Acupuncture has been proven to be a effective modality for treating low back pain. How? you ask. Through proper diagnosis and a true understanding of the root cause of your back pain. Is it muscular or visceral? Is it due to your neck tension or are your hips misaligned? Yes your neck and/or hips could be causing you back pain! There are tons of reasons why your back could be hurting, but without a proper evaluation and diagnosis, you’re just guessing. So how can I help?
Common Causes of Low Back Pain
1) Muscle Strain:
Usually occurring with over use. Some contributing factors could be excessive bending, lifting, stretching or twisting. Muscle strains can also be caused by an isolated incident like an improper lift at the gym or a fall.
2) Muscle Spasms:
This is when the muscles of the low back start contracting uncontrollably. Muscle spasms are more commonly reported by patients who were doing a particular movement which triggered the muscle spasms. Dehydration and persistent poor posture could also lead to muscle spasms.
3)Nerve Pain:
Low back pain can be caused by a pinched nerve, bulging disc, herniations or degenerated disk disease. These are some examples, but there are others as well. These types of conditions can cause pain that radiates from the lower back down into the hips, legs and feet.
Treatment Process
Intake:
We would go through a thorough intake to understand any previous health history and or new occurring health history.
Evaluate:
I would observe your posture and check for misalignments with your shoulders and hips. Next I would check or anterior and posterior pelvic tilts.
Palpation:
I would palpate the surrounding and distal muscle groups to see if there are any trigger points or knotted muscle fibers that re- create the current pain pattern.
Muscle testing:
Checking certain muscle groups for any weakness and for differences between strength levels from one side to another.
Diagnose & Treat:
At this point I would have a good idea as to what is causing your back pain and create the proper treatment protocol and prescription that is best fit for you. This will give us the best chance and best results in alleviating your back pain.
