low back pain, posture, and chiropratic

I everyone a bit of feedback on myself.

I injured my lower back in 2001 been having pains since then..

I dont want to go true the list of specialist that i saw because its just not worth it.

I only want to know if its normal that chiropratic takes so long to work, dont get me wrong my chiro is a very decent person, he gave me a lot of tricks on nutrition and is the main reason why i was able to lose over 20 pounds.

My posture is so much better then it was too.

My main conscern is that it will be a year now that i have been going to see him at least twice a week now for adjustements and i still have pains.

I have been on and off training now but my diet is amazing and low carbing starts on Monday Nov 19th to go from 197 to 180 in record time.

I have pains in the upper back and my pelvic doesnt seem to want to stay adjusted, its a lot better then it was but still.

Each time i got for an adjustment depending on what i did there are subluxations.

I got X rays last year no arthritis, or hernia nothing but i know that muscles and ligaments are bruised.

I also have the snapping hip syndrome, YAGGGGGGG.

Please anyone who went to a chiro i really need to know if that time frame is good or i am just wasting my time and my chiro has done what he could for me?

 

Where are you in the world. My son & wife have had similar problems and were sorted out in a couple of sessions. They went to an ostiomyologyst?

Out of interest which martial art do you do?

 

So you have been going 2x a week for a year with little results (other than losing weight and better nutrition)? Personally I would start looking elsewhere, you have seen this person for 100+ times with no satisfactory results. If it is muscular chiropractic doesn't specialize here, they specialize in (as you mentioned) subluxations of the spine (though others may specialize in the musculature).

Or have you tried adding massage? Phyiscal therapy? Maybe it is even your workout routine? The problem with low back issues is that this is a part of the body that gets used all the time, healing will take time (a year or more depending on the severity of the injury). Though if you have had x-rays done and nothing is out of place there, then look to the muscles, also look at pelvic tilt (this is something your chiro should be looking at also).

There is a multitude of things that are getting in the way of healing, diet (which it sounds you have addressed), physical exercise (or lack thereof), with low back check out your footware, arch support etc. (even if you never had problems before, an injury can change things).

Bottom line, there is something being missed either by you or your chiro (imo). I am not saying stop seeing the chiro, but look into adding another modality of healing perhaps and use it in conjunction with chiro (if you can afford to). I would think after a year you would at least see SOME improvement.

 

There has been improvement for sure, i mean before when i did some exercise i would get the pain right back in my lower back.

Now i can at least train a bit more.

I added massage therapy too but i guess i need to cut down on my training because i do train a lot and its getting in the way of my healing.

The main issue that my chiro forgot to mention is to train less or at least i think he did.

After i told him i had snapping hip syndrome and that i could do tae bo anymore he told me to stop kicking and knee and just do the arm moves.

I have done and see everyone so far that is what ****es me off, osteopaty, massage, accuponcture, physiotherapy and so on and so forth even viseral ostopathy. And not only one many of each.

This is the first chiro that i say who took x rays and gives me a complete exam twice a year, of course there is improvement but not enough.

He gave me some bio mecanic exercises to do and i do them each day.

I will have to sit down and talk to him for sure i have just added some sauna, infrared therapy that really feels good and i cut down on training too.

I am doing 2 sets per bodypart and around 10-12 reps with light weights just to move the muscles like he said, also some walking and light boxing.

Of course streching and losing another good 20 pounds to get my bodyweight at 180-175 pounds i am 5 feet 10 and now weight in at 197 pounds.

 

Seems like you are on the right track,

Back injuries, in my own exp. have always taken a long time to heal simply b/c you can very well immobilize the back. I would just continue to look into day to day things you might be doing to aggravate the back and slow the healing process. It is human to push to our limits (in some cases beyond) but the body also needs its "down time."

I am honestly out of other suggestions, other than it just taking the time to heal. Listen to the practitioners and work with them (which it sounds like you are doing) Lastly remember age is always a factor as well, you can't "bounce back" like you did at 15, 20 or whatever younger age, something my body is constantly reminding me of as well

 

Hey Yannick,

You should try this: "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment for Pain Relief" by Clair Davies & Amber Davies. Very good book, highly recommend it, helps with all sorts of problems and injuries. I had a shoulder injury once, went to a chiro 1-2 a week for 3 months with no result, got this book and sorted my shoulder out in under a week.

Also, consider what is the cause of your back pain, i.e. the way you sleep, the way you sit, etc, etc... if you are constantly subjecting your back to something that is causing the problem, then no amount of treatment will do any good. Pay close attention to your alignments, posture, structure all the time.

Good luck!

 

Thanks Guys

Yes being 35 i dont feel old at all, i can still kick has fast has when i was 20 and doing TKD.

But i have to face the fact that i am injured.

I have some before after pictures and yes my chiro did an awsome job for posture, even the massage therapist i see sometimes is amazed.

My chiro did an awsome job on my lower back curve, that is what the massage therapist told me, and the upper neck has well.

You are right about time to heal that sucks but its so true.

Weightloss feels so good, its been so long since my waist has been smaller, i usually got into 42 inch pants now i am almost down to 36.

 

THanks Guys

I looked into futher treatment and found a sport physio around my area, with action release, laser therapy and lot more.

I will speak with the physio tonight and see if he can help me out, combining chiro and this will surely help me out get better faster.

Thanks again for waking me up.

 

Hi, I might be able to help (hopefully), can you tell me what sort of pain you suffer from ?
have you had a CT scan ?
do you get pains in your legs any numbness?
is your injury muscular or spinal?
me and back pain are old friends there's nothing like experience,
May be I can give you a few ideas.

 

Thank you thank you thank you LOL yup been having this **** follow me for seven years now.

I did everything but the main issue was posture, no one that i saw between 2001 and 2006 worked on my posture, they say after five treatments if you dont see any benefits then the therapy is not for you well f them all because my current chiro worked on me for a year to get my posture better and he did a great job at it.

I still have subluxation at various area of my spin, i have no arthritis and no spin damage, i have a phase 2 degeneration in my neck, and yes i did get some x rays.

The pain now is more muscular at least that is what my chiro tells me, i thrust the guy for sure but feel that i might need to had something more.

At one point i added massage therapy which was good but i do think that physio will be a lot better this time around.

I will talk to my chiro about this has well.

Thank you very much for you help has well, i did not get a ct scan because my chiro tells me that from my symptoms i dont need too, i never lost any felling in my legs nor in my arms, my chiro is a Doctor has well and when he gives me my exam they are complete with posture mesures and x rays, pressure and more.

I am 35 and was able to lose 23 pounds up to date did it all for back pain and feeling better went from 220 now down to 197 and still going at 5 feet 10 i think i can reach at least 180 pounds.

I also have a snapping hip syndrome which is very annoying i do tae bo to prepare myself to get back into martial arts, there is a great kenpo school near my house 5 minutes in fact that offers classes 6 times per week at 50$ per month.

I dont want to compete just learn a discipline and keep in shape.

 

Hi, sorry I haven't got back to you sooner i've been away.
I have a couple more questions before I can hopefully give you an answer.
Do you have pain in the morning?
Is it more or less than during the rest of the day ?
Does the pain course your muscles to tighten up ?
If they do tighten up, is this coursing your spine to become misaligned?

thanks

 

No the pain is not worst during morning, i sometimes do have pains and sometimes dont it really depends on what i do, and yes the muscles go into spams which cause my spin to misalign, this is the remaining cause of my subluxation right now.

Along with chiropratic my chiro finally decided to referm me to a physiotherapist that is very good he is sport oriented also, and can help with my snapping hip syndrome and the tightness in the muscles.

God i am tired of this pain i guess i will never get rid of it, what bothers me the most is that i dont have arthritis or degeneration?

 

I wouldn't bother with Chiropractic.

Go see a physiotherapist.

 

My chiro has help me get myself back on track and really change my posture since last year.

My upper neck i still not 100% and i have a vertebrae in the neck that is phase 2 so it will take at least 1 year and a half to remove all the pain.

Specialist history:

One month after i injured myself and treated myself the pain did not go away, so i did what any person would do went to the clinic.

No x rays where taken i was given 10 days of light duty at my old job and some anti inflamatory pills brilliant bunch of *******ss.

After that i went to see a women chiroprator all this was back in 2001, she was full of sheitt has well and dumb in for the money instead of cracking my neck vertebrae she cracked the whole neck.

Having no success with her i went to see a sport chiroprator after 10 sessions that idiot go me even worst then i was completely unadjusted my pelvic even worst then it was.

Seeing that chiro was crap i decided to go and try other therapies, massage, accuponcture, ostheopaty (which got my pelvic back in adjustement but the guy left a week after), physio therapy and so on so forth.

Last year i was about ready to just give up when a co worker and friend of mine gave me advise to go see is chiro i was sceptic at that point.

My first meeting with him was quit weird, he took some x rays of my spin and upper neck and told me to go home that he needs to study my case to see if i can or cannot help me, he said that after six years of pain its just not normal.

I went back two days later and he explained to me my x rays, all the angles and what he needed to do with my posture to make me feel better.

Each year i have 500$ dollar allowed for chiropratic he charges 35$ per treatment, after i finished my 500$ i charged me once a week even if i went sometimes three times per week.

Doing some research i learned that many people went to a chiro for two years and that is the norm when you have been in pain for so long like i have been.

Right now i will do both chiro once or twice a week and physio once a week.

Another thing i was doing wrong was getting back into training way to fast and too hard, i modified my training to be less intense for now until my body gets better, so far so good.

 

didnt work out in physio

The physio is a total scam, guess i will call him a mcphysio lol.

He diagnost me with scolosis and said that my jaw bone was not properly aligned? all this without x rays.

I went to see my chiro after and he took some x rays once more it was my 1 year exam and everything was fine.

I will stick to chiro right now, after all i dont really have all that money to put to do both, and my posture still needs work.

 

Does the pain radiate or is it local?

Radiate: Spinal problem...get MRI (x-ray may not show problem)

Local: Most likely a muscular issue (sprain/strain) but sounds unlikely because of duration.

FYI: Too much spinal manipulation can cause laxity in the local spinal muscles which can lead to spinal instability and later sublaxation.

By no means am I bad mouthing your chiropracter, but maybe try some other types of therapy (acupuncture & Chiropractic seem to go well together IMO)

 

no the pain does not radiate it never did really, its local but the chiro told me that bad posture and the time frame of the pain are the reason why its taking so long to healh

 

Get an MRI and supplement the chiro with acupuncture for the time being. There are many people with bad posture who aren't experiencing this type of pain.

 

acuponture did nothing going to mix chiro with osteopathy girl at my job swears that its the best thing to do.

 

Some insight into Chiropractic medicine

After reading over this thread, and seeing the many misconceptions voiced, I feel I should say a few words... I also hope this helps to explain some of the things many of you have experienced relative to Chiropractic care.

Chiropractors are nervous system doctors who are expert in manual manipulation. The scope of practice is limited by state legal definition and branch of Chiropractic philosophy.

Subluxaton complex (literally: less than dislocation) is not about bones so much as it is about nerve irritation and its effects on functional anatomy as a whole.

The reason the vertebra are important is because all nerves connect to the spinal cord through spaces between the vertebra. When muscles spasm they pull on the vertebra and compress the fat tissue in the intervertebral foramen which squeezes the sensory nerve ganglian causing physical stimulus on the nerve to continually fire in an irritated state which sets up a chain reaction of imbalance throughout the body often including pain, muscle and organ atrophy, and weakened immunity.

The human body is a system of integrated interdependent subsystems. When one area is out of alignment it tends to impact related areas derived from the same embryonic mesoderm. Over time the supporting areas adapt creating bad posture. Which creates discomfort in another area which tries to adapt. The body tries to make the best of a bad situation.

It should also be noted that the body sometimes compensates for lost mobility in one motor unit by increasing mobility in another motor unit responsible for the same ranges of motion or other compensatory range of motion that can be adapted to fit the lost range of motion. This sets the hypermobile segments up for additional injury.

When a patient recieves a chiropractic adjustment to the main region of complaint the areas that had adapted to the misaligned form must readapt and very often have atrophied which creates instability. The atrophied and weakened muscles and overburdened nerve fibers create a bilaterally unbalanced relationship along the muscle groups of the back which can create new subluxations. When a patient continues "normal" activities with their body in this transitional/healing state reinjury can occur.

(note: It is highly unlikely that frequent Chiropractic manual manipulation causes muscle laxity due to the biomechanics of the techniques themselves when properly applied)

Another aspect to consider is inflammation process. first the muscles spasm and contract to stabilize the injury, then fibroblast cells build adhesions between muscles, sometimes osteoblast cells create bone spurring to fuse vertebra, the lack of motion of the joint limits the nutrients and hydration availiable to the intervertebral disc and it begins to degenerate which creates a physiological change.

Something else to consider... the spine is completely developed around age 25. After 25 or so things begin aging toward degeneration and injury can be amplified due to aging effects. In addition excessive body weight puts an additional burden on the spine by changing the angle of axial load and shifting the weight bearing of the spine more into the highly innervated articular joints. When you combine age effects, body weight, atrophied muscles, and explosive martial art motions you get a recipe for continued problems.

There are many chiropractic manipulation techniques and different people respond better to some and not so well to others. Talk to your Chiropractor about your concerns.

take care all, steve