Back Pain Chiropractor Bowie, MD
If you have chronic back pain, you may want to see a back pain chiropractor Bowie, MD residents trust. Chiropractic care is non-invasive and considered much safer than prescription painkillers and surgery. A chiropractor can help realign your spine, ultimately relieving your back pain.
How Chiropractic Treatment Works
Spinal manipulation is one of the most common treatments a chiropractor performs and can treat a wide range of ailments, including back pain. The treatment realigns the spine, reducing pressure on the nervous system. During an adjustment, your chiropractor will use his or her hands to apply pressure to your back to realign your spine and relieve pain. You may feel some pressure during an adjustment, but you shouldn’t experience pain. If you feel too much discomfort, don’t hesitate to let your chiropractor know.
A chiropractor Bowie, MD residents trust may also have you perform several strengthening exercises to perform at home. These exercises are designed to relieve pain, improve strength and increase range of motion in your back. It’s important to keep up with these exercises at home to get the best results.
Lifestyle Changes to Manage Back Pain
In addition to regular spinal manipulation, a back pain chiropractor in Bowie, MD may recommend making certain lifestyle changes to reduce your back pain, such as:
- Improve Your Posture: If you sit slouched in your chair all day, it can put a lot of pressure on your spine, causing back pain. Practice better posture by always sitting up straight with your shoulders pulled back. If you need extra support, try putting a small pillow behind your back.
- Change Your Sleeping Position: The way you sleep can also have a big impact on your back pain. Try sleeping on your side with your knees bent to keep your spine in proper alignment.
- Lose Excess Weight: Extra weight on your body can put stress on your back, resulting in discomfort. If you’re overweight, try lowering your daily caloric intake and exercise most days of the week. Include healthy foods, like fish, chicken and vegetables, in your diet and keep junk food to a minimum.
- Wear Supportive Shoes: If you frequently wear heels, flip flops or other shoes that don’t offer support, they could cause changes in your gait and back pain. If you know you will be on your feet all day, remember to wear comfortable and supportive shoes.
- Stop Smoking: It’s well known that smoking causes lung cancer and heart disease. However, not everyone may be aware that it can result in back pain. Smoking tobacco can prevent oxygen from getting to the discs in your spine, causing pain. Quitting the habit can relieve your back pain and prevent many other health problems.
If you’ve been struggling with back pain, make an appointment with a back pain chiropractor in Bowie, MD.
Common Causes of Back Pain
Back pain is a common ailment and can make it more challenging to do simple tasks. Some days, the pain may be so intense that you struggle to get out of bed. Before you can successfully treat pain, you have to find out what is causing it in the first place. Here are some common causes of back pain:
- Pulled muscle or tendon. Many people suffer back pain after they have pulled a muscle or tendon from lifting heavy items, such as boxes or weights. They may feel tightness and spasms in their back. The best way to avoid pulled muscles and tendons is to lift items more carefully and ask for help if the item is too heavy.
- Arthritis. Arthritis is a disease that causes inflammation of your joints, including the ones in your back. If you experience stiffness and swelling in your back in addition to pain, you may have arthritis related back pain.
- Stress. Too much stress can negatively affect many parts of your body, including your back. When you are under too much stress, it can cause the muscles in your back to tighten. Introducing more stress-reducing techniques, like meditation and yoga, into your routine help reduce your stress and back pain.
- Excess weight. As a back pain chiropractor in Bowie, MD can confirm, many people with back pain are overweight. Extra weight can put pressure on your spine, ultimately making back pain worse. If you are overweight, cleaning up your diet and increasing your exercise may help you lose weight and relieve back pain.
- Degenerative disc disease. As you get older, the disc in your back can lose water and wear down. The weaker these discs are, the more prone you are to developing a tear and experiencing pain in your back.
- Trauma. After an accident, like a fall or car collision, it is possible to experience acute fractures in your back. These fractures may cause sharp pain and make it difficult to move your body freely. It is essential to seek medical treatment promptly in this situation to prevent the injury from getting worse.
- Compression fracture. A compression fracture occurs in the cylindrical vertebrae and causes the bone to cave in on itself. The fracture is more likely to impact people with osteoporosis, as they have weaker bones.