Are you suffering from back pain? There are many different reasons why you may be experiencing back pain such as your posture, slouching over a desk, falling off your bike, or just aging. Disc herniation/bulge is one you tend to hear about a lot, most times bulging at L4-L5 OR L5-S1. This will have effects on the nerve that it's pinching and causing a number of different sensations like numbness and tingling, pain, swelling etc. My job as an Osteopathic Practitioner is to find out the why. Was it an acute injury where you picked something up wrong or has the body been compensating for a dysfunction from somewhere else and that happened to be the weak spot where your body couldn't take the load.
Can an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner provide treatment for people with back pain?
The simple answer is Yes, An Osteopathic Practitioner can help with back pain as we can change the muscle tones and loading of the spine & structure into the area of pain. We can relax the soft tissues to create a better environment for the nerve, artery & vein to do their work. We do a full body assessment from head to toe to check for imbalances.
Summary
Back pain is usually caused by the muscles, joints and ligaments of the spine – but in many cases the exact cause is hard to figure out. What’s important is to identify if you’re doing anything to aggravate the pain and then learn how to move without pain. I provide an Osteopathic approach to each patient that incorporates the best available scientific evidence regarding the diagnosis, treatment and management of this spinal pain condition.
Interesting facts about back pain
Back pain is the number 1 cause of disability in the world.
About 80% of adults experience low back pain at some point in their life.
More than 25% of adults will report experiencing low back pain within 3 months.
Back pain is responsible for more than 264 million lost workdays in a year.
Back pain is the 3rd most common reason for consulting with a physician.
The number of years that people live with a disability due to low back pain have increased by 54% between 1990 and 2015.
In the United States, low back pain costs US citizens at least $50 billion in health care costs each year.
About 50% of US citizens report back pain each year.
(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
With these incredible statistics one can only rationalize that it is a good idea to take care of yourself. Starting by being body aware and taking notice on how you move during your daily activities and at work. Whether you are sitting at a desk all day, or building a house either way your body can break down if you’re not moving properly. Osteopathic Practitioners are trained to recognize these movement patterns and can find the root of the cause.
As an Osteopath servicing the Okanagan, I have clinics in Kelowna & West Kelowna. Please contact me to book in an appointment
