Healthy News January 2024 Disc Size Doesnt Necessarily Matter & 4 Ways To Ease Chronic Pain

Now there’s a novel idea for the start of a new year amidst all the talk of new year’s talk of dieting to downsize! With back pain and neck pain, a small disc isn’t really pain-free. Surprised? If you have a small disc and pain, you are not! What does matter is (1) the amount of pressure the disc protrusion is placing on the nerve root and/or (2) the amount of chemical irritation is present if a disc extrusion’s inner gel-like material has left the anular fibers that surround it and now encircles the spinal nerve(s) which has (have) never come in contact with each other before. Nerves don’t like this new chemical “bath” and hurt! A tiny extruded disc can provoke enormous pain if chemical irritation is part of the problem. A huge disc protrusion may not trigger 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 significant relationship to pain and function. (8) If you or a loved one or friend is starting 2024 with Severna Park back pain with or without sciatic leg pain or neck pain with or without arm pain radiculopathy, come see Back And Neck Care Center for some Severna Park 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 due to a disc herniation.              

 

Severna Park 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) to manage chronic pain (back, neck, etc.), they are studying influencing factors that chronic pain sufferers and their caregivers ought to address for best clinical outcomes:

1. Understand the condition. A clear understanding of the chronic primary low back pain condition via education/advice was associated with improvements in pain, function, quality of life, and psychological outcomes. (9)
2. Consider emotional influences. Adverse childhood events were documented to be significantly related to chronic pain and pain-related disability as an adult. (10)
3. Undergo spinal manipulation. A study of nonpharmacological pain management methods used by Medicare patients found that manipulative therapies, mainly chiropractic, have been the most widely investigated methods. (11) Cox® Technic flexion-distraction - as we use in our targetlocation practice – helped a 67-year-old veteran who suffered with chronic low back pain and intermittent lower extremity pain for many decades get overall improvement in his condition, reduce use of pain medication, and increase mobility after 4 sessions over a 4-week period. (12)
4. Exercise. Structured exercise programs were shown to decrease pain and functional limitation in chronic low back pain patients. (13)

Make 2024 your year for pain relief! Back And Neck Care Center is excited to be your Severna Park chiropractic partner in this endeavor. See you soon!

Schedule your Severna Park chiropractic appointment now!