Back Pain: Causes and Treatment | Embody Health Chiropractic

Spit is sudden, intense pain in the lower back, often after a wrong movement, lifting, or twisting. The medical name is acute lumbago. Your back feels locked: the muscles around the lower back cramp up, making bending and moving painful. Spit is usually harmless and resolves on its own. Your first visit at Embody Health costs €39 and requires no referral from your GP. Most Dutch health insurers (partially) reimburse chiropractic care from the supplementary package, without touching your deductible.

Dr. Stephen Malone (DC, DCF/SNRC) has treated people with acute back complaints for over 12 years, from three clinics in Alphen aan den Rijn, Amersfoort, and Rotterdam. Patients rate us on average 4.9 out of 5 stars on Google. During the first visit we carefully assess whether your complaints fit ordinary spit or whether medical examination is needed first.

What is spit?

Spit is caused by a sudden blockage in the joints or muscles of the lower back, often after a wrong movement, lifting, twisting or overuse. The pain is usually low in the back, around the pelvis, and can be so intense that moving seems almost impossible. An important point: spit is a complaint, not a diagnosis. The same area can have other causes, such as a herniated disc or osteoarthritis. That is why a good approach starts with a careful assessment.

The good news: for most people the back improves within a few days and the complaint has largely disappeared within two weeks. The severity of the pain says little about the severity of the cause. A sharp wave of pain belongs with spit, but if you develop weakness or numbness, that is a sign to take action.

How long does spit last?

Most spit complaints last from a few days to about two weeks. The pain is often most intense in the first days and then usually decreases gradually. If the complaint persists, or the pain returns after a period of improvement, a GP assessment is wise. If spit returns a second or third time within a short period, it is also good to look at the broader cause.

What can you do yourself?

Keeping moving gently is the best advice. Bed rest is outdated and slows down recovery. What helps:

• Keep walking and do your daily activities at a relaxed pace.
• Heat, such as a hot water bottle or a warm shower, relaxes the muscles.
• For severe pain you can use paracetamol or an anti-inflammatory in consultation with your GP or pharmacist.
• Avoid heavy lifting and twisting with a bent back in the first days.
• Once the acute pain decreases, light stretching exercises help keep the back supple.

When to see a GP

Most spit is harmless and well treatable. A few signals we always discuss first — with your GP or with us:

How can a chiropractor help with spit?

During your first visit you go through a fixed approach, so you know exactly where you stand:

1. Intake: your story — how the spit started, earlier back problems, your work and lifestyle.
2. Physical examination: we look at your posture, the mobility of your lower back, pelvis and hips, and carry out neurological tests where needed (strength, sensation and reflexes).
3. What we look at: whether your complaints fit ordinary spit or whether there is another cause, such as a herniated disc or osteoarthritis — and whether chiropractic care is appropriate or your GP is the better first step.
4. Treatment: gentle mobilisation of the lower back and pelvis, so mobility returns and the muscles can relax.
5. Treatment plan: what we do, how often, and which exercises you can do at home to keep your back supple and prevent a next episode.

Advice to stay active works better than bed rest in acute low back pain: a Cochrane review compared both and found an advantage for staying active. A systematic review also shows that most episodes improve substantially within six weeks.

For ordinary spit, chiropractic care can support recovery; we see many people benefit from this approach — their back moves more easily again after a few treatments. What it does for you, we determine honestly together during your first visit. The research supports that: a systematic review in JAMA found spinal manipulative therapy is associated with modest improvements in pain and function in the first six weeks of acute low back pain, and the American College of Physicians guideline for low back pain names spinal manipulation as one of the first-line options. Following the NICE guideline for low back pain and sciatica: with red flags or persistent complaints, a medical assessment comes first.

Chiropractic care does not replace emergency care; with red flags, your GP comes first. In Rotterdam, Alphen aan den Rijn, and Amersfoort we often assess acute spit quickly; plan your first visit at the clinic near you.