recuperate but end up with lingering medical problems related to compressed discs or muscles that were never fully rehabilitated.
From injury to accidents to repetitive stress to the rigors of everyday life, there are many reasons why back pain can emerge and then persist — often worsening over time. Your personalized care team at Optimum Health will coordinate with your current doctor to develop a care plan that targets the root of your lower back issues while helping you build a solid health foundation for a stronger, more-flexible back relieved from pain.
Why Is Lower Back Pain Chiropractic Care Good for Overall Wellness?
Many manual therapies performed by chiropractors are effective ways to treat the underlying causes of low back pain, including for patients with herniated discs in the lumbar region. Chiropractors can use mobilization, or low velocity manipulations, to improve a patient’s pain-free range of motion.
Adjustments may include pulling, pushing, or re-positioning the neck, hips, or head. The low back pain treatment that’s right for you will depend on your physical condition and the types of symptoms you’re experiencing. This type of lower back pain treatment naturally stimulates the body’s own self-healing processes by relieving pressure on the central nervous system.
Today, a growing number of medical doctors are adopting the practice of spinal manipulation as an effective form of low back pain treatment. Patient care guidelines for both the American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians recommend spinal manipulation should be considered in cases where the pain is not caused by serious conditions, such as herniated disks or compression fractures.
Chiropractors operate from the belief that the health of the spine affects the overall physical, mental, and emotional health of the individual. The spine directly connects with the spinal cord and plays a central role in the health of your central nervous system. Since the central nervous system controls almost every function in the body, its health is crucial to the health of the individual.
Choosing the Best Georgia Chiropractor for Your Lower Back Pain
Academic credentials and experience in the field are the two most important things to consider when choosing the best chiropractor for lower back pain treatment. Much like with any profession, the more training and years of experience a person has, the more knowledgeable they likely are in their field.
Causes of back pain can vary from person to person. The techniques and approaches used in lower back pain treatment are dependent on each patient’s unique condition and the source of their back pain. The more real-world experience a chiropractor has, the better equipped he or she will be to correctly identify and treat the problem.
A good lower back pain treatment specialist will ask for your input and answer any questions you have during your initial visit and your chiropractic adjustments. If you encounter a chiropractor that isn’t sensitive to your needs and comfort level as a patient, you may want to keep looking.
Visit One of Our Georgia Clinics for Lower Back Pain Management
Need Relief from Low Back Pain in Georgia?
Optimum Health Rehab’s Georgia offices are staffed by skilled care professionals who are committed to alleviating your back pain. We use comprehensive testing and diagnostics to uncover why you are suffering from lower back pain, rather than just trying to treat your symptoms. Even after initial appointments provide the relief you seek, we can continue to work with you to keep muscles relaxed through massage therapy while keeping them properly balanced and strengthened through ongoing physical rehabilitation routines.
If you’re tired of masking your back pain, make the call that can bring you the relief you’ve been hoping for. Call us at 877-704-1761 or request an appointment online today.