At some point in time over 90% of the population has suffered from lower back pain. One of the most common misconceptions is that the pain is coming from the muscles. Patients go to all kinds of extremes trying alleviate the pain without actually addressing the root cause of the pain symptom. To find the root cause we must first address the spine. The nerves are what control the muscles in the body and those nerves stem from the spine. The pain that you feel is a reaction to your misaligned spine interfering with your nerves; your muscles are responding to your spine not functioning how it should. Lower back pain will reoccur over and over until the cause is addressed, not just the symptoms. Heat and Ice as well as stretching are not always the answer, it might relieve the symptoms but not fix the problem.
Common symptoms:
- backache
- tingling
- numbness in the leg
- stiffness
- ankle and knee pain
- reproductive issues
- digestive issues
- changes in gait
- discomfort when sitting, standing, walking, bending, and/or twisting
Recommended exams:
- Thorough examination involving palpation of the spine to look for tender areas that may be indicative of a problem.
- Muscle testing and orthopedic testing.
- Specific orthopedic and neurological testing can be done to determine if chiropractic can help the leg pain you are experiencing. Many patients do not have lower back pain but have leg pain that is a result of a spinal problem.
- Leg length discrepancy testing
- pelvic imbalance testing
“For many years I have been working with patients who have suffered from severe, debilitating lower back & leg pain, caused by all sorts of activities, such as, hard manual labor, long hours sitting at a desk or even just playing with the kids, working on the house on the weekends, or doing gardening. I have developed such a wide knowledge base when it comes to the low back by attending seminars, using the Gonstead technique which specializes in the lower back, and through my own experience of adjusting patients over the years. Having witnessed the body respond in amazing ways to specific low back adjustments time and time again I have developed a special passion for the lower back.”
-Dr. Robert O. Katona