Vancouver Back Muscles Affected By Back Pain

The spine is maintained by several muscles. Back pain and degenerative spine conditions impact those muscles. Chiropractors like yours at Vancouver Disc Centers deal with both the degenerative spinal pain condition as well as the associated degenerated spine muscles. Vancouver chiropractic back pain treatment plans incorporate pain-relieving methods for both the spine and its musculature.

BACK PAIN AND MUSCLES’ RESPONSES

Back pain affects back muscles. Different Vancouver back pain issues involve different Vancouver back muscles, too. Paraspinal muscles present different responses to spinal degenerative conditions. Alterations in the lumbar spine paraspinal muscles of low back pain patients have been explained. Wasting of the multifidus muscles in patients with back pain, lumbar radiculopathy, and lumbar degenerative kyphosis are particularly noted. Intensified fat infiltration of the multifidus muscle is also seen in patients with lumbar radiculopathy and lumbar degenerative kyphosis. (1) In a report on 78 patients with either degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis or degenerative lumbar kyphosis, researchers documented these degenerative muscle patterns. The multifidus muscle is described as the stabilizer of the lumbar spine segments while the erector spinae muscles are usually seen as the stabilizers of spinal sagittal balance. Multifidus muscle degeneration was more significant in the degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis patients. Erector spinae degeneration was more significant in the degenerative lumbar kyphosis patients as well as more directly linked to the severity of spinal kyphosis curvature. (2) Continuous chronic low back pain sufferers as contrasted with non-continuous and recurrent low back pain sufferers were found to have higher EMG activity in erector spinae and multifidus muscles in extension. (3) Your Vancouver chiropractor at Vancouver Disc Centers pays close attention to these variations.

BACK PAIN AND BACK MUSCLES: STABILITY

Vancouver Disc Centers also notes back pain and muscle response on spinal stability. Researchers explained that chronic low back pain impairs spinal stability of its sufferers. In looking at the activation patterns of the latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, and upward scapular rotation muscles of chronic LBP patients, researchers found a significant increase in upward scapular rotation in all shoulder abduction positions on both sides. The left side was more affected than the right. Further, they found increased latissimus dorsi muscle activities and decreased gluteus maximus activities in chronic low back pain. (4) Spinal manipulation is described as stimulating transient physiological responses of which paraspinal muscle activity and muscle spindle responses are added. (5) Your Vancouver chiropractor will carefully note these responses when treating your spine as well as in designing exercises to address weaknesses. 

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Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Paulette Hugulet on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. She describes her implementation of spinal manipulation, namely the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management, for a 77-year-old patient to decrease pain and improve muscle strength and function.