Low Back Pain Treatment in Central, Hong Kong

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Low back pain is sometimes quite complicated. Depending on who you talk to, you may be told that your low back muscles are tight, your low back is out of alignment, or that it’s normal to experience low back pain as you get older. While there is some truth to all of this, the body can be more complex than that. Regulating the nervous system is paramount to achieving optimal spinal health. Part of that process is getting the entire spine properly assessed, including the joints above and below the painful area, so that you can correctly understand what could actually be causing your low back pain. Sometimes, low back pain can be the result of something else completely unrelated to the low back.  

Your body is smart. Your body will adapt to complete any task you set in front of it. Everyone does it, from elite athletes to stay-at-home mothers. Office workers and students are also vulnerable to compensated motor patterns. That’s why we objectively assess not only the spine, but also the muscles surrounding the spine and how the hips, knees, and feet work in conjunction with the pelvis.  

Assessing tight hips is crucial in determining how the lower back is affected. If the hips are not functioning well, other structures will have to compensate for it. Often, tight hips can also cause knee issues. When the hips become tight, the knees may loosen to compensate, which can lead to low back pain originating from the knees. But what about the structure below the knees? 

Your nervous system controls everything from your head down to your feet. The feet play a crucial role in maintaining the health of your spine. Your feet are your primary shock absorbers when you walk or run.  This is why, with foot issues, you can acquire problems with your knees, hips, and lower back.  When your feet are not functioning correctly or the joints of the foot become restricted, it can lead to imbalances in your spine. Chiropractors are trained in assessing the spine and musculoskeletal system, which also includes the feet.  

These are a few examples of how foot issues can cause low back pain: 

Uneven weight distribution: Restricted feet can disrupt your posture, leading to an uneven pelvis. This could lead to leaning on one leg more than the other.  

Compensatory movements: Restricted feet can lead to changes in walking/running patterns, and can also alter posture, potentially causing low back pain.  

Foot conditions, such as non-functional flat feet, plantar fasciitis, tendinopathies, and bunions, can affect spinal alignment, potentially leading to low back pain.  

Poor posture: With foot conditions, compensation can lead to poor posture, which in turn can cause low back pain.

How We Treat Low Back Pain in Central, Hong Kong

Comprehensive Consultation and Exam

Chiropractic care can help address these issues. Normalizing the nervous system is key to stabilizing the spine. The first step is to conduct a detailed health and medical history to rule out any serious medical issues. Following that, evaluating the posture and range of motion of the spine, hips, knees, and ankles can help identify the underlying causes of your low back pain.  Neurological tests can help determine if the underlying cause of your back pain is also affecting your vision, your awareness of your body, and your brain’s balance system. Specific orthopedic tests can then be used to identify which structures are affected explicitly in the feet.  

Insight Scans

At Atlas, we utilize Insight Scans to gain a deeper understanding of your health. We use thermal scans to check for nerve root inflammation. Non-functioning feet can affect your posture, potentially causing you to overload joint spaces. This, in turn, can cause joint restriction and nerve root inflammation. With nerve root inflammation, your brain is unable to communicate effectively with your body, which can lead to health deficits. 

Electromyography Scans

We use surface electromyography scans to measure muscle activation in the muscles surrounding the spine. The goal is to determine if the muscles are tight or inactive. 

Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan

Specific mobility and strengthening exercises, along with adjustments, can help the nervous system regulate muscle activity more effectively.

Providing advice on ergonomics, identifying bad habits, and creating good habits is essential to relating non-functioning feet to low back pain. Getting adjustments within a rhythm and routine will help the nervous system become accustomed to chiropractic care, allowing it to communicate more effectively with the body. We can provide body awareness exercises, mobility work, and strengthening to help stabilize the spine and create a structure that is both stable and dynamic. 

Heart Rate Variability Scans

Lastly, we use heart rate variability scans to assess the health of your autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is your body’s unconscious control of itself. Think of your heart beating or how you digest food. If your life is stressful, it is vital to assess how it affects your autonomic nervous system to determine if stress is also a contributing factor to your non-functioning feet. 

Digital X-Rays

Full spine x-rays are also an essential part of the analysis. With non-functioning feet, walking mechanics are compromised, and properly assessing their effects on the spine will help create a clearer picture of where the problem lies in the spine, how long you have had the issue, and how long it will take for the issue to improve.  

Specific Chiropractic Care in Central, Hong Kong

Chiropractic adjustments can help realign your spine, improve your posture, and enhance the function of your feet. This, in turn, allows the nervous system to communicate with the body. Chiropractors are not only trained in adjusting the spine but also in adjusting the lower extremities, including the hips, knees, and feet.  

Manual Therapy Techniques: 

Manual therapies, such as myofascial release and trigger point therapy, can help treat the muscles of the lower back, hips, legs, and feet. Myofascial release addresses muscles by relaxing tight muscles and improving circulation. Trigger point therapy helps release nodules within the skeletal muscles, which are capable of producing pain. While these techniques are used for pain relief, the chiropractic adjustment is often enough to realign the nervous system and help you get your feet back on the path to good health.  

Foot Care Guidance

Proper footwear, exercises, and lifestyle advice are essential for starting to care for non-functioning feet. Appropriate footwear is always dependent on the person. Shoes that are as minimal as possible will help improve foot strength, promote better balance and mobility, and encourage proper foot mechanics for a more natural gait. Minimal shoes typically feature minimal padding, a zero-drop height from the heel, and a wider toe box, allowing the toes to splay and function naturally. Foot exercises and mobility work will help non-functioning feet start to function again.  

Some examples of foot mobility drills would be big toe stretches, toe splay, and ball rolls.

Big toe stretches: while seated with one foot placed on the opposite thigh, bring the big toe up towards the ankle until you feel a stretch along the bottom of your foot. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.  

Toe splay: while seated, spread the toes as wide as you can comfortably. Hold for 5 seconds.  Repeat 10 times.  

Ball rolls: while seated, place a ball on the floor and roll the bottom of your foot on top of it for a self-massage. Roll for 2 minutes on each foot.

Some examples of foot strengthening drills include toe curls, marble pick-ups, and sand walking.

Toe curls: while seated, lay a kitchen towel on the floor. Put the toes of one foot at one end of the towel and scrunch your toes to pull the towel toward you. Repeat 5 times for each foot.

Marble pick-ups: similar to toe curls, spread anywhere between 5 and 20 marbles and a small bowl in front of you. Pick up the marbles one at a time and place them into the bowl. Repeat for the other foot.  

Sand walking: simply find some sand, take off your shoes, and go for a walk.

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Low back pain can be complex, so getting a thorough assessment is vital. Utilizing various technologies will help provide a well-rounded approach to your health. Regulating the nervous system is crucial, and identifying the root cause of your pain will enable us to develop a tailored plan to alleviate your symptoms and enhance your overall well-being.

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Schedule Your Low Back Pain Relief Consultation Today!

Begin your journey of optimal physical and mental wellness with ATLAS today. If you are ready to book your session with us, call +852 2110 3901 to get your health back on track!