A few interesting facts about back pain:
One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year. 2
Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work. In
fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory
infections.
Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic—meaning they are not caused by serious
conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.
Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain—and
that’s just for the more easily identified costs.3
Experts estimate that as many as 80% of the population will
experience a back problem at some time in their life.4
What Causes Back Pain?
The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. You can
sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture disks, and irritate joints, all of which can lead to back pain. While sports injuries
or accidents can cause back pain, sometimes the simplest of movements—for example, picking up a pencil from the floor—
can have painful results. In addition, arthritis, poor posture, obesity, and psychological stress can cause or complicate
back pain. Back pain can also directly result from disease of the internal organs, such as kidney stones, kidney infections,
blood clots, or bone loss.
Chiropractic spinal manipulation is a safe and effective
spine pain treatment. It reduces pain, decreases medication, rapidly advances physical therapy, and requires very few passive
forms of treatment, such as bed rest.5
In fact, after an extensive study of all currently available
care for low back problems, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research—a federal government research organization—recommended
that low back pain sufferers choose the most conservative care first. And it recommended spinal manipulation as the only safe
and effective, drugless form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults.6
