Canada’s Low Back Pain Epidemic

Involuntary spasms in your lower back? A dull throbbing ache? Shooting pain down your leg? You are most likely suffering from low back pain (LBP). If you’ve never had low back pain, chances are you will at some point in your life. Just check these statistics:

• In six-month period, five in 10 Canadians suffered low back pain¹
• Up to 85% of working people can expect to experience low back pain during their lifetime²
• In Canada, the low back pain-related estimate of the medical costs ranges between 6 and 12 billion dollars annually³

Low Back Pain Causes

Low back pain is a complex condition with multiple contributors to pain, including physical, social and psychological factors. Lifestyle factors, such as obesity and being sedentary are associated with the occurrence of low back pain as well.
Our backs play a supportive role for our bodies – at rest and in motion. Extra bodyweight puts greater demand on our spines and other joints. Research shows that a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) increases the risk of suffering low back pain. With growing rates of obesity , Canadians are increasing their chances of developing low back pain.

In addition, we are more sedentary than ever before. In industrialized countries, 75% of workers sit for long periods of time. Prolonged sitting may negatively affect your muscles and joints and lead to deconditioning (decline in physical functioning), fatigue and stress on the spinal discs causing pain in the lower back. In an effort to combat sitting, newer products such as standing desks, have been increasing in popularity. However, recent research produced at the University of Waterloo also found that standing desks may lead to lower back pain as well. The key take away message as discussed by Daniel Viggiani, lead author, is that regardless of whether you are sitting or standing at work, make sure to move around and shift your posture often.

Responses to the Low Back Pain Epidemic

Low back pain has also been one of the key drivers for opioid prescription. With increasing awareness of its risks, limited efficacy and potential for misuse, emerging evidence has suggested that medication should not be the mainstay in the treatment of low back pain. Instead, recent guidelines recommend self-management, manual therapy, physical activity and psychological therapies. There is a shift in placing less emphasis on pharmacological and surgical interventions in the care of low back pain.

Canadian chiropractors are trained to assess and diagnose back pain, as well as offer comprehensive treatment plans. Typically, plans are holistic. A chiropractor addresses all contributing factors of low back pain, such as joint dysfunction, injury, ergonomics, exercise and overall health and then develops a customized program to relieve pain, increase mobility and get you back on your feet. Chiropractic treatment is a drugless and non-invasive treatment option.

How Chiropractic Expertise Can Help Low Back Pain

Chiropractic treatment relieves low back pain using effective clinical tools like manipulation, mobilization, soft tissue therapy, exercise, patient education, modalities (i.e. ultrasound, laser) and rehabilitation. Extensively trained in spinal manipulative therapy (SMT), chiropractors are proficient in providing specialized care which has been proven effective in reducing pain, improving function, and decreasing the chances of low back pain becoming a chronic condition.

Click here to read more about how chiropractic expertise in treating low back pain can ease pain and lower your risk of recurrence.

Canadian chiropractors can provide education on your spine and posture, as well as create a personalized treatment plan including back exercises and ergonomic solutions for your workstation.

Find a chiropractor today and join the other 4.5 million Canadians visiting their chiropractor each year!

Find out about insurance coverage for chiropractic treatment here.

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[1] GBD 2015 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet. 2016 Oct 8;388(10053):1545-1602.

[2] Hoy D, Bain C, Williams G, March L, Brooks P, Blyth F, Woolf A, Vos T, Buchbinder R. A systematic review of the global prevalence of low back pain. Arthritis Rheum. 2012 Jun;64(6):2028-37. doi: 10.1002/art.34347. Epub 2012 Jan 9. Review.

[3] Church J, Saunders D, Wanke M, Pong R, Spooner C, Dorgan M. Citizen participation in health decision-making: past experience and future prospects. J  Public Health Policy. 2002;23(1):12-32. Review.

[4] Seaman, David R., Body mass index and musculoskeletal pain: is there a connection? Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2013, 21:15

[5] Laurie K. Twells, Deborah M. Gregory, Jacinta Reddigan, William K. Midodzi, Current and predicted prevalence of obesity in Canada: a trend analysis, CMAJ, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2014

[6] Angela Maria Lis, Katia M. Black, Hayley Korn, Margareta Nordin, Association between sitting and occupational LBP, Eur Spine J. Feb 2007; 16(2): 283–298.

[7] https://uwaterloo.ca/news/news/standing-desks-may-lead-lower-back-pain

[8] Borgundvaag B, McLeod S, Khuu W, Varner C, Tadrous M, Gomes T. Opioid prescribing and adverse events in opioid-naive patients treated by emergency physicians versus family physicians: a population-based cohort study. CMAJ Open.  2018 Mar 1;6(1):E110-E117.

[9] Traeger AC, Buchbinder R, Harris IA, Clavisi OM, Maher CG. Avoid routinely prescribing medicines for non-specific low back pain. Br J Sports Med. 2018 Mar 7.

[10] Bussières AE, Stewart G, Al-Zoubi F, Decina P, Descarreaux M, Haskett D, Hincapié C, Pagé I, Passmore S, Srbely J, Stupar M, Weisberg J, Ornelas J. Spinal Manipulative Therapy and Other Conservative Treatments for Low Back Pain: A Guideline From the Canadian Chiropractic Guideline Initiative. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2018 Mar 29.

[11] Almeida M, Saragiotto B, Richards B, Maher CG. Primary care management of non-specific low back pain: key messages from recent clinical guidelines. Med J Aust. 2018 Apr 2;208(6):272-275.

[12]  Foster NE, Anema JR, Cherkin D, Chou R, Cohen SP, Gross DP, Ferreira PH, Fritz JM, Koes BW, Peul W, Turner JA, Maher CG; Lancet Low Back Pain Series Working Group. Prevention and treatment of low back pain: evidence, challenges, and promising directions. Lancet. 2018 Mar 20.

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Warm up and cool down stretches for golfers

I have had two requests already this morning for warm up and cool down stretches for golfers. A good video sess on warm up and cool down stretches for golfers sounds like a good way to conquer my writers block. By the end of these videos, you will clearly see why being a chiropractor was my calling and not an actress or hairstylist. In fact, after the freeze frame in the first one with the constipated face, it will also be clear I don’t know how to edit videos at all. That’s ok. In the name of all of you feeling good, I will sacrifice my dignity once again!!

It isn’t hard to understand why 80% of golfers have back pain, especially this time of year. When you add up the swings you take during your round including your shots and all of your practice swings, it ends of being a lot of one directional repetition. The golfers that I see tend to be really limber in one direction and very stiff in the other. There are a few simple steps you can take to minimizing your chances of injury with warm up and cool down stretches for golfers. This will help you feel good while doing the sport you love.

Tip 1-Warm your body up BEFORE you golf. This does NOT mean stretch. A lot of us rush to the course after work, hop out of our car hoping not to be late and run up to the first tee to take our swings.
Next time you golf, try this. Start with spinal twists-spread your feet shoulder with apart, interlace your fingers, point your hips forward and rotate your shoulders INDEPENDENTLY of your hips. This will help loosen up your spine.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPz1_eldYOIXtJXiNd8Nr8-IIAslT2Ok_L5hb8KinKPPxhNqtjXpEs3KO0cn7s6uw/photo/AF1QipMCVyd_zQSA0j7xVmtKq54feFirHhLNVqs-ST82?key=dkV1TFRsN0dDZjFZNDdyU0VjQjlHcUJEdEtTZlRR

Second–Try some walking lunges. This will help loosen up your hips and start firing your muscles.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMPyTA3Ca2ttRycyyz0VisiajxtlHkxUwgSz0VMl3febikO9_I1sa688SirgRR-fA?key=OUpmSGxSdjJLc2RxbHg4NlhmaE8wR1RTdk40SUpR

Third- Activate your hip flexors with some high knee marches.

http://https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP2qZmjlCVz1MJ0oaohpjhhE78VuqfjbMby-Edx6Ym40V32qEhooCNovveg2xo0lw/photo/AF1QipMS-cWPHiHrV4rtynVAT7Ba5v40ngM8ilhml0ou?key=aVU2LVNnMmlZYnZpa3otWGkzX1RKZy0xTUVrVkJn

Lastly, try some standing crunches to activate your abs. While your standing, grip your finger tips LOOSELY behind your head. Crunch your opposite elbow to your opposite hip. Do about 15 of these on each side. ( Sorry, my expert videographer Sue went into a massage before I could make this video. You can figure out how to do standing crunches though. If not standing, lie on your back. Now you are ready to golf!

Tip 2-While you are out on the course, take a practice swing in the opposite direction before each hole. This will counter the effects of always swinging the same way. More and more we are seeing the pros on the tour do this. It will help keep you limber in BOTH directions.

Tip 3-Stretch yourself out after you golf before your body has a chance to cool down. Try a gentle forward fold while dropping your head down to stretch your back and hamstrings.

Make sure you stretch your hip flexors out doing a lunge as well and holding it. (Also no camera woman for this one, sorry!)

Any spinal rotation stretch you can do would help too.

(I was pretty much sick of taking these pics of myself by this point…couldn’t help it.)

Most people don’t hold their stretches long enough. Stay in your stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds. Also, keep in mind, the first point of injury is wrestling the golf bag out of the trunk.

If you have any questions on how to customize a stretching plan for yourself and your sport, call me. I’m happy to help!

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2018 CCA National Convention & Tradeshow

Hello and welcome,

Wow! Another National Convention and Tradeshow has come and gone. It seems like just yesterday that we were wrapping up NCT’15.

Thank you to all that attended NCT’18. It is with your enthusiasm that we had an even bigger and better NCT, and we look forward to continuing to grow in Halifax in 2020. The CCA National Convention & Tradeshow continues to be Canada’s largest chiropractic show, bringing together chiropractic clinicians, researchers, chiropractic stakeholders, and exhibitors.

This year, we explored the important theme of A Better Approach to Pain Management – Chiropractic Care Changes Pain. I would like to thank Dr. Carlo Ammendolia for bringing his Boot Camp Program for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis to convention. He provided attendees with hands-on skills to treat LSS, a leading cause of pain, disability, and loss of independence in people over the age of 65.

Recognizing Threatening Conditions that Mimic Common Complaints, from Dr. Brandon Steele, helped refresh participants’ knowledge in diagnosing the causes of chest pain, back pain, hip pain, arthritis and many other issues. In regards to the role chiropractors play in pain management, Dr. Jason Busse highlighted chiropractic’s unique opportunity in battling North America’s opioid crisis.

There are so many more to be highlighted, and I am very proud of the role the chiropractic community plays in helping Canadians manage their pain.

In addition to many panels, workshops, and seminars, I was thrilled with our amazing keynote speakers! Scott Stratten, president of Unmarketing, kicked off Friday night by challenging us to rethink our ideas of the digital and real world.

Esteemed chiropractor, Dr. Greg Kawchuck got us all determined to explore strategies that will extend the shelf-life of chiropractic in today’s evidence-based, integrated healthcare environment. And of course, it was an honour for me to interview Canadian Olympic Track Silver and Bronze Medal winner Andre De Grasse and his chiropractor, Dr. Alban Merepeza, about their amazing partnership.

Not only did we experience so much informative and inspiring content, but we had a lot of fun too!

Kicking off with Rock Star Karaoke at the Friday night reception has become a fun tradition of NCT. Our Denim & Diamonds gala at Calgary’s legendary Ranchman’s was a rootin’ tootin’ good time. I have to admit it was thrilling to watch colleagues ride the mechanical bull in our Born to Rodeo fundraiser to benefit the Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation (CCRF).

Since 1976, the CCRF has been funding chiropractic research to discover the best, evidence-informed care for patients living with pain and disability caused by spinal dysfunction and disease, and our amazing community raised $26,000 at the gala!

These incredible few days would not be possible without the support of our sponsors. Thank you to our host province of Alberta who, not only showed us their Calgary hospitality but also sponsored our Denim & Diamonds gala.

Our industry truly shows its community spirit with our sponsorships from the Canadian Chiropractic Guidelines Initiative (CCGI), Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (MMCC), and the Canadian Chiropractic Protective Association (CCPA). Vitality Depot, Rocktape, Performance Health, and Foot Levelers showed spectacular support for our industry with their respective sponsorships, and our unique partnerships with CCA Plus members, Telus Health and The Personal Group Insurance, brought in more support for the CCRF!

Last week, we brought together our extraordinary Canadian chiropractic community, as well as members of the ACA, NCA, and DCA who met to discuss the future of chiropractic care and experience our Canadian hospitality.

This weekend was a reminder of the important work we do and made me confident in our vision that chiropractors will be an integral part of every Canadian’s healthcare team by 2023.

There is so much more to say, but for now, I’ll leave you with an open invitation to join us for NCT 2020 in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia!

Yours in health,

Alison Dantas

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