Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain has become ranked as THE biggest cause of debility affecting the global population. During our lifetime, according to the World Health Organisation:

Back pain suffers spend thousands of dollars on beds, office equipment, time off work, medication cascades, interventions (surgery, therapy, exercise regimes). You may even have to give up on work, exercise, hobbies; it can really affect your quality of life.

In many cases the underlying problem can be overlooked, masked, or ignored.

Outside of a traumatic injury, back pain and stiffness can be the result of a gradual decline in function resulting in similar to, what’s commonly known as, a repetitive strain injury.

Back pain symptoms are not always correlated with what is revealed through examination and x-ray or scan findings. A small problem could be very painful. A more significant problem may not produce significant problems.

This is pain that has started recently (days-weeks), often due to a specific event or activity such as a fall, sporting injury, workplace injury, exercise and lifting incorrectly. Soft tissue strain/sprain and joint injury is often involved. The pain can be sharp, catchy or feel bruised and tight. It will often limit your mobility.

If the trauma was mild, pain relief and normal function can naturally occur within a few days of good self-management (rest, ice, heat, gentle stretching).

If the trauma or pain is more severe and looks to last longer, it is wise to have it checked. Poorly managed or ignored injuries have a much greater chance of becoming chronic; requiring more management and slower/incomplete recovery. We are here to help!

This longer term pain (weeks-months), is usually due to a gradual onset of injury (similar to repetitive strain injuries), or an acute issue that didn’t recover. This type of pain can have a greater effect on your health and lifestyle, as psychological and social factors can also come into play. Long term use of medication is not recommended as it does not improve function or long term relief. Chiropractic care has been shown to gain good outcomes for chronic pain sufferers, once a thorough chiropractic history and examination has deemed it appropriate.

There is an intimate link between the spinal and pelvic joints, the nervous system and their supporting soft tissues. A joint that becomes locked up or injured can become inflamed and significantly painful; so too can the nerves, discs and supporting muscles and ligaments. A joint suffering from poor function will often accompany spinal injuries and contribute to the conditions discussed in this section. At Yeronga Chiropractic, this is our bread and butter!

Discs are very strong structures – they put up with repetitive loading, twisting, stretching and impact. Without significant trauma they don’t spontaneously bulge, herniate or rupture. Repetitive micro trauma (tears) to the disc fibres can eventually lead to it bulging or herniating triggering pain locally and, if a spinal nerve becomes irritated, radiating/referred to another area of the body. Your chiropractor is experienced with disc pain and utilises effective and appropriate techniques to assist relief and restore function.

Generally understood to be reserved for sports people and manual labourers, these are also common for the weekend warriors who often follow long periods of sedentary work with fairly intensive exercise or work around the house. Typically soft tissue injuries respond well to rest, stretching, and therapies such as massage and physiotherapy. Chiropractic care can be very beneficial if there is an associated or underlying mechanical (joint) problem, assisting the return of normal muscle function and recovery. At Yeronga Chiropractic and Wellness Centre, we also utilise exercise advice, soft tissue techniques, massage and acupuncture to assist with your full recovery.

Unless severe or long term, stress alone doesn’t usually cause back pain, but it can aggravate your weak points. Stress causes our blood pressure and heart rate to increase. Stress hormones tighten our muscles. Under prolonged stress, the chronic tension leads to muscle fatigue, pain and trigger points. Many of our patients will note that, as a result of chiropractic care, they feel more relaxed, move better, and cope better with stress. We are also happy to discuss appropriate stress management strategies and relaxation techniques during your time with us.

Exercise, posture, mobility, regularly breaks from sitting/work and good nutrition is very important in maintaining good spinal health. So too is appropriate treatment and check-ups.

Ignoring/ masking pain is not only risky to your health but can be very expensive in the long run.

Yeronga Chiropractic provides expert and thorough examination and management for back pain, sciatica (pinched nerve causing leg pain), disc pain (“slipped” disc, herniated disc, and bulging disc), arthritis, repetitive strain injuries, scoliosis, acute and chronic pain. Massage, exercise prescription, ergonomic advice and referral to other modalities for investigation or treatment will be discussed when appropriate. Our patients enjoy high satisfaction levels in not just relief from pain, but better function as well (4-12).

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Yeronga Chiropractic and Wellness is located in the inner Brisbane Southside suburbs. We typically service the surrounding suburbs of Annerley, Acacia Ridge, Buranda, Brisbane, Dutton Park, Ekibin, Fairfield, Greenslopes, Holland Park, Moorooka, Rocklea, Sherwood, Tennyson, Tarragindi, Wellers Hill, Woolloongabba.