"My Back Won't Track" or "Pain In My Sacro-Iliac" - these and a host of other descriptive terms are often used to describe discomfort in the lower back. A term seldom used today, but used frequently by our grandparents and great-grandparents to describe back trouble is "lumbago." Regardless of the labels, low back pain is still low back pain.

Over 75 million people in the United States suffer from back pain. Common treatments are pain pills, muscle relaxants and surgery. Because low back pain is generally a musculo-skeletal mechanical problem, sufferers have become increasingly more aware that pain pills, relaxants and most surgeries tend to only provide "temporary relief" and that a mechanical problem requires a mechanical type of treatment.

The mechanical treatment approach is the "backbone" philosophy of the chiropractic profession. When the spine, which houses and protects the spinal cord and spinal nerves begins to curve or twist, the supporting muscles will contract in an attempt to pull the spine back to its normal position. Prolonged contractions can produce a backache. When the muscles go into severe spasms and/or a spinal nerve is pinched or irritated, the result can be intense throbbing pain.

Whether it is a backache or severe back pain, the mechanical procedure to correct the problem is to help the contracted muscles in their attempt to pull the spine back in line by gently rendering mechanical assistance. This mechanical assistance is termed a chiropractic adjustment.

Adjustments to spinal vertebrae are like tightening braces on protruding teeth, except with the teeth there are no muscles involved. As the spine is gradually returned to its normal position, the muscles stop their spasms and the nerves are no longer pinched.

Not everyone is aware of the effectiveness of chiropractic care in treating symptoms of low back pain. If you or someone you know is suffering with back pain, please let our staff offer the help that you need. The only thing you have to lose is the pain in your back!!