Back problems can affect everyone. The most healthy individuals can experience back issues from time to time because of unhealthy postures, standing or sitting for extended periods at a job or school, athletes, and individuals with previous injuries. Back soreness and pain symptoms are common in today’s active and inactive world. The pain can range from dull and constant aches to sharp and sudden piercing sensations. This causes pressure to build up against different regions of the spine. Individuals trying to reposition the body can cause an imbalance in the spine that often leads to more pain and problems. It is impossible to adjust one’s spine effectively and should be evaluated and treated by a professional chiropractor and therapy team.

Professional Chiropractor

Problems With DIY adjustments

• Self-cracking or having a friend/family/spouse walk on their back or squeeze the body to achieve the crack or pop forces an increase in mobility that can lead to overexerting the spine.
• Can loosen all of the joints instead of just the tight joints.
• This can overly loosen already flexible joints that must compensate for the stiff joints.
• The muscles have to work overtime to maintain stability, adding stress which increases muscle tension.
• This can cause the health of compressed segments to continue to decline and worsen and/or cause further injury.
• It can cause abnormal vertebral degeneration.
• It can be dangerous if the individual has weak bones.
• Injuries can include herniated and dislocated discs.
• In the worst-case scenario, fractures and broken vertebrae.
• Although rare, there is the possible risk of rib fracture or subluxation.
• This can cause pain and symptoms to turn into a serious health or chronic condition.

Chiropractic Training

Chiropractors are trained medical specialists on the body’s structure and function. Chiropractors know the correct positioning and function of every area of the spine, from the neck to the tailbone. The most common injuries that chiropractic treats include:

• Muscle Strains
• Sciatica
• Overuse/Repetitive Strains
• Neck Sprains
• Whiplash
• Headaches
• Herniated Discs
• Dislocations
• Fractures

Proper Realignment

Individuals think the popping sound is the goal; however, it’s not what relieves the pain or symptoms. The relief comes from the improved movement of the joints. The term for the popping sound is cavitation. Chiropractic manipulation is a specific force applied in a specific direction to a particular joint. During a professional realignment session, the pressure inside the joint decreases, releasing gasses within the synovial fluid into the joint space. That’s the popping sound. When a professional chiropractor performs adjustments/cavitations, they:

• ImproveJoint function.
• Relax the muscles.
• Relieve nerve irritation.

There’s also the possibility of an unknown underlying cause for the pain symptoms. Therefore, friends and family should not attempt back adjustments unless they are professional chiropractors. When symptoms persist, treatment from a professional licensed chiropractic clinic is safer and more effective, and early treatment can prevent permanent damage caused by chronic inflammation. Professional chiropractor treatments include:

Adjustments

• To gently realign joints to decrease pain and increase range of motion.

Soft-Tissue Therapy

• Relaxes tight muscles, relieves spasms, and releases tension in the tissues that surround the muscle fascia.

Exercises and Stretches

• Restore and maintain joint stability and mobility.

Joint Bracing and Kinesio Taping

• Supports sprained joints or muscles during recovery.

Referrals to Medical Experts

• For guidance on diet and nutrition to reduce inflammation and promote healthy weight.

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The Path To Healing

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References

Dunning, James, et al. “CAVITATION SOUNDS DURING CERVICOTHORACIC SPINAL MANIPULATION.” International Journal of sports physical therapy vol. 12,4 (2017): 642-654.

Evans, David W, and Nicholas Lucas. “What is manipulation? A new definition.” BMC musculoskeletal disorders vol. 24,1 194. 15 March 2023, doi:10.1186/s12891-023-06298-w

Hardy, Katie, and Henry Pollard. “The organization of the stress response, and its relevance to chiropractors: a commentary.” Chiropractic & osteopathy vol. 14 25. 18 October 2006, doi:10.1186/1746-1340-14-25

LaPelusa, Andrew. and Bruno Bordoni. “High-Velocity Low Amplitude Manipulation Techniques.” StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 6 February 2023.

Navid, Muhammad Samran, et al. “The effects of chiropractic spinal manipulation on central processing of tonic pain – a pilot study using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA).” Scientific Reports vol. 9,1 6925. 6 May. 2019, doi:10.1038/s41598-019-42984-3