Low Back Pain

While the cause of low back pain isn’t always clear, it is often shown to respond well to many types of treatment in research studies. We summarize findings relevant to our scope of practice below.

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Current Treatment Research Findings for Acute Low Back Pain

• Spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustments has been shown to be effective for reducing pain and improving function

• Spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustments has been shown to be better than spinal mobilization in reducing pain

• Heat has been shown to be helpful in reducing pain

• Exercise has shown to not be helpful in reducing pain

• There is currently a lack of published studies for the use of massage therapy for acute low back pain
   

Current Treatment Research Findings for Chronic Low Back Pain

• Many popular treatment options are comparable in reducing pain and it is highly unlikely that a single therapeutic approach will be the optimal strategy for most patients

• Supervised exercise, spinal manipulation, and home exercise were shown to each be effective at reducing pain, and more satisfaction was reported with supervised exercise

• Spinal manipulation has been shown to be effective alone in reducing pain but tends to perform better when combined with exercise

• Spinal manipulation with exercise is as effective for pain relief compared to pain medication with exercise

• Motor control exercises may help with pain for chronic low back pain but are not more effective than general exercise

• Massage therapy has shown to produce favorable results alone and with exercise therapy

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How Does Integrity Chiropractic Treat Acute Low Back Pain?

Often times, the type of acute low back pain we see at the office is brought on during seemingly inconsequential activities such as bending over to pick up a small object to more strenuous activities such as being stooped over for long periods while doing yard work. Whatever the cause, this type of back pain typically has major muscle spasm component that is influencing low back joint mechanics as well as normal motor control. Because the pain can be debilitating, it is not unusual that many patients seek urgent care and are prescribed muscle relaxants before presenting at Integrity Chiropractic.

 

Your Kirkland chiropractor, Dr. Wen agrees with many of the findings in research but employs a unique comprehensive treatment approach to this type of back pain by addressing the muscular, joint, and motor control aspect of the problem in a single visit in the following steps:

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1. Directly targeting the muscular component of the problem with heat and a significant amount of time (20-40 minutes) utilizing a variety of muscle release techniques that he has learned and developed over years of practice to reduce the muscle spasms

2. Administering spinal manipulation or a chiropractic adjustment to restore joint mobility and help further relax the muscle spasms

3. Helping restore low back movement with a series of specific exercises to "reset" the area and regain control and confidence with simple tasks

 

Because of this, Dr. Wen's patients often find resolution very quickly, typically in 1-3 visits. Some patients who experience this type of acute low back pain may communicate experiencing 1-2 episodes a year, and they may voluntarily elect for additional care as a way to correct the underlying dysfunctions or pre-existing low level chronic back pain that led to the current episode to prevent further episodes of debilitating pain. No matter what goals patients have, Integrity Chiropractic seeks to deliver maximum results to patients without high-pressure long-term commitments.

How Does Integrity Chiropractic Treat Chronic Low Back Pain?

Research has also demonstrated that chronic low back pain is complex and multi-factorial. Because of that, many other treatments may help with chronic low back pain, including ones not covered in our article such as acupuncture, behavioral therapy, and yoga.

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From the research it is shown that spinal manipulation and exercise are beneficial for chronic low back pain sufferers. Some studies demonstrate each to be individually effective and some in combination, with better results with the latter. Furthermore, spinal manipulation tends to produce good short-term results on pain while exercise produces good long term results.

 

Like acute low back pain, Dr. Wen uses a comprehensive approach that includes soft tissue work and exercise to help chronic low back pain sufferers because there may be many elements to the pain, but with more heavy emphasis on exercise therapy and physical therapy to improve the flexibility, control, and strength in the back, core, and hips to make movement more efficient and reduce loads and strain to the low back, thus preventing injury. Many exercises can be done independently outside of the office for self-treatment which Dr. Wen encourages to optimize results and create more independent patients.

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For patients that find self-treatment more difficult, another approach, which demonstrated favorable results in only one study to date, is to receive regular maintenance with basic spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustments on a biweekly or monthly basis to keep chronic low back pain in control. However, many of Dr. Wen's patients find significant benefit in him providing ongoing functional maintenance that includes manual and exercise therapy to be able to go longer times between visits making their chronic back pain substantially more manageable and often allowing them to return to some activities or movements they once avoided. For this reason, many patients that continue to suffer from chronic low back pain because of prior work injuries or disc herniations are often able to obtain levels of relief they have not experienced at other chiropractic or physical therapy clinics. This can be another suitable option for patients who are not yet ready to commit to increasing their physical activity level on their own or working with a good personal trainer.

 

The schedule of care is a decision made between you and Dr. Wen on what is best for your goals and budget.