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Understanding the Anatomy of the Back and How it Affects You
The muscles in your back can move, support, and stabilize large portions of the upper body. Whether you are reaching overhead or carrying a backpack, these muscles are essential for everyday life. When they become tight or fatigued because of prolonged stress, poor posture, or overuse injuries, you may experience pain in the neck, shoulders, or lower back.
Understanding the back anatomy is crucial because it helps you know which muscles are causing your pain or discomfort and how to get relief. Knowing which muscles are located in your body can help you understand why tightness in one muscle causes pain somewhere else. Often, people who experience upper back pain have had an injury involving some degree of trauma to their spine's muscles, bones, and ligaments.
The anatomy of your back includes:
- Two primary muscle groups: your latissimus dorsi (or lats) and trapezius (traps). These large muscles work together to move, support, and stabilize your arms. They also help to rotate your shoulders and pull them back. These muscles attach from your spine, down into the ribs, and then to a broad bone of muscle at the top of your arm called the shoulder blade. They are called "upper traps"
- Your levator scapulae muscles are located under your trapezius muscle, attaching from your neck down to the shoulder blade. These muscles are responsible for helping you rotate your neck and lift your shoulder blades. This muscle is often sore after an injury to your neck, like whiplash.
- Your rhomboids are located under your trapezius in the middle of your upper back. They attach from the spine and shoulder blade to bones in your upper arm. They help you pull your arms back toward your body. Your rhomboids are a common cause of pain when playing sports that involve stretching, such as tennis or swimming.
- Your erector spinae muscles are located on either side of your spine running from the base of your neck to your hips. These muscles work to extend and rotate the neck, lift the shoulders, and stabilize your spine. They can be a common site of pain for people who sit at a desk all day with poor posture or for someone who carries a heavy backpack on their way home from school or work.
- Your pectoralis major muscles are chest muscles that make up a large portion of the front of your upper body. They work with other muscles to help you lift and rotate your arms and pull them back. The pectoralis major muscle is divided into clavicular and sternal heads, forming an inverted "V" shape from top to bottom.
Injury to the muscles or ligaments of your back can cause a great deal of pain, discomfort, and stress. Unfortunately, many people find relief only after a long period with slight improvement. Understanding which muscles are causing your pain is the first step in relieving it for good! By relaxing tight muscles through massage or stretching by doing simple exercises at home, you can improve your back's health by training the muscles to support and stabilize without pain.
The Common Causes of Back Pain
Back pain is a widespread problem that may be diagnosed with a physical examination or an imaging test. The following conditions are frequently linked to back pain:
- Arthritis/joint degeneration: can be related to arthritis of the spine (osteoarthritis) or other joints such as those in the neck (cervical spondylosis). Discs between vertebrae may also herniate, bulge outward, and press on nerves.
- Bulging/herniated disks: caused by a bulging or herniated disk that presses on the nerve roots.
- Fracture: due to a fracture of the vertebrae, especially after age 50.
- Sciatica: accompanied by leg pain (sciatica), tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness may be caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve.
- Spinal stenosis: may occur with spinal stenosis, which is the narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back that puts pressure on the nerve roots or spinal cord.
- Sports injury/overuse syndrome: sports injuries are common, such as muscle strains or ligament sprains in the back. Due to overexertion or overuse, back pain may be caused by muscle tension or spasms, especially among athletes and people who perform repetitive motions. These cases can often be treated with heat and rest.
Recognizing Sign of Serious Complication From Back Pain
Back pain is the second most common reason for visiting a doctor after upper-respiratory infections. It can be caused by an injury or a specific disease that may affect any part of the back. It can also have multiple causes and often varies in severity from day today. This ranges from dull and annoying to sharp and debilitating.
Back pain on one or both sides of the body may be a symptom of more severe conditions, such as a vertebral fracture. It can also warn of more dangerous situations, such as spinal cord compression. If you think you are experiencing any of these symptoms, see your doctor or a chiropractor immediately!
Chiropractic Management and Treatment of Back Pain
Doctors of chiropractic (DCs) are best suited to treat back pain. By carrying out a complete clinical examination at my clinic at Complete Care Chiropractic Owasso, Ok., I can determine the cause of your pain and offer a wide range of treatments. If you have been suffering from back pain for an extended period, I can suggest a series of chiropractic adjustments to improve your health. Back pain can be a symptom of a more severe condition or problem that needs immediate medical attention from your doctor.
Benefits of Chiropractic Therapy for Back Pain
Back pain is the second most common reason for visiting our practice, Complete Care Chiropractic in Owasso, OK., and chiropractic care may provide you with many benefits:
- Chiropractic adjustments: chiropractic adjustments to improve nerve function throughout the body are one way of managing and treating back pain.
- Chiropractic medicine: this can be treated with chiropractic medicine to help relax tight muscles and relieve stress.
- Massage therapy: it can be treated with massage therapy, which applies pressure on specific points of your back.
- Stretching exercises: Back pain can be treated with gentle stretching exercises to relax the muscles and connective tissue and improve blood flow and muscle function.
- Physical therapy: Back pain can be treated with physical therapy offered by the Complete Care Chiropractic clinic, which involves a series of warm-up exercises, massage techniques, and joint mobilization.
- Trampoline exercise: this can be treated with trampoline exercise, a gentle bouncing motion that stimulates circulation and relieves tension.
- Fewer side effects: Back pain is widespread and hurts your life, but chiropractic treatment is a relatively safe, simple, and painless way to treat your backache. Back pain treatment with chiropractic medicine is usually much safer than taking over-the-counter medications or prescription drugs for back pain. There are very few side effects or risks involved.
- Fewer complications: Back pain can be commonly mistaken by the patient as a symptom of a more severe condition or disease. Back pain can be treated with exercise, stretching, massage, physical therapy, and other natural treatments to improve your health without the chance of complications. Back pain treatment with chiropractic adjustments is usually much safer than other back pain treatments because it does not involve surgery, medication side effects, or risks of developing new medical conditions.
- Long-term relief: Back pain is common, but it is still a serious problem that can affect your quality of life. Back pain treatment with chiropractic adjustments and physical therapies is very effective in providing long-term relief from back pain and discomfort. Back pain treatment with physiotherapy allows you to enjoy an active lifestyle without the limitations of back pain. Back pain treatment with chiropractic medicine and massage therapy can reduce stress and tension, improve blood flow and relieve muscle spasms in the back to achieve long-term relief from pain and discomfort.
- Improved wellness: Back pain is one of many symptoms of a delicate nervous system that affects your overall wellbeing. Back pain treatment with physiotherapy and chiropractic medicine can improve nerve function throughout the body to promote wellness. Back pain, sciatica, or numbness in your back can be treated with massage therapy, physical therapy, and chiropractic adjustments to improve your health.
It is one of the most common conditions for which people seek management and treatment through medical treatment, so it is imperative to consult with your doctor if you experience back pain. Management and treatment of back pain with chiropractic medicine and physiotherapy allow you to take control of your health because you can choose the safest and most effective natural remedies available.
Conclusion
If you’re suffering from back pain, chiropractic therapy may be able to help. This type of treatment has been shown to reduce the frequency and intensity of your symptoms and significantly improve your quality of life in a way that medications cannot. The good news is that it doesn't take long for these benefits to kick in - most people notice an improvement within just a few weeks after starting care.
So if you're looking for relief from chronic back pain or other conditions typically treated with chiropractic techniques such as headaches or neck aches, give me a call today!
Our staff at Complete Care Chiropractic Owasso, OK., will answer any questions you have about our services and how we can help you get back to your life. So what are you waiting for? Call me at (918) 272-8054 to schedule an appointment today!