The majority of people will suffer from low back pain at some point in their life. Some suffer from chronic low back pain and struggle with the symptoms daily. Others suffer from low back pain due to an acute injury or trauma. As degeneration or arthritis sets into the spine, the risk for low back pain increases. Many people will get diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the spine and think there is no hope and the pain is something they simply need to deal with.

From the medical world’s perspective there isn’t much management wise you can do for low back pain. Many medical doctors will recommend physical therapy, massage, or even general chiropractic but in most cases pain medication is prescribed as the only source of relief. In some situations many of these recommendations may help temporarily but the pain almost always returns. The primary cause of the symptoms isn’t properly getting addressed.

Many people don’t realize that the upper cervical spine (the top two bones of the neck) holds the key to the rest of the spine’s health and alignment. The top two bones of the neck are the most movable bones of the entire spine. Because the skull sits right on top of the first bone in the neck, those two bones move together. When the first bone in the neck misaligns the skull moves with it. Your brain will not let you walk around with a tilted head due to a reflex in the brain called the righting reflex. So to try and level out your head, your body accommodates. Muscles of the neck, shoulders, spine and hips pull to try and right the eyes so they are level with the horizon. This helps to make us feel balanced and feel like we are standing straight. Almost 100% of the time when there is an upper cervical misalignment the body will compensate and the posture of the spine will suffer. One shoulder pulls down and one hip will in turn pull as well all to try and level out the head.

Hilpisch chiropractors are specially trained to locate, analyze and adjust the upper cervical spine. It’s a very specific technique that focuses solely on these two bones. We use precise angles obtained from our three dimensional x-rays to adjust. After we figure out exactly how to adjust you, even after just your first adjustment, the hips start to balance immediately. Once this happens, the joints, muscles and ligaments of the spine realign and the tension and pain that had been building for years relaxes and subsides. Thousands of people have experienced this relief, now it’s your turn! Call today to schedule a consultation with one of our doctors.