Dr. Tony Del Angel here and I want to answer the question “What can happen if I do nothing about my back pain or other problem?”
The 5 most dangerous words I know are; “maybe it will go away”. I am always amazed at the numbers of patients I meet and ask, “how long have you had this problem?”. Most give me answers in years, not days or weeks. Can you imagine hearing a rattle in your car’s engine and simply ignoring it? So many of us wouldn’t dare do that with our cars or air conditioners or even our pets. Yet somehow, when it comes to our own health, we are willing to choose to ignore our symptoms. In all my years in practice, I have learned one thing, problems seldom go away by themselves. In fact they often become more complicated and worsen with time if not dealt with.
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Albuquerque Back Pain
About 85% of the Albuquerque population will experience disabling lower back pain at least once in their lives. The estimated cost of this problem nationwide is over $50 billion per year. Low back pain often comes on suddenly and for no apparent reason. The lumbar spine takes an enormous amount of stress in that it connects the upper half of your body to the lower half and is involved in twisting and bending motions between the two. The normal curve in the small of your lower back, called the lumbar lordosis, allows for structural stability. The common cultural activities of forward bending and long hours of sitting put adverse stress to this curve. Postural stresses and /or trauma commonly lead to a mechanical disturbance called subluxation (a spinal bone which loses its normal position and motion leading to nerve irritation). The subluxation leads to stiffness, inflammation, muscle tension/spasm and nerve irritation. Many times a subluxation is incorrectly diagnosed as a sprain or strain because of the muscular pain associated with it. Muscle spasms in the spine are typically a protective mechanism protecting the more vital underlying problem. Long-term subluxation is typified by intermittent painful episodes, and can lead to disc herniations and degenerative arthritis because of progressive wear and tear from abnormal spinal mechanics. Unfortunately, low back pain is commonly addressed from a symptomatic approach (muscle relaxers, pain killers, massage, traction, ultrasound, corticosteroid injections, etc.) rather than addressing the cause by correcting the biomechanical disturbance and making lifestyle modifications.
Gonstead Chiropractic and Low Back Pain
Even antagonists of chiropractic agree that chiropractic is the choice for low back pain. In 1994, after reviewing a wealth of large scale studies, the federal government made a definitive pronouncement that chiropractic is one of the preferred and most effective treatments for acute adult low back pain. Controlled, scientific studies conducted by medical physicians comparing chiropractic with medical care, physical therapy, and non-surgical therapy for the back show that doctors of chiropractic relieve chronic and severe pain, both immediate and long term, in one half the time it takes medical physicians. Gonstead chiropractic aims to address the cause of low back pain rather than just suppress symptoms. The difference between Gonstead chiropractic and other chiropractic and osteopathic techniques is that a Gonstead adjustment is aimed at the specific problem spinal joint only, rather than manipulating the entire region.
See your Albuquerque Chiropractor today for treatment of lower back pain.
