Burlington and Hamilton Back Muscles Affected By Back Pain

The spine is supported by many muscles. Back pain and degenerative spine disorders impact those muscles. Chiropractors like yours at Spinal Care Clinic address both the degenerative spinal pain condition and the associated degenerated spine muscles. Burlington and Hamilton chiropractic back pain treatment plans incorporate pain-relieving approaches for both the spine and its musculature.

BACK PAIN AND MUSCLES’ RESPONSES

Back pain affects back muscles. Different Burlington and Hamilton back pain conditions affect different Burlington and Hamilton back muscles, too. Paraspinal muscles show different responses to spinal degenerative conditions. Alterations in the lumbar spine paraspinal muscles of low back pain patients have been described. Atrophy of the multifidus muscles in patients with back pain, lumbar radiculopathy, and lumbar degenerative kyphosis are specifically noted. Intensified fat infiltration of the multifidus muscle is also seen in patients with lumbar radiculopathy and lumbar degenerative kyphosis. (1) In a report on 78 patients with either degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis or degenerative lumbar kyphosis, researchers documented these degenerative muscle patterns. The multifidus muscle is seen as the stabilizer of the lumbar spine segments while the erector spinae muscles tend to be seen as the stabilizers of spinal sagittal balance. Multifidus muscle degeneration was more significant in the degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis patients. Erector spinae degeneration was more significant in the degenerative lumbar kyphosis patients as well as more directly correlated with the severity of spinal kyphosis curvature. (2) Continuous chronic low back pain patients as contrasted with non-continuous and recurrent low back pain sufferers were found to have higher EMG activity in erector spinae and multifidus muscles in extension. (3) Your Burlington and Hamilton chiropractor at Spinal Care Clinic pays close attention to these variations.

BACK PAIN AND BACK MUSCLES: STABILITY

Spinal Care Clinic also notes back pain and muscle response on spinal stability. Researchers explained that chronic low back pain impairs spinal stability of its sufferers. In examining the activation patterns of the latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, and upward scapular rotation muscles of chronic LBP patients, researchers found a significant rise in upward scapular rotation in all shoulder abduction positions on both sides. The left side was more affected than the right. Further, they found greater latissimus dorsi muscle activities and reduced gluteus maximus activities in chronic low back pain. (4) Spinal manipulation is explained as stimulating transient physiological responses of which paraspinal muscle activity and muscle spindle responses are included. (5) Your Burlington and Hamilton chiropractor will keep these in mind when treating your spine as well as in designing exercises to address weaknesses. 

CONTACT Spinal Care Clinic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Paulette Hugulet on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. She describes her implementation of spinal manipulation, namely the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management, for a 77-year-old patient to decrease pain and improve muscle strength and function.