With about 65 million Americans suffering from back pain, it's the second most common reason for medical visits. The way the odds play out, you're likely to have about one serious episode of back pain for every fifteen years of your life. It is interesting to note that unlike your bones and joints, your back muscles seem to be under the most strain from age 35-55 and then is much less common in older people. Luckily, 95% of lower back pain can be treated without surgery.

Thankfully I have a chiropractor I know and trust. He explained on day 2 of 7 that if I couldn't take the pain anymore, I could go to the emergency room and get some painkiller relief. We talked about it, he explained how "pain is your friend because it's telling you what's wrong and if you just numb it, you could hurt it worse." Being an alternative health practitioner myself, I didn't want to get a shot but because it was so bad, I almost did. Turns out the chiropractic adjustments, icing my back (15 minutes on, 45 minutes off), and lying flat resting it, helped so much that by day 5 I could walk again without too much pain. Two weeks later I was almost back to normal... no one could believe it! My chiropractor said my rapid healing was partly because I'm healthy and have a strong abdominal core. Suffice to say, I'm getting a weekly chiropractic adjustment, I continue to exercise, and I have a whole new outlook on life: I no longer take my health for granted!