Lower Back Pain Relief in Mission Viejo, CA
The most common reason people walk through this door — and the one Dr. Foudy says he can almost always help.
Lower back pain is treated at Foudy Chiropractic in Mission Viejo by first measuring the cause rather than chasing the symptom: dual postural scales, range of motion measured with a protractor, neurological testing, a surface EMG nervous-system scan, and digital X-rays. Care then combines chiropractic adjustment with flexion-distraction, intersegmental traction, and — when discs are involved — AccuSpina spinal decompression. Adjustment visits are $90 and include every modality.
What it feels like
If several of these sound like you, they are worth measuring rather than guessing at.
- Aching or stiffness across the low back, worst in the morning
- Sharp pain when bending, lifting, or twisting
- Pain that eases when you lie down and returns when you stand
- Muscle spasm or a low back that “locks up”
- Pain that started with one wrong movement — or with no clear cause at all
- Pain you have learned to live with, that is slowly getting worse
| Relief | Correction | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Quiet the symptom | Address the cause |
| Typical length | A few visits | A course of care, then maintenance |
| What is included | Adjustment and modalities | Adjustment, modalities, and corrective exercise |
| Re-testing | Not usually | Progress exam against your own baseline |
| Likelihood it returns | Higher | Lower, if the exercise work is done |
What this means for you: both are legitimate choices, and Dr. Foudy will not push you toward the longer one. You just make the choice knowing which one you picked, and what it does and does not buy you.
Relief, or correction?
It is the question Dr. Foudy asks every new patient, and he asks it gently: “If you want temporary relief, you're going to get temporary results. If you want long-term release, you're going to get correction.”
Relief quiets the alarm. Correction finds the cause. Both are legitimate choices, and you make it — but you make it knowing which one you picked.
What gets measured
He measures before he touches. Weight-bearing differential on dual scales. Head tilt, shoulder level, pelvic rotation. Range of motion for cervical, thoracic, and lumbar flexibility, with a protractor rather than an eyeball. Motion palpation to find muscle guarding and segments that have stopped moving. Neurological testing for sensation and strength. Then the surface EMG and digital X-rays.
Feet get checked too, including pronation — custom-fitted orthotics are available, because your feet are the foundation everything else stacks onto.
The open floor
There are no tiny closed rooms here. Your visit moves through an open treatment floor in sequence before the adjustment: flexion-distraction, rolling intersegmental traction, the vibration platform, electric stim and soft tissue work, and Saunders neck traction when the neck is involved. Then Dr. Foudy adjusts.
About 30 minutes, up to 45 when every modality is used. $90, everything included.
In summary: lower back pain at Foudy Chiropractic
- What it is. The most common reason people walk through this door — and the one Dr. Foudy says he can almost always help.
- How it is found. Surface EMG reads nerve-root function level by level, digital X-rays show the structure, and palpation validates both — so the cause is measured rather than guessed at.
- How it is treated. Chiropractic adjustment, the open-floor modalities, and where discs are involved, AccuSpina spinal decompression. Corrective exercise follows so the correction holds.
- What it costs. An adjustment visit is $90 with every modality included. Decompression plans are quoted in person after your exam.
- Where. Foudy Chiropractic, 28892 Marguerite Pkwy #150, Mission Viejo, CA 92692 — (949) 365-0403.
Lower Back Pain — questions people ask
How much does a visit cost?
An adjustment visit is $90 and includes every modality on the floor plus the adjustment itself. Massage and stretch lab sessions are $90 an hour or $55 for a half hour. Spinal decompression plans are quoted in person after your exam, never from a website. Most patients pay cash; Carmen can verify insurance when you call.
How many visits will I need?
Most care plans start at two to three visits a week, then taper as your spine learns to hold the progress. The number comes from your own exam and X-rays. You will be told the timeline and the cost at the Report of Findings, before you commit.
Do you take X-rays on the first visit?
Yes, when indicated. Dr. Foudy uses a high-frequency digital X-ray unit — less radiation, better image quality — and reviews the images with you rather than filing them away.
Is the adjustment safe?
The adjustment is a safe, natural, noninvasive procedure, and chiropractors are the only healthcare professionals trained to deliver it. Dr. Foudy has been licensed since 1989 and has treated more than 10,000 patients.
What if chiropractic is not the right answer for me?
He will tell you. If he cannot help your condition, he refers you to the proper specialist. That answer comes at the first visit, not after ten of them.
Other things this office sees every week
Sciatica
Pain running from the low back into the buttock and down the leg. Dr. Foudy hears this almost every day — and can almost always help.
Read more →Neck Pain
“Every time I turn my neck a certain way, I get this shooting pain into my shoulder blades.” He hears it constantly.
Read more →Headaches & Migraines
“I'm getting these headaches that are kind of all over my head.” Many of them start at the top of the neck.
Read more →Herniated & Bulging Discs
A gentler alternative to medication or surgery — decompression with oscillation at maximum load.
Read more →Numbness & Tingling
Where you feel it is rarely where it starts. The scan finds where it starts.
Read more →Forward Head Posture
The posture your desk gave you — measurable, and correctable.
Read more →Sports Injuries & Performance
The chiropractor behind a gold medal team. What the athletes got is what you get.
Read more →Whiplash & Auto Injury
Symptoms often arrive days after the collision. The exam finds what the adrenaline hid.
Read more →Scoliosis
A curve that is measured, tracked, and worked on — not just watched.
Read more →Shoulder & Hip Pain
Almost every joint in the body can be adjusted — not just the spine.
Read more →Pregnancy & Prenatal Care
Gentle care for the back and pelvic pain that pregnancy brings with it.
Read more →Get an answer, not a guess.
One visit tells you whether lower back pain is something this office can help with. You will see your own scan and your own X-rays before any plan is proposed.