Many times when you have back pain, it is caused by a spinal joint sprain - or "subluxation". Ligaments hold bones together to form a joint. A sprain occurs when a ligament is injured by over stretching it. This can happen due to small micro traumas over several years or from one acute event like a car accident, sports injury, or a fall. When the ligament becomes stretched and injured, joints do not function properly. Delicate nerve fibers can become irritated. Over time, even without treatment, the pain may fade or go away. In most cases the spinal joint is still not functioning properly, even though the symptoms are gone. This many times leads to future flare-ups and degeneration as the joint moves improperly and wears out. This is why simple everyday motions - like bending over to pick up a pencil - can result in a severe episode of back pain. Chiropractic adjustments and treatments are designed to normalize spinal motion as much as possible, which allows the spinal joints to heal more naturally and function properly. Here`s a simple way to look at it:
If you broke your arm and didn't get the bone set properly, it would heal out of place and crooked. The pain might go away in the short term, but there would most likely be big problems in the future. The best thing to do is put everything in place and then let it heal properly. Chiropractors are experts at getting your spinal bones and joint “in place” and working properly so they can heal correctly. Chiropractors are also experts at keeping spines functioning properly to minimize future problems - much like periodic Dental check-ups and cleaning prevent tooth decay down the road. So if you have back pain, you might want to try something that has a history starting in 400 B.C. with the father of medicine - Hippocrates - and has been practiced, improved and proven to help back pain.
