A patient case from this morning. A 69 year old man who came back to us with acute lower back pain and leg pain that had started over the weekend.
Presenting complaint
He originally came in earlier this year, had four sessions, and was doing well before some unrelated surgery took him out for a few months. This weekend the lower back went again, this time with pain running down both legs. Bilateral leg pain always deserves a careful look.
What the assessment showed
Before any adjustment, we did orthopedic testing to make sure the leg pain was mechanical and coming from the lower back rather than from a more serious pathology that would need a referral out. Once that was clear, we could see his lumbar sacral junction (where the lower back meets the pelvis) was quite locked, with enough inflammation there to be irritating the nerves running into both legs.
The clinical thinking
Nerve pain into both legs at once always deserves ruling out first, not treating first. Orthopedic testing lets us confirm the pain source is mechanical before we touch it. From there, the goal was to reduce the pressure at L5-S1 (the disc space at the base of the lumbar spine) and improve nerve function down the legs. The technique choice matters. We used a drop table technique and a side-lying mechanical adjustment, both of which are designed to open the disc space at that level without putting direct force through it.
Care plan today
Soft tissue work with a massage gun on the paraspinal muscles first, then the drop table adjustment, then the side-lying manual adjustment. Recommended follow-up this week or next.
How he is now
Noticeably better on the way out. He will book in via the online system as he normally does.
Rebates at the counter
He is on a Medicare EPC (Enhanced Primary Care) Allied Health plan. His GP approved up to 5 chiropractic visits under Medicare at $63.40 per session, per year. Today was his fifth. We do not charge a gap on EPC visits, even off the $105 new patient consultation fee. If you have an EPC referral from your GP, you will get the same treatment for the same $63.40 that the referral covers.
If you are still deciding
If your GP has mentioned an EPC referral, or if you have had lower back pain plus leg pain and you are not sure whether it is a chiropractic problem or something else, that is the conversation to have at an initial consultation. We will test properly and tell you honestly whether we can help. Book an initial consultation.
Patient name has been changed. Individual results vary. This case study is shared for educational purposes and does not constitute a clinical recommendation for anyone else.
Frequently asked questions
Does Medicare cover chiropractic visits?
Medicare covers up to 5 chiropractic sessions per calendar year under the Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) plan, which your GP must approve. Each session is covered at $63.40. At Corrective Chiropractic, we do not charge a gap on EPC visits, even off the $105 new patient consultation fee.
What causes pain down both legs from the lower back?
Pain that radiates into both legs often indicates irritation of the nerves exiting the lumbosacral junction (L5-S1). It can be mechanical (joint locking, inflammation, disc pressure) or non-mechanical, which is why we perform orthopaedic testing before any adjustment to confirm the source.
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