The brain and the spine. They’re connected. They’re connected more closely than any of us realize
as we go about our daily lives. Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. keeps this connection in
mind as we treat our Auburn back
pain sufferers’ spines and pay attention to their stories of
pain and ways of coping. Auburn chiropractic care at Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C.
respects the brain and spine connection and use gentle, safe
chiropractic services incorporating spinal manipulation to reduce
pain affecting both.
BRAIN CHANGES IN Auburn BACK PAIN
Pain changes the brain. A person in pain knows
it. Special tests today can reveal it. BOLD (blood oxygen level
dependent) responses were analyzed after stimulating lumbar spinous
processes with manipulation and demonstrated activity in the
secondary somatosensory cortex, cerebellum and other brain areas. (1) Motor cortex stimulation provokes a spinal
anti-inflammatory response to decrease pain. (2) Depression,
anxiety, cognitive deficits often accompany chronic
constriction of the sciatic nerve as a result of its effect
on the medial prefrontal cortex. (3)
Spinal manipulation may be a way to deal with the
brain changes in chronic pain and its related issues.
SHORT TERM STIMULATION’S EFFECT ON BRAIN
Stimulating the brain even for a short time may impact
the pain experience. A new study on Euclidean distance between
cortical sources and temporal dynamics of plastic changes in the somatosensory
cortex of the brain had even your Auburn chiropractor’s mind
spinning a bit! What a subject! Without having to understand
all these terms and measurements discussed in the study, know that
the study presented that the brain, even the adult brain, is malleable.
Sure, the young developing brain is most impressionable, but with the appropriate
input, the older, adult brain can transform. The researchers in
this study took measurements
before and after stimulation and compared them on MRI. They saw
a difference. More research needs to be done, but they did explain
that long term experience establishes cortical organization while
transient, new and different stimulation can trigger
cortical reorganization of the adult brain. Such changes have been discovered
in musicians, Braille readers, and persons after spinal manipulation and stroke
rehab. (4) This understanding of the brain
contributes to the Auburn chiropractic treatment
plan!
BRAIN CHANGES WITH CHRONIC PAIN
Just how is the chiropractic treatment plan affected
with such knowledge of the brain? Let’s start
by examining the brain with chronic pain. The two brain regions that encode the
intensity of painful stimuli and add to the overall
experience of chronic pain are the primary somatosensory cortex and posterior
insular cortex. (5) The cortex of the brain was discovered to be
thinner in chronic low back pain patients. After treatment, the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is thicker. To the researchers, this implied
that treating chronic pain may well reestablish normal
brain functions. (6) Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. care for Auburn back pain patients all day long. It is amazing to think
that treatment might modify more than just the pain response!
CONTACT Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C.
Listen to this PODCAST
by Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
explains more clearly the brain and spine and pain
connection, describes in more depth how the cells of the body
are continually remodeling and adjusting to
their ever-changing mechanical environment, and how chiropractic may help.
Schedule a non-surgical Auburn chiropractic care
appointment with Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. for your pain, brain, and spine! The
connection is there between pain and the brain. Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. can get in the middle
of those two and help you obtain some Auburn pain relief.