February 2023 Healthy News from Vancouver Disc Centers Spinal Canal Area Increase and Back Pain Reduction with Chiropractic Care
Degenerated disc. Spinal stenosis. Back Pain. What do they have in common…besides pain? Reduced spinal canal area. With disc degeneration, the disc diminishes, resulting in reduced spinal canal area. With spinal stenosis, a(n) disc bulge, protruding disc, osteophyte, discal cyst, synovial cyst, spinal cyst affects the spinal canal area. A recently published paper explained how chiropractic flexion distraction treatment, specifically Cox® Technic spinal manipulation and mobilization, enlarged the spinal canal area and produced vertebral motions. The new study just published in January 2023 stated that chiropractic flexion distraction enlarged spinal area, height, and width due to increased nerve foraminal area. (1)
Such spinal modifications made more space for affected spinal elements like spinal nerves to move leading to subsequent (though sometimes quicker or even immediate for some patients) back pain relief. Outcomes and supporting research like this are the forces behind our using gentle, safe chiropractic treatment options like Cox® Technic that has research explaining its biomechanical effects on the spine. Vancouver Disc Centers invites you to share your degenerated disc and/or spinal stenosis with us!
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Ram Gudavalli, the guiding researcher in Cox® Technic studies, on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the research behind The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Back pain sufferers are regularly advised to perform exercise that strengthen spinal, gluteal, and core muscles as a way to round out their in-office chiropractic treatment. Classic lumbar flexion (Williams) exercises have been the norm for a long time, going back to the 1930s as they limit lumbar extension while enhancing lumbar flexion with high levels of research evidence (III and IV) support. A common exercise sequence would have a patient lie on the floor, hands at the side, knees bent, then just tighten ab and gluteal muscles while flattening the spine against the floor. The next would be a knee-chest motion (pulling one knee to chest then the other knee then both knees to chest) exercise. (2) There are more such exercises in the series, but we’d be thrilled for our new Vancouver back pain patients to begin with these easy exercises on day 1 (after we examine your spine and establish a treatment plan, of course). Vancouver Disc Centers looks forward to meeting you soon and learning more about your spine, degenerated disc, and/or spinal stenosis and sharing any exercises that may help!
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Have a wonderful February! We anticipate seeing you and your spine this month!