Low Back Pain on the Increase: Are Knees to Blame?

It is surmised that the aging population is experiencing more chronic low back pain and this trend is expected to continue.

According to a study entitled, “Aging Baby Boomers and the Rising Cost of Chronic Back Pain” the incidence of chronic low back pain is on the increase. This study found that the incidence of low back pain has increased by 29% but the incidence of chronic low back pain has skyrocketed to 64%. The difference is between low back pain that occurs for a short period of time compared to chronic low back pain that is unremitting or occurs very frequently.

The cost of chronic low back pain has also increased. The cost of chronic low back pain has increased 129% from 15.6 billion dollars in the year 2000 to 35.7 billion dollars in 2006. Those figures have been adjusted for inflation and consist of only ambulatory services for chronic low back pain.

While Doctors of Chiropractic are known as “back doctors” and commonly treat the conditions causing low back pain they are in reality much broader based and must take the condition of a patient’s knees into consideration when someone presents to their office with low back pain. Knee and other extremity conditions are very common and Doctors of Chiropractic are well versed in treating the ailments affecting them.

The knees become affected when the arches of the feet fall unevenly which places unnatural stress on the inner foot, ankle, and knee. These abnormal stressors can lead to damage of the various components of the knee which eventually leads to pain. However, pain may appear in a number of different ways and under varying circumstances.

Knee pain caused by fallen arches in the feet can develop slowly over time with the initial stages of pain being quite manageable and not affecting an individual’s daily activities much if at all. At other times the pain may appear very suddenly and cannot be associated with any traumatic event. Either of these presentations can be very upsetting to the patient especially if their medical doctors cannot determine the cause of the pain. This is a good indication that the problem is chiropractic in nature.

The good news is that your local Doctor of Chiropractic can be of tremendous help in these types of situations.

In most of these types of cases involving knee pain, the bones of the leg have misaligned due to fallen arches of the feet. The torque and torsion placed upon the tibia, fibula, femur, and patella (knee cap) of the leg places tremendous stress on the soft tissues of the knee which consist mainly of ligaments, tendons, the cartilage lining the knee joint itself, and other connective tissues.

So what is the key to taking the stress off these delicate tissues of the knees?

The key is to fit each person suffering knee pain with flexible orthotics that fit in the shoes and support all three arches of the feet. The placement of orthotics into patient’s shoes is followed by gentle adjustments to the ankles, knees, hips, and spine to assure the return of normal biomechanics to these areas.

As you can see, the treatment for knee pain and low back pain is the same because each area affects the other. So, it really isn’t very surprising that our aging population is experiencing more chronic low back pain because of the amount of time their flat feet have had to ruin their low back areas.

Don’t suffer any longer than you already have. If you or your loved ones have either low back or knee pain see your local Doctor of Chiropractic as soon as possible to begin your journey down the road to recovery.

Mid Back Pain Due to Rib Misalignment

Many patients presenting to chiropractic offices are suffering from upper back or mid back area pain that is not only destroying their ability to live fulfilling lives but may also be ruining their posture. Most other types of doctors other than Doctors of Chiropractic do not even consider that such pain can be emanating from the small joints where ribs meet the vertebra in the upper and mid back areas. The same can be said when rib misalignments (also referred to as rib subluxations) are causing pain in the front of the chest where ribs join the breast bone (sternum).

Ribs are designed to protect the vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, stomach, etc. found in your thoracic (chest) area  so they perform a crucial function essential to life. Because the 12 pairs of ribs have so many attachment points forming the thoracic cage area there is significant stability of the rib cage itself and the thoracic spine to which it attaches.

The top seven pairs of ribs are considered to be true ribs with the eighth, ninth, and tenth pairs of ribs being referred to as false ribs. The 11^th and 12^th pairs of ribs are called floating ribs because they do not attach to a bony structure on the front. This leads to them being described as “floating” in the soft tissues of the thoracic area.

Any of these ribs can subluxate (misalign) causing excruciating pain that is sometimes accompanied by an inability to take a deep breath.  Each pair of ribs extends from the thoracic spine in back, around the sides of your chest wall, and attach to the breast bone in the middle of the front of your chest. When you breathe, each of these pairs of ribs must rise freely in a fashion and movement pattern similar to a bucket handle rising on each side of your chest. Any subluxation of a rib disrupts the smooth movement pattern causing pain and an inability to breathe deeply. When the subluxation occurs at the rib/sternum junction the inability to take a deep breath combined with excruciating pain in the chest area lead many people to think they are suffering a heart attack.

It is common for patients to present to their chiropractor’s office after leaving the hospital emergency room where they first presented in the belief they were in the midst of a heart attack.

This is OK. And in all truthfulness, it is the way this type of situation should be handled.

It is always a smart move to first take care of the condition that may kill you then work on the less severe health conditions. It is always best to rule out heart attack before seeking care for other problems you may be experiencing. Never assume that a serious health condition that may be life threatening is a less serious non-life threatening condition. It is always best to first rule out any condition that may kill you. The doctors at the hospital will not be able to find the cause of your pain and may offer a diagnosis such as “heartburn” or similar plausible explanation for what is affecting you. That’s OK, at least you will have had heart attack ruled out, which is very important.

In such situations the pain may feel like a knife or sword passing through your chest from front to back. At other times you may experience a dull, achy pain in your upper or mid back regions accompanied by a desire to not move your arm. Arm movement will increase rib movement leading to increased pain so you simply do not move your arm any more than necessary to carry out the tasks you must accomplish. Sleep may be impossible due to pain regardless of whether the pain is sharp and stabbing or dull and achy.

The good news is that the correction is usually not complicated and good results are often rapid. So don’t wait, contact your local Doctor of Chiropractic as soon as possible so you can begin your journey to health and pain free function.

Slouched Sitting and Your Health

It is not a new concept that people are sitting more often and for longer periods of time. However, recent studies have not been able to establish a solid relationship between sitting, having a sedentary lifestyle, and low back pain. Conversely, other studies have shown that sitting in awkward positions may be a factor in an increasing incidence of low back pain due to improper sitting positions and sitting in one place for too long a period of time.

So what are you supposed to do?

Well, you can look at the findings from a few studies and get a general idea of postures that may help or hinder your spine as far as low back pain is concerned. One study found that leaning forward only 15 degrees increased the forces in your low back by a whopping 48 percent. On the other hand, leaning backward 10 degrees decreased those same forces by 19 percent. You can further reduce the pressure in your spine by supporting your upper body weight with your arms. This makes sense since less weight will be placed upon your low back area while sitting if you use your arms to support the majority of your weight.  

Maintaining a neutral sitting posture while seated can also offer benefits to your neck area by reducing the muscle activity on the back of your neck. One study showed 40% less muscle activity in the neutral sitting position when compared to a slouched sitting position. Another study showed that muscle activity increases on the back side of the body in an unhealthy way when the head is allowed to flex forward and is accompanied by an equally unhealthy decrease of muscular activity on the front of the body. This unequal and deleterious imbalance of muscular support can lead to many painful and debilitating conditions.

While it may be difficult to understand, sitting posture actually has a major impact on the shoulder joint which may lead to extremely painful shoulder conditions. A study showed that sitting posture can decrease shoulder range-of-motion while increasing pain for people suffering from shoulder impingement syndromes. On the other hand, it was demonstrated that an erect sitting posture can result in the ability to move better leading to an increase in active shoulder flexion (raising the arm upward in front of the body).

It is because of this and many related factors that your doctor should offer suggestions on how to sit, stand, lie down, and move in order to give your body the best possible chance of regaining its health. Good posture can also help your body resist the ravages of gravity over time so your joints remain as free of degeneration as possible. It may make the difference between you having a relatively pain free and happy life or a less than desirable and potentially miserable existence.