Most back pain is mechanical and it responds to treatment. The first job is working out which kind you have.
Examination before treatment
Back pain
Working out what is actually generating the pain
Low back pain is the most common reason patients come to this clinic, and the useful first question is not how bad it is but where it is coming from. The answer changes the treatment entirely.
Pain that stays in the back, feels worse with certain movements and eases with others usually points to the joints and muscle. Pain that travels down the leg, especially past the knee, and comes with pins and needles or numbness, points at a nerve being compressed, which usually means a disc. Pain that is worse after standing and walking and relieved by sitting or leaning forward suggests the space around the nerves has narrowed. Pain that is constant, unrelated to position and worse at night belongs in a different category and needs medical assessment.
The examination sorts between these. Only then does treatment make sense.
Get urgent medical care instead if you have
Loss of bladder or bowel control
Numbness around the groin or inner thighs
Progressive weakness in a leg or arm
Pain after significant trauma
Fever with back pain
Unexplained weight loss with back pain
These need assessment now rather than a chiropractic appointment. Go to an emergency department or call your doctor.
For mechanical back pain, chiropractic adjustment restores motion to the joints that have stopped moving properly, which reduces the mechanical irritation driving the pain. Soft tissue work releases the muscle that has been guarding the area, which is what otherwise pulls the joint straight back out of position.
Where the problem is disc-related, spinal decompression does something an adjustment cannot: it creates negative pressure inside the disc, taking load off the irritated nerve root and drawing fluid and nutrients into tissue with almost no blood supply of its own.
Most plans use more than one of these, and most include something for you to do between visits, because the joint work goes further when whatever caused the problem stops happening daily.
Why it keeps coming back
Recurrent back pain usually has a cause that has never been addressed. A desk set-up that has you rounded forward for eight hours. Lifting technique that loads the spine instead of the legs. Weak deep abdominal and gluteal muscle, so the back is doing work it was not designed for. Extra weight carried through the lumbar spine. Sleep on an unsupportive surface.
Treatment relieves the episode. Identifying and changing the driver is what stops the next one, and that conversation is part of the appointment rather than an add-on.
Rest is not the answer
Days in bed were once standard advice and are now understood to slow recovery. Gentle movement within your comfort maintains circulation, keeps the surrounding muscle from stiffening and gets you back to normal faster. Walking is usually the safest place to start.
Most simple back strain starts improving within a couple of weeks whatever you do. That is the useful benchmark. Pain that has not begun to settle after two weeks, that keeps returning every few months, or that has started travelling into a leg is telling you something mechanical has not resolved on its own, and that is the point to have it examined rather than wait longer.
Waiting has a cost. A joint that has been restricted for months accumulates muscle guarding and altered movement patterns around it, and unpicking that takes longer than treating the original problem would have.
Booking
Call 918-615-3433 to book an examination for back pain in Tulsa. If your pain came from a collision, see our auto injury page, because the billing works differently.
The information on this site is general and is not medical advice. It does not replace a consultation with a licensed provider. Individual results vary.
FAQ
Common questions
How long should back pain last before I get it looked at?
Most simple back strain improves within a couple of weeks. Pain that has not started improving after two weeks, that keeps returning, or that travels into a leg is worth having examined rather than waiting out.
Should I rest or keep moving?
Keep moving within comfort. Extended bed rest was standard advice decades ago and is now known to slow recovery. Gentle, regular movement maintains circulation and stops the surrounding muscle stiffening further.
Do I need an X-ray or MRI?
Usually not. Imaging is indicated when the examination suggests something specific, and routine imaging for ordinary back pain often finds age-related changes that are present in people with no pain at all. We image when there is a reason to.
Back pain that will not settle?
Book an examination and we will find out what is generating it.
