New Research from Minster Chiropractic Center: Exercise Helps Spinal Stenosis Patients, Regardless of Severity
If you've been told you have spinal stenosis or a disc protrusion, it's natural to feel wary of exercise — won't moving the wrong way make things worse? Two new research papers published in this year offer real reassurance, and they're well worth sharing with your doctor of chiropractic at Minster Chiropractic Center as you work toward feeling better.
SEVERE STENOSIS ON YOUR SCAN? EXERCISE STILL WORKS
A sizable retrospective study following 1,806 patients with mild, moderate, and severe lumbar spinal stenosis through an exercise-based rehabilitation program was published in Physical Therapy, and its findings push back on a common assumption. (1) Researchers found that participants improved significantly in pain, function, strength, disability, and medication use — and researchers found no meaningful difference in how well patients responded to exercise based on how advanced their stenosis appeared on scans, with more than one in ten patients able to discontinue narcotic pain medication entirely. In plain terms: a severe-looking scan doesn't mean exercise is off the table.
DISC PROTRUSION PATIENTS SEE REAL GAINS FROM STABILIZATION EXERCISE
A randomized clinical trial published in Health Science Reports followed sixty patients with a one-sided lumbar disc protrusion for eight weeks, comparing routine physiotherapy by itself to routine physiotherapy plus supervised stabilization exercises targeting the deep stabilizing muscles of the trunk. Pain, disability, and lumbar range of motion improved in both groups, though the stabilization group saw significantly greater gains — and ultrasound imaging showed stronger activation of the deep abdominal muscles and multifidus that help stabilize the lower spine. Just as promising: across the eight-week trial of supervised exercise, not a single participant had a symptom flare-up or a exercise-related injury, only mild soreness in the first weeks that resolved on its own. (2)
LET’S TALK AT YOUR NEXT APPOINTMENT
These findings don't mean every exercise is right for every spine, and the correct exercise plan is tailored to your own imaging, symptoms, and goals — so before beginning or adjusting any exercise program, talk with your treating chiropractor at Minster Chiropractic Center in Minster, who can help you approach relief with confidence rather than fear.
Check out this podcast with Dr. Kurt Olding on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares the benefit of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for spinal stenosis.
