Given that The World Health Organization estimates the lifetime prevalence of non-specific back pain at 60-70%, it just makes sense that you understand what could be causing it and how to start solving your problem once and for all!

 Here are 9 possible reasons you have back pain.

1. Sciatica

Sciatica is technically not a diagnosis but a description of a grouping of symptoms.

Any condition that increases pressure on the lumbar nerves or directly to the sciatic nerve can cause debilitating pain. 

2. Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis can be a byproduct of aging but also a side effect of injury and immobility.

As the cartilage between discs and joints becomes damaged, normal movement can become difficult and painful.

3. Soft Tissues

Strain and sprain injuries to the muscles and ligaments around the spine can be a common source of pain.

This type of pain can be more diffuse and spread further into the muscles along the spine.

4. Disc Degeneration

The deterioration of intervertebral discs can occur with the normal wear and tear of aging or can be accelerated with abnormal forces placed on the spine.

While disc degeneration is not always a cause of back pain, there is a higher incidence of chronic low back pain in those with severe disc degeneration.

5. Herniated Disk

If the spinal discs reach a point where the disc ruptures, increased pressure may be placed directly on the nerve roots or the walls of the disc can become irritated… both causing back pain.

6. Stress

It is common to assume that pain in the back also means there’s a physical problem in that area… research continues to say “not necessarily”.

Stress can affect our levels of back pain and improved management of stress can aid in the recovery process.

7. Smoking

Believe it or not, puffing away on a cigarette can make your back hurt even more.

Whether it is increased joint inflammation or altered blood supply, the chemicals found in cigarettes increase the chance you’ll suffer from back pain.

8. Hypermobility and Weakness

One of the most often missed culprits causing lower back pain is too much movement, especially in the lumbar spine. This is one of the reasons creating more movement in an already mobile lumbar spine could be detrimental.

Strengthening tissues around the spine with compound exercises such as deadlifts (yes I said deadlifts) can be integral to the healing process.

9. Other

Of course, let’s not forget there can be many other causes of back pain.

The source of pain could be postural distortion, indigestion, a urinary tract infection, a fracture or not to scare you… even cancer.

Well, it’s complicated.

If you’ve ever wondered why some people will have success with one intervention while others with back pain are still suffering… now you know.

The most likely scenario is because there’s a mixture of different factors at work.

Try Something Different

With back pain being one of the top reasons for visits to physicians, days off work, and disability, it seems to make sense we approach back pain from a different and multi-factorial perspective.

The shortlist includes:

1. Strength Training, Conditioning and Proper Mobility / Stability
2. Dietary Improvements
3. Bio-Structural Testing and Correction (Corrective Chiropractic)
4. Stress Management

Which of these have you tried?

What worked for you?

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.

Here it comes… the pressure over your left eye, the blurred vision, the feeling like there is a vice squeezing your head and now the throbbing pain has you searching for somewhere to hide.

You are getting another headache.

Luckily this time it’s just a “normal” headache… the kind you seem to get ONLY a couple times a week. That’s so much better than one of those nasty migraine headaches that debilitate you every month!

Of course, they always seem to appear when you have a million things to do and they make every single task exponentially more difficult to complete.

So now comes the most important question:

What are you going to do about it?

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.

Ultimately, one major principle governs our ability to express health or moves us towards sickness and disease – adaptation.

The body’s ability to adapt to its environment is the centerpiece of life and it’s the nerve system that coordinates all the necessary changes, from raising or lowering blood pressure, altering body temperature, activating the immune system to contracting muscles and digesting food for energy.

If we can adapt to the level of stress in our lives, we continue to function at a peak level. If our adaptability decreases, stress begins to overwhelm us and we break down.

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.

Chiropractic is the world’s largest drugless health profession and continues to change and transform millions of lives for the better. However, along the way, a handful of myths have emerged that inhibit people’s understanding and therefore the inclusion of chiropractic into their regular health-creating routine.

Let’s put these misunderstandings to rest and help millions more experience the incredible benefits that come from a clear brain-body connection.

Dr. Steven Gall has been offering exceptional chiropractic care to infants, children and adults for over 25 years. He has spent his life learning, and improving his knowledge, skills and ability to provide his care. As a public speaker and health coach he strives to assist people in seeing and attaining a life of extraordinary health. Contact the office to join others who have started the same journey.