Atlanta Chiropractor Dr. Timothy J. Dembowski

Your Atlanta Doctor For Pain Relief

Posts Tagged Low Back Pain

Lower Back Pain Cause

As people age, bone strength and muscle elasticity and tone tend to decrease. The discs begin to lose fluid and flexibility, which decreases their ability to cushion the vertebrae.

Lower back pain can occur when, for example, someone lifts something too heavy or over stretches, causing a sprain, strain, or spasm in one of the muscles or ligaments in the back. If the spine becomes overly strained or compressed, a disc may rupture or bulge outward.

Ruptured-Spinal-DiscThis rupture may put pressure on one of the more than 50 nerves rooted to the spinal cord that control body movements and transmit signals from the body to the brain. When these nerve roots become compressed or irritated, lower back pain results.

Lower back pain may reflect nerve or muscle irritation or bone lesions. Most lower back pain follows injury or trauma to the back, but pain may also be caused by degenerative conditions such as arthritis or disc disease, osteoporosis or other bone diseases, viral infections, irritation to joints and discs, or congenital abnormalities in the spine.

Obesity, smoking, weight gain during pregnancy, stress, poor physical condition, posture inappropriate for the activity being performed, and poor sleeping position also may contribute to lower back pain.

Additionally, scar tissue created when the injured back heals itself does not have the strength or flexibility of normal tissue. Buildup of scar tissue from repeated injuries eventually weakens the back and can lead to more serious injury.

Occasionally, lower back pain may indicate a more serious medical problem. Pain accompanied by fever or loss of bowel or bladder control, pain when coughing, and progressive weakness in the legs may indicate a pinched nerve or other serious condition. People with diabetes may have severe lower back pain or pain radiating down the leg related to neuropathy. People with these symptoms should contact a doctor immediately to help prevent permanent damage.

Links About Back Pain

You can lean a lot more about the cause of back pain by visiting these web sites on the Internet

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Lower Back Pain Relief

Back pain

Back pain

You should visit Atlanta chiropractor Timothy Dembowski when you have acute lower back pain lasting over three days that doesn’t respond to self-care, or chronic lower back pain lasting over three months. You should also seek chiropractic help if you experience lower back pain following an injury or auto accident.

Chiropractic Treatment For Lower Back Pain

Depending on the diagnosis of your lower back pain by chiropractor Dembowski, he may recommend a chiropractic treatment including:

  • Spinal Decompression with the DRX9000™ is a non-surgical, non-invasive procedure treating lower back pain caused by disc herniations and degenerative disc disease.
  • Cold Laser therapy uses a low power laser to treat areas experiencing lower back pain, stimulating cell growth and cell regeneration.
  • Chiropractic adjusting with instruments where the chiropractor uses the Adjustor or Percussor to manipulate your spine and joints.
  • Spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustment is literally a “hands-on” approach in which your chiropractic doctor uses leverage and a series of exercises to adjust spinal structures and restore back mobility.
  • Acupuncture with meridan therapy can relieve lower back pain. Meridian therapy is acupuncture without the use of penetrating needles. Electronic stimulation, laser beam, or pressure massage triggers the release of naturally occurring painkilling molecules called peptides and keeps the body’s normal flow of energy unblocked.

Other Treatments For Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain sufferers may get back pain relief with self-care treatments including ice and heat, rest, and exercise.

Although ice and heat (the use of cold and hot compresses) have never been scientifically proven to quickly resolve lower back pain injury, compresses may help reduce pain and inflammation and allow greater mobility for some individuals. As soon as possible following trauma, patients should apply a cold pack or a cold compress (such as a bag of ice or bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel) to the tender spot several times a day for up to 20 minutes. After 2 to 3 days of cold treatment, they should then apply heat (such as a heating lamp or hot pad) for brief periods to relax muscles and increase blood flow. Warm baths may also help relax muscles. Patients should avoid sleeping on a heating pad, which can cause burns and lead to additional tissue damage.

Bed rest — 1–2 days at most. A 1996 Finnish study found that persons who continued their activities without bed rest following onset of lower back pain appeared to have better back flexibility than those who rested in bed for a week. Other studies suggest that bed rest alone may make lower back pain worse and can lead to secondary complications such as depression, decreased muscle tone, and blood clots in the legs. Patients should resume activities as soon as possible. At night or during rest, patients should lie on one side, with a pillow between the knees (or try resting on the back and putting a pillow beneath the knees).

Exercise may be the most effective way to speed recovery from lower back pain and help strengthen back and abdominal muscles. Maintaining and building muscle strength is particularly important for persons with skeletal irregularities. Your chiropractor can provide a list of gentle exercises that help keep muscles moving and speed the recovery process. A routine of back-healthy activities may include stretching exercises, swimming, walking, and movement therapy to improve coordination and develop proper posture and muscle balance. Yoga is another way to gently stretch muscles and ease pain. Any mild discomfort felt at the start of these exercises should disappear as muscles become stronger. But if pain is more than mild and lasts more than 15 minutes during exercise, patients should stop exercising and contact the chiropractor.

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Spinal Decompression

One of our two spinal decompression machines

One of our two spinal decompression machines

The DRX9000™ is a computer-controlled spinal decompression treatment that gently applies non-surgical decompression to your spine to provide back pain relief. As your spine is stretched, intradiscal pressure is reduced and nerves and discs are decompressed.

Spinal Decompression creates a vacuum effect within discs to make any herniated or bulging disc return to its normal shape, so it no longer presses on nerves causing back pain. Spinal decompression also stimulates induction of nutrients and oxygen necessary for healing by increasing circulation into the spinal discs and joints, further helping to reduce back pain.

Atlanta chiropractic doctor Timothy Dembowski uses spinal decompression to provide back pain relief to patients suffering from lower back pain, upper back pain, and neck pain.

Watch our spinal decompression video to learn how this pain relief treatment works. Also, watch the CBS Atlanta News video made at our office about spinal decompression.

You can also learn much more and read our spinal decompression patient testimonials by visiting our sister website: SpinalDecompressionAtlanta.com

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