Low Back Pain Treatment in Citrus Heights, CA

Herniated Disc or Bulging Disc

Herniated discs, bulging discs, and prolapsed discs are different names for the same underlying condition: prolonged abnormal postural stressors and poor nutrient exchange due to lack of segmental motion section movement (one vertebra in relation to the adjacent). The disc acts as a spacer, shock absorber, and a flexible fulcrum that allows the inflexible bones to move.

Rarely addressed is that the disc is also a sensory organ that provides the data surrounding gravitational stress and acceleration/deceleration, so-called G-force, necessary for optimum muscle contraction and reflex responses. This results in the body turning up the muscle tone to stabilize and guard the spine, spinal cord, and nerves it protects. Somewhat paradoxically, this defensive program can actually promote accelerated aging of those structures if not appropriately addressed. As the disc becomes dehydrated due to poor nutrient exchange, the fibers become brittle and prone to repeated micro tears, resulting in discopathies. If not addressed properly, a herniated or bulging disc in the lower back can press on the nerves as they exit from the spinal cord and between the vertebrae, causing low back pain that radiates to the buttocks, groin, hips, and down the leg, creating “sciatica.”

Poor Posture

Prolonged poor posture, such as slouching in a chair or hunching over a computer for hours on end, can strain the muscles, ligaments, and joints in the lower back. These structures are the “guy wires” that link one vertebra to the next, groups of vertebrae in consort that allow a vertical upright position (posture). Swaying back and slouching change the weight distribution and the load on the supports is magnified. Body shapes of a “pot belly” or pregnant belly also commonly result in lower back pain. Try holding a weight near your body or away from your body; while the weight of what you’re holding doesn’t change, the load is notably different!

Do you find yourself slouching at your desk? Feeling that nagging pain after a long day of work? What if you could stop that pain before it gets worse?

Don’t let poor posture affect your back health.
Better posture = better health = less pain = more joy!

Sciatica or Pinched Nerves

When a nerve in the lower back is compressed or irritated, it can cause pain that radiates down into the buttock or leg, often accompanied by numbness or weakness. These nerves also provide perception and control of the bladder bowels and sex organs, resulting in:

• Infertility
• Erectile dysfunction
• Pelvic pain
• PMS
• Incontinence
• Constipation

Treatments focused on the area of pain but ignore the root cause are often temporary at best and almost always allow the actual cause to worsen.

If sciatica affects your daily life, chiropractic care may provide relief. Book your consultation to get to the root of the problem.

Muscle Strain

Overusing low back muscles is often cited as a cause of low back pain, yet rational people note that “exercise” is often the solution! The reality is that underuse is most often a “core strength” issue, where one set of muscles has to overcompensate for another. This results in asymmetry of support muscles, which, over time, creates accelerated wear and tear on joint surfaces and discs and causes inflammation. Direct injuries, such as contusions and sudden unexpected movements like falling or sports injuries, can cause actual muscle strain or micro tears that create inflammatory chemicals and, thus, pain.

Osteoarthritis

Wear and tear on the joints in the lower back due to circumstances previously listed can lead to osteoarthritis, causing pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. Many don’t realize that bone is “alive”. The cells that lay, build, repair and reshape bone and connective tissues respond to the stress demands of the forces of use, abuse, and gravity. Surprisingly to many this is actually a “healthy response to unhealthy mechanics”; over time the modifications that add stability to chronic repeated distresses become significant contributors to additional even exponential deterioration of all of these structures. The end result is chronic inflammation and pain.

Work Injuries-Occupational Athletes

While employers are not responsible for their employee’s general dietary and physical fitness, some lines of work present environments and activities that create higher injury risks. Firefighters, Police, EMTs, and other first responders enter dangerous environments, often forced to perform strenuous activities with poor biomechanics making repeat injury highly likely. Additionally these workers regularly have to wear equipment that forces them to compensate in less than ideal ways. The same is true for military personnel and construction workers as well as factory and warehouse workers and delivery persons.

Like competitive athletes these occupations tend to attract those persons with “higher pain tolerance” so injuries are typically addressed only in the last most extreme stages of damage. A significant difference, however, is most athletes have an off-season, and most occupational athletes aren’t afforded any significant time to rest and repair properly, making the retirement years far less enjoyable for most.

Retirement planning should be so much more than financial. How enjoyable that part of life will be is more related to one’s health and ability to function than money can buy if damage is too great due to the neglect of proper care.

Sports Injuries

The injured ex-athlete is so common it is a cliche. Contact sports like martial arts, football, gymnastics, dance, or cheer create repeated contusions and concussive forces. Virtually all sports activities include repeated sudden acceleration or deceleration of the body, which regularly results in a shear force between the vertebrae of the lower back. Ironically, the activities with the highest likelihood of severe and or repeat injuries also tend to be pursued by those who possess a “higher pain tolerance”; some even learn to “love the burn.” These forces result in strain or micro tears and, ultimately, inflammation and lower back pain within days of the injury. Understandably, but unfortunately, most turn to pain medications, and others just “wait it out.” Ignoring proper rehabilitation of these injuries leads to sub-optimal healing, which results in the chronic problems like those previously listed as ex-athletes age. It’s important to address any sports injury properly for full low back pain recovery.

Lumbar Disc Degeneration

Aging is often cited as a common cause, yet if this were true all the discs would age similarly. Time is a factor but not a cause in itself. Repetition of sub-optimal factors such as physical fitness, symmetry, nutritional habits, and exposure to toxins all result in the discs in the lower back losing flexibility and cushioning, leading to low back pain. The “degeneration” or accelerated aging of these discs results in conditions like spondylosis (“spurs”) along with disc bulging or herniation. Ironically, the resulting loss of mobility due to discomfort further decreases the nutrient exchange that keeps the disc(s) healthy and supple, creating a vicious cycle of pain guarding, weakening new trauma, and the cycle repeats until complete failure.

As you can see, while medicine breaks these down separately, they are in fact all interrelated. Like points on a circle, one (or more) may be the first to notice, but at some point, all become involved if the cycle is not interrupted and corrected. What these all have in common is a specific condition known as Vertebral Subluxation. Detecting and correcting vertebral subluxation is the focus of modern chiropractic care.

Ignoring your back pain today could mean worse consequences tomorrow. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

At River City Chiropractic, we specialize in addressing each of the contributors to low back pain and provide not only precise and effective chiropractic adjustments, but also additional non-drug therapies and nutritional supplements as well as dietary and exercise guidance to more completely rehabilitate and avoid continued damage to your neck, spine, and nerve system. In other words, at River City Chiropractic, our goal is optimum care for your whole body so you can experience the life you were designed to live!

You don’t have to live with chronic pain. With the right care, you can prevent long-term damage and get back to doing what you love.