5 Ways to Relieve Chronic Back Pain

Shedding Light on Effective Chiropractic PG County’s Treatments

When most people consider going to a chiropractor for the first time, it’s usually to alleviate chronic upper or lower back pain. At Effective Chiropractic PG County, we estimate that as many as 40-50% of our new patients come to us seeking chiropractic care to relieve chronic back pain caused by an injury, auto accident, or muscle strain. Studies have shown that chiropractic care helps increase your range of motion, reduce pain and stress, improve your posture and energy levels, and increase your general wellness, all without relying on surgery or medication. Our chiropractors in the Lanham, Maryland area relieve chronic back pain using various tried-and-true techniques, including chiropractic adjustments, spinal decompression therapy, active release therapy, pulsed cold laser therapy, and physical therapy. Read on to learn five ways your chiropractor can help you relieve chronic back pain.

How Chiropractic Adjustments Benefit Our Maryland Patients

Are you looking for a chiropractor near you in Lanham, Maryland to ease your chronic back pain? You’re not alone. It’s estimated that as many as 51% of American adults suffer from chronic back pain because of a spinal misalignment or herniated disc. Chiropractic adjustments are one of the treatment options we specialize in at Effective Chiropractic PG County. A chiropractic (or spinal) adjustment helps realign your neck (cervical area), lower/upper back, shoulders, and hips to provide pain relief. The concept of a chiropractic adjustment is far from being a new one. Descriptions of spinal manipulation being used in practice have been found going as far back in time as Hippocrates and ancient Greece.

Prior to your adjustment session, we’ll examine your range of movement and perform a thorough physical exam and/or x-ray to analyze your musculoskeletal issues in more detail before recommending treatment. During a chiropractic adjustment, you’ll be asked to lie face down on a padded chiropractic table. Controlled pressure is applied to the spinal joint using either our hands or a specialized instrument. It’s not uncommon to hear popping noises as we move your joints beyond their normal range of motion during this type of treatment. Some patients experience minor aches, headaches, or fatigue after a chiropractic adjustment, set the intention that patients often feel an instant relief after their adjustment.

Spinal Decompression Therapy Takes Pressure Off Spinal Discs

Spinal decompression therapy gently stretches your spine through the means of motorized traction to take the pressure off your spinal discs. Sessions take about 45 minutes on average. While the severity of your condition will impact the duration of your treatment, multiple sessions spanning at least two months are generally recommended. During spinal decompression therapy treatment, our chiropractor will fit you with specialized harnesses connecting you to the traction machine. We’re able to customize the amount of traction and your body positioning to maximize your treatment. We also provide neck decompression therapy for our Lanham, Maryland patients to help reduce neck pain and stiffness. Spinal and neck compression therapy have been gaining in popularity in recent years thanks to continual improvements within the traction system technology. Patients with degenerative disc disease, bulging or herniated discs, sciatica, or spinal stenosis tend to benefit the most from this method of chiropractic treatment.

How Active Release Therapy Restores Motion in Back Nerves

Active Release Therapy (ART) may be beneficial in restoring motion in your back’s nerves to help alleviate your chronic pain. Tension in your soft tissues and scar tissue from injuries often cause pain and restricted motion for the affected muscles, joints, tendons, nerves, and ligaments. ART combines manipulation and movement and is commonly used to treat sports and repetitive motion injuries, including tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, rotator cuff issues, carpal tunnel syndrome, and chronic back pain. By applying pressure to an injured area while you stretch it out, our chiropractor helps increase your pain pressure threshold. This manipulation and movement help break up the scar tissue so your body can heal. Due to the amount of pressure involved, some patients experience significant discomfort from this type of physical therapy Depending on the severity of your injury, it may work in as little as one session, or it may take several sessions to relieve your pain and stiffness.

Pulsed Cold Laser Therapy Relieves Muscle Spasms and Pain

Wavelengths of light and heat are used to treat certain chronic conditions involving muscle and joint inflammation. Also referred to as low-level or near-infrared laser therapy, pulsed cold laser therapy involves a low-level laser to reduce painful inflammation and promote the recovery of damaged cells for faster healing. Proven safe and effective, pulsed cold laser therapy is used to treat many common conditions, including muscle spasms and pain, sprains and strains, arthritic joints, and lower back pain. Many patients seek pulsed cold laser therapy because it generally doesn’t produce any side effects. Our board-certified chiropractors have treated many individuals with acute or chronic pain in their back, legs, hands, or feet using this popular technique.

Stretch Away Your Back Pain with Personalized Physical Therapy

Physical therapy and rehabilitation promote exercise, movement, low-impact aerobic conditioning, and stretching to help alleviate chronic back pain and restore mobility. By learning how to stretch your hamstring and back muscles properly, you should see noticeable long-term strides in pain reduction. This method of hands-on treatment is often used to treat athletes and those recovering from work-related or auto accident injuries. Our board-certified chiropractors n Lanham, Maryland will take your medical history and your range of motion into full consideration when considering the course of your treatment.

Like the rest of our chiropractic treatments, physical therapy is personalized for every patient. Patients respond to physical therapy differently. The extent of your injury, as well as your body type, age, and lifestyle, are all factors affecting your ability to recover. We may recommend combining your physical therapy with manual therapy or dry needling therapy for optimal results. We’d be happy to explain how body mechanics, ergonomics, and your posture all go hand-in-hand in managing pain without reliance on invasive surgical procedures or potentially addictive pain medications!

Other Things You Can Do to Relieve Chronic Back Pain Symptoms

Chiropractors believe in taking a holistic approach to healthcare. As such, we examine each patient as a whole and look for ways to improve their overall wellness while alleviating their symptoms of pain and discomfort. Often, dietary and lifestyle changes may be essential to aid the effectiveness of our chiropractic care. This may include incorporating or altering any of the following habits:

Following an Anti-Inflammatory Diet – Think less sugar, processed foods, and trans fats. If you can cut back on the number of inflammatory foods you eat, it can help reduce the amount of inflammation found in your joints. Eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, green teas, and leaner meats like salmon or grass-fed beef are all reasonable goals for your diet.
Quit Smoking – Being a smoker negatively impacts your health in more ways than one. Studies have now linked smoking with chronic back pain because the nicotine found in cigarettes may prevent the brain from processing sensory stimuli correctly. In other words, smoking may affect how your brain processes pain, as well as damage tissues over time. As if you didn’t already have several valid reasons to quit smoking!
Exercise Regularly – Exercise helps to strengthen your joints and muscles, as well as improve your range of motion and posture. Misalignments and poor posture cause many types of neck and back pain.
Meditate – We all know that excessive stress is not suitable for the body. Exploring meditation as a relaxation technique can help you relieve your stress.

By taking the long-term steps necessary to relieve your chronic back pain and improve your health and fitness, you’ll be on the road to recovery in no time! Our experienced chiropractors and physical therapists are available to educate you in any way we can. Please don’t refrain from reaching out to us with any questions or concerns about our recommended chiropractic treatments.

Request an Appointment at Effective Chiropractic PG County

The causes of chronic back pain vary greatly, as do the types of chiropractic treatments suggested to relieve it. If you suffer from chronic upper or lower back pain in Lanham, Maryland, a solution is in sight. Don’t put off seeking chiropractic care. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that you’ll develop a lasting, debilitating condition that can cause you to miss work or miss out on the things that you enjoy. Visiting a chiropractor can help you improve your chances for a full recovery and improved mobility and quality of life. Contact Effective Chiropractic PG County and request a consultation with one of our compassionate chiropractors today. We’ll customize our comprehensive chiropractic treatments for you to help you live your life without being controlled by ongoing pain and discomfort. Relief from acute or chronic back pain is on the way!

as non-surgical spinal decompression, is a practice that utilizes spinal decompression tables to relieve pain by creating a scenario in which bulging or herniated disc tissue can move back into place and heal, alleviating the pain this condition causes.

Spinal decompression therapy aims to help patients who suffer from debilitating pain due to bulging, degenerating, or herniated discs. It can also be used for the pain management and treatment of many causes of sciatica, injured or diseased spinal nerve roots, and worn spinal joints.

The therapy itself works to stretch the spine, using a spinal decompression table or other device, in order to create negative pressure and space within the disc to allow disc fluid to move back into place. This creates an environment in which the disc can receive more nutrients and therefore heal itself more quickly and effectively.

The goal of spinal decompression therapy is to relieve the patient’s chronic back, arm, neck, and/or leg pain, and to heal the source of said pain.

Spinal decompression therapy is also referred to as non-surgical decompression therapy, since it is often used as a safe, affordable, and extremely effective alternative to spinal surgery.