• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Cole Pain Therapy Group

  • Home
  • Contact Us
    • Request an Appointment
    • Email and Contact Info
    • Careers
  • New Patients
    • New Patient Information
    • Patient Packet (pdf)
    • Patient Stories Video
    • Meet the Doctors Video
    • Recent Reviews
  • Our Team
    • Dr. Richard Cole
    • Dr. Jeff Luebbe
    • Dr. Steve Vollmer
    • Dr. Brad Cole
    • Dr. Jared Worthington
  • Conditions
    • Arm or Leg Pain
    • Back Pain Solutions
    • Disc Problems
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Headache
    • Neck Pain
    • Sports Injury
  • Treatment
    • Chiropractic Adjustments
    • Dry Needling
    • Massage
    • Nutrition
    • Rehabilitation
  • Recent Articles
    • Pain Conditions
      • Arm or Leg Pain
      • Back Pain
      • Disc Problems
      • Fibromyalgia
      • Headache
      • Neck Pain
      • Shoulder Pain
      • Sports Injury
    • Chiropractic Care
      • Rehabilitation
      • Spinal Manipulation
      • Evaluation and Diagnostic Tools
      • Nutrition
      • Self Care
Home » Pain Conditions » Low Back Pain Worse with Exercise- Case Report

Last updated on December 12, 2013 By Dr. Brad Cole 3 Comments

Low Back Pain Worse with Exercise- Case Report

John Doe scheduled an evaluation at Cole Pain Therapy Group for evaluation of low back pain.  He had been having several episodes of back pain per year for the past 4-5 years. Each episode lasted a day or so.  He would use an ice pack and some stretching exercises that were helpful. These episodes would usually occur after starting an exercise program, so he was getting tired of slowly gaining weight and not being able exercise like he used to.

He didn’t really have time to worry about his back between working and coaching his kids’ basketball team. He was able to manage the pain episodes, yet seemed to be conceding more and more of his life with each flare-up.

This changed 5 days ago.  After several hours of moving Christmas boxes around his attic, his back began to hurt. Two hours later, he could hardly move because of the pain. This had never happened before.  His wife drove him to the emergency room, where he received x-rays of his low back and a shot, to ease his pain.  The ER doctor explained that there was nothing serious, only bone spurs on his spine.

lumbar bone spurs
Decreased disc space, degeneration of cartilage, and formation of bone spurs are part of the normal spine aging process. Unless the process results in instability (joints too loose) or nerve irritation, it should not be considered a cause of back pain.

By the time he was talking with me, his back was already feeling about 50% better, but he was concerned about 1) not being able to exercise without irritating his back, and 2) what the bone spurs meant for his back in the future.

lumbar x-ray
Here’s an example of a back without bone spurs. From the picture alone, there is no way to tell it the back is painful or working well.

Chiropractic examination with orthopedic and neurological tests confirmed that the lumbar facet joints were painful and swollen.  This was causing his localized low back pain.  He did not have any evidence of nerve damage (pinched nerve). I reviewed his ER x-rays and found that he did have bone spurs consistent with the normal aging process of spines. The bone spurs (degenerative disc disease) are there every day, regardless of how good or bad his back feels.

Further examination found that despite being strong, the core abdominal muscles were not working in a coordinated way.  This functional stability problem was resulting in his low back facet joints being irritated and ultimately painful with exercise.

We discussed chiropractic rehabilitation of his core stability, and he decided to start today with a 10-minute, daily home exercise program.  The treatment plan involved chiropractic manipulation therapy and rehabilitation of the stability muscles- 30 minute sessions at once per week for 8 weeks.

After two weeks of starting treatment, he was exercising at the gym again and confident about which gym exercises would be harmful and which exercises would be helpful for his back.

Filed Under: Pain Conditions Tagged With: Back Pain, chiropractic, exercise, xrays

About Dr. Brad Cole

Bradford J. Cole, DC, MS, CSCS practices with a professional degree in chiropractic (DC), master's degree in sports rehab, and certification in strength and conditioning.
"Not satisfied with blanket diagnoses and one-size-fits-all treatment recommendations, I persistently look for the most targeted, effective treatment for an individual's specific needs."

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dr. Brad Cole says

    December 18, 2012 at 10:39

    Glad you liked it. Thanks to you for sharing your great content.

  2. Dr Christopher Notley says

    December 18, 2012 at 10:09

    Great post!. I am going to tweet this and post it on my fanpage. Thanks!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Request Appointment Button

Follow us

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • google
  • instagram

Top Pages

  • Chiropractic Care in Memphis
  • Chiropractic Adjustments Explained
  • Pain Conditions We Treat

Quality and Service

• Evidence-based treatment options to correct pain and mobility problems
• Targeted solutions for joint, muscle, and nerve pain
• Expert sports injury care
• Gentle hands-on therapy for back, neck, and joint pain
• Detailed biomechanical evaluation for improved athletic performance
• Nutrition counseling to help reduce or eliminate pain and symptoms
• Effective headache treatments
• Real help for fibromyalgia, TMJ problems
• Private, modern environment
• Intensive one-on-one care
• Affordable, results-oriented wellness services

Footer

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • yelp

Dr. Richard Cole
Dr. Jeffrey Luebbe
Dr. Steven Vollmer
Dr. Bradford Cole
Dr. Jared Worthington

Cole Pain Therapy Group
2845 Summer Oaks Drive
Memphis, TN 38134
901-377-2340

Cole Pain Therapy Group Reviews

Online Services

  • Patient Portal
  • Contact Us
  • Request an Appointment
  • Metagenics Store

Policies and Terms of Use

  • NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
  • WEBSITE TERMS OF USE
  • SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

The information on this site should not be considered to be a personal treatment recommendation. This site should be used for informational purposes only. Nothing can replace the relationship you have with a licensed healthcare professional.

  • Patient Portal
  • Contact Us
  • Request an Appointment
  • Metagenics Store

Copyright © 2019