January 2024 Healthy News from Minster Chiropractic Center Disc Herniation Size Doesnt Always Matter and Ways to Lower Chronic Pain
DISC SIZE DOESN’T (necessarily) MATTER!
Now that is a twist on new year’s resolutions of dieting to downsize! With back pain and neck pain, a little disc isn’t necessarily pain-free. Surprised? If you have a small disc and pain, you are not! What matters is (1) the amount of pressure the disc protrusion is placing on the nerve root and/or (2) how much chemical irritation is present if an extruded disc’s inner gel-like material has exited the outer annular fibers and now encircles the spinal nerve(s) which has (have) never touched each other before. Nerves don’t like this new chemical “bath” and hurt! A tiny extruded disc can cause a great amount of pain if chemical irritation is involved. A huge protruded may not produce pain at all if it does not 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 Minster back pain with or without sciatic leg pain or neck pain with or without arm pain radiculopathy, come see Minster Chiropractic Center for some Minster 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.
Minster 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) in managing chronic pain (back, neck, etc.), they are studying 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 related to chronic pain and pain-related disability as an adult. (10)
- Undergo spinal manipulation. A study of nonpharmacological pain management approaches chosen 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 gain mobility after 4 sessions in just a short 4-week period. (12)
- Exercise. Structured exercise programs were shown to reduce pain and functional limitation in chronic low back pain patients. (13)
Make 2024 your year for pain relief! Minster Chiropractic Center is excited to be your Minster chiropractic partner in this project. See you soon!