Back Pain Treatment in Ottawa

Woman with back pain in home office Pain of any kind is a signal that something’s wrong. Some people mask their symptoms with a pain reliever and ignore the message. That approach is like removing the battery to quiet a smoke detector!

Common Causes of Back Pain

Back pain can happen for hundreds of reasons but there are categories that help determine the cause of pain and how long it will take to heal.

Trauma/acute back pain: This is pain that happens immediately after a unique incident, such as a sports injury, slip and fall, sprain/strain, car accident, etc. The pain is easily reproduced with specific movements.
Chronic back pain: This pain is longstanding and sometimes comes in waves. It’s often the result of a previous traumatic or acute incident.
Mechanical back pain: This is the most common category that we see. It’s not necessarily caused by a traumatic event, and the patient cannot recall what started it. It’s often the result of an adaptation such as having a sedentary job, or imbalances in muscles from poor posture.
Referred back pain: This type of pain is felt in the back, but the source of pain is elsewhere. This may happen with kidney stones that refer pain to the lower back flank.
Others: There are other causes that are more concerning, such as cancer. Fortunately this is a very small percentage and not a common cause of back pain.

A proper examination and diagnosis is the most important aspect of managing back pain. Each of the above categories should be managed differently. Our exceptional Ottawa Health: Performance and Rehabilitation therapists are trained to specifically test for the above categories and offer treatments focused on the true cause of pain. Our personalized approach reduces your time in pain and improves your outcome.

Adjustment on woman's back

The Chiropractic Approach

Specific chiropractic treatments can help improve spinal function. By restoring the way your spine works, discs and soft tissues may heal, nerve involvement may be reduced, pain can ease and better stability can return. Naturally, we think chiropractic is the best choice for your back pain.

The length of recovery will depend on the type and severity of your pain. Within your first visit, you should experience some or all of these improvements:

Reduced pain
Learned how to manage the pain
Understand why you’re in pain

The Physiotherapy Approach

Personalized Physical therapy can help improve spinal function, sport performance, tolerance to sitting, and many more benefits. By strengthening the muscles surrounding the spinal column, discs and soft tissues may heal, nerve involvement may be reduced, pain can ease and better stability can return. Not only will this improve the current pain, but it will help prevent future bouts.

Similarly to chiropractic care, the length of recovery will depend on the type and severity of your pain. Within your first visit, you should experience some or all of these improvements:

Reduced pain
Understanding what provokes and prevents the pain
Better function

Frequently Asked Questions

Isn’t some back pain normal?

Pain of any kind, at any age, is a sign that something is amiss. Pain is the way your body signals that a limit has been reached or a problem has developed. While pain may go away in time, if the underlying problem remains unattended, the problem may slowly worsen until it becomes more difficult and expensive to resolve. Although most people will experience back pain at some point, it does not make it ‘normal’.

What about muscle relaxers?

Chiropractors don’t dispense drugs. Instead, we rely on natural methods. There are ways to relax muscles without medicating. Our exceptional Ottawa Health: Performance and Rehabilitation therapists will teach you exactly how to do that! You may also be recommended to apply heat to the area to improve blood circulation and muscle relaxation.

How does chiropractic work?

Chiropractic works in a similar way that a detective helps solve a mystery. Our team of Chiropractors are known for their thoroughness and ability to identify the root cause of the problem rather than treating the symptoms. Our Chiropractors have different tools to help the body heal and return to normality. While this is happening, we take our time to teach you about your injury so that you can self-manage at home. A combination of investigating, educating, providing manual therapy, teaching exercise and supporting you along the way is how Chiropractic can help.

Get Started Today

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