Is your back pain keeping you from living an active, engaging life? Lower back pain is the most common cause of disability in Americans aged 18-45, and it can turn a formerly vibrant and physically fit person into someone who spends much of their day sitting or lying down due to back spasms and pinched nerves.

Treatments for lower back pain

Treatments for lower back pain span a wide range and not every treatment will work for every patient. Depending on the cause and type of back pain you have, you may have tried many treatments without success.

If you’re starting to think surgery is your only option, consider trying to realign your spine and posture by addressing how you stand.

The kinetic chain

Your entire body and how it moves is ruled by kinetics. The kinetic chain starts at your feet and runs up the body, through the bones of the legs and through the spine from bottom to top.

If this chain is damaged or disrupted, motion can cause multiple problems, such as bones of the spine grinding against one another due to damaged discs, or nerves being pinched. Posture can affect the kinetic chain and hinder or help pain-free movement.

Custom orthotics for lower back pain

Nearly 25% of adults ages 18-44 in the United States have lower back pain, and that number jumps to over 32% for adults 45 and up. However, custom orthotics can often reduce lower back pain by changing the way you stand, helping to straighten your spine and take the pressure off of damaged discs.

Custom orthotics are specially made shoe inserts that affect how your feet articulate on the ground — in other words, how they support you by their positioning. Positioning your feet to support the kinetic chain helps you keep a better posture.

The change in posture can be carefully engineered to take the pressure off of pain points in the spine. At Premier Podiatry, Dr. Scott O’Connor carefully analyzes dynamic digital scans of you taken while you’re walking. Then he designs a custom orthotic that will be fabricated accurately to deliver the desired results.

Your custom orthotics can help revamp the way you stand and walk, decompressing pain points in your spine and providing the most pain-free alignment of your kinetic chain possible.

If you’re ready to pursue alternative ways of dealing with lower back pain, call one of our three Illinois offices for an appointment with Dr. O’Connor, or book your appointment online today.