Chiropractic Care for Low Back Pain in Raleigh
Ok, this is embarrassing for me as your Raleigh chiropractor to tell you. I was at the gym the other day and during one of the exercises, I felt a twinge and then a sharp pain. I hurt my lower back! I know a chiropractor with a bad back. I get the irony. But I wanted to turn my pain into your gain and discuss what I did to get better fast.
Day 1 – Lots of sharp pain with movement.
I stopped working out immediately. Sounds simple but almost everyone who hurts themselves at the gym or in the yard or elsewhere tries to keep going to see if it will go away. This almost always makes things way worse. So once you feel something STOP!
Next, I got on some Ice. Ice should be used in the first 24-48 hours after an acute injury. Ice reduces inflammation and decreases pain and I had both, so it was a good choice. Ice no more than 15 minutes out of every hour.
That same day I went to my chiropractor and got adjusted! The sooner you get the spine moving properly the faster it can start to heal correctly. The more time that goes by with the spine in dysfunction the more likely the body starts to heal improperly form poor muscle patterns and the longer it will take to get better.
Also that same day, I went for a one-mile walk. Nothing fast or uphill, just a slow steady walk that tried not to provoke any pain. Every study on back pain shows the faster you can get someone moving the better the outcomes. In the past, people would be put on bed rest for a bad back. Today that is the worst thing you can do is stop moving. Movement from walking allows the spinal joints to get back to moving pushing inflammation out of the joints and stimulating the joint receptors that aid motion and speed recovery.
Day 2 – Probably 50% better overall but really sharp pain when bending forward.
Since I had to go to work and see patients I used a stabilizing brace over my sacroiliac joints and lower back to keep from re-injuring my back. I used it just during the times I was having to adjust people and removed it after that. Bracing is rarely needed for most injuries but with the type I had it was helpful and I would probably not have worn one if I wasn’t going to be actively bending.
I used ice again on this day to ensure the inflammation was getting under control.
I added in the lower back stretch I gave you a while back in a previous email. Keeping the knees bent and bring both knees to one side holding and doing the same to the other. This got my hips and lower back moving after tightening overnight.
I walked again on this day about 2 miles and started to practice bending forward from a standing position with my hands on my knees. The bending forward got my body to start to release the protective mechanism it set up and get the tissues used to moving in the direction it was injured.
Day 3 – feeling 75% better some tightness in the morning but more mobile
Got adjusted again today to make sure proper alignment during the healing phase and went to the gym and modified all my activities reducing weights and avoiding any exercise that caused any pain in the area. Did back stretches and I iced once at the end of the day to reduce any possible inflammation.
Day 4-7 – Feeling 90% and improving daily.
During this phase, I walked 4 miles daily with light periods of jogging to stress the tissues a little and strengthen the area overall. I did my normal gym routine. I am still aware of the injured area but everything is improving and getting back to normal.
So there you have it. Let my pain be your gain. If you get injured follow this playbook and get adjusted to get back to feeling great as soon as possible. Thank you for letting me be your chiropractor!
In Good Health,
Dr. Ashforth