When your low back aches the longer you sit and locks up when you stand, that pattern usually points at the disc, because sitting loads the disc more than standing or walking does. Yes, we can almost always help. At Foudy Chiropractic in Mission Viejo, one show-and-tell visit with digital X-rays and a surface EMG tells us whether the disc, the joints, or your posture is the real driver.
One unhurried visit tells you what is going on and whether Dr. Foudy can help. Thursday is afternoons only, 3:00 to 6:00 pm.
Dr. Foudy performing a side-posture lumbar adjustment
In your own words
Does one of these sound like you?
Most patients arrive describing how they feel, not naming a diagnosis. If one of these is yours, you are in the right place. One visit tells you where you stand.
I'm fine until I sit for a while, then my low back achesI'm all locked up and stiff when I stand back upLong drives and a day at the desk are the worstIt eases up once I get up and walk aroundFinding a comfortable way to sit feels impossible some days
What is actually going on
What is actually going on, in plain terms.
Here is the part that surprises people: sitting is harder on your low back than standing or walking. When you sit, especially slumped, the load on the lumbar discs goes up, and the front of the disc gets pressed. So a back that feels fine on its feet but aches in a chair, and stiffens up the moment you stand, is telling you something specific. Picture the disc like a jelly donut between two bones. Sitting squeezes the donut, and if that donut is already worn or bulging, the squeeze is what you feel. Stand up and the load drops, but now everything is stiff because it has been guarding. The pattern itself is a clue, and it usually points at the disc. The exam tells us for sure.
Dr. Foudy performing a side-posture lumbar adjustment
Can you help me, what is it, how long, and how much.
These are the four questions I hear on every first call, so here they are answered in order. The honest version of each, with real numbers, not a sales pitch.
Can you help me?
Yes, here is the honest answer.
Almost always, yes. Sitting-driven back pain is bread-and-butter for me, and the pattern itself, hurts sitting, eases standing, is one of the most useful clues there is. The rare exceptions, a fracture or a tumor, go to the ER, not the chiropractor. One visit tells us exactly what is driving yours.
What is it?
What is actually going on.
Usually a disc that the seated position presses on, sometimes with posture and a deconditioned core stacked on top. The X-rays show the structure, the surface EMG (an EKG of your nervous system) shows how things are firing, and watching how sitting and standing change your symptoms tells us a lot. I show you what I find on your own films.
How long?
How long it usually takes.
A recent, mostly postural flare often calms down inside a few weeks of care plus some setup changes. When a disc is the driver, the plan usually runs a course of care over several weeks, three times a week to start, then a taper. Your exact plan is set after your exam.
How much?
What it costs, plainly.
The show-and-tell consultation that finds the cause is $90 and about 75 minutes. A standard adjustment visit is $90 with the modalities included. If a disc is the driver and decompression is the right tool, the standard 20-visit program is $3,000 and a single session is $160. We go over your exact plan in person.
Who this helps, and who it does not
Are you a candidate for care here?
You are a good fit if your sitting pain is coming from a disc, a joint, or your posture, which covers the large majority of these cases. When I refer out: new low back pain paired with progressive weakness, numbness in the saddle area, or any loss of bladder or bowel control is a red flag and you go straight for imaging and a surgical opinion. Same if the exam points to a fracture, a tumor, or an infection. If what I find is not mine to fix, I will tell you straight and send you to the right person.
Dr. Foudy reviewing a patient's own X-rays before recommending a plan.
When the disc is the problem
Where spinal decompression fits.
When the exam and X-rays show the seated load is pressing on a worn or bulging disc, spinal decompression with added oscillation on the AccuSpina takes the load off it. It gently separates the bones, and at the peak of each pull it oscillates, like a gentle pump. Laboratory and imaging studies suggest that easing the bones apart lowers the pressure inside the disc so it can draw in fluid and nutrients. When the driver is posture or the joints instead, the adjustment, flexion-distraction, and corrective exercise do the work. The first visit tells us which one you are.
The AccuSpina is an FDA-cleared Class II device for non-surgical spinal decompression, and its oscillation is genuinely patented technology (USPTO US 7,717,870). Those are facts about the machine, not a promise about your case. Whether it fits you is exactly what the first visit screens for.
A patient set up for a decompression cycle on the AccuSpina table.
Straight talk
One visit tells you what is going on, and I will tell you straight.
The show-and-tell consultation is the full picture in one visit: the postural scales, the surface EMG (an EKG of your nervous system), the digital X-rays, and the hands-on exam, all in about 75 minutes. You will see your own scan and your own films, and you will leave with a straight answer about your back pain when sitting.
If this is mine to fix, I will tell you the plan. If it is not, I will tell you that too, and point you to what actually helps. I would rather send you down the street than put you on a plan that was never going to help your case. The first visit is $90 and runs about 75 minutes.
Dr. Foudy reviewing a computerized nervous-system scan with a patient, like an EKG of the nervous system.
Good questions, asked often
Questions patients ask about back pain when sitting
Because sitting loads the lumbar discs more than standing or walking does, especially if you slump. When sitting is the trigger and standing brings relief, the disc is usually high on the list. The exam and X-rays confirm whether that is your case.
Often, yes, because sitting is the position that loads the disc most. But not always, posture, the facet joints, and a deconditioned core can all play a part. That is exactly what the show-and-tell exam sorts out, so we treat the real driver instead of guessing.
Keep the low back gently supported so you are not slumped into the back of the chair, get up and move every 30 to 45 minutes, and do not sit through a long drive without breaks. I will give you specifics for your setup at the visit, but movement beats any one perfect posture.
They help, but they are not the whole answer. A better setup lowers the load, and that matters. It does not undo a disc that is already irritated or a core that has stopped doing its job. We address the cause, then the setup keeps it from coming back.
Move more, yes, but you cannot rest your way out of this and you should not try. Breaking up sitting and walking regularly is part of the plan. The other part is taking the load off the disc and rebuilding the support, which is the work we do in the office.
The show-and-tell consultation in Mission Viejo includes the exam, the surface EMG, and the X-rays, about $90 and 75 minutes. You will see your own scan and your own films, and you will leave with a straight answer. Patients come to us from Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, and across Mission Viejo. Call Call (949) 365-0403 and ask for Carmen.
