Back Pain in Llandudno or Conwy? Chiropractic & Exercise could well be the answer.
Research studies¹?² suggest that back pain will affect as many as 4 out of 5 (80%) people in Britain, and results in 4.5 million days off work a year with 80% of adults getting a lower back pain episode at some stage during their life. Back pain affects a persons health drastically and is a leading cause why people seek Chiropractic services from The North Wales Spine Clinic. At The North Wales Spine Clinic we can help provide you with back pain relief, exercises and helpful advice so you can manage a chronic or acute lower back episode.
Causes of Lower Back Pain
As Chiropractors we hear it time and time again from patients at The North Wales Spine Clinic “As I bent to tie my shoe lace I felt something twinge in my back”, sound familiar. A sudden back pain can be as a result of repeated daily activities like bending, lifting and twisting. Fatigue of lower back muscles, tendons, ligaments and discs are the main cause of lower back pain. These muscles, ligaments, tendons and discs all work together to control movement of the spine and pelvis. So as Chiropractors we will question you about everyday things you do to better understand how you may have created an abnormal movement pattern in your body. Repeated bad movement or posture will eventually tire something in you back and can cause the sudden lower back pain.
Some injuries or accidents from you past could also be leading to a current pain episode in your spine. Your Chiropractor at The North Wales Spine Clinic will question further about any past medical history that could have caused a trauma to your back structure. Some examples of previous trauma include:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Slips and falls
- Sport injuries
- Major surgeries and more…
Lower Back Pain Symptoms
Some signs and symptoms of a lower back pain are more than just pain and can spread further than just the back. If you experience any of the following you may be suffering a lower back pain:
- Band-like ache in the middle of the lower spine
- Back of leg pain, pins & needles, numbness or weakness
- Calf pain, pins & needles, numbness or weakness
- Difficulty going from sitting to standing
- Difficulty getting out car seat
- Back/leg pain with walking in shopping malls
These are some common signs and symptoms of someone experiencing a lower back pain episode. Remember that some organ problems can also mimic lower back pain and so it is important if you are worried that it isn’t a normal back pain or is a very intense pain that you see a registered professional at The North Wales Spine Clinic for an assessment to rule out back pain referred from an internal organ.
Disc Bulge Problems
Discs in your spine can be a source of pain. This is particularly common in the lumbar spine between the L4-5-S1 inter-vertebral discs. Symptoms of a disc bulge as the source of pain can include local lumbar ache, but a disc would usually cause nerve pain. Nerve pain in your lumbar spine would typically cause pain down the back of your leg sometimes into the calf or foot. Pins and needles, numbness and weakness are other signs of a truly pinched nerve in your back.
To diagnose a disc in your spine being the source of pain the registered Chiropractor at The North Wales Spine Clinic will need to assess you with orthopaedic and neurological tests. After these a scan maybe needed to confirm. An x-ray will not show a pinched nerve as soft tissue, like nerve, is not shown on an x-ray film only the hard bone in the spine. So magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are the required test to confirm a spinal disc bulge and pinched nerve.
Is it a Slipped Disc
This is a common phrase and term used by many patients and even healthcare professionals. It is however wrong to say as a spinal disc cannot actually ‘slip out’. A back disc can herniate or bulge, but not slip.
Lower Back Pain Chiropractic Treatment
As registered Chiropractors we treat lower back pain patients around the world everyday. It is one of the most popular reasons for people to seek Chiropractic care. Your Chiropractor at The North Wales Spine Clinic will first diagnose the source of your lower back pain and then provide appropriate treatment techniques for the structure causing all you low backache. Treatment could be on a spinal joint sprain/strain/tightness or a spinal disc injury. Spinal manipulation is a common treatment technique used by Chiropractors for low back pain, but there are other treatment technique types used. The registered Chiropractor will discuss with you before treating you what they would suggest is best for your back pain case. For more low back pain facts we can recommend this BackCare link.
Research:
2. Health and Safety Executive – Backs 2005
3. BackCare.org.uk – Back Pain facts and figure