Can lower back pain be fixed by the chiropractor?
Yes, chiropractors treat low back pain daily and the AMA (American Medical Association) even recommends it as a first treatment option.
It’s 4:30 am. Your alarm goes off, but it doesn’t matter because you’ve been awake for the last hour anyway. You were laying there perfectly still so you didn’t wake your wife thinking about “the stalk”. This day has been running through your mind since July when you drew that big bull tag in that elusive unit. Not a day has gone by where you didn’t practice cow calling in your truck while driving to work with the hair on your arm standing up every time you make that perfect little whine of a seasoned female that is certain to bring that big boy trotting over the ridge.
You swing your legs off the edge of the bed careful not to disturb the warm covers still shielding your wife from the frigid mountain air that silences your family cabin. You figure those logs that you stoked the fire with the night before must have burnt up as the northern cold front moved in overnight. That’s ok because you need to stay acclimated for the long hike ahead. Your feet touch the wood plank floor and with the piercing cold on your soles, you immediately question where you put your wool socks remembering they are stacked neatly next to the door. You remind yourself that you strategically pilled up your gear the night before once again to refrain from disturbing your beautiful spouse who had made your lunch the night before and strategically placed it in your hunting pack so it wouldn’t be smashed. You remember you “married up” and it’s your time to provide for your family just as she provides for you.
Knees creaking you stand up and a sharp bolt of pain shoots down your leg. “What was that?” You take another step and another sharp pain down the same leg. “Oh no!” What is this? You shuffle your way to the bedroom door and out into the living room with each bolt of lightning traveling down your leg. You fall to your hands and knees as the weight of your own body is too much for your legs to sustain. As you rest there in a quadruped position you reflect on the pain. Your back had hurt earlier that week at work, but you pushed through the pain as there was not enough time to make it to the chiropractor and certainly, it would go away before your big weekend ahead. It hadn’t hurt the night before so why is it hurting now?
About a year ago you felt this same pain and the chiropractor told you that you had a bulging disc in your low back that was touching a nerve that traveled down your leg. Anxiety sets in and you remember you could barely walk for a week. There would be no way you could hike 6 miles today let alone pack out an animal if you got lucky.
Then you remember during your treatments the chiropractor taught you an exercise to do on your hands and knees. You begin the exercise and notice the pain dissipate. As the pain is leaving your legs and low back you also remember he told you to wear a back brace during your injury for stability and that you left it under the back seat of your truck. You shuffle your way out to the truck and thankfully it’s right where you left it. Remember how to strap it on if you find your pain reduced by another 50%.
With almost ninja-like movements you head back into the cabin and begin dressing for your day ahead. Praying in gratitude that your hunt will not be ruined and thankful to the chiropractor for educating you about your injury. You leave a note for your wife to call and schedule an appointment for you the next week when she wakes.
It’s 5 am and the time has come. You’re warm now and you throw a couple of logs on the fire so when your bride wakes up she is comfortable. You squat down and put your pack on your back. Surprised how much better you feel you open the door to leave, and your pack brushes the coffee cup you left on the counter. It tips it over and the dog starts barking…. It’s a good thing you’re married because you’re going to get an earful when you get back!
Happy hunting. And remember if you suffer from low back pain and are embarking on hunting season, Chiropractors help with low back pain.
Dr. Travis White 