Normal degeneration of the spine may seem strange
when discussing degeneration, but age encounters
us all. Age generates degeneration normally. Our
Sitka chiropractic practice recognizes and
respects age for its influence on the spine and its role
in disc degeneration and paraspinal
muscle degeneration. They go together. Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
treats them gently and effectively, especially
when our patients participate fully by keeping appointments, exercising, and following suggestions about
supplements that can help. It’s all part of our
Sitka chiropractic treatment plan!
NORMAL DEGENERATION: Age
Age. Not a topic we enjoy talking about,
but age doesn’t care. It keeps doing its
thing. Age played a considerable role when comparing the fatty infiltration of muscle in normal people to that
in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis who were matched for age, BMI, weight, etc. The paraspinal muscle alterations
in lumbar spinal stenosis patients and normal people were similar.
Degeneration of these muscles related to age was more noticeable
in lumbar spinal stenosis patients especially in the
multifidus muscles. (1) A radiographic study of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis
found age-related risk factors. Researchers
wrote that larger intervertebral disc height and more severe
vertebral endplate failure may trigger degenerative lumbar
spinal stenosis due to the amplified
mobility of the segment, furthering disc
degeneration. Weakened paravertebral muscles may weaken lumbar spinal
stability. (2) Truly, the spine and all its muscles are linked.
Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka pays attention to them all, to their response to
treatment, to their part in the pain.
BACK PAIN AND ITS PALS
Low back pain has friends. It brings with
it degeneration, change, fat, imbalance and more. Researchers adknowledged
intervertebral disc degeneration as being the main cause of
chronic low back pain. It’s a familiar and recurrent
condition in spine surgery fields. Disc degeneration is associated
with disc inflammation. As we humans age, researchers explained
that its bone marrow changes to bone marrow fat, initiating
an inflammatory response in the disc and paraspinal muscles which play
a role in spine stability. As the muscles fill with fat, low back pain transitioned
to chronic. (3) In a study of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and
sciatica/leg pain, researchers saw that lumbar
degenerative diseases caused paravertebral muscle degeneration
with greater levels of intramuscular fat infiltration. Women’s
paraspinal muscles were significantly reduced. The erector spinae
muscle and multifidus muscle in older aged patients were seen
to have more fat in them. (4) Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka appreciates
that aging plays a role in back pain’s
development, path, and treatment.
LESS IS MORE: Treating Aged Back Pain
Since researchers documented that
with age comes fatty infiltration of paraspinal muscles and inflammatory
responses in the disc, it is logical that doing less if back
surgery is done would be sensible.
A new study wrote that the addition of fusion
to a decompression back surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis increased
the risk of new stenosis on an MRI two years later at the operated
level or at an adjacent spinal level even when spondylolisthesis (a condition
that one vertebra slipped on another one) was noted at surgery. (5)
Less is more oftentimes when managing back
pain. Gentler treatment can go far in decreasing pain. That
is the motto of the CTFDD treatment plan at Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka: gentle
spinal manipulation, gentle exercise, etc.
CONTACT Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Joseph Beissel on The Back Doctors Podcast with
Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the relief with The
Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for a patient with chronic low
back pain.
Make your Sitka chiropractic
appointment soon. There’s no escaping age or its
accompanying pal, degeneration. If disc degeneration and spinal muscle
degeneration are now your pals, trust Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka to set you all
on a path of healing.