Chiropractor in Hurst TX Explains Why
Back Pain May Come From Your Neck

If you suffer from low back pain in Hurst TX, you've probably experienced that 'twinge' from lifting something wrong. When you feel it, there is no doubt in your mind what caused your back pain. Other times you may not know what caused your back pain as it seemed to come out of nowhere. If you're suffering from back pain with no specific cause, it's very important to have your entire spine examined to find out where your pain is coming from.

Before we talk about how your neck can be causing your low back pain, we need to review some anatomy. Your nervous system is composed of your brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves that travel throughout your entire body. These nerves travel into your arms and legs and everywhere in between.

We know that injuries to the neck can affect other parts of our body. For example, severe neck injuries can leave a person paralyzed. Anytime a nerve is being pinched or irritated, the messages from the brain can get scrambled resulting in loss of function of some form. In the case of a severely pinched nerve, there is a complete loss of function (paralysis).

When there are mild to moderate injuries to the nerves, the loss of function may not be as obvious. Common neck injuries such as whiplash can result in muscle tension and pain in your lower back. While this phenomenon is not fully understood there are some theories as to why this happens.

Your spine is supported by large, long, overlapping muscles called the erector spinae. They start at the base of your skull and travel all the way down to your pelvis. Whenever the muscles in your neck get injured, the overlapping nature of the muscles can cause muscular imbalances in your lower back. This creates a lack of coordination between your neck and back muscles; leading to abnormal muscle function while doing activities such as lifting.

Another theory looks to irritation of the nerves near the base of you skull. When these nerves get irritated or pinched, they become more susceptible to injury as they travel and supply other areas of our body. I see the effects of this quite often during examinations. A patient who has a history of previous injury to the neck or back (i.e. repetitive activities, sports injuries, car accident injuries, etc.) will often present with no neck or back pain but will have pain and/or numbness in the arms or legs.

If you have had any type of injury to your neck, only a thorough examination can determine if your low back pain is coming from your neck.

Here's What to Do Now in Hurst TX

To experience maximum value from our clinic, please take the following 2 steps now:

1. Like our Facebook Page here. We have a growing Facebook community, and we'd love to have you as part of it!
2. Call our office at (817) 514-1908 to set up your consultation.  We're never too busy to help you!