Back Stiffness Relief – Can Chiropractic Help Me Today?

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The complaints of back stiffness, back tightness, and back pain are very common in the general population.  These symptoms can affect your upper back, mid back, and lower back.  The pain and stiffness can make doing everyday activities such as sitting, standing, bending, reading, mowing the lawn, and watching TV difficult.

Do you experience any of the following symptoms?

It is very important that your doctor gather a thorough history and perform a complete examination.  This helps determine the diagnosis or what is causing your back pain.  I typically divide back pain complaints and those seeking back stiffness reliefs into 3 categories.

Mechanical Back Pain

Some of the most common causes of mechanical back pain would include osteoarthritis of the spine, spondylosis, thoracic muscle strains, lumbar muscle strains, lumbar sprains, sacroiliac sprains, and degenerative changes to the discs.  The pain in this category in the upper back and mid back will be localized to these regions and will not radiate around the rib cage.  For the lower back, the pain will be localized within the lower back but may travel into the buttocks, pelvis, and hips.  However, this discomfort will not spread past the knee.  Typically, the quality of pain will not consist of numbness or tingling which can suggest a nerve root involvement.  It is very common for pain to worsen with prolonged standing, bending, and twisting.

Nerve Root Pain

The most common cause of nerve root pain involves a herniated disc.  The nerve root could be affected by the disc directly compressing the nerve root or the herniated disc can cause inflammation around the region which irritates the nerve root.  Individuals with nerve root pain typically experience numbness and tingling in the leg which extends past the knee.  This is one  way it is differentiated from mechanical back pain.  Also, many patients note their pain worsens with sitting and bending forward.

Serious Complaints

The serious complaints involve back stiffness and back pain that could be caused by such things as tumors, infections, or fractures.  It can be common for problems within organs to refer pain to various parts of the back.

Back Stiffness Relief

It is obvious that the serious conditions need immediate referral.  However, the majority of the patient’s seeking back stiffness relief and back tightness relief fall into the first 2 categories, mechanical back pain and nerve root pain.  The mobilization and manual therapy provided by chiropractic adjustments are very effective in providing relief for mechanical back pain and nerve root pain.

If you are seeking back stiffness relief or back tightness relief, I offer a free chiropractic pain relief audit.  This will help to determine what structure is the pain generator and if chiropractic treatment could help provide you pain relief.  There is no obligation for care.  Please call my office today to begin to experience back stiffness relief and back tightness relief.  We offer same day appointments so you can begin to feel pain relief as soon a possible.

We serve the areas of Roseville, MN, Saint Paul, MN, Arden Hills, MN, Shoreview, MN, Falcon Heights, MN, and Como.