The cause of back pain is often unknown, but we know when it is there.  Sometimes back pain can be sudden and sharp or insidious and dull.  One thing we know for sure is that most people will experience back pain or have experienced back pain. The causes of back pain are numerous; some are self-inflicted due to a lifetime of bad habits or job duties. Other back pain causes include accidents, muscle strains, overuse at work and sports injuries. Although the causes may be different, most often they share the same symptoms.
Back pain affects the entire nervous system and a multi-therapeutic approach is needed to obtain the best possible outcomes. As stated by Denise M. Goodman, MD, MS et al: "Many treatments are available for low back pain. Often exercises and physical therapy can help. Some people benefit from chiropractic therapy or acupuncture.  Sometimes medications are needed, including analgesics (painkillers) or medications that reduce inflammation. Surgery is not usually needed but may be considered if other therapies have failed."
What is the nervous system? If you think of the brain as a central computer that controls all bodily functions, then the nervous system is like a network that relays messages back and forth from the brain to different parts of the body. It does this via the spinal cord, which runs from the brain down through the back and contains threadlike nerves that branch out to every organ and body part.  So, if someone touches your back or if your  hand touches something hot, you jerk away. Just like a built-in alarm system, this system of nerves will alert the body to danger and trigger automatic protective responses.
Pain itself often modifies the way the central nervous system works, so that it actually becomes more sensitive and gets more pain with less stimulation. That sensitization is called “central sensitization” because it involves changes in the central nervous system (CNS) in particular — the brain and the spinal cord.  In this sensitized state, the peripheral and/or central nervous system will have many false alarms that are triggered by normally non-threatening activities like walking, sitting, standing, talking, breathing, and moving.  This disrupted pain response has been documented in patients with musculoskeletal disorders like back pain, fibromyalgia, and whiplash.

Sometimes pain receptors(nerves) kick into overdrive, and like an alarm system that never turns off, they continue sending pain signals to the brain. This results is a highly-sensitized nervous system that is quick to react at the slightest sign of a threat.
Central sensitization helps to explain widespread chronic pain after an auto collision, or seemingly random flare-ups in chronic pain in patients with fibromyalgia.
Research suggests that back pain can have significant affect on the health of the central nervous system. A new studies results showed that individuals with CLBP(Chronic Low Back Pain) have lower PPT(Pressuer Pain Threshold) values than healthy individuals. The research study consisted of forty participants: 20 with a clinical diagnosis of CLBP and 20 healthy individuals. The outcome measures were PPT values of myotomes, sclerotomes, and dermatomes corresponding to segments L1 to S3; demographic, clinic, and social data; visual analogue scale, and Roland and Morris Questionnaire.
Another study in Arthritis Rhuem in 2004 demonstrated At equal levels of PPT, patients with CLBP or fibromyalgia experienced significantly more pain and showed more extensive nerve activation in pain-related areas.  Chiropractic care can help to calm these chronic pain flare-ups, and correct any spinal dysfunctions that could be contributing or causing your symptoms. A 2012 study suggested that chiropractic patients receiving spinal manipulative therapy was more effective than medication in both the short and long term.  Chiropractic at the Pain Relief Centre consists of a multi-therapy approach as suggested by Gert Bronfort: "From other systematic reviews of different treatments for chronic low back pain, it has become evident that anyone of the viable mono-therapeutic options like spinal manipulative therapy offers at best a modest benefit by itself. Given the multi-factorial nature of back pain, it is not likely that a single therapeutic approach will be the best strategy for the majority of patients because of the limited understanding of the underlying aetiology and mediating effects of different bio-psychosocial variables."  The Pain Relief Centre uses a multidisciplinary approach to treating back pain.  This approach includes chiropractic, massage, physical therapy, and medication as suggested by the research.

1. Imamura M, et al. Changes in pressure pain threshold in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. Spine 2013; 38(24):2098-107. doi: 10.1097/01.brs.0000435027.50317.d7.   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24026153
2. Giesecke T et al. Evidence of augmented central pain processing in idiopathic chronic low back pain. Arthritis Rhuem 2004 Feb;50(2):613-23.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14872506
3. Lasich, Christina. What is Central Sensitization-Symptoms- Chronic Pain. Health Central July 12, 2010. 
4. Gert Bronfort, DC, PhD et al.  Spinal Manipulation, Medication, or Home Exercise With Advice for Acute and Subacute Neck Pain: A Randomized Trial. Ann Intern Med. 2012;156(1_Part_1):1-10. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-156-1-201201030-00002. http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1033256.
5. Gert Bronfort, DC PhD, High-quality Evidence That Spinal Manipulative Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain Has a Small, Short-term Greater Effect on Pain and Functional Status Compared With Other Interventions. Evid Based Med. 2012;17(3):81-82. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/765921.
6. Denise M. Goodman, MD, MS; Alison E. Burke, MA; Edward H. Livingston, MD. Low Back Pain
JAMA. 2013;309(16):1738. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.3046. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/journal.aspx
7. Marissa Luck, Back Pain Affects Entire Nervous System. Chironexus News January 29, 2014. http://www.chironexus.net/2014/01/back-pain-affects-entire-nervous-system/