One of the very common causes of low back pain is “facet syndrome”. If you are struggling with low back pain, you may have googled "sprained low back", "jammed facet joint", or "low back pinch". If that's you, you've come to the right place for helpful information!
The person that will likely have this problem has a deep curve in their spine when standing naturally, and gets pain when walking, getting up from sitting, standing for longer periods, or being active. The facets are synovial joints, just like the knuckles of your fingers, and can get jammed, just like your fingers. I have seen plenty of patients who had a traumatic back bending injury, but most of the time, its their posture that causes a little bit of trauma, hundreds of times a day, that has caused this problem by the time they see me. The person with “facet syndrome” carries much more load on the facet joints in the back of their spine due to their exaggerated lumbar curve posture.
Why in the world do these people assume this posture? There are a couple of muscles that get too tight, the hip flexor group and the spinal erectors. These muscles crunch the low back into extension and compression and must be manually released. We perform a technique called Active Release Technique, or ART for short, to "unlock" the cause of the muscle tightness. The consequence of this imbalance is spinal facet joint jamming, which needs to be addressed with a specific chiropractic manipulation to open up those facets and restore flexion to the spine. For this person, nothing feels better than the right adjustment. After we do our work, we will teach you rehab exercises to keep the problem from returning by stabilizing the weakened spine and mobilizing the hip, especially those hip flexors. One of the best exercises to help with this problem is called a hip flexor stretch. (Click Here To See a How To Video)
This is only one out of many causes of low back pain. If you have back problems, find a doctor who has the knowledge and skill to examine the function of the system, find where and why it breaks down, and applies that to treatment. By the way, that's what we do! And also remember, at Cumberland Chiropractic and Sports Medicine....We get you better! Faster!