Compression of the lumbar spine nerve root may trigger pain and/or weakness for some spinal stenosis and disc herniation patients. Younger patients are more likely to respond more rapidly to both surgical and non-surgical treatment. (1) That’s logical as the nerve hasn’t been inflamed as long. Disc herniations tend to occur in our 30’s and 50’s. Fortunately, only 3% to 6% of those are symptomatic. Spinal stenosis tends to bother us in our 50’s and 60’s. Muscle weakness appears in as many as 30% to 50% of disc herniation patients. 80% of disc herniation patients with weakness show improvement with 6 weeks of non-surgical care, 90% at 12 weeks, 93% at 24 weeks. Surgical patients discover that the most clinically significant weakness improvement happened within 6 weeks of spine surgery for a disc herniation. 66% of these patients showed no improvement after that. (Ghahreman in 1) Improvement in motor power can occur over the following two years post surgery. Some sensory loss is typical but hardly conspicuous. (1) BONUS: The cost of chiropractic care for a lumbar disc herniation only accounted for 2% of all the money spent, so the researchers urged a trial of conservative, non-operative care before patients undergo back surgery for a herniated disc. (2) Bring your Vancouver back pain and related muscle weakness to Vancouver Disc Centers for Vancouver non-operative care first.
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Dean Greenwood on The Back Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson about a patient with muscle weakness due to a synovial cyst that resolved with chiropractic care utilizing the Cox® Technic System.
Keeping bones strong is important, and vitamin C can help! Osteoclasts are bone cells that decay bone tissue. Vitamin C blocks them from doing that. Osteoblasts are cells that bind bone while bone takes shape. Vitamin C fosters bone regeneration by fostering osteoblast creation. (3) Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin C. They are rich in antioxidants known to impact bone quality. In a recent report, vitamin C increased the density of the L5 vertebra! (4) That’s a benefit your Vancouver spine specialist loves to hear! Get your vitamin C daily! Eat, or supplement! Let’s chat at your next Vancouver chiropractic appointment.
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Make your Vancouver chiropractic appointment. Vancouver Disc Centers is ready to help you regain your muscle loss and build your bones! Thank you for entrusting your spine’s health to Vancouver Disc Centers!