Normal degeneration of the spine may sound strange
when talking about degeneration, but age encounters
us all. Age generates degeneration normally. Our
Burlington and Hamilton chiropractic practice recognizes and
respects age for its influence on the spine and its role
in paraspinal muscle and disc degeneration. They go hand-in-hand. Spinal Care Clinic
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 the
Burlington and Hamilton chiropractic treatment plan!
NORMAL DEGENERATION: Age
Age. Not a topic we want to talk about,
but age does not care. It keeps doing its
thing. Age played a considerable role when comparing the fatty infiltration of muscle in normal people to that
in lumbar spinal stenosis
patients matched for age, BMI, weight, etc. The paraspinal muscle changes
in lumbar spinal stenosis patients and normal people were comparable.
Degeneration of these muscles related to age was more noticeable
in lumbar spinal stenosis patients particularly 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 because of the increased
mobility of the segment, furthering disc
degeneration. Weakened paravertebral muscles may weaken lumbar spinal
stability. (2) Indeed, the spine and all its muscles are interconnected.
Spinal Care Clinic looks at them all, to their response to
treatment, to their part in the pain.
BACK PAIN AND ITS PALS
Low back pain has associates. It brings with
it degeneration, change, fat, imbalance and more. Researchers credited
intervertebral disc degeneration as being the main cause of
chronic low back pain. It’s a familiar and recuring
condition in spine surgery realms. Disc degeneration is related to disc inflammation. As we humans age, researchers explained
that its bone marrow changes to bone marrow fat, activating
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 changed
to chronic. (3) In a study of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and
sciatica/leg pain, researchers saw that lumbar
degenerative diseases prompted paravertebral muscle degeneration
with higher levels of intramuscular fat infiltration. Women’s
paraspinal muscles were significantly reduced. The erector spinae
muscle and multifidus muscle in older aged patients were described as having more fat in them. (4) Spinal Care Clinic appreciates
that aging contributes to 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 wise.
A new study wrote that adding 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 seen 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 Spinal Care Clinic: gentle
spinal manipulation, gentle exercise, etc.
CONTACT Spinal Care Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Joseph Beissel on The Back Doctors Podcast with
Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the relief with The
Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for a patient with chronic low
back pain.
Make your Burlington and Hamilton chiropractic
appointment now. There’s no escaping age or its
accompanying pal, degeneration. If disc degeneration and spinal muscle
degeneration are now your pals, trust Spinal Care Clinic to set you all
on a path to healing.