July 2021 Healthy News from Minster Chiropractic Center
Distraction and Patient Education and Exercise
Knee and hip osteoarthritis are known and growing concerns as our society ages…around the world. Today, Canada is evaluating the “Good Life with Osteoarthritis in Demark” (GLAD) program for knee and hip osteoarthritis. The program combines manual therapy, exercise and patient education. (1) In one GLAD study in which patients attended 2-3 patient education classes and 12 supervised exercise sessions over the course of 8 weeks, patients’ pain intensity improved 26-33%, walking speed improved 8-12%, chair standability improved 18-30%, and joint-related quality of life improved 12-26%. (2) (Another study used MRI to measure the thickness of knee joint cartilage after knee joint distraction to find that it increased with treatment bringing about significant short- and long-term cartilage regeneration up to 10 years after treatment. (3) This was performed with young people, but there is hope!) Back in 2017, a Canadian chiropractor described the benefit of his application of Cox® flexion-distraction-principle-based distraction to the osteoarthritic knee, and the success he has witnessed in his patients. Inclusively (acute and chronic patients together), patients related a mean visual analog scale score drop from 7.7 to 1.8 in 3 weeks and 5.3 treatments. Acute knee OA patients’ scores decreased from 8.1 to 1.1 in 4.8 treatments in 2.4 weeks. Chronic patients’ scores dropped from 7.5 to 2.2 in 3.3 weeks and 5.4 treatments. (4) Chiropractors like yours at Minster Chiropractic Center are ahead of the curve with their modified Cox® Technic principles-based-flexion-distraction-approach to knee osteoarthritis. Novel protocols for use in hip OA are also in development. Let’s talk today about how distraction treatment may help your Minster knee and hip osteoarthritis!
HOPE FOR DEGENERATED DISCS: Chondroitin Sulfate
Back pain treatment approaches be they surgical, exercise, nutrition, and/or manual therapy based abound while back pain continues. Injecting hyaluronic acid hydrogel is demonstrating some promise as it is shown to suppress the loss of disc height, promote tissue hydration for disc repair, and reduce inflammation and innervation to ward off more disc degeneration. (5) The nutritional approach continues to hold hope for back pain sufferers as the disc matrix components are identified, two central components being chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and hyaluronan. Making chondroitin sulfate available to the disc in addition to controlling the hydrostatic pressure of the disc is valuable. (6) Cox® Technic is shown to decrease intradiscal pressure, so combining it with chondroitin sulfate may be, too. Are you taking yours? You may want to think about including a disc supplement containing chondroitin sulfate to your schedule after we talk. Minster Chiropractic Center is ready!
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he presents research on the part chondroitin sulfate plays in the health, degeneration and possible regeneration of the intervertebral disc and in the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
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Schedule your next Minster chiropractic appointment with Minster Chiropractic Center. See you then!