pain after chiropractor

by Chelsea
(United States)

A more serious scoliosis caused by a very short leg.

A more serious scoliosis caused by a very short leg.

I saw a chiropractor on a Wednesday and my xrays showed between my middle to lower back my spine is slightly curved and behind my neck its straight instead of curved. One thing he did is where you lay face down on that table and he pushed down on my lower back and the table drops down a little then back up.

My back felt pretty good until 2 days later on Friday when I was walking to class my lower back seized up; thought I was going to fall over; and after class I saw a doctor, got amtoradol shot and muscle relaxers.

Today is Saturday and I'm still having a hard time standing up straight. My question is, do you think this is from the chiropractor and should I stop going to this particular one and maybe try to find a new one?

Hello Chelsea,
These are all good questions; before we go into more detail, would you tell me why you consulted him in the first place please?

Dr B

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Sep 12, 2017
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by: Chelsea

I went to see him because I have pain in my lower middle back that starts after I have been standing for maybe 30 mins or so.

Hello again, Chelsea,
So, I take it the pain in your lower back is quite different and in a different place that you consulted him for; is that correct?

It seems to me, reading between the lines that you have a mild scoliosis and, at the apex often in the lower middle back, there is often discomfort or pain.

Very often that scoliosis is caused by a short leg which frequently causes fixations in the sacroiliac joints. The treatment you describe was probably for that, and I would probably have done much the same.

Pain after initial treatment is not uncommon, but it's rarely severe like this. Plus, if it only started two days later, it's unlikely directly related to the treatment.

Having said that, after treatment, the spine and pelvis is often vulnerable for a period, but usually only the same day; it's possible that that vulnerable period was longer in your case, and some trivial movement provoked this reaction.

My real concern is that you say you are unable to stand upright; that means you may have an injury to a disc; do you have pain with coughing or sneezing, or bearing down on the toilet? Is bending very difficult and painful? If you sit, gently flex your head onto your chest, and then straighten each leg, do you get pain in the back?

This is a hard one for me to answer, Chelsea. I'd go with your gut feel. If you're unsure, perhaps consider returning, but when making an appointment, make it clear it's for a consultation without treatment. Explain what happened; if shows empathy and concern, and a satisfactory explanation, then continue with the chiropractic care; if he brushes off your concerns, then vote with your feet.

Ask if you have a short leg, and whether a lift might help.

Thank you for your very legitimate questions, and I hope this goes some way to answering them; let me know how you get on.

Dr B

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