Our office, Hometown Family Wellness Center located in Freehold, NJ sees many patients that suffer with lower back pain. Over 80% of the population experiences back pain and many wonder how to prevent their pain from worsening or reoccurring. A recent literature review revealed that exercise may be the most effective way to prevent pain.
Previous 20 scientific studies were reviewed that tested various interventions for preventing back pain including exercise, patient education, training in safe lifting methods, stress management, and more.
The only intervention which tested consistently producing substantial relief was exercise. In one study, active patients had 127 fewer sick days than inactive patients. Most exercises focused on strengthening back and abdominal muscles.
It’s important that before starting any exercise program to be evaluated by a chiropractor that specializes in sports and exercise therapy. Many people exercise, but they don’t realize they have joint and muscle imbalances. When you exercise with these imbalances, your joints and muscles aren’t functioning optimally and you are further enhancing the misalignments or at best splinting the unstable areas.
Exercise is a critical component of chiropractic care. A combination of chiropractic adjustments and exercise not only significantly relieves back pain for many patients but also helps preventing future problems from occurring. The adjustments bring the joints to improved alignment and allow for optimal range of motion and more equal contraction of the muscles for best stabilization.
Dr. Russell Brokstein, Chiropractor and owner of Hometown Family Wellness Center helps his patients develop a safe, effective exercise program to prevent and reduce pain. We start off with chiropractic adjustments and therapeutic stretching to provide for full range of motion before beginning strengthening exercises. Here is a video of the basics in our home stretching routine for the low back:
This is just the starting point to preventing low back pain and helping those already suffering. To learn more about natural back pain relief, go to our website www.chiropractorfreehold.com or contact our office at 732-780-0044 to get a full evaluation for spinal problems.
Bigos S, Holland J, Holland C, Webster J, Battie, Malmgren J. High-quality controlled trials on preventing episodes of back problems: systematic literature review in working-age adults. The Spine Journal 2009; 9: 147-168.