Donald Backstrom, D.C.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a very common cause of chronic pain and fatigue. It’s plagued by the combination of not knowing what causes it (in many cases) and the fact that very few treatments seem to work. Also, patients often relay information about a "bad experience" with a doctor who down plays the diagnosis or worse, [..]

Low back pain (LBP) can have many causes. The primary goal of the chiropractic physician is to identify the main pain generator(s) and manage the patient accordingly. When first presenting for care, the patient tells us (the doctor of chiropractic) about their complaint in the history portion of our evaluation. Here, we not only ask [..]

Whiplash commonly occurs as a result of a motor vehicle collision when, typically, there is hyper-motion in one direction followed by motion in the opposite direction in a "crack the whip"-like manner. The direction of the strike typically dictates the direction of movement of the head so in a rear end collision, the strike is [..]

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a very common problem. The American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) reported that in 2007, there were 330,000 carpal tunnel release surgeries performed. The main reason to have the surgery is to "open up" the tunnel. That is, the transverse carpal ligament or "floor" of the tunnel is released so [..]

Does mobilization (MOB) get less, the same, or better results when compared to spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) when it comes to treating neck pain? To answer this question, let’s first discuss the difference between the two treatment approaches. Mobilization (MOB) of the spine can be "technically" defined as a "low velocity, low amplitude" force applied [..]

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic condition that impacts every aspect of life for those who harbor it. The diagnosis is often made on individuals with chronic widespread bodily pain in the absence of any specific condition and when no specific cause, such as tissue inflammation or damage, can be identified. Hence, the cause of FM [..]

Low back pain (LBP) can be localized and contained to only the low back area or it can radiate pain down the leg. This distinction is important as the former, LBP only, is often less complicated and carries a more favorable prognosis for complete recovery. In fact, a large part of the history and examination [..]

The “Tissue – Tensegrity” Matrix And Chronic Low Back PainChiropractors primarily look at patient’s problems from a mechanical perspective. A classic chiropractic mechanical analogy is a pinched nerve (compressive neuropathology). Although chiropractors occasionally do treat compressive neuropathology, most chiropractors are aware that there are patients with compressive neuropathology that require a surgical decompression. Overall, compressive [..]

Whiplash injuries include damage to the soft tissues of the neck such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and myofascial tissues. The degree of injury is typically graded on a 1-3 scale from least to most tissue damaged, respectively. A grade 1 sprain (ligament injury) or strain (muscle or muscle tendon injury) includes minimal tissue disruption or [..]

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic condition that impacts its victims in every aspect of their lives. Many FM patients who present for treatment as their doctor about what resources are available for them and therefore, this is the subject of this month’s article.The National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) was founded in 1997 in Orange, California and [..]