Dr. Victoria Gazdacka

Severe back pain has many causes, so it really depends on the cause of his back pain. A trained chiropractor should do a thorough exam and advise your dad if chiropractic adjustments may help him. Many patients come in with severe pain and get relief from chiropractic care so, yes, assuming his cause is musculoskeletal in nature, chiropractic should help.

Vicki Gazdacka, DC

Yes, absolutely. Many chiropractors are trained to work on soft tissues (muscles, tendons, etc) and most include this in their treatment. Also, remember that all your muscles are attached to bones, when your joints are restricted and not moving correctly this places stress on the muscles which can cause pain.

Most likely, this has been building in your body for many years. Try sitting with a lumbar support behind your back. When sitting for long periods, stand up and arch your back several times to reverse the forward flexed posture of sitting.

Traditionally chiropractors took X-rays for every patient prior to beginning treatment, many chiropractors still follow this model today. However, current medical guidelines for conservative treatment suggest that 4-6 weeks of conservative care should be commenced prior to ordering imaging, and if there is not improvement, then imaging should be considered. Many insurance companies are now penalizing chiropractors for taking X-rays on all their patients. Most chiropractic schools today are teaching doctors to evaluate the patient carefully for risk and only order X-rays if there are "red flags" present. X-rays do come with a risk and exposing all patients to them is typically unnecessary. Chiropractic treatments fall under the category of conservative care, the treatments are safe and gentle. Having an X-ray rarely changes the treatment given or the effectiveness of it. For this reason, many chiropractors, myself included, don't X-ray all their patients anymore.

There are many things that can cause the symptoms you are experiencing, I would recommend you call your chiropractor and let him/her know what has happened and have them exam. If you are in severe pain, have any numbness or loss of arm strength or control please go directly to the emergency room and then follow up with your chiropractor.

Vicki Gazdacka, DC
Verdant Health
www.verdanthealthinc.com
(630) 297-1464