Question
I recently started going to a Chiropractor for problems with my back. I just had a newborn and I don't want to wind up in a wheel chair. I am 41, and overweight. I sit in front of a computer 9 hours a day then come home and sit some more, and I have a very sedentary lifestyle.

Whenever I do any repetitive back motion, like bending, my lower back goes completely stiff in a matter of minutes.

Also, my front left thigh goes numb when I lay on my back. Both of these conditions have slowly appeared over the last 2 years.

So now I am trying a Chiropractor and I have made visits 3-4 times a week for the last 5 weeks with little effect. As far as I can tell, I am a little better, but it is difficult to be certain because my back muscles are always in pain now; presumably from the adjustments.

The doctor X-Rayed me and found my tail bone to be nearly horizontal, the bones in my mid-section to be severely curved towards my chest, and some of the vertebra are "twisted" to one side. Finally, he said one leg is shorter than the other, which is what is causing my spine to twist.

NOTE: I have had numerous accidents in my life and I am lucky to be alive, which may account for the severe compound problems I have.

Sorry to bore you with details, but I wanted to give you as much information as possible so that you could make a more informed answer to my question:

Should I continue with Chiropractic or seek a surgeon/doctor to fix my back? More importantly, is this fixable?

Thanks!


Answer
Jon,

Five weeks at 3x/week and no better?  It's not going to change. From what you've given me so far it sounds like you need a team approach to your care, beginning with an assessment by a personal trainer at the gym, and then by someone who can counsel you on your ergonomics (humans were not meant to sit for 9 hours) and lifestyle.  You may also need some nutritional counseling.  Maybe, with all of these based covered, your level of physical fitness will improve and then the chiropractic treatment can have a beneficial effect.  No treatment of any kind is going to provide a miracle cure if you are physically deconditioned and spending your day sitting at a computer.  

'Regards,

Dr. G