A Sports Chiropractor’s Approach to Low Back Pain
Let’s be honest…
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced low back pain (or, are even experiencing it right now).
You’ve likely tried stretching. Resting and waiting. Maybe you’ve had adjustments, massage, or even taken pain meds.
And sure—those things probably helped… initially.
Until the pain sneaks back in.
Sitting too long at work, going for a run, lifting something heavy, or even just bending the wrong way—and there it is again.
Frustrating, right?
You’re not alone. And you’re not broken.
The truth is, you’re stuck in this cycle because you’re only treating your back pain at the surface level while ignoring it’s root cause.
Here’s Why Your Low Back Pain Keeps Coming Back
Passive treatments like adjustments, massage, and rest?
They’re not bad.
In fact, they’re an important first step. They calm irritation, reduce tension, and give you a little breathing room.
But here’s the problem:
👉 If you stop there, nothing changes in the way your body actually works.
Your hips stay stuck. Your core stays weak. Your nervous system keeps guarding. And your low back is left carrying the load.
Until it can’t anymore, and then it gives out only for you to find yourself in another flare-up.
Over and over and over and over.
What Makes a Sports Chiropractor Different
We’ve helped hundreds of people overcome low back pain and in that process, we have learned that the best way to NOT fix low back pain, is to ONLY focus on your low back and your pain.
You need to expand your focus and consider the bigger picture:
Your spine (and your body) is one big system. Everybody part has a job to do and if one fails, others will pick up the slack.
This is why you need to assess:
How are your feet interacting with the ground?
Can your ankles move evenly or is an imbalance throwing off your gait, hips, and low back?
Are your hips rotating, moving, and working as well as they can be?
Are you able to stabilize your core and balance appropriately?
Does your mid back move as much as it should?
is your breathing inefficient and negatively impacting your spine?
Are your daily habits or training patterns setting you up for failure?
If a single one of these questions isn’t being assessed while examining your low back, you’re not looking deep enough.
Let’s be clear, we’re not talking about simply fixing your low back pain.
We’re talking about rebuilding your entire system to remove the reason why your low back continues to a problem.
So you may be wondering, “what am I supposed to do next?”
First, let’s talk about what not to do…
What Not to Do When You Have Low Back Pain
If you’ve ever dealt with low back pain, you probably recognize some of these stories. They’re the most common “what not to do” moments I see in my office—patterns that keep people stuck in the pain cycle.
❌ The “Quick Fix” Trap
You get adjusted, get a massage, pop some pain killers, maybe rest for a few days… and you feel better. But you stop there. A week later, the pain creeps back in. Why? Because you pressed reset without changing the settings. Relief without rebuilding is temporary and will leave your frustrated.
❌ Forgetting the Foundation
Your back hurts, so you laser-focus on your spine. But your hips are tight, your core is uncoordinated, and your biomechanics are weak. Your low back becomes the middleman doing all the extra work—and eventually, it waves the white flag.
Your spine is like a building. The stronger and more stable your hips and sacrum are, the better your lumbar spine will work.
❌ Randomly Stretching and “Rehabbing”
You assume your low back is the problem because it hurts, so you go on YouTube or scroll Instagram to find the “Top 5 Exercises to Fix Your Low Back” only to begin doing them and realize they’re really not helping.
While exercises are great, they’re not YOUR exercises. Stop wasting your time with generic advice.
❌ Playing Through the Pain
You tell yourself, “It’s not that bad—I’ll just push through it.” But every rep, every run, every movement reinforces the same poor patterns.
Your nervous system remembers. And the longer you push through pain, the harder it becomes to retrain your body to trust again.
Letting small injuries turn into chronic problems is a recipe for decreased performance, overall activity, and inevitably having to stop playing all together.
If you found yourself reading this thinking you’ve been doing it wrong this whole time, that’s okay.
But it’s time to accept that if you want a real breakthrough, you need to flip the script on what you’ve been doing and stop chasing your symptoms.
The Reset + Rebuild Approach
By now you may be wondering,
“Okay, I’ve been approaching this wrong, but what am I supposed to do now?”
This is how we help our clients break the cycle:
Reset → We use adjustments and soft tissue therapy to calm irritation, restore mobility, and give your body a fresh start.
Rebuild → We target the weak links in your biomechanics with specific progressive rehab, so your back can stop picking up the slack for weakness elsewhere.
This combination of active therapy is how you go from temporary relief to lasting change.
A Real-Life Example
Chris, a 38-year-old golfer here in Chattanooga had low back pain every time he played after about the 10th hole. At first, he ignored it, then he numbed it with Tylenol, then he stretched it, and then he eventually stopped playing because his back hurt too bad.
When we evaluated him, we found:
- His right hip didn’t internally rotate as much as it should.
- His thoracic spine was tight and wouldn’t rotate to the right as much as it should.
- He struggled to activate his posterior chain postural muscles (glutes, spinal erectors)
- His ability to balance was compromised at his right hip and core.
With all of this going on, his low back never really stood a chance.
After two weeks of targeted therapeutic soft tissue work and chiropractic care, Chris no longer felt pain in his low back.
Four weeks after that, through his personalized rehab program, he was back to playing golf. But this time, something was different… his low back wasn’t hurting during or after his round of golf.
At the end of his 12 weeks with us, not only was Chris pain-free, he had added 40 yards to his drive and was hitting his irons two full clubs further than he ever had before…. Pain free.
Here’s What You Need to Know
If your low back pain keeps coming back, it’s not because you’re weak. It’s not because you’re “too old.” And it’s definitely not because you’re stuck this way.
It’s because your real problem hasn’t been addressed yet.
A sports chiropractor doesn’t just treat your back—we help your whole body work better, so your back can finally stop taking all the blame.
👉 Don’t just manage your pain. Build resilience.
Ready to put your low back pain in your past? Click the link below to take your next step.