Back Talk

One minute, you’re minding your own business, and the next, blam! Your back is all messed up. You may have been lifting a bag or moving a laundry basket, or you may have simply woken up with a pain that kept getting worse. Either way you’re probably thinking, what did I do to deserve this?

Back pain is the second most common medical complaint in the United States. Headaches take the number one spot. Back pain not only ruins your quality of lift it also takes control of your pocketbook like a ruthless tax collector. According to the National Institutes of Health, Americans spend about $50 billion every year on lower back pain. That’s just low back pain, not neck or upper back, just low back. It’s the leading job-related disability and one of the largest reasons for missed workdays.

All this talk about pain may not make you feel any better, but this might: for most people, back pain goes away within a few days. You might have to tough it out for a little while but that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. There are lots of ways to feel better and that’s what this blog is all about.

Of course, sometimes it takes longer than a few days. How long? That depends on the severity and the types of symptoms you are experiencing. Here I’m going to go over some of the reasons back pain occurs, what you can do about it, and when you should high-tail it to a doctor.

I’ve been a licensed chiropractor since 1998 as well as having a background in nursing and athletics. My own back pain is what brought me to this profession and I can tell you that I’ve tried everything myself. The information you find here isn’t just opinion, (although there’s a lot of that to) its tried-and-true, researched and put to the test by me.  A lot of times by myself, and many times over and over again in my practice over  a number of years.