If you suffer with back pain, you’re not alone. According to a systematic review carried out as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study in 2010, back pain may now be the most common cause of disability worldwide. Your Hertford chiropractor is a highly-trained (five-year full-time degree) specialist in spinal disorders, including back pain. He’s also fully qualified in acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Countless numbers of patients who have suffered with debilitating back pain, sometimes for decades, have attended Advance Clinic and found significant pain relief with tried-and-tested chiropractic and acupuncture treatment.

Most people have experienced back pain at some point in their lives. Whether it’s your first time, or you’ve suffered a number of episodes over time, chiropractic techniques and/or acupuncture, along with appropriate lifestyle advice, have helped many of our patients get rid of their back pain, and what is more, stay pain-free.

I went to see David for a lower back issue… His treatment has been extremely effective and I started noticing an improvement after just the first few sessions. He is extremely friendly and knowledgeable about his field and I would recommend him to anyone who suffers from neck or back pain – Tom Saggers

What Causes My Back Pain?

There are all kinds of reasons why your back pain may occur, for example:

1. Poor posture – including when standing, seated, driving, sleeping, walking, or when bending and twisting or lifting.
2. Inactivity – including sitting for long periods at work or at home.
3. Sporting activities – especially where poor technique is used.
4. Emotional stress – especially when experienced on a long-term basis.

Any of the above can lead to one or more problems with how your spine functions, including:

1. Joint pain
2. Trapped nerve
3. Muscle spasm and muscle tension
4. Slipped disc – also called a prolapsed disc or disc prolapse

I hobbled into David back in the Spring of this year… I could hardly walk and my back was very painful. I left hop, skip and jumping from his practice that day! David is a wonderful, gentle, chiropractor…My husband also now visits David after fearing chiropractors for years…thank you, David, for being our Knight in Shining Armour! Jules Bridgman

Why is a Specific Diagnosis for My Back Pain Important? How Does Your Hertford Chiropractor and Acupuncture Practitioner Help in this Respect?

Establishing the specific cause of your back pain is crucial. Doing this enables us to recommend the chiropractic and/or acupuncture treatment most likely to help relieve your back pain and help you become more active again. A chiropractor is a highly-qualified spinal pain expert and is best placed to find the cause of your back pain. Even if you’ve had your back pain a long time or have already had poor results with surgery, we can probably help.

When you come to see us, we’ll carry out a careful assessment of your back pain. We’ll take a detailed case history and perform a comprehensive physical exam. The physical exam will include postural, orthopaedic and neurological tests.

We’ll ask you detailed questions about your daily activities, including sporting activities. We’ll also want to know about your medical history and what’s happened to you in the past, i.e., car accidents, sports injuries, trips, falls, bumps and fractures etc.

More rarely, we may need to refer you for an x-ray or arrange an MRI scan. Being a qualified chiropractor means we’re also qualified to interpret the results of any x-rays or MRI scans taken.

All of the detailed information we collect allows us to arrive at a specific diagnosis for your condition. Patients often come to Advance Clinic having been given a ‘diagnosis’ such as sciatica. Sciatica simply means ‘leg pain’. Unfortunately, a ‘leg pain’ diagnosis doesn’t identify the cause. Leg pain can be caused by any one of a large number of conditions. Establishing the specific cause of your back pain (and leg pain, if present) means we’re able to recommend correct and effective treatment right away.

Chiropractic and acupuncture are all about getting to the root cause of your back pain. Doing this means that the treatment we offer you is much more likely to be effective and the positive results longer lasting.

David took a thorough medical history, and then performed a clinical exam. He quickly diagnosed the problem and…performed a chiropractic adjustment that significantly reduced the discomfort I was feeling. – Robert Marsh