January 2024 Healthy News from Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation Disc Herniation Size Doesnt Always Matter and Ways to Lower Chronic Pain
DISC SIZE DOESN’T (necessarily) MATTER!
Now that is a novel idea for the start of a new year amidst all the talk of new year’s talk of dieting to downsize! In the world of back pain and neck pain, a little disc is not necessarily pain-free. Surprised? If you have a small disc and pain, you aren’t! What matters is (1) the amount of pressure the disc protrusion is putting on the nerve root and/or (2) how much chemical irritation is involved if an extruded disc’s inner gel-like material has escaped the anular fibers that surround it and now encircles the spinal nerve(s) which has (have) never touched each other before. Nerves hurt when this new chemical irritant comes in! A tiny disc extrusion can provoke lots of pain if chemical irritation is part of the problem. A huge protruded may not cause pain at all if it does not contact a spinal nerve. (1-7) A 2023 published study just concluded that the size of a disc protrusion did not demonstrate a significant relationship to pain and function. (8) If you or a loved one or friend is starting 2024 with Tonawanda back pain with or without sciatic leg pain or neck pain with or without arm pain radiculopathy, come see Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation for some Tonawanda pain relief with gentle, safe chiropractic Cox® Technic care!
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Timothy Gagan on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson about use of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for a patient experiencing back and leg pain because of a disc herniation.
Tonawanda CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE MONTH: 4 Ways to Ease Chronic Pain In 2024
As researchers and healthcare professionals work toward establishing practice guidelines (ex: WHO) in managing chronic pain (back, neck, etc.), they are studying influencing factors that chronic pain sufferers and their caregivers ought to address for optimal clinical outcomes:
- Understand the condition. A clear understanding of the chronic primary low back pain condition via education/advice was related to improvements in pain, function, quality of life, and psychological outcomes. (9)
- Consider emotional influences. Adverse childhood events were found to be significantly associated with chronic pain and pain-related disability as an adult. (10)
- Undergo spinal manipulation. A review of nonpharmacological pain management methods undergone by Medicare patients found that manipulative therapies, mainly chiropractic, have been the most extensively studied approaches. (11) Cox® Technic flexion-distraction - as we utilize in our chiropractic practice – benefitted a 67-year-old veteran who experienced chronic low back pain and intermittent lower extremity pain for many decades get overall improvement in his condition, reduce use of pain medication, and gain mobility after 4 sessions in just a short 4-week period. (12)
- Exercise. Structured exercise programs were reported to decrease pain and functional limitation in chronic low back pain patients. (13)
Make 2024 your year for pain relief! Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation is happy to be your Tonawanda chiropractic partner in this effort. See you soon!