The Importance of Flexibility

If you consider touching your toes or performing a full split is all but an impossible fantasy, know that exercises before (and after) your workout combined with proper nutrition, hydration, and lifestyle choices can have a huge impact.

Improving your ability to bend limbs into certain positions is crucial for more than just preventing injury. In fact, flexibility training is an important aspect of gaining strength and size.

Most of us spend our days outside of the gym hunched forward over a computer further deteriorating any chance at proper posture.

And proper flexibility goes hand in hand with full range of motion exercises like squats and deadlifts, which are major muscle builders.

Having tight hips and shoulders can not only inhibit proper form when exercising, but it sets you up for chronic states of pain and muscular dysfunction.

When it comes to maintaining strength and mobility for everyday life, adopting the attitude of the generalist (a little bit of ground based movement, a few exercises that are concentrated strength and mobility exercises, and a little bit of restorative work), will do wonders for most people.

In this article we share a great combination of stretches designed to ease tight muscles throughout your body and help you gradually work toward a full range of motion in your joints.

Do these stretches daily, if possible—or at least two or three times a week.

Over time, you’ll notice real gains in flexibility and how easily you move around.

Single Knee Pull

Primarily stretches the low back, buttocks, and front of the hip

Reps: 2–4

Hold: 10–30 seconds

Starting position: Lie on your back with your legs extended on the floor. Relax your shoulders against the floor.

Movement: Bend your right knee. Grasp the back of your thigh and pull your knee in toward your chest. Flex your left foot and press the thigh and calf of that leg down toward the floor to feel a stretch in the front of your left hip and top of your left thigh. Hold. Return to the starting position and repeat with the other leg. This is one rep.

Tips and techniques:
• Keep your head on the floor and your neck relaxed.
• Keep the foot of your bent leg relaxed.
• For a more challenging stretch, raise your head off of the floor, bring your chin toward your chest, and hold.

2. Floor Pretzel

Primarily stretches the buttocks, hip, and outer thigh

Reps: 2–4

Hold: 10–30 seconds

Starting position: Lie on your back with your right knee bent and foot on the floor. Rest your left ankle on your right thigh, just above your right knee. Your left knee should point out to the side, toward the wall. Grasp the back of your right thigh with both hands.

Movement: Slowly lift your right foot off the floor until you feel the stretch in your left hip and buttock. Hold. Return to the starting position. Repeat with your left knee bent and your right ankle resting on your left thigh, just above your left knee. This is one rep.

Tips and techniques:
• Keep your shoulders down and back, relaxing them against the floor.
• Keep your head on the floor and your neck relaxed.
• If it’s too hard to grasp your thigh with both hands, put a strap or small towel around the back of the thigh and hold both ends.

Double Knee Torso Rotation

Primarily stretches the back, chest, hips, and outer thighs

Reps: 2–4

Hold: 10–30 seconds

Starting position: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet together, flat on the floor. Put your arms out comfortably to each side at shoulder level, palms up.

Movement: Tighten your abdominal muscles and lift both knees toward your chest, then lower them together to the left side on the floor. Keeping your shoulders relaxed and pressed into the floor, look in the opposite direction. Feel the stretch across your chest and torso and in your lower back and hip. Hold. Bring both knees back to center and return your right foot, then your left foot, to the floor. Repeat in the opposite direction. This is one rep.

Tips and techniques:
• Try to bring both knees up into the fetal position. Ideally, keep them together throughout the stretch.
• Keep both shoulders flat on the floor. If one lifts up, don’t rotate so far.
• If necessary, put a rolled towel between your knees to make this stretch easier

Child's Pose Three Ways

Primarily stretches the back, shoulders, arms, and sides

Reps: 2–4

Hold: 10–30 seconds in each stretching position

Starting position: Position yourself on all fours, knees hipwidth apart, big toes touching, and head and neck in neutral alignment.

Movement: This is a three-part stretch. Slowly drop your buttocks back toward your heels as you extend your hands in front of you and rest your forehead on the mat. Feel the stretch down your arms, shoulders, and back. Hold. Then walk your hands diagonally out to the right and place your left hand on top of your right hand. Feel the stretch down the left side of your body and your back. Hold. Then walk your hands diagonally out to the left and place your right hand on top of your left hand. Feel the stretch down the right side of your body and your back. Hold. Return to the starting position. That’s one rep.

Tips and techniques:
• Rest your forehead on the mat when holding this stretch.
• Lower your buttocks only as far as feels comfortable. If necessary, place a pillow or towel between your thighs and calves to limit the stretch.
• While holding, take full breaths by inhaling gently through your nose and lengthening the breath as you exhale through your nose.

Cat-Cow

Primarily stretches the back, chest, and abdomen

Reps: 2–4

Hold: 10–30 seconds

Starting position: Position yourself on all fours, knees hipwidth apart. Align your shoulders over your wrists, and your hips over your knees. Keep your head and spine in neutral alignment.

Movement: Slowly arch your back upward like a scared cat as you exhale. Pull your belly button in toward your spine and tuck your chin. Feel the stretch along your back. Hold. Slowly drop your belly, pull your shoulders back, and lift your head up to look forward as you inhale. Feel the stretch across your chest and down the front of your torso. Hold. Slowly return to the starting position.

Tips and techniques:
• The slow movements of this stretch are like a wave of your spine.
• Don’t strain your neck by looking up too high.
• While holding, take full breaths by inhaling gently through your nose and lengthening the breath as you exhale through your nose.

Downward Dog

Primarily stretches the back, hips, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, and chest

Reps: 2–4

Hold: 10–30 seconds

Starting position: Position yourself on all fours, hands shoulder- width apart, knees hip-width apart, and fingers extended. Align your shoulders over your wrists, and your hips over your knees. Keep your head and spine in neutral alignment.

Movement: Exhale as you lift your knees off the floor, straightening your legs without locking your knees. While maintaining a neutral neck and spine, align your ears with your biceps (upper arms). Try to keep your weight evenly distributed between your hands and feet. Press your heels down toward the floor, if possible, while keeping your shoulders down and rolled back. Feel the stretch down the backs of your legs, throughout your back, and into your shoulders and arms. Hold. Return to the starting position.

Tips and techniques:
• Soften your elbows and keep your shoulders down and rolled back as you lengthen your spine. Brace your abdominal muscles throughout.
• If necessary, bend your knees slightly and let your heels come up off the floor.
• While holding, take full breaths by inhaling gently through your nose and lengthening the breath as you exhale through your nose.

Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

Primarily stretches the front of the hip and thigh

Reps: 2–4

Hold: 10–30 seconds

Starting position: Kneel with your hands at your sides.

Movement: Put your right leg in front of you with the knee bent at a 90-degree angle and foot flat on the floor. Place your hands on your right thigh for support. Lean forward, pressing into the hip of your left leg while keeping your right foot on the floor. Feel the stretch in the front of your left thigh and hip. Hold. Return to the starting position, then repeat with your left leg forward. This is one rep.

Tips and techniques:
• Keep your front knee over your ankle, not jutting out past your toes.
• Keep your head and spine neutral, your shoulders down and back, and your abdominal muscles tightened.
• Keep your pelvis tilted forward (tailbone tucked under), rather than letting it tip back (tailbone lifted).

Full-Body Stretch w/Strap

Primarily stretches the upper body, abdominal muscles, and lower body

Reps: 2–4

Hold: 10–30 seconds

Starting position: Lie on your back with both legs extended. Hold the strap shoulder-distance apart with both hands by your hips.

Movement: Slowly lift the strap up toward the ceiling, then over your head and down toward the floor behind you. Imagine you are trying to reach your hands to the wall behind you and your feet to the wall in front of you. Feel the stretch throughout your body. Hold. Return to the starting position.

Tips and techniques:
• Keep your feet together and point your toes.
• Keep your shoulders down as you reach overhead. Don’t let them scrunch up toward your ears.
• If you cannot comfortably bring your arms down to the floor when reaching overhead, try placing a pillow above your head and pressing the backs of your arms into it.

Seated Chest Stretch

Primarily stretches the chest and shoulders

Reps: 2–4

Hold: 10–30 seconds

Starting position: Sit up straight facing sideways in a chair without arms.

Movement: Roll your shoulders down and back. Clasp your hands behind you, intertwining your fingers so your palms face you. Gently lift your hands toward the ceiling to the point of tightness. Feel the stretch in the front of your shoulders and across your chest. Hold. Slowly return to the starting position.

Tips and techniques:
• Look straight ahead, keeping your chin level with the floor.
• Keep your shoulders down and back, away from your ears, during the stretch.
• Don’t lean forward as you lift.

The Importance of Warming Up, Not Stretching

Previously, we discussed different types of stretching as well as how to stretch safely.

In this article we are going to share additional information regarding dynamic stretching and how it can impact your performance.

When done correctly, a warm-up enhances your physical performance by helping you limber up and get blood flowing to your muscles.

Current evidence suggests that the type of stretches you do and more specifically, when you do them, can help or even hurt your body.

Runners, for example, are known to warm up with a string of static hamstring and quadriceps stretches. Static stretches are the type of stretches we do when we bend over and hold a position for a few seconds or minutes.

While static stretching can be useful in terms of improving flexibility and mobility; it could hinder performance.

Current studies advise skipping pre-sport static stretches, which have been shown to undercut performance in activities that require running, jumping, and other explosive movements.

A 2013 meta-analysis of more than 100 studies on different types of athletes showed that doing static stretches before sports cut muscle strength by roughly 5% and explosive power by 2%. While this is not a major difference, it’s certainly enough to affect performance.

In a 2019 study, people who performed static stretches immediately before doing resistance training executed fewer reps during their workouts than those who did no stretching before working out, possibly because their muscle fibers were fatigued and may not have contracted as efficiently. And over the course of 10 weeks, the no-stretching group built more muscle than the stretching group, probably due to the fact that the no-stretching group lifted more weight – yet another reason to save static stretching until after your workout.

All that said, it seems apparent that holding static stretches multiple times for 30 seconds won’t help your game, but should be incorporated to improve flexibility. In fact, it’s particularly detrimental to the hamstrings before a run, or to calves before trying to jump.

So instead of the stereotypical types of stretching you can do, try warming up muscles and bringing joints through a range of motion with dynamic movements, including dynamic stretches.

Warming Up Muscles & Waking Up Nerves

How to Start Practicing Dynamic Stretching

Unlike many neuromuscular training programs designed for athletes, a general dynamic stretch routine is designed for the widest possible audience.

A good dynamic stretching routine should move your body in three ways: forward and backward, side to side, and through rotations.

The goal is to loosen up joints to increase your range of motion and warm up tissues throughout the body, which helps cells to get the oxygen and energy demanded by any physical endeavor.

Perform each of the following six dynamic stretches 10 to 20 times, followed by four arm sweeps. During each dynamic stretch, go from smaller movements to larger movements, to gradually increase range of motion.

Shoulder Rolls

Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides. Roll your shoulders up, back, and down. Your thumbs point forward as you start the move. Palms point forward, elbows slightly bent, as you finish each shoulder roll.

Overhead Reach

Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart. Reach toward the ceiling with your right arm, while shifting your weight from your right foot to your left foot and tapping the toes of the right foot. Repeat on the left.

Torso Rotation with a Reach

Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart. Reach toward the left wall with your right arm and then the right wall with your left arm, while shifting your weight with each change of direction. Tap your toes with each shift.

Hamstring Curls

Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart. Alternately bend your right knee and then your left, bringing your right foot and then your left foot toward your buttocks. Press your arms backward as you do so.

Shallow Side Lunges

Stand up straight with your feet in a wide stance, toes pointing forward. Alternate shallow side lunges to the right and the left, hinging forward at the hip and bringing both hands to your upper thigh on the lunge.

Knee Lifts

Stand up straight with your feet together. Lift your right knee and then your left knee, touching both hands to the knee being lifted. For a more challenging dynamic stretch, lift your knee high enough to grasp the top of your shin with your hands and pull your leg gently in toward your body, then release it.

Repeat the above sequence of dynamic stretches for about five to eight minutes, rolling each stretch into the next one. Start over again as needed to fill the time you’ve allotted.

You can always add a sports specific move to the routine: for example, a golf or tennis swing, or a series of shallow to deeper jump squats to ready the body for basketball. If you do this, go slowly and deliberately through the first few reps, then pick up your pace, always focusing on correct form.

Finally, if you have trouble with balance, you can put one hand on the back of a chair or a counter. It’s even possible to do most of these movements while seated.

Dynamic Stretching Improves Performance

Dynamic stretches are active movements where joints and muscles go through a full range of motion. They should be used to help warm up your body before exercising.

Dynamic stretches are meant to get the body moving. The stretches aren’t held for any length of time as in static stretching.

Dynamic stretches include movement, such as lunges with a torso twist. Static stretches, on the other hand, are where muscles are extended and held for a period of time.

The next time you exercise or play sports, try adding dynamic stretches rather than static stretces to your warmup. You may find your body feels more energized, stretched out, and ready to power you through your workout.

When Stretching: Safety First!

It's ironic when a new patient comes into our office for their initial Chiropractic Examination and we identify that the initial cause of their problem was stretching.

Certainly, stretching is important for back pain prevention, but if you're new to stretching or it's been a while since you've stretched a particular muscle group, you're in a vulnerable position to cause more harm than good.

So while it's tempting to skip right to stretches for back pain or neck pain, it's best to think about safety first.

In this article, I'm going to share with you key concepts on the safety of stretching and 6 specific tips for safe stretches.

When to Check with a Doctor

Health Pro's that Can Help Guide You

Team work makes the Dream Work!

If you need to tailor our stretches to your needs, various health or fitness professionals can help.

Here is a brief description of the skills offered by, and training required of, the different types of experts.

Doctors of Chiropractic

Anyone who has ever visited a chiropractor knows the importance of stretching. Surely almost every chiropractic doctor will recommend stretching as part of your daily routine, in order to keep your muscles and spine limber and keep the blood flowing.

When an adjustment is performed, the blood circulates and patients must maintain this between visits. If your chiropractor has not discussed at-home stretching in detail or you have gotten a bit rusty, then you're not getting the full benefit of your chiropractic adjustment.

Physiatrists (Physical Medicine Doctor)

Physiatrists, also known as physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians, are board-certified medical doctors who specialize in treating nerve, muscle, and bone conditions. They are among the sports medicine specialists who can diagnose and treat conditions and injuries that affect how you move, such as back problems, knee or shoulder injuries, debilitating arthritis or obesity, and stroke.

Physical Therapists

Physical therapists (PTs) help people with health conditions or injuries affecting muscles, joints, bones, or nerves by providing hands-on treatment and individualized exercise programs to restore movement in painful or debilitating conditions, or after an injury. Their expertise can be valuable, for instance, if you have suffered a lingering sprain or are recovering from a hip replacement or heart attack. Some PTs specialize in sports medicine, orthopedics, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, geriatrics, or other areas.

Personal Trainers

Personal trainers are fitness specialists who can help ensure that you’re doing stretches and exercises properly. While encouraging and motivating you, they can fine-tune your form. Personal trainers teach new skills, change up routines to beat boredom, and safely push you to the next level.

6 Tips for Safe Stretches

Everyone – with medical conditions or not – should use these tips to help protect muscles and joints while
ensuring flexibility gains.

1. Warm up first. Much like taffy or silly putty, muscles stretch more easily when warm. Our dynamic stretches can act as a warm-up for static stretches, or you can do static stretches after sports, exercise, or even marching in place with arms swinging for five minutes or dancing to a few songs. Moist heat packs or a warm shower are effective as well.
2. Feel no pain. Stretch only to the point of mild tension, never to the point of pain. If a stretch hurts, stop immediately! Reset your position carefully after checking the instructions, then try again. With time and practice, your flexibility will improve.
3. Pay attention to posture and good form. Posture counts whether you’re sitting, standing, or moving. Good form translates to better gains in flexibility and less likelihood of injury when stretching tight muscles. Photos of stretches tell only part of the story, so read instructions carefully to get form right.
4. Focus on the muscle being stretched. You’ll notice that one side of your body often is tighter than the other. Work on balancing this over time.
5. Breathe. Breathe comfortably while stretching, or use yoga breathing. Whatever you do, don’t hold your breath while you are holding a stretch.
6. Practice often. You’ll make the best gains if you stretch frequently—daily, or on as many days of the week as possible. At the very least, aim to do stretches two or three times a week.

Stretching Improves Your Chiropractic Care 

Arthritis, stiff backs, sore knees and tight shoulders can all suck the joy out of our lives when we experience it daily.

Stretching can help; especially when tight muscles are to blame.

Doctors of Chiropractic often prescribe stretching as part of a treatment plan to help maintain or reclaim abilities and ease discomfort.

Even if you don’t have a medical condition, you may be suffering from tight muscles that keep you from feeling your best. They can pull your body offkilter, and long hours spent at a desk—or staring down at tablet screens—may cause pain, too.

So if you're experiencing aches and pains and you're not regularly stretching, it very well could be the missing piece on your road to recovery.

Stretching: The Basics

Everyone knows that stretching is important for their health – yet most Americans refuse to spend enough time doing it.

Or, if people do stretch, they often don't stretch all of their muscles groups – or the specific muscle groups they need to be stretching.

In many cases, people even stretch in a way that actually causes more harm than good.

That's why I'm going to spend some time sharing the basics of stretching such as

• Why you should stretch
• Different types of stretching you can do for health
• Guidelines for proper stretching to prevent injury

Why Should You Stretch?

Types of Stretches

Most people are surprised to learn that there are multiple types of stretches.

The two most common types of stretches are static and dynamic stretching. These two types of stretches provide the simplest, safest route to flexibility for most people.

Static Stretching

Static stretching is what most think about when stretching.

Static stretching is when you hold a position that stretches a muscle or group of muscles for a given period of time.

Static stretches can be active or passive, though passive stretches are by far the most common.

Contrary to popular belief, you should not perform static stretching before exercise.

Dynamic Stretching

Dynamic stretches involve movement.

Dynamic stretching is when you take specific muscles and joints through their normal range of motion, from one position to another, to loosen up the joints and stretch the muscles.

The action is smooth and controlled and often mimics a sports motion, such as a golf swing or arm swings.

While static stretches should not be performed before exercising, dynamic stretches are beneficial and help warm up the body.

Ballistic Stretching

Many people try to go deeper into a stretch by adopting a stretch position, then bouncing extend muscle length and range of motion.

Stretches like these are called ballistic stretches.

It works by triggering the stretch reflex: resistance prompted by specialized nerves, forcing a lengthening muscle to contract.

Ballistic stretching is great for athletes, who must perform quick, powerful actions.

However, ballistic stretches go beyond an individual’s normal range of motion and can injure muscles if not done correctly.

For this reason I do not recommend this type of stretching for most people.

Active Isolated Stretching

Active isolated stretching is usually performed in reps and sets, just as strength exercises.

With active isolated stretching, instead of holding a stretch for 30 to 60 seconds, you hold it for only two seconds, slowly release it, and
repeat several times.

The idea is that each time you resume the stretch you are able to stretch a little farther than the time before.

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation 

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, or PNF, is favored by some exercise and rehabilitation experts, who believe it enhances range of motion more than other approaches to stretching.

But unlike static stretches, which can be done safely by anyone, PNF is best done with a partner and requires advanced training.

PNF takes a two-step approach. It starts with isometric contraction of the muscle that opposes the one you want to stretch. (To do an isometric contraction, you press against an immovable object, like a partner, so that the muscle activates without lengthening or shortening.)

Then you follow with a passive static stretch of the target muscle, usually applied by a partner who focuses on moving a joint through its range of motion.

Because PNF stretches are generally done with a partner and require expertise to perform safely, we recommend that anyone interested in learning these stretches should work one-on-one with an experienced trainer or physical therapist.

Foam Rolling

While not technically a type of stretching, foam rolling may be another way to improve flexibility by loosening up fascia, the thin sheath of tissue surrounding each of your muscles.

Foam rolling is a form of selfmyofascial release (SMR), in which you loosen fascia by rolling parts of your body over a cylindrical piece of high-density foam. (Tennis or lacrosse balls can also be used for this purpose.)

How Often and How Much Should You Stretch?

How often should you stretch?

How long should you hold a stretch?

And how many repetitions (reps) of each stretch should you do?

While stretching has been studied much less rigorously than other forms of exercise – here's a current consensus among experts:

1. Healthy adults should do flexibility exercises (stretches, yoga, or tai chi) for all major muscle-tendon groups—neck, shoulders, chest, trunk, lower back, hips, legs, and ankles—at least two to three times a week.
2. For optimal results, spend a total of 60 seconds on
   each stretching exercise. So, if you can hold a particular stretch for 15 seconds, repeating it three more times would be optimal. If you can hold the stretch for 20 seconds, two more repetitions would suffice.

Stretching Improves Your Chiropractic Care 

Anyone who has ever visited a chiropractor should know about the importance of stretching.

Surely almost every chiropractic doctor will recommend stretching as part of a care plan.

A primary goal of chiropractic care is to improve flexibility, mobility and blood flow.

When an adjustment is performed, blood circulates and stretching can help to maintain blood flow between visits.

Neck Pain Can Be Scary

When we experience pain in our neck, mid back or low back – it's often scarier than other forms of pain.

As amazing as the human body is, in a modern world, the neck and back is vulnerable and when it hurts – our body literally seems to shut down. And yet most spinal pain does not have a serious cause.

When it comes to neck pain specifically, the bark is usually louder than the bite.

In this article I share a few concepts to help you understand the difference between serious neck pain and less serious causes of neck pain.

Of course, if you've been in an accident recently or experienced a trauma that caused sudden neck pain – get seen by a doctor immediately.

However, if your neck pain started due to non-emergency reasons, this is a good place to get some reassurance and decide whether or not to talk to a doctor.

The Red Flags of Neck Pain

Arthritis Sucks, But It's Nothing to Fear

One of the most common concerns about neck pain that shouldn't be worrisome are the signs of “wear and tear” on the cervical spine such as arthritis and degenerative disc disease.

X-ray studies, CT scans, and MRI's have proven that arthritis is common, even in the absence of symptoms.

Many people who have clear signs of arthritic degeneration in their spines will never have any symptoms, or only minor, and/or not for a long time.

For instance, about 50% of “over 40 year olds” have clinically silent disk bulges, and even at age 20 there’s a surprising amount of spinal arthritis. The seriousness of these signs is routinely overestimated by patients and healthcare professionals alike.

Signs of arthritis are almost never diagnostic on their own, so don't blame a disc bulge too quickly.

In fact, do yourself a favor: don’t assume that you have a serious problem based only on pain plus signs of arthritis or MRI's that state you have “bulges” or small “herniations”.

Pain is common; serious degeneration is not.

Here's a table sharing some findings of spine degeneration at different ages; all without any pain.

Neck Pain that is Sharp, Stabbing and Shooting

Sharp neck pain is not in itself a red flag.

In fact, and I know this is going to seem odd, but sharp pains are actually a bit reassuring when it comes to the more serious issues of neck pain, despite how they feel.

By itself — with no other obvious problems — sharp, stabbing and shooting neck pain is usually due to a condition that indicates you just have a temporary, minor source of irritation in the cervical spine.

Serious causes of neck pain like infections, tumors, and spinal cord problems tend to grind you down with throbbing pains, not “stab” you.

Sharp, shooting pains are mostly neurological fire alarms signalling trivial non-emergency musculoskeletal troubles.

It's basically your brain being overly-protective to real, but all too often trivial irritations in and around the spine.

The brain takes these much more seriously than it really needs to, but evolution has honed us to be oversensitive in this way.

That’s not to say that the brain is always over-reacting, but it usually is.

The cervical spine is also surrounded by a thick, tangled web of nerves.

In general, those nerves are amazingly difficult to irritate, much harder than people think, but it’s not impossible.

Many sharp and shooting neck pains are probably caused by minor neuropathy (pain from nerve irritation) that calms down over several days or a few weeks at the worst.

Yes, it’s unpleasant, but more often than not, nothing to be too concerned over.

Chiropractic Care for Neck Pain

The neck is – along with the low back, shoulders and knees – vulnerable to bouts of unexplained pain.

In most cases, the pain goes away on its own.

Pain is weird and unpredictable, and is often the result of the brain being overprotective and paranoid.

Worrying about the pain may be literally the worst thing you can do — not just a poor coping mechanism, but a genuine risk factor.

Like noise pollution, the more you focus on it, the worse it gets.

But if your neck pain is not going away and it's becoming more and more of a concern, consider visiting your local chiropractor to get it properly checked.

Back Pain Always Has a Cause

• They were give pain medications that simply cover up pain and do not address the primary problem.
• They were given inappropriate exercises, or there were barriers to relief that were not understood and addressed.
• They did not undergo proper testing and assessing.

Where To Start With Back Pain?

Best Doctors For Back Pain

Since you shouldn't try to diagnose your own back pain, make your first call to a professional who can assess your problem, such as a primary care physician or a chiropractor.

Both can serve as an entry point for back pain.

Generally speaking, your primary care provider will only offer pain medications or injections designed to reduce pain, but not necessarily correct the issue.

Chiropractors on the other hand, have much more training when it comes to addressing back pain.

A chiropractors training contains over 150 more hours of education in biomechanics, while medical students learn more about pharmaceuticals.

Chiropractors use posture exercises and hands-on spinal manipulation to relieve back pain, improve function, and help the body heal itself.

According to Harvard Health, the most positive research on chiropractic therapy has focused on spinal manipulation for low back pain.

Here's a few quotes including the scientific journal reference discussing chiropractic care for back pain:

“For patients with chronic low back pain, clinicians and patients should initially select non-pharmacologic treatment with exercise, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction (moderate-quality evidence), tai chi, yoga, motor control exercise, progressive relaxation, electromyography biofeedback, low-level laser therapy, operant therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or spinal manipulation (low-quality evidence).”

          American College of Physicians (2017)

“[Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy] in conjunction with [standard medical care] offers a significant advantage for decreasing pain and improving physical functioning when compared with only standard care, for men and women between 18 and 35 years of age with acute low back pain.”

          Goertz et al. (2013), Spine

“Patients with chronic low-back pain treated by chiropractors showed greater improvement and satisfaction at one month than patients treated by family physicians. Satisfaction scores were higher for chiropractic patients. A higher proportion of chiropractic patients (56 percent vs. 13 percent) reported that their low-back pain was better or much better, whereas nearly one-third of medical patients reported their low-back pain was worse or much worse.”

Next Steps for Unresolved Back Pain

If your condition is serious enough, then there is absolutely a time and place to consider more invasive treatment options.

So if you find yourself needing to step up your back pain treatment game, there are many experts who can help, depending on your needs.

You may be referred to any of these:

• A neurologist, a doctor specializing in treatment of the nervous system. Back pain is commonly associated with lower-extremity symptoms, such as numbness and tingling. These symptoms can also be caused by neurological conditions that are not spine-related, such as multiple sclerosis. Neurologists are great at sorting this out and offering solutions.
• A physiatrist, a doctor with expertise in physical medicine and rehabilitation. This may be helpful for back pain related to a sports injury, if surgery is not needed, and when medications are not working.
• A rheumatologist, a doctor who treats diseases of the joints, muscles, and bones. Referral is most appropriate when there is inflammation of the joints in the back, or if the back pain might be related to an inflammatory disease, such as psoriatic arthritis.
• A physical therapist, a licensed therapist who can help you strengthen back and core muscles to absorb pressure on the spine.
• A pain management physician, a doctor who can prescribe medications, provide injections, and consider other approaches. People with symptoms that aren't responding to treatment are great candidates for pain management, such as injections or procedures to smaller joints in lower back.
• An orthopedic spinal surgeon or a neurosurgeon who primarily does spine surgery, if surgery is likely needed for severe, unrelenting pain that may be due to a disc or spinal column problem.

Chiropractic Care for Back Pain

It may take several types of tests including x-rays, MRIs, and blood tests, to determine the exact cause of your back pain.

And you may need more than one expert managing your back pain.

It really just depends on your specific situation and the amount of damage that has occurred in your spine.

But for back sprains, strains, and even herniated discs, a visit to your local chiropractor may be all it takes to start feeling better.