If you struggle with chronic low back pain it’ll be no surprise to you that it affects your sensations, emotions and thinking.

We see it all the time. Someone who is tired and grumpy on their first visit soon is coming back in on their follow up visits a lot happier and much easier to be with.

So what’s happening? Research clearly shows that if you suffer with chronic low back pain (CLBP) you often have abnormal brain function.

When you get Chiropractic Treatment for chronic low back pain, Functional MRI scans show that it immediately starts to help areas of your brain involved in feeling pain and cognitive function. (1)

So Chiropractic care an help both your pain and your brain!

One of the brain areas affected is the bit that allows you to daydream or mind wander. This switched on when you don’t have much to do. It monitors what’s going on inside and outside of you, giving you access to your memories and also helps support your emotional and thought processes.

The more severe your chronic low back pain the worse this area performs. Chiropractic treatment for chronic low back pain helps restore normal function in this area, especially to a part called the precuneus, which is the main regulator of that region. Normalisation of the left precuneus after chiropractic treatment was associated with better emotional experience and less need to avoid activities and behaviours due to concern about discomfort.

Not surprisingly chiropractic patients also have better function in the area of the brain called the pain matrix which is involved in pain perception.

A course of 6 treatment continues to further benefit the same brain areas. While after the first visit there is some decrease in the overactivity of the emotional areas it took 6 visits to normalise.  The improvements in brain areas during Chiropractic care, related to emotional experience, increase in proportion to overall reduction in pain.

If you do suffer with chronic low back pain you are not alone – it is the biggest cause of disability across the world.

We know Chiropractic spinal manipulation has a good pain killing affect for chronic low back pain – 95% improvement (2) , and free from risks of many other types of treatments.

So if you’re struggling get yourself booked in for a course of treatment at Back-in-Action. Call 01772 749389.

You’ll soon be feeling a lot better and be much better company for everybody  else. That’s something to smile about!

1. Yang, Yu-Chan, et al. “The Changes of Brain Function After Spinal Manipulation Therapy in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Rest BOLD fMRI Study.” Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment 18 (2022): 187.
2. Leeman, S., Peterson, C., Schmid, C., Anklin, B., Humphrys, K. (2014). Outcomes of acute and chronic patients with magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed symptomatic lumbar disc herniations receiving high-velocity, low-amplitude, spinal manipulative therapy: A prospective observational cohort study with one year follow up. Journal (3), 155-163