Many people with balance problems may not associate chronic low back pain as a contributor to their impaired balance. This article will discuss the correlation between back discomfort and foot stability. He will also present recent research on how back treatment can help improve stability.
Back pain is ubiquitous. It is known that 80% of all people in the United States will have had a significant episode of low back pain by age 40. Some back problems are acute, which means they happen once and then go away. However, other back conditions are what are called chronic. Chronic conditions are those that are constant or recur very frequently.
Chronic painful conditions of the back tend to cause people to react to protect themselves and themselves from pain. As a practicing chiropractor for over 36 years, I often have people come into my office who suffer from back pain and say they are: “crooked, crooked, crooked, or bent.” In essence, what they are telling me is that they are walking and standing with abnormal posture. This is because your body is protecting and compensating for your back pain. We have all seen people who have a hunched forward waist or lean to one side because of their back problem.
Our normal balance is the product of several factors. Our eyes and the balance mechanism in our ears send messages to the brain to help with normal balance. We all know that if we close our eyes we are more unstable. Also, if our head is submerged in cold water in a pool or lake, it can affect the balance mechanism in the ears and cause us to have temporary balance problems.
Another factor that provides balance information to our brain is sensory input from the nerve endings in all of our joints. The word “proprioception” is a term that describes the body’s ability to sense movement and balance. The joints in the feet, hips, pelvis, and lower back are especially important in helping our brain process information that leads to proper balance. If these joints are injured, proprioception problems can occur. Since chronic back pain can cause impaired proprioception, these individuals are more likely to feel unsteady on their feet and are at significantly higher risk of falls.
A scientific study in the journal Frontiers in Neurology, December 2020 noted that examination of 151 adults of various ages with or without chronic low back pain revealed that chronic back problems and advancing age are risk factors for reduced proprioception.
Fortunately, chiropractic doctors are trained to diagnose and treat these disorders. Often, a chiropractor can help alleviate back discomfort by realigning the vertebrae of the spine and malpositioned pelvic bones. Once the joints in the lower back are properly aligned, normal proprioception can occur and people feel a significant improvement in their balance. Chiropractors are specialists trained to treat physical and mechanical alignment problems of the spine and pelvis. Most patients who come to chiropractors find chiropractic treatment to be a safe and pleasant experience because it corrects spinal misalignment, relieves low back pain, and can help achieve improved or normal balance.