New Guidelines for Lower Back Pain Treatment

Low back pain treatment guidelines

The gold standard in lower back pain care used to be NSAIDs. However, studies recently revealed that these pain relievers weren’t really helping patients on a long-term basis. In fact, they were causing side effects that grew worse with long-time usage. Thus, the American College of Physicians updated the guidelines. What are doctors presently recommending for lower back pain, and what does this trend toward non-invasive care mean?

4 Recommendations for Lower Back Pain

The new guidelines offer 4 ways to receive natural back pain relief. These are:

  1. Heat – Ice is great for injuries that cause inflammation, but heat can be better for persistent pain because it increases blood flow.
  2. Massage – Time to make that appointment with a masseuse. Relaxing the muscles can help relieve pain.
  3. Acupuncture – This unique far eastern approach isn’t for every, but if you don’t mind the idea of all those tiny needles, it may provide the relief you need.
  4. Chiropractic – Spinal manipulation to relieve subluxations can help the soft tissue around the spine to heal and pinched nerves to be relieved.

A Specific form of Chiropractic for Lower Back Care

When you think of chiropractic for the lower back, you’re probably expecting to hear about a lumbar specialist. However, what we’d like to introduce you to is upper cervical chiropractic, which focuses on the top two vertebrae in the neck. What do misalignments in this location have to do with the rest of the spine?  

When the C1 and C2 misalign, the rest of the spine goes through changes in order to keep the head level. These changes can result in pain where the greatest shifts occur. This is often in the lower back. Changes in the spine and surrounding soft tissue may lead to sciatica and other chronic conditions. Thus, correcting the upper cervical misalignment is usually the first step in finding long-term relief as this can help to reverse the changes.

To learn more about how upper cervical chiropractic can help patients with lower back pain, contact a practitioner near you and schedule an examination.

 

Find An Upper Cervical Doctor in Your Areato schedule a consultation today.

Search

Featured Articles

Videos

Montel Williams
Montel Williams

TV show host Montel Williams describes how specific chiropractic care has helped his body.

NBC's The Doctors

The TV show "The Doctors" showcased Upper Cervical Care.

CBS News/Migraine Relief

CBS News highlighted the alleviation of Migraines and Headaches.

The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.

©2015–2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.