Common questions we hear from
Vancouver back pain sufferers at Vancouver Disc Centers sound
something like this: “What is Vancouver degenerative disease?”
(Vancouver Disc Centers can describe degenerative disc disease at the drop of a hat!)
and “Will nutrition help?” (“Yes!”)
WHAT IS DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE?
Degenerative disc disease comes often from normal, age-related changes that happen in the discs of the spine that cause pain. The spinal
discs function like shock absorbers between the vertebral bones of
your spine. As discs degenerate, they do not do their job as
well. A discs’ health depends on the health of surrounding
structures as much as its own health. The cartilage endplates play a huge
role in the health of the disc. Unhealthy endplates
do, also, as they may play a part in degenerative
disc disease.
HOW CHIROPRACTIC CARE AND NUTRITION HELP DEGENERATIVE DISC
DISEASE
Chiropractic care at Vancouver Disc Centers approaches
disc health from both the inside and outside. The disc needs
some special nutritional elements to maintain its health and strength, ready to keep the spine mobile. It needs glucose, glycosaminoglycan,
calcium, magnesium, chondroitin sulfate, and more. It obtains
these nutrients via the cartilaginous endplates that border
it above and below (70%) and from the sides of the disc
(30%). The cartilage endplates of the disc that are adjacent to the
vertebral bodies of the spine feed nutrients to the disc. Permeability of the cartilage endplate
increases as it ages and degenerates. Degeneration of the cartilage
endplate is linked to the start of cell starvation
and death of the disc due to poor nutrition. Degeneration of the cartilage
endplate may well be responsible for mechanical load-induced
dehydration of the disc’s nucleus pulposus and decreased levels
of glucose in the nucleus pulposus (inner gel of the disc)-annulus fibrosus
(outer bands of the disc) connection area. (Read more about disc nutrition with
glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate.) (1) The endplates are crucial
to the disc’s health. When the endplates are harmed by
degenerative changes, they can’t do their job of
transporting nutrients into the disc. One study stresses this
issue by explaining that severe inhibition in the endplate
nutritional pathways likely leads to intervertebral disc disruption. (2) Additionally,
a good night’s rest may be good for more than beauty! Lying
down even for a short time allows an
increase in the cervical spine and thoracic intervertebral discs’ hydration volume.
(3) Vancouver Disc Centers treats the disc from the inside with
nutrition and the outside with sleep recommendations as well as spinal manipulation.
Vancouver CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT HELPS DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE
While lying down unloads the spine,
dynamic loading of the spine is beneficial, too. How? It comes
back to those cartilage endplates once again. Cartilage
endplates’ ability to allow flow of nutrients depends on its porosity. The
more porous and healthy the endplates are, the more flow of nutrients is permitted. The less
porous, less hydrated, more degenerated the endplates are, the less flow of
nutrients is allowed. Recent research today describes the
benefits of dynamic loading (as opposed to static loading) on nutrient
transport into the disc via cartilage endplates. (4) Chiropractic spinal
manipulation is dynamic treatment of the spine. The protocols of Cox® Technic focus
on individual segments of the spine to enhance motion where disc
degeneration may exist. It’s gentle, relieving
care delivered daily at Vancouver Disc Centers!
CONTACT Vancouver Disc Centers
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Sylvia Hrefna from Iceland on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr.
Michael Johnson as she discusses her relieving care with Cox®
Technic of a patient with disc degeneration in her cervical spine, the second
of two cases in this podcast.