No doubt, our Severna Park chronic
back pain sufferers have heard about related
paraspinal (multifidus, psoas, quadratus lumborum, erector spinae) muscle fatty
infiltrate. They are all tied together: fatty
muscle infiltration, disc degeneration, spinal stenosis, facet joint
degeneration, back pain. Back And Neck Care Center addresses all of them, too, to lessen
back pain, improve the spine, and enhance your
quality of life.
WHAT IS PARASPINAL MUSCLE FATTY INFILTRATE?
Paraspinal muscle fatty infiltrate is the growth of fat within the tissue of the muscles located
near the spine, the paraspinal muscles. This condition may be triggered
by aging or genetics although it can also be activated
by lifestyle factors such as poor nutrition or lack of exercise. This condition doesn’t always trigger
symptoms, but if it does, they can involve low back pain and associated
stiffness in the lower back and legs or troubled walking due to gait disturbances. Intervertebral disc degeneration is a well-recognized
culprit of chronic back pain, disc inflammation, and even spinal stability. Strong,
effective paraspinal muscles assist spinal stability. With
back pain comes fatty infiltration of the paraspinal muscles that interfere
with stability. (1) Back And Neck Care Center tests for these issues carefully
during the chiropractic exam with an appreciation for the possible connection.
THE BACK PAIN AND WEAK PARASPINAL MUSCLE CONNECTION
A recent study summarized that disc
degeneration and paraspinal muscle weakness were strongly associated,
facet joint degeneration and paraspinal muscle weakness were weakly correlated,
and facet joint degeneration and disc degeneration were strongly associated.
The authors noted that the amount
of paraspinal muscle weakness increased with level
of lumbar disc degeneration and facet joint degeneration while fatty
infiltration of the multifidus paraspinal muscle was vulnerable
to weight. (2) Further, the published literature on the extent to
which low back pain and fatty infiltration of multifidus and other paraspinal
muscles (erector spinae, psoas, quadratus lumborum) influenced
each other was somewhat conflicting – which comes first
(pain or fatty infiltrate), can fatty infiltrate be reversed, is
one predictive of the other (back pain that there is fatty infiltrate or fatty
infiltrate that points to future back pain)? (3)
Back And Neck Care Center keeps on top of published research and urges our back pain patients to improve
the muscles that they can so that they can maintain the spine in
healing and preventing more bouts of pain as best
as possible.
CHIROPRACTIC CARE OF BACK PAIN AND MUSCLE WEAKNESS
Back And Neck Care Center knows that low back pain
patients don’t just have pain; they also
get to experience muscle quality loss due to more
fatty infiltration of the paraspinal muscles. The extent of muscle loss is highly correlated with the severity of the back pain and
related dysfunction. (4) That’s the reason that exercise
is so important in addition to treatment of back pain
for pain relief and prevention. Using The Cox Technic System
of Spinal Pain Management as well as other chiropractic services,
nutrition and exercise, Back And Neck Care Center is here to help! While researchers are
still studying whether fatty infiltration is changeable,
Back And Neck Care Center sees the effort to tone and strengthen a worthwhile effort.
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Kurt Olding on
The Back Doctors Podcast
with Dr. Michael Johnson as he details the multitude of
options open to back pain sufferers regarding healthcare providers and emphasizes the benefit of being
under the care of a chiropractor trained in the protocols of The
Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
CONTACT Back And Neck Care Center
Schedule your Severna Park chiropractic visit
to address your back pain and weakened paraspinal muscles. Relief and an enhanced
quality of life are ahead for you!