Why Traditional X-rays Don't Tell The Story
7010652767 • May 11, 2025
Stress X-rays Are The Key
Why Traditional X-Rays Can Miss the Real Cause of Your Back Pain
If you’ve been struggling with chronic back pain, you’ve probably already had an X-ray—or even several. But what if those “normal” results are missing something important? At Discover Life Chiropractic in Tacoma, we often see patients who were told nothing is wrong, even though their pain is real and persistent.
The problem? Traditional static X-rays
only tell part of the story. Here's why that matters—and how our approach can finally uncover what’s really going on.
The Limitation of Standard X-Rays
Most chiropractors and medical providers take X-rays while you're standing still in a neutral position. These images are helpful for identifying things like fractures, dislocations, or signs of arthritis. But if your pain is caused by instability in your spine—like stretched or damaged ligaments—a static image simply won’t catch it.
Imagine trying to diagnose a sprained ankle without asking the patient to move it. You’d miss how unstable it really is. The same principle applies to your spine.
The Hidden Culprit: Ligament Damage and Spinal Instability
Back pain that doesn’t respond to rest, medication, or even traditional chiropractic care is often rooted in ligamentous injury—especially after car accidents or repetitive strain. Ligaments are the tough tissues that hold your spine together and allow it to move safely. When they’re stretched or torn, your spine can shift too much between movements. This is called excessive motion or spinal instability, and it can cause chronic pain, nerve irritation, and even disc problems.
Unfortunately, you can’t see this motion on a standard X-ray. But we can—with the right tools.
What Makes Our Stress X-Rays Different
At Discover Life Chiropractic, we use a technique called spinal kinetics stress X-rays. This involves taking images of your spine while you're in different positions—like bending forward or backward—so we can assess how your vertebrae move in real time.
We’re not just looking at bones—we’re measuring motion between them. With advanced software, we can quantify how much one vertebra shifts compared to the one below it. This reveals areas of instability that traditional films would miss entirely.
Why This Matters for Your Recovery
Once we identify where the instability is, we can design a treatment plan that doesn’t just mask symptoms—it fixes the root issue. That may include:
Specific spinal adjustments tailored to the unstable segments
Cranial work (especially for headaches or whiplash cases)
Soft tissue mobilization
Custom ligament strengthening exercises
Disc hydration and spinal decompression therapies
When your spine moves the way it’s supposed to, pain naturally decreases and function improves.
Don’t Settle for “Nothing’s Wrong” When You Know Something Is
If you’ve been told your X-rays look normal, but you're still hurting, it’s time for a second opinion—with a deeper look. Discover Life Chiropractic specializes in uncovering the hidden causes of chronic pain, using tools that go beyond the basics.
📍 Located in Tacoma and serving surrounding communities, we're here to help you finally get the answers—and relief—you’ve been searching for.
Book your consultation today
and let’s find out what your spine is really telling us.
There are a few things you should know to expect before you starting scheduling chiropractor services. Keep reading or contact us today to learn more.
Chronic Lower Back Pain and Undiagnosed Spinal Instability Low back injuries are the number one cause of chronic pain and disability in the world today. That’s right, more people suffer from low back problems than any other condition in the world. This means that almost all of us are affected by chronic low back pain – either we have it or someone we know has it. In addition to being the most common form of chronic pain, low back pain is also the most expensive condition on the injury market. In fact, it is more expensive than 300 other medical conditions and has a huge financial impact on those who suffer from it. According to the National Safety Council, the medical cost of caring for an injury is $42,000. That is simply an unsustainable number. So how do we lower the cost of caring for those with low back pain? By properly understanding the underlying cause of the pain. The Problem with Low Back Pain Diagnosis The most common diagnosis of low back pain or injury is “nonspecific mechanical low back pain.” This means that the cause of the problem is a physical thing, but we don’t know for sure what that is. Needless to say, that vague diagnosis is not helpful. This leads to astronomical medical costs because doctors don’t know what they are treating. Getting Specific with the Diagnosis If we know what is causing low back pain or injuries, then we can specify treatment and get patients back to work and living a normal life faster and with less cost. This is good news for everyone. So, what is the diagnosis? Spinal instability. Most doctors today do not understand spinal instability and it is costing us millions of dollars a year. How to Diagnose Spinal Instability The good news is that spinal instability is easy to diagnose by clinically correlating excessive motion found with stress x-rays and the clinical correlation of a motor, sensory or pain problem at that spinal motion unit level. Stress X-rays are specialized x-rays that show intersegmental motion. Board certified medical radiologists can accurately measure for any motion problems directly from the stress x-rays. These measurements should always be performed by an independent unbiased third party that has a lot of experience performing these procedures. They should be performed independent of the treating provider as the findings can drive serious injury benefits and so treating provider bias should always be ruled out. Once you have the intersegmental motion of each spinal motion unit imaged, you can then easily correlate with the patient’s examination findings and determine the level and the severity of any spinal ligament injury and any spinal instability that it has been left behind and now causing the patient a great deal of trouble. This of course leads to more accurate injury analysis and diagnosis so more responsive treatment can be promoted. Understanding Low Back Ligaments Spinal ligaments are not really that strong and their stability is dependent on the muscles that surround them. If you place a 10-pound weight on your chest, then you add 100 pounds of pressure on your lower back. If you push it 25 inches from your chest, then there is now 250 pounds of pressure on the lower back. That’s enough pressure of course to damage every single ligament in your spine. So why doesn’t your ligament get damaged right then and there? Because there is a coordinating system embedded in the ligaments called mechanoreptors that immediately recognize the pressure and causes the muscle system to instantaneous correction for stability need. However, when a ligament gets damaged, that system malfunctions. This leads to spinal instability. If you’re suffering from chronic lower back pain and haven’t had stress x-rays to determine spinal ligament instability you are missing the most common cause. Call Discover Life Chiropractic at 253 472-4400 and get relief quickly.
How Cranial Chiropractic Therapy Can Provide Effective Headache Relief Among the disorders that prey on our nervous system, headaches take a significant share, with research showing they affect 25% of households in the U.S. and over 1 billion people worldwide. Headaches can seriously disrupt our lives and impact our productivity, straining relationships, and harming our overall well-being. Unfortunately, many people don’t think migraine issues are that important, meaning they end up suffering quietly without adequate treatment. If unchecked, headaches can lead to long-term negative effects like depression, sleep deprivation, and chronic pain. Cranial chiropractic therapy offers a holistic solution for headache relief by targeting the underlying issues and can be a panacea for persistent or chronic pain. What is Cranial Chiropractic Therapy and how does it work? Cranial chiropractic therapy is a gentle, non-invasive and hands-on treatment that alleviates different kinds of conditions like headaches, vertigo/dizziness, migraines, and other conditions like anxiety. Cranial imbalances occur when someone experiences trauma, stress, or birth complications. Bad posture can also contribute to this disorder. At Discover Life Chiropractic we use the Blye Cranial Technique, a chiropractic adjustment method that relieves the skull of tension resulting from poor blood flow and circulation of cerebrospinal fluid. Rather than rely solely on manual manipulation of the cranial plate, the Blye Cranial Technique uses a specialized Activator instrument to apply the adjustments. Dr. Hendrickson has been practicing this technique for over 20 years and is the only doctor in the south sound using this technique. Cranial chiropractic therapy methods like the Blye Cranial Technique help your brain function at its best, allowing other connected parts of your body function more fluently through self-regulation, self-correction, and self-healing. Cranial adjustment can be administered in addition to other forms of treatment like medication or physical therapy. Procedure Treatment usually begins with a brief consultation with the chiropractor to pinpoint the areas of concern. The patient, while fully clothed, proceeds to the chiropractic table and lies on it face up. The chiropractor carries out leg-length reflex testing to identify areas of tension or imbalance in the patient’s skull by detecting any discrepancies in their responses. Using specific tests they also identify which cranial bones are misaligned or restricted. The chiropractor then places an Activator instrument on the misaligns plate and adjusts to restore normal motion. This will allow the bone to continue to move adapting to the pressure changes that occur during the day. What Are The Benefits of Cranial Chiropractic Therapy? Cranial therapy is a gentle, non-invasive approach to pain treatment involving minimal risks and side effects. Apart from managing pain and reducing stress, it is known to improve sleep and overall well-being. The benefits of cranial therapy include: Pain relief • Alleviates headaches, neck pain, and back pain • Relieves chronic pain and migraines • Helps people with tinnitus by relaxing the ear muscles Stress management • Relaxes the nervous system, alleviating anxiety and stress levels • Releases emotional blockages stored within the body • Cranial therapy has relaxing effects which can improve your quality of sleep, enhance your mood, and boost overall health Who Can Benefit From Cranial Therapy? Anyone who has suffered head trauma, or experiences nerve imbalances should get a check-up for misalignments. Studies show that many people find relief from their symptoms after undergoing cranial therapy. It’s important to note that circumstances vary between patients, which can mean different outcomes for different people. Recovery After Cranial Therapy “How long will it take to experience relief after cranial adjustment?” This is a question many patients seeking cranial therapy treatment ask. Some people notice pain relief immediately following a cranial adjustment session, while others require a couple of days for their body to respond to the treatment. Depending on what your treatment goals are, it could take a few visits before you see long-term results. Discover Effective Headache Relief We know how draining headaches can be; our goal is to help you find relief through effective chiropractic services that target recurrent pain. If you’re ready to start your wellness journey, we’re here to help. Get in touch, call Discover Life Chiropractic at 253 472 4400 and get relief quickly.
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