Back Pain

A few interesting facts about back pain:

• One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year.²
• Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work.  In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor's office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections.
• Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic: meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.
• Americans spend at least billion each year on back pain and that's just for the more easily identified costs.³
• Experts estimate that as many as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in our lives.⁴

What Causes Back Pain?

The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. You can sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture disks, and irritate joints, all of which can lead to back pain. Even though sports injuries or accidents can cause back pain, sometimes the simplest of movements for example, picking up a pencil from the floor can have painful results. In addition, arthritis, poor posture, obesity, and psychological stress can cause or complicate back pain. Back pain can also directly result from disease of the internal organs, such as kidney stones, kidney infections, blood clots, or bone loss.

Will Back Pain Go Away On Its Own?
Until recently, researchers believed that back pain will "heal" on its own. We have learned, however, that this is not true. A recent study showed that when back pain is not treated, it may go away temporarily but will most likely return. The study demonstrated that in more than 33% of the people who experience low-back pain, the pain lasts for more than 30 days. Only 9% of the people who had low-back pain for more than 30 days were pain free 5 years later.¹

Another study looked at all of the available research on the natural history of low-back pain. The results showed that when it is ignored, back pain does not go away on its own.² Those studies demonstrate that low-back pain continues to affect people for long periods after it first begins.
Our Doctors at Connecticut Family Chiropractic are health care professionals that are dedicated to the non-surgical treatment of disorders of the nervous system and/or musculoskeletal system, generally through chiropractors maintaining a unique focus on spinal manipulation and treatment of surrounding structures.

Chiropractic Treatments at Connecticut Family Chiropractic,  typically focus on, but are not limited to, care of:

• Mid and lower back pain
• Neck pain
• Joint pain in the arms and legs
• Headaches        

What Can I Do to Prevent Long-Term Back Pain?
If your back pain is not resolving quickly, please visit us as soon as possible. Your pain will often result from mechanical problems that the Doctors of Connecticut Family Chiropractic can address. Many chiropractic patients with relatively long-lasting or recurring back pain feel improvement shortly after starting chiropractic treatment at our offices. Medical Research has shown that typically, the relief patients feel after a month of treatment is often greater than after seeing a family physician.⁴

Chiropractic Treatment is a safe and effective treatment for back pain. It reduces pain, decreases medication, rapidly advances physical therapy, and requires very few passive forms of treatment, such as bed rest.⁵

 What Do I do first when Back Pain Strikes?

 When you are affected with Back Pain, the most important step is choosing the right Doctor.  The right type of Doctor is where to start.  Chiropractic Physicians also known as Doctors of Chiropractic, is a great place to start.  As with any Doctor and any condition, a proper consultation and examination are the very first place to start.  The Doctors of Connecticut Family Chiropractic are Board Certified and collectively have over three decades of experience in treatment of back and neck pain.  We have treated over 19,000 patients in nearly 20 years of service to the greater Danbury area.  Remember that not all back pain is the same.  As stated above, there are many origins of back pain.  Our Doctors of Chiropractic are specifically trained to diagnose your back pain.  Once an accurate diagnosis has been made, then the rest is much more simple.  Treatment of back pain like any other condition is made easier once the reason for the problem is understood.

 Therapy and Spinal Adjustment Manipulation as a Treatment for Back Problems

Chiropractic Adjustments have been used primarily and most often by Doctors of Chiropractic (D.C.) for the last century.  Hands On treatments including Manipulation has been largely ignored by most others in the health care community until recently. Now, with today's growing emphasis on treatment and cost effectiveness, manipulation is receiving more widespread attention.

This makes the Chiropractic Physician most experienced in this very effective, safe and gentle treatment procedure.

Research has shown that Chiropractic Adjustments otherwise known as manipulation is a safe and effective spine pain treatment. It reduces pain, decreases need for medication, rapidly advances physical therapy, and requires very few passive forms of treatment, such as bed rest.⁵

 In fact, after an extensive study of all currently available care for low back problems, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, a federal government research organization recommended that low back pain sufferers choose the most conservative care first. And it recommended spinal manipulation as the only safe and effective, drugless form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults.⁶: Chiropractic Treatment of Lower Back Pain

Our Doctors of Chiropractic (DC), also known as Chiropractic Doctors, typically treat conditions involving back pain and/or neck pain through hands-on chiropractic care, including

• Spinal Adjustments.¹ Refer to manual treatments that are applied to abnormal vertebra with the goal of improving functionality, reducing nerve irritability and restoring range of motion in the back, manual manipulation is also known as chiropractic adjustment.

Additional Services Available During Chiropractic Care

In addition to manual manipulation, most chiropractic clinics offer a range of health services, such as:

• Physical therapy modalities. In many chiropractic practices, various types of equipment (ultrasound, electrical stimulation, traction, etc.) may be used with the goal of reducing back pain and inflammation.

The Doctors of Connecticut Family Chiropractic urge you to make an informed choice about your back care. Please feel free to contact us and schedule an appointment in order to speak to our Doctors and tour our office.  Also please feel free to contact us at [email protected] .

Tips to Prevent Back Pain

• Maintain a healthy diet and weight.
• Remain active under the supervision of your doctor of chiropractic.
• Avoid prolonged inactivity or bed rest.
• Warm up or stretch before exercising or other physical activities, such as gardening.
• Maintain proper posture.
• Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes.
• Sleep on a mattress of medium firmness to minimize any curve in your spine.
•  Lift with your knees, keep the object close to your body, and do not twist when lifting.

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