I’m Dr. Dave LeClerc, one of the chiropractors here at Corrective Care Chiropractic in Westford, MA. We have been taking care of thousands of people with low back pain in the past 20 years. Anyone of any age can experience low back pain, and we achieve excellent results using the Gonstead system. The Gonstead method uses 5 criteria to determine where subluxations are in the spine (misalignments of vertebrae causing nerve irritation).
The 5 ways we find subluxation are:
- Instrumentation (detecting nerve irritation)
- Visualization/observation (looking at posture or scoliosis)
- Static palpation (feeling the spine for swelling or tight muscles)
- Motion palpation (joints that are fixated and not moving properly)
- Full spinal x-rays
$99 New Patient Special
Includes consultation with your doctor, thorough chiropractic examination and customized plan of action. Excludes Medicare.
How Our Care Plan Works
1. Discover The Root Cause
Instead of chasing symptoms, we take time to find out why you’re experiencing them. Our thorough exam helps reveal the underlying issues so we can address them with confidence.
2. Your Goals. Our Findings.
We combine your goals, your lifestyle and your expectations with our clinical findings to build a clear, personalized plan aligned with where you want to go.
3. Become A Stronger, Healthier Version Of You
With consistent, corrective-focused care, you don’t just feel better—you function better. We’re here to help you rebuild your health from within and be your best self.
How We Treat Lower Back Pain In Westford, MA
Comprehensive Consultation and Exam
We conduct a comprehensive consultation and exam, including full spinal x-rays. This first visit will take approximately 30-45 minutes. When you meet with one of our doctors, they will review your initial paperwork with you. This initial consultation is very thorough. We will then perform thermography and instrumentation to detect heat and nerve irritation in your spine. Next is a postural analysis using PosturePro technology, followed by a comprehensive chiropractic exam, and then full-spine x-rays. This detailed and specific exam enables us to pinpoint the root cause of your low back pain.
Digital X-Rays
We take full spine digital X-rays in our office because we don’t want to guess about your health. We want to see exactly what is going on with your spine before we recommend or do any spinal adjustments. Although rare, an X-ray can reveal any contraindications to adjusting. An X-ray is a very safe procedure and emits a minimal amount of radiation.
An X-ray will reveal the exact misalignments in your spine and provide a specific analysis for correcting them. An X-ray will reveal whether there are any arthritic changes or degeneration in the disc space. This determines how long the problem has been in your spine and helps to create an effective care plan.
Specific Chiropractic Care in Westford, MA
A subluxation is a misalignment of your spinal bones (vertebrae) that can cause nerve irritation. This cuts off communication between your brain and your body, and between your body and your brain. If left undetected or uncorrected, this will lead to dysfunction in your nervous system, degeneration of your spine, and eventually symptoms. If you have subluxation in your lower back or lumbar spine, you may not only develop low back pain, but also pain that extends down your legs (known as sciatic pain) into your feet and toes. A subluxation in the lower back can also affect the bladder or digestive system.
Chiropractic adjustments can help patients with low back pain by relieving pressure and irritation on the nerves, thereby reducing pain and discomfort. When there is less pressure on the irritated nerve, that nerve has more room to function properly, muscle tension is reduced, and posture is improved.
Chiropractic care is superior to the conventional treatment model because it addresses the underlying cause of low back pain, rather than merely masking symptoms with medication or surgery. By addressing the cause, the problem is corrected, the spine is brought into alignment, and health and function are restored. Unlike medication, the only side effect of chiropractic care is improved health and quality of life.
There are various types of adjusting equipment used in a Gonstead chiropractic office for treating low back pain. We see patients of all shapes and sizes in our chiropractic office. The uniqueness of a Gonstead practice lies in its variety of adjusting tables, tailored to meet the patient’s specific needs. The gold standard or primary table for adjusting patients with low back pain is the pelvic bench, where we correct low back subluxations in a side posture position. We have a table called the Hi-Lo, appropriately named because it rises and lowers, making it easier for patients to get on and off, especially those with limited mobility or experiencing pain. Lastly, the knee-chest table is excellent for patients with acute low back pain, as it allows the spine to go into extension, enabling the doctor to make a significant adjustment to the low back.
Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan
We create an exercise program tailored to your specific needs. Customized exercises help strengthen muscles and alleviate pain. Exercises help our adjustments be more effective and longer-lasting.
3 things to do if you have low back pain
- Lift with your legs, not your back, and don’t bend at the waist, bend at the knees.
- In an acute flare-up, avoid sitting; instead, go into an “all fours” position, dropping your belly down to create extension in the low back and take pressure off.
- Walk as much as possible, if you can, on a hill or a treadmill with a 3% incline.
Common Causes of Low Back Pain in Westford, MA
Bulged Lumbar Discs
The disc is the soft tissue between each vertebra. The disc has two components: the inner nucleus pulposus, which is gelatinous and resembles toothpaste, and the fibrous annular rings, which resemble the rings of an onion. A disc bulge is the nucleus pushing into the annular ring, irritating the nerve, whereas a herniated disc pushes through the annular rings into the spinal canal.
The causes of a bulging disc can range from a slip or fall to a sports injury or a repetitive injury that occurs over time. The symptoms of a bulged disc can include pain, but you may have a disc bulge with no noticeable symptoms at all. A person with a disc bulge may also have sciatic pain (pain down the legs into the feet and toes). A disc bulge is caused by a subluxation ( a misalignment of one or more vertebrae), and we correct that by first getting to the cause by doing a comprehensive history, examination, and evaluation, including full spinal x-rays. A chiropractor will then recommend a series of specific adjustments to correct the disc issue, therefore relieving symptoms and restoring health.
Check Out Our Location Near You
234 Littleton Rd Unit B Suite 1A, Westford, MA 01886
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes lower back pain?
Low back pain is caused by subluxation in the spine (a misalignment in one or more vertebrae that irritates the nerves). Subluxation is caused by various stressors on the spine (chemical, emotional, and physical). Think of physical stress as traumas – car accidents, sports injuries or falls, sitting too much, repetitive injuries, poor posture, poor position at work.
How should I sleep when I have low back pain?
When you have low back pain, the best way to sleep is on your back with your legs bent, as this reduces pressure on the disc. Avoid a soft bed…a few nights on the floor might be best! If you have trouble sleeping on your back, try sleeping on your side with a pillow between your legs to help support your lower back.
What can I do to relieve my lower back pain in Westford, MA?
The best way to relieve your low back pain is by getting adjusted by a specific Gonstead chiropractor. Chiropractors will identify the cause of your low back pain through a comprehensive consultation and examination, as well as full spinal x-rays. After we determine the locations of misalignments in your spine (called subluxations), we can then create a personalized care plan that includes specific chiropractic adjustments to relieve your low back pain, promote overall health, and help you reach your health goals.
Why won’t my lower back pain go away?
Your low back pain will not go away until you address the cause of WHY you have pain. Treating the symptoms with medications, stretching, ice, or heat will temporarily relieve symptoms, but does not correct the underlying problem. A trained, specific chiropractor will identify the actual cause of your low back pain and recommend a series of adjustments to correct the subluxations that are causing it.
What is better for lower back pain: a chiropractor or a massage therapist?
While a massage helps loosen tight muscles, a chiropractor corrects the underlying cause of the muscle tension. When a spinal bone or vertebrae misaligns, the disc between the vertebrae swells, irritates the nerves, and causes joint restriction (less motion). The surrounding muscles in your spine will spasm to protect that joint. By correcting the subluxation with an adjustment, the spine becomes more aligned, and the muscles relax.
When should I see a chiropractor in Westford, MA?
You should see a chiropractor at any time, because you don’t have to have any symptoms to have subluxations (misalignments in the spine that cause nerve irritation). Symptoms are typically the last indicator that a problem exists, so if you already have symptoms such as low back pain, the situation has likely been present for a long time. It is never too early to see a chiropractor to get your spine checked!
How can you tell if your spine is out of alignment?
A chiropractor is the only trained professional who can determine if you have spinal misalignment (subluxation). Chiropractors use objective criteria, including thermography, instrumentation, palpation, posture analysis, and complete spinal x-rays, to assess patient conditions.
$99 New Patient Special
Includes consultation with your doctor, thorough chiropractic examination and customized plan of action. Excludes Medicare.