Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain is the complaint TexStar hears most often. The first job is to sort a stiff joint or tired muscle from a disc, a hip, or a problem that should not be treated in a chiropractic office.
What it feels like
How People Describe It at the Front Desk
- A deep ache across the belt line that worsens as the day goes on
- A catch when standing up from a chair or out of the car
- Pain that wakes you when you roll over at night
- Stiffness for the first twenty minutes every morning
What the Exam Is Looking For
The chiropractor asks what started the pain, whether it stays in the back or travels below the knee, and which movements make it worse. Motion, strength, and nerve tests narrow the list before any table or machine is used.
Why Below the Knee Matters So Much
Pain that stops in the buttock or thigh behaves differently from pain that runs past the knee into the calf or foot. The second pattern raises the odds a nerve is involved and changes both the tests the chiropractor runs and the tools considered. It is the single most useful thing you can report accurately.
The Hips and the Desk Usually Get Examined Too
A low back that hurts is often the part paying for something else. Hips that do not extend, a mid-back that has stopped rotating, or ten hours in a chair will all send load somewhere, and the low back is a willing volunteer. The exam looks above and below the sore area for that reason.
Care That May Follow
A stiff segment may be adjusted. A disc pattern may be tried on spinal decompression. Weak hips or a collapsed posture may get rehab. Laser or spot cold is added only when the sore tissues, not just the story, support it.
How Long This Usually Takes
Most uncomplicated low back pain improves over weeks, with or without treatment, and care is aimed at making that faster and less miserable. Long-standing pain moves more slowly. Either way the chiropractor sets a short trial and retests rather than quoting a number of visits in advance.
Go to Urgent Care or the ER Instead
New trouble controlling urine or stool, numbness in the saddle area, or leg weakness that is clearly getting worse the same day needs emergency evaluation. Those are not first-visit chiropractic problems.
Step by step
A First Visit for Lower Back Pain
Roughly an hour. You leave knowing what the chiropractor found, not just what was done to you.
- 1A consultation on what started it and what you need to get back to
- 2Motion, strength, and nerve testing to place the problem
- 3One trial treatment chosen from what the exam actually found
- 4A findings review covering what is going on and what comes next
Back Pain That Needs a Physician Before a Chiropractor
These point away from a mechanical problem. Emergency care comes first, and the clinic can see you after.
- New trouble controlling your bladder or bowels
- Numbness across the saddle area between the legs
- Leg weakness that is visibly worse over hours or a day
- Back pain with fever, chills, or unexplained weight loss
- Pain that began with a significant fall or crash and is not yet cleared
- A history of cancer with new back pain that does not ease with rest
Where
Available at all four clinics
Austin
4601 Southwest Pkwy, Suite 101, Austin, TX 78735
Mon–Thu 8am–6pm · Fri 8am–12pm
Austin clinicBee Cave
11614 Bee Caves Rd, Suite 110, Bee Cave, TX 78738
Mon–Thu 8am–6pm · Fri 8am–12pm
Bee Cave clinicBuda
181 Cimarron Park Loop, Suite D, Buda, TX 78610
Mon–Thu 9am–6pm · Fri 8am–12pm
Buda clinicDripping Springs / Belterra
13341 W US-290, Suite 102, Austin, TX 78737
Mon–Thu 8am–6pm · Fri 8am–12pm
Dripping Springs / Belterra clinic
First visit
What the $98 New-Patient Visit Includes
- 1
Consultation
You tell the chiropractor what hurts, what you want to get back to, and which clinic you are visiting.
- 2
Exam
A neuro-musculo-skeletal exam looks for the source: the joint, the muscle, and the nerve.
- 3
Trial Treatment
One session of spinal decompression, cold laser, or spot cryotherapy, chosen from the exam. That session is included in the visit.
- 4
Findings Review
Your Chiropractor will go over the results of the exam and discuss a plan of care.
Questions
Common Questions
Do I need an x-ray before I am seen?
Not always. X-rays of one area are taken when the chiropractor decides they would change the plan. They are not automatic.
Can I be seen at any clinic?
Yes. All four offices see lower back pain. Bring the name of the clinic you want when you book.
Should I rest or keep moving?
For most mechanical back pain, gentle movement beats bed rest after the first day or two. The chiropractor will tell you which positions to favour based on how your pain behaved during the exam.
Heat or ice?
Ice suits an area that is hot and freshly angry. Heat suits a back that is stiff and guarded. If you cannot tell which yours is, ask at the visit rather than alternating at random.
Will I be told I need a year of visits?
No. The chiropractor recommends a short trial, retests what was restricted, and changes the plan from the result. Nobody can responsibly price a year of care before examining you.
What if the exam says this is not a chiropractic problem?
You will be told that directly and pointed toward the right kind of care. That outcome is a real result of the visit, not a failure of it.
Keep reading
Related Pages
Sciatica
When the pain leaves the back and runs down the leg.
Spinal Decompression
The table considered when a disc fits the picture.
Adjustments
Joint work for the segments the exam finds restricted.
Back Pain in South Austin
Suite 101 on Southwest Parkway, with Dr. Amy M. Ho.
Back Pain in Bee Cave
Suite 110 on Bee Caves Road, with Dr. John E. Jacobson.
Back Pain in Buda
Suite D on Cimarron Park Loop. Weekdays open at 9am.
Back Pain in Dripping Springs
Suite 102 on west US-290, for Belterra and Driftwood.
Founder
Dr. Michael P. Henry, DC
Dr. Henry founded TexStar Chiropractic in 2011. He grew up in Manchaca, studied kinesiology at The University of Texas, and was appointed to the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Your visit is with the chiropractor at the clinic you choose.
Get an exam, not a guess
The consultation, the exam, one trial treatment, and a review of the findings, in a single appointment. Mention the $98 offer when you book. Restrictions may apply.