Symptoms Back Pain
Symptoms Neck Pain

Back pain is very common among the US population.  A recent study by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons reveals that 75-80% of Americans will experience back pain in their lifetime and 50% of those people will experience back pain more than once in a year.

Back pain often results from a problem in one or more structures of the body such as

  • The bones of your spine called vertebrae
  • Ligament
  • Muscles
  • Nerves
  • Intervertebral discs
  • Organs

It is estimated that more than 70% of Americans suffer from neck pain at some point in their life.

Subluxation

A subluxation is the misalignment of bone that causes negative interference in the nervous system leading to dysfunction and disease in the body.  Subluxations can occur from repetitive activities that cause some muscles to be tighter than others and the bone gets pulled toward the tighter side. Subluxations can also occur from traumatic events like motor vehicle accidents, slips and falls, or overexertion. The subluxation complex, when left untreated, can lead to chronic problems.

Nerves

Nerves are specialized cells that carry messages from one part of your body to another.  Misalignment of the bones, tight or spasmed muscles, and arthritic changes in bones and discs can cause injury to the nerves and interruption of messages between the body and the brain.

Ligaments

Ligaments are a type of soft tissue in the body that connects one bone to another.  Ligaments are strong; however they can be injured by trauma or repeatedly moving improperly. The latter is a more common cause of ligament injury.  Ligament injuries, whether acute or repetitive, results in joint dysfunction and pain.

Muscles

Muscles are a second type of soft tissue. Muscles are controlled by the brain and nerves to produce movement. When the bones of the spine and body are not aligned properly then the nervous system is negatively affected and the muscles cannot perform efficiently.

Intervertebral discs

Intervertebral discs are pads of fibrocartilage that sit between 2 vertebrae in your neck and back.  It is composed of strong, stacked rings of cartilage on the outer portion and a gel-like substance in the center. This gel-like center is actually 66-86% water. These discs connect the vertebra above the disc to the vertebra below the disc.  They allow for spinal flexibility without loss of spinal strength. They also help absorb shock.

Misalignments of the vertebrae or traumatic injury cause abnormal stress on the discs and can weaken them over time causing disc bulges or even disc herniations.

Organs

There are 11 organ systems in the body: Integumentary (skin, hair, nails, and sweat glands);  muscular, skeletal, nervous (brain and nerves), circulatory (heart, arteries and veins), lymphatic (rids the body of toxins and is a crucial part of the immune response), respiratory (lungs), endocrine (hormone production), urinary/excretory (intestines and bladder), reproductive (testes, ovaries, and uterus), and digestive (stomach, liver, pancreas and gall bladder).

Proper organ function depends on a well functioning nervous system to carry messages between the brain and the organ.  Radiating pain can occur when an organ is not functioning well.  Gall bladder dysfunction can radiate to the shoulder, heart disease can radiate to the arm, and kidney dysfunction can radiate pain into the low back and buttock.   It is important to distinguish between muscle or joint pain and pain from organ disease.

If you have questions about how our team at One Goal Wellness can help you, please schedule a consultation today.