Till past few years, low back pain was considered to be a problem affecting only the elderly people. However, in recent years low back pain in children has become a growing concern among doctors.

Children keep growing till late adolescence and so is their skeletal structure. One of the major reasons for growing cases of low back pain in children is the backpack they carry on their way to school. These backpacks are reasonably heavy and can even lead to life-long low back pain. Poor postures, misalignment of vertebrae, accidents, stress and sport injuries are some of the factors due to which pain cases in children is skyrocketing. Research says low back pain in children in between age 11-18 can result in sever psychological and emotional imbalance. Therefore, low back pain among children is a serious concern that needs attention of parents and medical professionals as well.

Chiropractic treatment is a highly effective way for treating pain without any surgery or medication. Chiropractors believe on the theory that “Proper alignment of body spinal structure will enable the body to heal itself without any need for surgery or medication.” Misalignment of spinal vertebrae in an adult or in a child is known as vertebral subluxation. It can lead to various kinds of body aches when left untreated. But, professional chiropractic doctors can alleviate it with great success. Chiropractic provides you relief from pain by restoring mobility to joints which are restricted by tissue injury that can be caused by any traumatic event, stress or sitting without proper back support.

Dr. Steven Read, clinic director of Ortega Chiropractic Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida said “I treat many kids in my practice and a common theme is poor posture due to bad habits and over loaded back packs.”

“Chiropractic offers a gentle and effective treatment for Low back pain Early diagnosis is the key to early cure and the wise thing to do is to seek early and preventive chiropractic care for your children. You can bring your children to of Ortega Chiropractic Clinic in Jacksonville for free check-up “Dr Steven added.

Chiropractic provides effective, natural and drug-free relief from to pain regardless of the cause for pain. So, if your child complains of back pain or if you notice any other symptoms like difference in his way of walking, sitting or if he has suffered any sports injury, do not ignore these symptoms. Start early treatment by contacting nearest chiropractic care doctor today and gift your child a problem free health.

The long awaited report on how low back pain should best be treated in the UK was published recently by National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE for those who do not know is an independent group set up by the government to evaluate the available research on a particular condition. Its job is to publish clear guidelines for the best way to treat a particular condition in the UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals or at Primary Care Trust (PCT) level i.e. Direct referral via you General Practitioner (GP/MD).

This new guide covers non specific back pain. This represents all the mechanical causes of lower back pain a Chiropractor typically sees. It includes pain coming from joints, discs, muscles, tendons and ligaments and according to Richard Nelson, a Chiropractor in Derby ”forms over 99% of the causes of lower back pain that a typical Chiropractor will see in every day practice”.

Specific back pain is where there is a non mechanical cause for your pain such as cancer, infection or fractures. Your chiropractor has under gone extensive medical training to able to distinguish between the two classifications so can decide which patients are suitable for Chiropractic treatment and those that are not. In a typical Chiropractic practice Specific back pain usually forms less than 1% of all cases.

NICE recommendations are:-

Any persistent or recurrent low back pain lasting more than 6 weeks and less than 12 months one of following three options should be offered taking in to account the patients (’your’) preference.

1. A course of manual therapy - up to 9 sessions over 12 weeks (manual therapy encompasses manipulation, mobilisation and massage).
2. Acupuncture - up to 10 sessions over 12 weeks.
3. Group physical exercise programme 8 sessions over 12 weeks.

NICE stated that manipulation can be performed by Chiropractors or Osteopaths. Chiropractors and Osteopaths are experts in manipulative techniques and along with mobilisation and massage they have been the core treatment methods of the two professions in the UK for over 100 years. It’s ironic now that research now ‘proves’ that the hands on approach that the professions have adopted for many years really does ‘work’. So NICE makes it clear that the Chiropractic and Osteopathic professions should be used for the provision of low back pain treatment in the general population under the NHS.

Doctors and Physiotherapists who have undergone specialist post graduate training in manipulation are also included as suitable providers of manipulation treatment. However, generally manipulation is not taught to Doctors or Physiotherapists as part of their standard training in the UK and so the majority of Doctors and Physiotherapists do not perform it.

NICE further recommends that if one chosen treatment does not result in satisfactory improvement another one of the 3 options should be offered to you.

What can you do? Next time you visit your GP you can ask;

As per NICE guidelines for low back pain will you (your GP) refer you for Chiropractic treatment for your low back pain in the NHS? If not, ask them why not? As this is what the NICE guidelines recommend for its treatment.

Richard Nelson comments:

Rome wasn’t built in a day! Don’t expect to be referred straight away. The more of you who ask and the more often you ask the sooner Chiropractic will be available to you and others on the NHS!

Sciatica is general term given to the pain experienced by the lower part of the body staring from the lower spine working downwards. This may be due to a number of causes, each of which determines the specific treatment to be meted out to the individual suffering from it. Some pf the diagnosed causes include trigger points-specific points in the human body that take in over pressure applied on to the parts of the body like the spinal curve, long hours of pressure at work combined with acutely hard postures affecting the lower back and thighs, pressure in the piriformis muscle and more dreadfully, the bulging of the herniated discs. Some of the important forms of natural cures for sciatica include stretching exercises that relieve the pain in the human body, massaging (specialized treatments in specialized medical institutions for the purposes and spas), herbal cures, homeopathy, food habits, hydrology and reflexology.

Hydrology is a specific treatment criteria where in the sciatic patients are asked to take a hot bath, preferably in a bath tub for about twenty minutes or in a hot shower, for people who feel excess pain in case of tubs. These showers or baths must start with warm water and a series of such baths are prescribed. Each of these specifies the approximate temperature range for the shower/ bath.

Yoga exercises are also prescribed, where in, a variety of stretching exercises like the knee-chest stretching exercise, criss-cross stretching exercise and those others that point to special stretching exercise depending on the part of the body feeling pain boast of successful implementation in this area.

Food habits are also observed to be a successful treatment criteria for sciatica pain. Potassium, has been, found to be a perfect cure for sciatica pain, though not always the reasons are known. Natural fruits like bananas, apples and oranges are also prescribed by doctors. In many places across the world, sciatic patients with pain due to abnormal pressure exerted in their trigger points and due to excess pressure because of staying in a particular posture for a long time have been finding peace due to these fruits. For people with chronic sciatica, because of hernial disc and piriformic nerve pressure, it is strictly advised that they consult a doctor immediately. Not always, these natural cures work and in these cases, strict medical advice is recommended. Reflexology is also another method advised by many experienced people.