Painful Back Pain, Chiropractor or Doctor?

Question

Im a 25 year old male who does a lot of heavy lifting at my job. Ive been having some painful lower back pain and cant take much more of the pain.. Ive been told by some to go see a chiropractor and ive been told by others to see a doctor because chiropractors only offer quick fixes and their procedures can leave u with more pain.. Please help provide insight!

-thanks-

Answer 1

The medical specialty is physical medicine (alos known as sports medicine). These are doctors who diagnose and treat painful conditions like yours and treat them with physical therapy and other non surgical techniques.

The doctor will examine you, probably take xrays and very likely prescribe physical therapy- which is the most conservative way to begin. If there is no improvement, your doctor may have you take an MRI to look at soft tissue (which xrays do not) to determine what other treatments can help you. Surgery should be the very last resort.

Good luck. These doctors have helped me with severe lower back pain.

Answer 2

What people say about chiropractors is not true. Chiropractors have proven to be legitimate and successful alternatives to traditional medicine, and millions of people have cured many different types of back problems through chiropractor work. Most people who have suffered from most pain have done so because they failed to follow the regimen given to them by the chiropractor. A good chiropractor will give you exercises and proper lifting techniques, and many people fail to follow up on these, causing more problems. Of course, no one wants to accept blame for their problems when it is easier to blame the supposed "quack" who gave them the advice they didn't follow. Go figure.

After all that, guess what? I still think you should visit your doctor first. If they can't help, then have them recommend you to a back specialist and see how that works out. Chiropractors can be great, but there is no reason to resort to that if traditional medicine can fix you up. Keep your options open. Try one thing, and if it doesn't work for you, then try another thing. Back pain is not an exact science. What is best for one person might not be best for another. In any case, the best advice anyone can give you is to follow through on the instructions your doctor or chiropractor gives you! Not doing this is the #1 mistake that people with back pain commit. Good luck!

Answer 3

Doctor, Doctor, Doctor. I had terrible lower back pain and everybody told me to go to the Chiropractor, so I did. It made things so much worse.. I finally went to a Neurosurgeon and after some tests, found out that I had 2 herniated disks that wereas compressing my spine. So, every time the chiro was popping my back, he was making it much worse. That could have been very dangerous. I ended up having to have 2 back fusions done. I guess if you have some soreness, then a chiro is okay to go to, but if you are experiencing actual pain, go to a doctor.

Answer 4

First of all treat with ice and ibuprofen. Then see your chiropractor, they specialize in back pain so they can line up your spine and put it the way it should be. I have been going to a chiropractor for years. Between him and my massage therapist they keep me walking. Feel better

Answer 5

First, you need to tell HR- this could be a workers comp case.
They will pay for any therapy needed. so be careful.

Put an ice pack on it.
Take an anti inflamitory- Advil is good.
Lay on the floor on your back flat, raise your feet up and rest them UP a wall or ontop of a chair/bed/sofa and that will immediately remove that pain.

I would highly recommend a "massage therapist" before either of them. Since it sounds like muscle strain to me.

22yrs- sports medicine- massage therapist.

FYI- Chiropractics is not a quick fix, its a non surgical approach. They do x-rays and full medical workups as well, and believe the best way to "heal" a body is to use the entire body to heal the injury.

10 years in Chiropractic medicine as well.

I do believe in Doctors of General Medicine or Orthopedics (D.O.) yet they tend to over medicate with muscle relaxers and steriod shots to relieve the pain, when it only take a few days of normal rest and over the counter aids, to fix a temporary problem. Taking a muscle relaxer, actually gives you the ability to use the area sooner, YET....its not healed, so the chances of you hurting your self MORE, is most often the case. Seen it hundreds of times, wish - I had not.

Just go to a Chiropractor, they will want to see you 2-3 times a week for two weeks or so and give you hot/cold packs, stretches, adjustment and massage on the muscles....that is the best treatment for this temporary problem. IF- the x-ray reveals more, they will refer you to a Doctor of Osteopath to help with your spine, to find the best traditional course of action. We don't want you in pain and work to keep you out of it.

Don't live in pain...their is just no reason..... we are humans.
Best wishes...

Answer 6

I had a slipped disk, so I can definitely feel your pain. Here's my advice - go see your general practicioner. They can do a number of things to help:

1) Give you prescription-strength anti-inflammatory medications and muscle relaxants. These help fix the problem as well as the symptoms.

2) Prescribe physical therapy which will help you get the muscles strengthened up and working properly, and also will give you tools to help ease the pain.

3) Diagnose the core problem - is it just muscles, or is it a spinal problem?

4) They can inject cortisone or another steroid directly into the affected area to reduce inflammation and give pain relief.

I would highly recommend going to a doctor - but don't be going directly to a neurosurgeon, they'll want to operate immediately.

Answer 7

Doctor first, then spine specialist "highly recommended", see what he says about the Chiropractor, "sometimes" it's all you will need but get the mri or xrays and a doctors advice first.

It's best to see the specialist before proceeding to anything else.

Answer 8

You need to see a doctor first, to rule out any thing that might be serious, and ask him what HE thinks about chiropractors, he'll probably send you to a physiotherapist. who will do a better job on you than the Chiropractor

Answer 9

Hi there.

In my practice experience, i think a doctor trained in rehabilitation medicine or sports medicine are the best people to help you get off your back problem. They are the ones who are recommending proper postures during work, movements, and even during rests.
If you need physical therapy, they are also the ones supervising and prescribing what kind of therapy you would need. It's just like a doctor (the rehabilitation specialist) giving the proper instruction to the nurse (physical therapist in this case).

Answer 10

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