Low Back Pain
Low Back Pain in Macomb County: Causes, Symptoms, and Where Chiropractic Care Fits
The lumbar spine carries more load than any other part of the back, which is part of why low back pain is one of the most common complaints people bring to a chiropractic office. This is an educational guide to what causes it, what people describe, and how the chiropractic profession approaches it — not a diagnosis, and not a promise of any result.
Call (586) 566-2273Nearly everyone deals with it at some point
Low back pain is close to universal. Most people will experience it at some stage of their lives, and the reasons range from a single dramatic event to a decade of small, unremarkable habits.
The lumbar spine is made up of five large vertebrae sitting at the base of the movable spine. They are the biggest vertebrae in the back because they carry the most weight — the load of the torso above them, plus whatever you happen to be lifting, twisting with, or sitting on. Between each pair sits a disc, and between each pair of vertebrae, nerves exit the spinal column and travel out into the hips, legs, and feet.
That anatomy explains why low back pain so often does not stay in the low back. When people describe pain running into a hip or down the back of a leg, or numbness in a foot, they are describing something happening where those nerves exit — which is exactly the region a chiropractor is trained to assess.
That distinction — between the accident you remember and the years of habits you do not — shapes how chiropractors think about the low back. It is also why the first appointment tends to involve a lot of questions about your job, your commute, your chair, and your phone.
Two categories of cause
Chiropractors generally divide the origins of low back pain into major traumas and little traumas. Both can produce the same underlying problem: vertebrae sitting out of proper alignment, placing pressure on the nerves leaving the spine.
Major traumas
A single identifiable event, with a clear before and after.
- Car accidents, including low-speed collisions
- Slips and falls
- Sports injuries
- Lifting something too heavy, or lifting it wrong
- Any impact that loaded the spine suddenly
Little traumas
Repetitive daily activities that hold the spine in an unnatural position over months and years.
- Sitting at a computer through a full workday
- Looking down at a phone for hours at a stretch
- Standing in one place through a shift
- Constant bending, twisting, and lifting at work or home
- Long commutes in a poorly supported seat
Beyond these two categories, low back pain is also commonly associated with disc bulges and disc degeneration, scoliosis, arthritis and osteoporosis in the spine, muscle strain, general overuse, and using the back in a way it is not accustomed to — including too much exercise, or the wrong kind.
What people describe when they describe low back pain
The following are patterns commonly reported to chiropractic offices. They are descriptions, not diagnoses — identifying what is actually happening in a given spine requires an examination.
What ongoing low back pain tends to affect
People rarely come in because of the pain alone. More often it is what the pain has started interfering with.
Mobility
Reduced range of motion and a general reluctance to move, which tends to compound over time.
Daily activities
Chores, yard work, workouts, and errands become things to plan around rather than just do.
Work
Difficulty getting through a shift, sitting through a workday, or handling the physical parts of a job.
Sleep
Trouble finding a comfortable position and waking during the night, which affects everything else.
Strength
Weakness through the legs, sometimes from the pain itself and sometimes from months of doing less.
Mood and engagement
Low mood, frustration, and pulling back from school, community, and social life are commonly reported.
The chiropractic profession also connects pressure on spinal nerves to how the body functions more broadly, beyond pain alone. That reasoning is specific to the profession and is best discussed directly with a licensed provider who can explain it in the context of your own examination.
How a chiropractor approaches a low back
Chiropractic care is drug-free and non-surgical. The aim with the low back is to identify misalignment, reduce the resulting pressure and irritation on the nerves, and then address the postural reasons the misalignment developed. Here is how a first course of care typically unfolds.
The conversation
History, goals, and the specifics of your daily life — your job, your seat, your commute, how you sleep, what movements set the pain off. Little traumas only surface if someone asks about them.
Examination and x-rays
A postural assessment and range-of-motion testing. At Macomb Township Chiropractic, a full set of chiropractic x-rays is taken so alignment in the lumbar spine can be measured and analyzed rather than estimated.
Review of findings
The chiropractor walks through what the examination and imaging showed, and explains whether chiropractic care is a reasonable option for what was found — including when it is not, and a referral makes more sense.
Care, if you choose to proceed
Typically a combination of spinal adjustments and postural rehabilitation, sometimes with supporting therapies. Frequency and duration vary by person; nobody can put a number on it before examining you.
When discs are part of the picture
Bulging, herniated, and degenerated discs come up often in conversations about the low back, because the lumbar discs sit under the most load. Dr. McNeil is certified in Kennedy Disc Decompression Therapy, a technique built around a computerized decompression table used specifically in cases involving discs.
Whether a disc is actually involved in a given case is a question imaging and examination answer — not a website. If you have been told you have a disc problem, that is worth raising directly in a consultation.
Common questions about low back pain
What is the lumbar spine?
The lumbar spine is the low back — five vertebrae labeled L1 through L5, sitting at the base of the movable spine. They are the largest vertebrae in the back because they bear the most weight. Discs sit between them, and nerves exit between each pair and travel into the hips, legs, and feet.
Why does low back pain travel down the leg?
Nerves that serve the hips, legs, and feet exit the spine in the lumbar region. When something in that region places pressure on those nerves, the sensation is often felt along the path of the nerve rather than at the spine itself — which is why people describe pain, numbness, or tingling running into a buttock, a leg, or a foot. Radiating symptoms are worth having examined.
What is a little trauma?
It is the term used at Macomb Township Chiropractic for the cumulative effect of repetitive daily activities that hold the spine in an unnatural position — sitting at a computer all day, looking down at a phone, standing for long hours, bending, twisting, lifting. There is no single moment of injury, which is why people are often puzzled about where their back pain came from.
How does chiropractic care approach low back pain?
The chiropractic reasoning is that misaligned vertebrae place pressure on the nerves exiting the spine, and that pressure is associated with pain, irritation, and inflammation. Adjustments aim to correct the misalignment and reduce that irritation; postural rehabilitation addresses why the alignment drifted in the first place. It is a drug-free, non-surgical approach. It is not a guaranteed outcome, and it is not appropriate for every cause of low back pain.
Can chiropractic care fix a disc problem?
No responsible chiropractor would promise that. Disc decompression therapy is a technique used in cases involving bulging, herniated, or degenerated discs, and Dr. McNeil is certified in the Kennedy Disc Decompression Therapy technique. Whether it is appropriate in a specific case depends entirely on examination and imaging, and results differ from person to person.
Are x-rays always taken?
Practices differ. At Macomb Township Chiropractic, a full set of chiropractic x-rays is standard on a first visit so that alignment can be measured and analyzed rather than estimated — an approach consistent with Chiropractic Biophysics, which is built around objective measurement. Any questions about imaging are fair to ask before you agree to it.
When should low back pain be seen by a medical doctor instead?
Seek medical evaluation for low back pain that is severe, came on suddenly, or is steadily worsening, and for back pain accompanied by fever, significant or progressing weakness in the legs, unexplained weight loss, or any loss of bladder or bowel control. Back pain following a serious accident also warrants medical assessment. A chiropractor is one type of provider and not a substitute for emergency care.
Do I need a referral?
No. In Michigan you can call a chiropractic office directly to schedule a consultation. Macomb Township Chiropractic can be reached at (586) 566-2273.
Related resources
Questions about your low back?
A consultation is a conversation, not a commitment. If you want to understand what is going on in your low back and whether a natural, non-surgical approach is reasonable for your situation, Dr. McNeil takes calls from across Macomb County.
Call (586) 566-2273Dr. Chris McNeil, D.C.
Macomb, MI 48044