January 2024 Healthy News from Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc Disc Herniation Size Doesnt Always Matter and Ways to Lower Chronic Pain
DISC SIZE DOESN’T (necessarily) MATTER!
Now there’s a novel idea for the start of a new year amidst all the talk of new year’s talk of dieting to downsize! With back pain and neck pain, a small disc is not really pain-free. Surprised? If you have a small disc and pain, you aren’t! What matters is (1) how much mechanical pressure the disc protrusion is placing on the nerve root and/or (2) the amount of chemical irritation is present if a disc extrusion’s inner gel-like material has left the anular fibers that surround it and now surrounds the spinal nerve(s) which has (have) never touched each other before. Nerves hurt when this new chemical irritant comes in! A tiny disc extrusion can provoke lots of pain if chemical irritation is involved. A huge disc protrusion may not cause pain at all if it doesn’t contact a spinal nerve. (1-7) A 2023 published study just concluded that the size of a disc protrusion did not show a noteworthy relationship to pain and function. (8) If you or a loved one or friend is beginning 2024 with Fort Wayne back pain with or without sciatic leg pain or neck pain with or without arm pain radiculopathy, come see Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc for some Fort Wayne pain relief with gentle, safe chiropractic Cox® Technic care!
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Timothy Gagan on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson about use of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for a patient experiencing back and leg pain because of a disc herniation.
Fort Wayne CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE MONTH: 4 Ways to Reduce Chronic Pain In 2024
As researchers and healthcare professionals try to establish practice guidelines (ex: WHO) to manage chronic pain (back, neck, etc.), they’re analyzing influencing factors that chronic pain sufferers and their caregivers ought to address for optimal clinical outcomes:
- Understand the condition. A clear grasp of the chronic primary low back pain condition via education/advice was related to improvements in pain, function, quality of life, and psychological outcomes. (9)
- Consider emotional influences. Adverse childhood events were found to be significantly associated with chronic pain and pain-related disability as an adult. (10)
- Undergo spinal manipulation. A review of nonpharmacological pain management methods undergone by Medicare patients found that manipulative therapies, mainly chiropractic, have been the most extensively studied methods. (11) Cox® Technic flexion-distraction - as we use in our chiropractic practice – benefitted a 67-year-old veteran who experienced chronic low back pain and intermittent lower extremity pain for several decades get overall improvement in his condition, decrease use of pain medication, and increase mobility after 4 sessions over a 4-week period. (12)
- Exercise. Structured exercise programs were reported to reduce pain and functional limitation in chronic low back pain patients. (13)
Make 2024 your year for pain relief! Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc is excited to be your Fort Wayne chiropractic partner in this effort. See you soon!