Posts Tagged ‘low back pain’

Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor Can Help Your Low Back Pain

Monday, May 11th, 2009

If you’re feeling low back pain, you’re not the only one. Low back pain bothers many people, an amazing 80% in fact, making it second only to the common cold in its prevalence. However, unlike the common cold, waiting for your back pain to “run its course,” and taking prescription or over-the-counter remedies while you wait, is not the cure. Usually most back pain won’t go away by itself. Frequently, if your pain lessens, it is routinely because your body has compensated for the problem, thus producing new conditions. Low back pain is nothing to sneeze at! If you’d like to defeat your back pain for good (and who wouldn’t?), you need to seek the advice of a back pain expert, like your chiropractor.

In many instances back pain is a mystery to most people who are afflicted by it, and chiropractors are proficient at solving the puzzle. They want to know why it is that they have not experienced any trauma, accidents, or major injuries before the onset of their condition? The answer is that the cumulative effects of unsuitable sitting posture, bad work habits, incorrect lifting, lack of routine exercise, and other unhealthy lifestyle-related influences generate most back pain. These factors add up over time and produce stresses and imbalances on the spine producing subluxations that can turn into serious back conditions. The process is similar to the front end of your car being out of alignment. When you persist in driving anyway, there is unbalanced wear and tear on your tires. If you ignore the problem, the situation would, no doubt, get worse until you “blew” a tire. The stability of the spine is jeopardized when your spine is misaligned. It’s not only a problem waiting to happen, so to speak, it’s a problem waiting to get worse. And then, something as easy as bending over to pick up a piece of paper can be the “final factor” that causes back injury. The surrounding back muscles go into spasm when thisoccurs to stabilize the stressed or injured tissues of the back.

Chiropractors have more education, training, and experience than medical doctors when it comes to problems of the spine. They offer highly qualified diagnosis and experienced treatment for all muscular-skeletal problems. They not only provide welcomed relief to individuals suffering from back pain, but they are aware of what will assist you in avoiding further back pain. Your chiropractor not only will provide you with effectual adjustments and other productive chiropractic therapies but, in addition, will offer a personal exercise strategy and recommend other beneficial lifestyle changes that will help to keep you well-adjust and pain-free in the future.

 

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Santa Barbara Chiropractor: Can I Get Adjusted While Pregnant?

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Is it a good idea to get your spine checked while you are pregnant? Well, first off, yes it is a very smart idea to get your spine checked while you are pregnant. Obviously, your body is going through a variety of changes, and these alterations will continue as the pregnancy progresses. A subtle change is your body’s increased production of the hormone elastin. This hormone is designed to relax the tendons in the pelvis. This relaxation allows the pelvis more flexibility during the birthing process to make delivering the baby easier. This process, although designed to help the mother during labor, can produce much discomfort in the months leading up to the birth. The elastin is being released in increased amounts as the months go on, which allows the pelvis to become increasingly more unstable.

In combination with the increased size of the baby and uterus, and you have the formula for severe low back pain. As an Santa Barbara Chiropractor, I currently have several pregnant patients coming into my office for symptoms associated with their pregnancy, but usually it is for their low back pain. A bonus to seeing a chiropractor routinely during your pregnancy is that it has been shown to actually decrease labor time. Why is that you ask? Simply put, if the pelvis is where it needs to be, the muscles contracting during the labor process are more efficient and won’t have to strain against misaligned joints.

To answer the second question from the introductory paragraph, most assuredly chiropractic care during your pregnancy is safe. Chiropractic is not only safe and beneficial in relieving the low back pain associated with pregnancy, but other symptoms like heartburn, nausea, swelling, and so on. In addition, should the need arise, a trained chiropractor can assist a mother who has a breached baby. This is done by using the Webster Technique, a low force manipulation of the uterus that helps to get the baby into the appropriate position for birth. A simple Google search on the Webster Technique can give you much more information. In summation, not only is chiropractic safe for pregnant women, it is also very beneficial in helping with the symptoms associated with their pregnancy.

If you are pregnant, I highly recommend that you go to see a good local chiropractor, or if you are close enough, look up your Santa Barbara Chiropractor. We can make you feel a lot more comfortable during your pregnancy, and we can even make the labor process easier.

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