Chiropractic care gets the joints moving through further range of motion and therapeutic exercise. The goal of chiropractic care is to achieve less pain and to exercise muscles that attach to the bone. These muscles make up the joints and will support a strong structural connection, according to Dr. TJ Abrams of Thrive Spine & Sport Rehabilitation in Belmar, NJ.
Back pain–specifically in the lower back–is one of the most common reasons people start chiropractic care. This form of physical therapy is an investment in health, wellness, and a pain free life–especially for those with chronic back pain.
The Benefits of Chiropractic Therapy for Back Pain
There are many benefits when choosing chiropractic therapy to combat chronic back pain. First and foremost, working with a chiropractor to heal back pain means that patients get multiple sessions with a chiropractor who is listening to issues and responding to pain with science-based chiropractic care techniques along with experience-based sports rehab methods.
Chiropractic care will strengthen the muscles around the area of pain. When it comes to back pain, chiropractors will help patients exercise muscles which attach to the spine. When working on healing back pain with a chiropractor, patients will notice an improved structural connection within their back. This therapy will stimulate the nervous system to increase range of motion, decrease back pain, and build a stronger back.
Therapeutic stretching and strengthening create benefits for patients who have implemented chiropractic care as part of a physical therapy plan for healing back pain. Chiropractors teach therapeutic stretching techniques to loosen back muscles, strengthen the back, and to decrease back pain and stiffness.
"We get patients back to doing what they love," summarized Dr. TJ Abrams who is Thrive's chiropractor in Belmar… This is the main benefit of working with a chiropractor to cure chronic back pain.
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Abrams is the professional chiropractor at Thrive's Belmar location. He's a young doctor who has experience working as a personal trainer. He also has a background in strength and conditioning techniques. Abrams offers a customized wellness approach for chiropractic patients through these various experiences and areas of expertise.
Quick Case Study: Belmar Patients Receive Chiropractic Care for Back Pain
Abrams shared recent experiences where he helped to heal chronic back pain and bring about positive change for patients through chiropractic therapy sessions.
"The goal is to get patients back to activities of their daily life," shared Abrams who recently worked with an adult who is a lifetime runner.
"If a runner can't run more than a quarter mile without bad back pain, our first goal is to get them there."
Thrive's custom approach to chiropractic care will create measurable achievements for patients with back pain. In a similar scenario, Abrams worked with a climber and hiker who was suffering from back pain in order to get him doing what he loves to do again.
While making consistent efforts during therapy, "We encourage people not to feel their injury is who they are," explained Abrams about the process of healing back pain with chiro care.
"Patients think they can't do anything," said Abrams who qualified that getting back to incremental physical movement is also part of the chiropractic therapy process.
"In medicine, doctors do not always do a good job navigating patients who have [back] pain and think they're doomed for life," said Abrams. "People think they can never play with their children, never squat… But they should understand, you will get back there."
Chiropractic Care Services to Employ for Back Pain
Chiropractors like Abrams have many tools in their toolbelt to cure back pain. Possible services to employ for back pain include:
- Chiropractic adjustments
- Chiropractic manipulation therapy
- Soft tissue work
- Muscle stretching
- Graston technique or muscle scraping
- Decompression table
Possible Side-Effects of Chiropractic Care for Back Pain
Snap, crackle, and pop! That's what many people think about chiropractic care. When undergoing adjustments by chiropractors (and with any form of physical therapy or training) there is a possibility of injury. When seeing a chiropractor to heal back pain, there are a few things to keep in mind…
Adjustments can cause pain. Obviously, the goal is to alleviate back pain. So, any acute pain during treatment should never be worse than the chronic back pain which brought on chiro therapy.
Also, patients must be 100% honest with the chiropractor in order to ensure there is no re-injury or worsened injury during chiropractic adjustments. Patients should communicate clearly if he or she is hesitant to chiropractic adjustments, or if they have some form of discomfort during chiropractic treatments.
Muscle soreness is common amongst chiropractic patients–this is normal. However, this soreness should never turn to chronic pain worse than what brought the patient to see the doctor in the first place.
Dizziness, faintness, and drowsiness are also possible side-effects of chiropractic treatments. Patients should always eat a healthy meal and drink plenty of water before therapy. After therapy is over, patients should move slowly and stretch to alleviate these possible side-effects.
Overall, patients should expect that chronic back pain cannot be solved in one chiropractic session. While it can happen–the goal is to develop a relationship with the chiropractor via multiple sessions which heal little by little in a natural, organic way.
Living with Chronic Back Pain
Some individuals choose to live with back pain, rather than seek chiropractic care. In other cases, individuals opt for surgery or pain-numbing pharmaceutical drugs instead of undergoing chiro treatments. While chiropractic care does have some side-effects, the side-effects of living in pain, undergoing surgery, or taking drugs to combat pain are much worse!
"The alternative to chiropractic is surgery," said Abrams. "...because people tried physical therapy or acupuncture and it hasn't worked well enough. But [chiropractors] affect the musculoskeletal system and nervous system through adjustments. This process sends a reflex to and from the spinal cord back to the joint. It calms down pain along with the surrounding tissue too."
Some people don't employ chiropractors for fear of manual adjustments.
"Chiropractic is strengthening," continued Abrams. "It's not just the snap, crackle, pop… It may take longer than getting cut open and doing rehab after surgery. However, I argue that the outcome is the same–if not better. Plus, you're not getting anesthesia, and there's no process of surgery recovery."
If adjustments are recommended by the chiropractor in order to heal the root cause of pain–this does not have to start the first day of therapy. Patients and chiropractors can work up to the snap, crackle, and pop.
Chiropractors provide education about ways to move the body that can alleviate pain and stiffness. So a patient can ask for personal stretching and exercise techniques before trying manual adjustments by the doctor if he/she is fearful of possible side-effects of chiropractic care.
"Adjustment is one tool in the toolbox for a chiropractor," said Abrams. "While that is the main tool–for a carpenter it's the hammer and nail–but there are tons of different techniques which don't involve snap, crackle, and pop."
Abrams rationalizes Thrive's chiropractic adjustment services to combat back pain for a variety of individuals and in various scenarios.
"I explain it this way: When we put force through the joint, we push the joint to its end range," explained Abrams. "And the umph sends a reflex to the spinal cord and back to the joint. This helps the joint and surrounding tissues relax. So, Grade Five is the snap, crackle, pop, and Grade Four involves little thrusts into the joint which causes cavitation. Despite what everyone thinks, it is quite safe. The pros outweigh the cons drastically…"
FAQs
Who should go to the chiropractor?
Anyone with pain that lasts should go see the chiropractor. Potential candidates for chiropractic care suffer from chronic pain which is pain that has persisted two or three times a day for a four to six month period or more. Anyone that is seeing a physical therapist or acupuncturist may also be a candidate to receive chiropractic therapy. Overall, if a person is being held back from doing what they love due to chronic pain, there's a good chance they can benefit from consulting a chiropractor.
Who should not go to the chiropractor?
Anyone with new or acute pain should not immediately go to the chiropractor. Acute pain is defined as pain that is new or has only been an issue for one to two weeks. Overall, if you can still play sports, take part in physical activity without pain, and still do what you love–you may not need to see a chiropractor. Otherwise, individuals with broken bones or other non-musculoskeletal injuries should not see a chiropractor.
Do chiropractors help with back pain?
Chiropractors help cure back pain incrementally via multiple sessions by providing education and manual assistance to move the body in ways that can alleviate pain and stiffness.
What are the disadvantages of chiropractic therapy for back pain?
When undergoing adjustments by chiropractors (and with any form of physical therapy or training) there is a possibility of injury. When seeing a chiropractor to heal back pain, there are a few things to keep in mind… Possible disadvantages include muscle soreness, discomfort, acute pain during session, dizziness, and drowsiness. There is also always a chance of re-injury when combating lower back pain–for example–with chiropractic adjustments.
Massage or chiropractor for back pain?
Both massage and chiropractic care are important when healing back pain. In addition, acupuncture and physical therapy should be implemented to achieve a holistic wellness plan that will cure back pain.
How long does it take to feel the effects of chiropractic care for back pain?
Every person and every injury or stint of chronic pain necessitates a different plan for chiropractic care. Having said this, usually one chiropractic session will not cure chronic back pain. Most often, chiropractors like to see patients 1-2 times per week for 6 weeks or more. For back pain and specifically lower back pain, chiropractors will create a custom plan for physical wellness which will outline how many sessions are necessary to achieve the patients goals, according to Thrive Spine and Sports Rehabilitation in NJ.