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Archive for the 'Back Pain' Category

Low Back Pain: Spondylolisthesis

Low back pain can arise from many conditions, one of which is a mouthful: spondylolisthesis. The term was coined in 1854 from the Greek words, "spondylo" for vertebrae and "olisthesis" for slip. These "slips" most commonly occur in the lower back (90% at L5 and 9% at L4). According to experts, the most common type [..]

Low Back Pain: Where Is My Pain Coming From?

Low back pain can emanate from many anatomical locations (as well as a combination of locations), which always makes it interesting when a patient asks, "…doc, where in my back is my pain coming from?" In context of an office visit, we take an accurate history and perform our physical exam to try to reproduce [..]

Low Back Pain and Scoliosis

Scoliosis is a term used to describe a curvature of the spine that is not "normal." The normal curves of the spine include an inward curve in the low back and neck and an outward curve in the mid-back when looking at the person from the side ("sagittal plane"). However, there should NOT be any [..]

Low Back Pain: An Unusual Cause

One unusual cause of low back pain (LBP) involves vitamin D deficiency. Yes, that's right, a VITAMIN DEFICIENCY! One study reported on a 360 patient (90% women, 10% men) group under treatment at spinal and internal medicine clinics over a six-year time frame for LBP of 6 months or greater with no obvious cause. Doctors [..]

Low Back Pain: Why Is It So Common?

This question has plagued all of us, including researchers, for a long time! Could it be because we’re all inherently lazy and don’t exercise enough? Or maybe it’s because we have a job that’s too demanding on our back? To properly address this question, here are some interesting facts: The prevalence of low back pain [..]

Low Back Pain: The Importance of Patient Education

It’s been reported that educating the patient about their condition reduces unnecessary anxiety and fear, which in turn, allows a more swift resolution of their condition. The intensity of low back pain (LBP) can sometimes be so severe, the patient can hardly move without getting a sharp, knife-like pain that stops them in their tracks. [..]

Where Does Low Back Pain Come From?

"Where does the pain come from?" is probably the most commonly asked question we hear as chiropractors and frequently, the patient is not told the answer to this simple question. The problem is, the question is not so simple. This is because there are many structures in the low back that share a common nerve [..]

Low Back Pain and Spinal Fusions

You may think it’s odd to discuss low back pain (LBP) from the perspective of spinal fusion because as chiropractors, we do not perform surgery and so, why discuss it? It is important that we discuss research such as this so we can make the informed treatment decisions with our patients after we’ve considered all [..]

Low Back Pain and Weight

Have you ever been told (or at least heard it said): If you could just drop a few pounds, your low back pain would improve? It’s pretty well accepted that excess weight contributes to low back pain. So, if that’s the case, which dietary approach is "…the best?" Even though weight loss is very important, [..]

Low Back Pain and Balance Exercises

Previously, we discussed the relationship between low back pain and balance, particularly our unfortunate increased tendency to fall as we age. Let's look at ways to improve our balance by learning specific exercises that utilize the parts of the nervous system that regulate balance or proprioception—particularly, the cerebellum (the part of the brain that regulates [..]