Name That Condition

by Dr. Brett L. Lukert, DC

Can you guess which single health condition accounts for more industry expense annually than all other industrial injuries combined, at a staggering $50 billion? This condition is also the second leading cause of work loss (next to upper respiratory conditions) and will affect 85 percent of Americans at some point. If you guessed back pain, you guessed correctly. Low back pain affects 31 million Americans at any given time, and approximately 50 percent of working Americans report having back symptoms each year.

As common as low back pain is, it should be mentioned that the majority of back pain patients have not experienced trauma, accidents or major injuries prior to the onset of their symptoms. The cause of most back pain is the cumulative effect of improper posture, poor work habits, incorrect lifting, lack of proper exercise, being overweight and other lifestyle related factors.

There are many treatment options for low back pain, but for this particular condition, I must toot chiropractic's horn a bit. Low back pain is what our profession is trained to treat. This is because our specialty is treating the spine and correcting spinal misalignments, which will eventually cause symptoms if left untreated.

Chiropractic provides a safe, natural and effective option for low back pain, and the results should speak for themselves. The Internet site, Web MD, conducted a four-year study on 1.7 million patients. The study compared 700,000 patients on a health care plan that included chiropractic care to 1,000,000 patients on a health care plan that did not include chiropractic care, and here are the results:

•  Chiropractic cut the cost of treating back pain by 28 percent compared to those who did not have chiropractic care.
•  Back surgeries were reduced by 32 percent in those receiving chiropractic care compared with those who did not.
•  The satisfaction rate with chiropractic care was found to be 95 percent!

Low back pain is a perfect example of a health condition that can not only be effectively treated but also prevented with the help of lifestyle changes. Chiropractic treatment for the low back normally includes correction of spinal misalignments to restore normal joint mobility. This correction removes pressure and irritation from spinal nerves, which alleviates pain.

Once this correction is made, it is equally important that we make a commitment to rehabilitating the surrounding lumbar musculature, developing core stability, regaining normal flexibility in synergistic muscles, achieving ideal body weight, learning proper lifting techniques, improving posture, and sleeping in the correct position. If these are done consistently, back pain symptoms can not only be treated but corrected and prevented.

Focusing on staying well once we get well is how we can be healthy, live healthy and stay healthy!