“Doc! I can’t move. I can’t get out of bed. I can’t even get in the car!” When the pain is so bad that it hurts to turn over in bed, or changing positions from sitting to stand, or even laying down to sitting up, it’s time to seek professional help.
Low back pain and pelvic pain tend to go together. A strain is what happens to the muscles or tendons when they are pulled or stretched to extreme measures. A sprain is what happens to ligaments when they have been stretched beyond their limit. Pain happens with both. The muscles in your hips and low back contract so hard in an attempt to stabilize the hurt area, whether it’s in your lumbar/low back region or your pelvic region and hips. Your core muscles (pelvic floor muscles, rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus) suddenly go offline and become weak in order to protect you from doing further harm. The brain and your nervous system find many different ways to do the same job that your core muscles were supposed to be doing.
Now, simple tasks such as turning over in bed or going from sitting to standing become much more difficult. Pain is your body’s way of saying something is wrong. You don’t have to figure out what is wrong, but your chiropractor, massage therapist or doctor will figure that out for you.
Remember, the type of professional from whom you seek treatment will always suggest the treatment based on their profession. So, if you go to a medical doctor, you will likely be prescribed pain medicine or a muscle relaxer. If you go to an orthopedist, you may be told you need surgery. If you go to the chiropractor, we will suggest adjustments, massage therapy, physiotherapy and therapeutic exercises.
In the case mentioned above, you may be given a Trochanter Belt to wear for a few days. This special kind of belt is worn below the waist and just at the level of where the femur attaches to the pelvis. You will wear this for approximately five days, 24/7, except when bathing or bathroom time. The belt acts as a support so the surrounding muscles don’t have to overwork into spasm. Depending on the injury, your chiropractor may lessen or extend your time in the belt.
Once your low back or pelvic injury is healed, keep the trochanter belt around for times when you know you’ll be pulling a heavy load or doing a lot of walking. Be sure you re-learn how to activate those muscles that neurologically went off-line and learn how to move with proper bio-mechanics to avoid further injury or relapse.
If you would like a consultation for your back pain, you can text, call or email Dr. Seebacher. Crawl-ins are welcome too. Dr. Seebacher has created a FUSION of chiropractic, therapeutic massage and therapeutic exercise to help reduce pain and restore function to your life.