January 2024 Healthy News from Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation Disc Herniation Size Doesnt Always Matter and Ways to Lower Chronic Pain
DISC SIZE DOESN’T (necessarily) MATTER!
Now that’s’ a twist on new year’s resolutions of dieting to downsize! With back pain and neck pain, a small disc is not really pain-free. Surprised? If you have a small disc and pain, you’re not! What matters is (1) the amount of pressure the disc protrusion is putting on the nerve root and/or (2) how much chemical irritation is involved if a disc extrusion’s inner gel-like material has escaped the anular fibers that surround it and now surrounds the spinal nerve(s) which has (have) never come in contact with each other before. Nerves hurt when this new chemical irritant comes in! A tiny extruded disc can cause lots of pain if chemical irritation is part of the problem. A huge protruded may not cause pain at all if it doesn’t 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 starting 2024 with Carrolltown back pain with or without sciatic leg pain or neck pain with or without arm pain radiculopathy, come visit Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation for some Carrolltown 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 suffering with back and leg pain due to a disc herniation.
Carrolltown CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE MONTH: 4 Ways to Reduce Chronic Pain In 2024
As researchers and healthcare professionals work toward establishing practice guidelines (ex: WHO) in managing chronic pain (back, neck, etc.), they are analyzing influencing factors that chronic pain sufferers and their caregivers need to address for optimal clinical outcomes:
- 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)
- 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 used by Medicare patients reported that manipulative therapies, mainly chiropractic, have been the most extensively studied approaches. (11) Cox® Technic flexion-distraction - as we utilize in our targetlocation practice – helped a 67-year-old veteran who experienced chronic low back pain and intermittent lower extremity pain for several decades realize 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 reported to reduce pain and functional limitation in chronic low back pain patients. (13)
Make 2024 your year for pain relief! Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation is excited to be your Carrolltown chiropractic partner in this endeavor. See you soon!