Archives: Services

Re-occurring lower back pain is very common and can be very debilitating, often patients may report a ‘weak’ spot in their lower back that has been caused from an old injury. We also see people with sudden attacks of lower back pain who may report ‘I just don’t know how this has happened’.

Pain in the lower back is often caused from repetitive stress and strain and not one particular injury. Lifestyle tension and stress can also be another contributing factor alongside poor postural habits and being sedentary.

So what exactly is causing my pain?

Your Chiropractor will assess the small joints in your back called ‘Facet Joints’ where all our spinal movement comes from as well as the Nerves, the Discs and the Muscles that support your spine and pelvis.

Commonly nerve irritation develops from joints that are not moving properly or that have been ‘strained’ or injured. There is often accompanied muscular pain and spasm which in some cases can cause the lower back to totally cease up.

Disc problems

Can occur again from repetitive stress and strain or an injury and can be excruciating. The disc is the ‘spongey cushioning’ in-between each vertebrae and it is surrounded by a more fibrous tissue. In some cases the outer fibrous tissues can be damaged and eventually the inner fluid filled gel like substance can protrude out onto a nerve. Patients may report severe leg, buttock and/or groin pain, weakness and sometime pins and needles into the legs or feet.

Your Chiropractor is highly trained to assess and diagnose Disc problems using specific neurological and orthopaedic tests and in some cases patients will need to be referred on for imaging and alternative treatment. In many cases Chiropractic can help to manage the pain and inflammation surrounding the discs and encourage natural healing of the discs and surrounding structures.

Sacro-iliac Joints

The Sacro-Iliac Joints form part of the pelvis sitting either side of the sacrum, these joints are small but very strong and important transmiting all the forces of the upper body to the pelvis. Dysfunction or weakness in these joints can cause low back pain and/or leg pain. Patients often report a feeling of ‘sciatica’.

I have pain radiating into my leg

Patients often report back pain with associated pain radiating into the legs or buttocks. Leg and buttock pain can be caused from many structures; Discs, the Sacro-iliac joints, the Nerves and often the muscles. Your Chiropractor is highly skilled at determining the source of the pain using specific neurological and orthopaedic tests.

Neck pain, like the lower back can be excruciating and draining and often trigger associated symptoms such as headaches, migraines, shoulder and arm pain and fatigue. Commonly neck pain is triggered from an injury, stress, poor posture or repetitive strain.

TYPES OF NECK PAIN

‘Simple’ or ‘Mechanical’ neck pain. This means that the pain is not related to any serious underlying condition and there are no trapped or compressed nerves. Simple neck pain can be caused by poor posture or tension in the neck or shoulders. Poor sleeping patterns or an awkward sitting position can cause strains and sprains in the soft tissue of the neck.

Nerve root irritation in the neck is also common and can be caused by trauma, damaged discs or wear and tear. Symptoms such as pins and needles, tingling, numbness and weakness in all or part of the arm or hand can be experienced.

As we get older, Wear and Tear may contribute to neck pain. The shock-absorbing pads between the bones of the neck (known as intervertebral discs) can narrow with age and this can cause stiffness, pain and make it difficult to move.

Whiplash-associated disorders are commonly caused by road traffic accidents or sport injuries. Damage can occur to the soft tissues of the neck and shoulders and caused chronic dysfunction and pain in the small joints of the neck and upper back.

Why do people get Neck pain?
People experience neck pain for all sorts of reasons. It might be the way they sit or stand, or because their work or lifestyle places stress on their neck. Worry and stress can cause tension in the neck and shoulders, and can delay recovery of existing neck pain. However, there is often no obvious reason why neck pain develops.

Seeing a Chiropractor for Neck pain
Before starting treatment, your chiropractor will undertake a full assessment. This will involve taking details about your condition, current health and medical history, and performing a physical examination. Using Specific Orthopaedic and Neurological tests, your Chiropractor will assess the small joints in your neck called ‘Facet Joints’ where all our movement comes from as well as the Nerves, the Discs and the Muscles that connect the shoulders to the skull.
Sometimes it may be necessary to refer you for other tests, such as X-rays, MRI scans or blood tests. It is important for your chiropractor to gather as much information about your neck pain as possible so that an accurate diagnosis can be made.
Before starting treatment, your chiropractor will explain what is wrong, what can be done and what can be expected from chiropractic treatment.

Many people like to participate in sports for a variety of reasons including health, fitness and enjoyment.

Each sport puts differing amounts of stress, force and torsion through the joints, muscles, ligaments and nerves of the body.

When these forces are sudden or excessive the body is unable to cope and injury occurs.

Due to habitual postural strain or previous injury it is very common to see mechanical dysfunctions (i.e. muscles and joints not moving optimally) without pain which can lead to strength or flexibility asymmetry on each side of the body and this can predispose to injury during participation in sports.

For the majority of people, just being out of pain is sufficient to meet their needs of working life. However, those who undertake sports regularly or to a higher level, improved function and injury prevention become far more important.

Highlighting potential weaknesses and compensatory patterns throughout the body will allow the most appropriate corrective treatment and rehabilitative exercise to be provided.

Through the use of basic movements, balance and muscle strength tests, as well as more condition specific tests, it is possible to ascertain the areas of weakness and start to understand why an injury has occurred, especially if it is not from a traumatic event.

The most common sporting injuries of the body are listed on the home page. Please place the cursor over the ‘hotspot’ areas to see the types of injuries we see.

A combination of spinal manipulative and mobilitative techniques, soft tissue work including active release techniques and medical acupuncture, taping, corrective rehabilitative exercises and postural advice is often able to improve, manage and prevent future reoccurrence of this conditions.

Live Well Chiropractic believe that the best approach to optimum health, function and injury prevention is to have regular check-ups throughout the year to help keep your body in tip top condition whether you are a keen dog walker, a weekend obstacle course warrior or train regularly throughout the week with a sports club.

We are proud to be affiliated with the Bishops Stortford Swimming Club (BSSC) and have helped prepare the swimmers for national, european and international races.

If you think you have an injury or muscular imbalance you would like us look at please make contact with the clinic and we would be happy to make an appointment for you. Alternatively, if you are not sure if Chiropractic can help you please call the clinic to book in for a free 15 minute mini-assessment and we’ll tell you if we think we can help, our phone number is: 01279 510144.

Research shows that back pain is one of the most common reasons for taking time off work, between 50-80% of people will suffer recurring episodes within a 5 year period. According to the National Institute for Clinical Guidelines NICE (2009) Chiropractic treatment has been shown to be effective in the management of low back pain. There are many causes of back pain and often it can be a combination of factors from your past history as well as current activities of daily living that contribute to pain rather then a single trauma. The cause of the problem may stem from a number of different structures in the spine or pelvis such as the inter- vertebral discs, nerves or small joints of the spine. A trapped nerve or irritated nerve in the lower back may actually give you symptoms in the legs, groin or feet.

Your Chiropractor is highly skilled at detecting the source of the problem, by conducting a thorough Orthopedic and Neurological examination and palpating each every joint to evaluate mis-alignments and spinal joint dysfunction.

Useful Links:

The Bronfort Report – Effectiveness of manual therapies: the UK evidence report Bronfort G, et al.
NICE – National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. guideline for the management of low back pain
BCA – British Chiropractic Association