You Wouldn't Take Your Car to a Proctologist, Would You?

A patient walked in with VERY acute lower back pain (let's call him Mr. Smith). He was in visible pain and had a hard time sitting still during the consultation. He is an avid weightlifter and said this pain started after doing some dead lifts with "very heavy weight." Most people outside of the chiropractic profession would immediately diagnose him with a muscle strain and prescribe him muscle relaxers, pain relievers, and anti-inflammatories and tell him to rest. However, once we started talking I found out that he has had a "numb and tingly" spot in his upper back for years. He also had a bout of somewhat severe back pain a few months back that WAS treated by his primary with pain meds. When he mentioned the numb spot in his back, he was told that it was "no big deal." Yet there he was, a healthy 25 year old who could hardly get out of a chair.

This is a perfect example of a patient who has had some spinal problems in the past, but the symptoms came and went, so they were largely ignored and passed off as a "pulled muscle" or a "sprain / strain." They were forced to suspend certain activities for a while, take some ibuprofen now and then to get through some rough patches, but they always seemed to come out okay after several days. They were told it was no big deal by their primary doctor, so they treated it as such. Until "IT" happens. And by "IT" I mean the catastrophic acute low back pain incident, described as a "pain like no other."
"Pain meds don't touch it."
"I am unable to work."
"This is unbearable."

"The pain is an 11 out of 10"

The problem is that Mr. Smith's situation should never have come to this. When he FIRST had trouble with his back, a little light bulb should have went off in his head that said "Chiropractor." Just like someone thinks of a dentist when they crack a tooth, an optometrist when they are squinting at far away objects, or a plumber when the sink backs up. With any problem, you should seek an expert. Your auto mechanic is probably a pretty handy guy and he could likely help you with that leak in your basement, but what he is BEST at is keeping your car running properly. Doctors of Chiropractic are the ONLY practitioners trained to find and correct subluxations of the spine. Other practitioners "dabble" a bit, taking weekend seminars on joint mobilization or perhaps watching a youtube video on manipulation, but when you are dealing with the structure that houses and protects your spinal cord, do you want someone who dabbles, or someone who specializes?

Primary medical physicians are trained to find and treat systemic diseases, which is exactly what you need in the case of an appendicitis, autoimmune disease, or kidney infection. I may be generalizing here, but in most cases, they are not joint experts. They certainly are not spine experts. So why do people allow their primary doctor to be the authority on their back and neck problems? Usually because their insurance covers it, they don't know who else to ask, or they had a scheduled check-up anyway and figured they would bring it up. Unfortunately, the most common treatment from their medical physician is pills and reassurance that it's only a "pulled muscle" or "inflammation." But what's "pulling the muscle" and why is the inflammation there? These are logical questions to most people, but they don't ask. They just take their medications like a good little patient and pray for the best.

Back to Mr. Smith. Upon examination, it was apparent that he was suffering from some major mechanical dysfunction in his spine. There was asymmetry in his posture, extreme tenderness in the tissues surrounding the spine, and muscle spasms throughout his lower back. His range of motion was non-existant in his lumbar spine, but diminished in his upper back and neck, as well. Clearly, this was more serious than a "pulled muscle." His x-rays told the story. He exhibited no less than an 18 degree lateral curvature in his upper back, sitting on top of a 10 degree curve in his lower back! So much for the simple "pulled muscle theory." This was a spine that had been under serious duress for a significant amount of time. But with the medications and the reassurance that it was "no big deal," it got missed and ignored for years. Mr. Smith has been treated in my office for the past several weeks. After his first treatment, he got up and walked out under his own power (his mother literally had to help him into the office initially). He steadily improved over the next few weeks until he was able to fully resume his activities with no pain. However, we did not suspend treatment because the pain was gone. Symptoms come and go, regardless of the condition, just like they came and went before treatment. We resolved to see this thing through. As a result of treating the condition properly, his follow up x-rays demonstrated a complete resolution of the curvature. That type of correction takes time and effort, but ensures him not only an absence of pain, but a healthy, longer lasting spine. That would NOT have happened with a so-called "quick fix."