Vancouver Back Pain, Spine Issues, and Hip Pain: Simple Tests & 3D Imaging
Back pain and hip pain and spine issues merge for many chiropractic patients, bringing them into Vancouver Disc Centers. We are ready to help! Growing older has some unique challenges for those who suffer with back, hip and spine pain but also some unique positive effects today due to novel ways to keeping stability and coping with and reducing pain. Your Vancouver chiropractor keeps on top of these new approaches and is prepared to help you!
SIMPLE TESTS FOR OLDER ADULTS AND THEIR SPINES
Older folks understand that with age comes ‘wisdom’…and its own set of distinctive oddities. Different aches and pains rear their heads one morning or mid-afternoon or evening, requiring attention. For those Vancouver back pain sufferers who are a bit older, hip range of motion and strength may predict how 12 months down the road a chronic low back pain patient may be performing. Researchers tested this out! Reduced hip strength and range of motion predicted a deterioration in function a year later. Hip osteoarthritis did not affect these outcomes. (1) Your chiropractor will perform a thorough examination and knows some easy-to-do tests of hip strength and range of motion – gait speed, 6-minute walk test, subjective questionnaires, even imaging as necessary - to rule out osteoarthritis.
3D IMAGING BENEFITS
Imaging has come a long way! Today, MRI images of the spine in 3D are now clinically possible. Their benefit is higher spatial resolution, reformation in any plane so the MRI process is faster, and interpretation is more precise. Neat! Another advantage, especially for back pain sufferers who have had previous back surgery with metal implants, etc., and now have continued pain is that 3D imaging permits seeing around the metal. (2) Such views can help doctors see issues at adjacent spine levels.
A SPECIFIC SPINE ISSUE: PISA SYNDROME
Pain issues in one area of the spine can certainly impact other areas and even trigger more pain. A postural disorder some older back pain sufferers may have is called Pisa Syndrome which is caused by lateral flexion of the spine greater than 10 degrees which sets them up to falls, a lower quality of life, and increased risk of mortality in neurological diseases. Postural stability exercises are essential for such patients, important enough that they should do these always to reduce fall risk. (3) Vancouver Disc Centers is all about stability!
CONTACT Vancouver Disc Centers
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Gary Stefanick on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he discusses his use of Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction to ease back pain after back surgery. Back pain specialists like your Vancouver chiropractor are equipped to examine, diagnose, and manage post-surgical continued pain.
Set up your Vancouver chiropractic appointment now. Vancouver chiropractic patients find kinship with each other when back pain, hip pain, and spine stability are involved as well as relief from their chiropractic care. See you soon!
