It seems like everyone has back pain from time to time and for most people the pain and tightness are gone within a few days and then life gets back to normal. Then there are some people in which back pain is a daily struggle and no matter what they do to stretch or exercise or massage it just won’t go away.
The most common treatments for back pain are pain-relieving gels and creams, pain relieving medication, muscle relaxing medication, massage therapy, physical therapy, and general chiropractic care. All those approaches have one thing in common… they focus on relieving pain, NOT identifying and fixing the root causes.
If someone has tried to treat their back pain by working on the part of the back that hurts and the pain keeps coming back, then one of three things is happening;
- The pain is coming from something other than the bones and muscles of the spine.
- The daily activities of the person is causing the problem to come back over and over again.
- The part of the back that hurts is not where the real problem is located, it’s just where the body is compensating for the real problem.
IS IT REALLY BACK PAIN OR SOMETHING ELSE?
One of the most common scenarios in which back pain is caused by something other than an alignment or muscle problem in the spine is cancer. Prostate cancer, for instance, often causes low back pain and treating the spine won’t help. There are also cancers that attack the bones of the spine and cause back pain. MRI’s, x-rays, and blood tests are good ways to find out if it’s cancer.
IS IT SOMETHING YOU’RE DOING EVERY DAY?
The simple fact of the matter is the human body was not made to sit in a chair for several hours every day, driving for hours, stare at a phone or computer screen for hours, or perform the same repetitive motions day in and day out for years. Muscles, bones, and joints need different types of motion and activity to stay healthy, strong, and flexible. Many, if not most, cases of mild and moderate back pain can be resolved by often doing a routine of yoga, stretching, and exercise.
THE UPPER NECK MIGHT BE WHY YOUR BACK HURTS ALL THE TIME
Some cases of back pain seem to be so stubborn that no matter how much work you do on the parts hurt with physical therapy, general chiropractic, stretching, or massage the pain and tension keep coming back. When this happens it’s usually because the location of the pain is not the same location as the actual problem.
There are several reflexes that cause the low back, mid back, and lower neck areas to get out of alignment in an effort to keep the head level. Only by correcting the alignment between the upper neck and head will you be able to get the other parts of the spine to relax back into their normal position.
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