Chiropractor for lower back pain | Is Chiropractic what you need?

Cracking good times

Many of us cringe at the thought of having a chiropractor adjust the neck and spine, while some that's experienced a session of adjustment swears by it. If you have lower back pain, you are not alone. About 80 percent of adults experience low back pain at some point in their lifetimes. This article aims to provide educational aspects of what chiropractors do, what manipulation is and if you need to see a chiropractor. and other alternatives out there. 

What does a Chiropractor do? 

A "DC"(doctor of chiropractic), whose education typically includes an undergraduate degree plus four years of chiropractic college. Chiropractors base their treatments on the theory being that proper alignment of the body's musculoskeletal structure, particularly the spine,​ enables the body to heal itself without surgery or medication, and this is achieved through hands-on spinal manipulation.
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Manipulation is used to restore mobility to joints restricted by tissue injury caused by a traumatic event, such as falling, or repetitive stress, such as working out or sitting slouched at a desk(sound familiar?).

Chiropractic is primarily used as a pain relief alternative for muscles, joints, bones, and connective tissue, such as cartilage, ligaments, and tendons, and have been used for maintenance of your body's wellness. It's sometimes used in conjunction with conventional medical treatment. 

What the crack was that?
An audible cracking/ popping sound is usually followed by the chiropractic adjustment. That audible popping sound is known as cavitation of the joints. It's the same sound that happens when you crack your knuckles(there's been studies that suggest of long term cracking of knuckles showing no adverse effects but more studies needs to be done in this area). 

Research on spinal manipulation
There are tons of research out there to suggest that spinal manipulation may help with  certain conditions and there's ton of the polar opposite as well, so with both sides of the coin available, consumers would have to ultimately make the choice to see a chiropractor or try an alternative. Injuries and severe mishaps from manipulations are very rare under the hands of a qualified and experienced practitioner. Whatever it is, always seek someone whom is a licensed chiropractor with experience treating your condition, and understands your concern about having your spine manipulated. 

Compression of joints
We lose the ability to retain and have enough synovial fluids in our joints as we age, and with not so optimal lifestyle habits, we have a higher chance of compressing the joints in our body. Some of which may lead to wear and tear of the joints, which may require you to get some form of decompression of movements that allow more blood/ nutrients flowing towards the affected area to relieve pain. Joint compression may be caused by a few factors which include: 

• Sedentary lifestyle
• Loading frequency 
• Loading volume
• Lack of recovery 
• Accident 
• Habitual (bad posture)
• Jumping athletes​
• Repetitive strained injury(eg running, baseball throwing, etc)

Decompression
When your joints are compressed, less synovial fluids are around your joints(the major causes of joint pain), and having any form of decompression will very much help with relieving pain if there is any.

• Table traction treatment session is one of the go to for your spine, but averaging price starts from $100 onwards(if you have cash to burn that's fine)
• Neck pillow traction(the cheapest DIY option we found) is another option you can try

Looking at the options above, you must realise that you body has other joints, your shoulder, hips, knees, ankle, elbows, etc. These choices mentioned above do not target the whole body only a specific body part. In the bigger picture, you would have to spend more than what you looked for to have a complete total body joint distraction from many equipments and devices which may lead to busting your bank account before you start feeling better. For those with cash to burn, it'll be ok, but for those in acute or chronic pain and not being able to burn the cash, unfortunately will have to find another alternatives. This is one of the reasons why patient's recovery is not always followed through and fail to heal fully.

Are there any other alternatives? 
Sure there is, there's always an alternative if you look for it. Fascial Stretch Therapy(FST) is a non intrusive and gives you a gentle traction of the full body including the spine. A session of FST includes not only traction of the joints, but stretches your entire joint capsules(in different planes of movements) and connective tissues, joint mobilisation and PNF(proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) in it, making it quite a complete approach to the nervous system and body to achieve a relaxed state of mind and body. FST is known to be used for a multitude of things from sports recovery to post-surgery, below is a non-exhaustive list of what FST may help you with:
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• Post surgery recovery
• Post workout soreness
• Aches and pains
• Decompression of joints
• Strengthen muscles 
• Correct the firing sequences of muscle firing
• Correct muscle imbalances 
• Helps release tension in muscles
• Ease cramps
• Decompression of the spine
• Scoliosis
• Fascia 
• Tendonitis 
• Plantar fasciitis
• Improve sleep 
• Improve lymphatic function
• Increase range of motion
• Increase relaxation 
• Decrease inflammation 
• Low back pain 
• Knee pain 
• IT band syndrome(runner knees) 
• Sciatica
• Axillary nerve impingement 
• Thoracic outlet syndrome(TOS)

As you can see FST may help with conditions you might probably have and if you're looking for an alternative to your low back pain and decompression of your spine and joints and not wanting to have manipulations done on you, look for a Fascial Stretch Therapist to work on you. Book an assessment | treatment session today to see if it helps to relieve your low back pain, thousands of people around the world have already gone for a session, helping them to recover from pains and aches, and of course, your lower back pain for long term relief. 

Book a 60 minute FST appointment
$65