Extension of the spine: It is good. It
is bad.
So what is up with spinal extension?
Both are accurate: It is good. It is
bad. It’s the job of your Auburn chiropractor to help you determine the role of extension for your Auburn
back pain relief plan and Auburn back pain control plan in the future.
Your Auburn chiropractor at Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. is well experienced
in the effects – good and bad – of spinal extension and respects its role in spinal
health and mobility.
SPINAL CURVES
Two of the spine’s most prominent curves –
the cervical and lumbar curves – are lordotic curves meaning they curve concavely.
Flexion flattens these curves. Extension magnifies them. When a disc herniates
or bulges, it does so into the concavity of the curve and potentially presses
on the spinal nerves resulting in pain. Flexion often
permits the disc bulge to move off of the
nerve. Extension often allows the disc bulge to compress
the nerves more. Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. intends to help reduce
painful situations like this!
SPINAL MOTION
75% of the flexion and extension movement in the low back happens
at the L5-S1 level of the lumbar spine. 20% is at the
L4-L5 level. Therefore, 95% of flexion and extension of the lumbar spine happens
at these two lower disc levels. Here, degenerative disc disease (minor and more
advanced) happens most. In the cervical spine, C5-C6 is the spinal
level where most of the flexion occurs, and C4-C5 is where
most of the extension occurs. Auburn chiropractic
patients need beneficial extension!
SPINAL EXTENSION
Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. respects extension and gets
how it may help and hurt. The extensor muscles in the
back weaken and degenerate just as discs degenerate. (1)
Extension helps strengthen these muscles to support the spine. Extension is essential
for this when the spine is healthy enough to do extension. Extension to a painful spine may be
harmful. Why? In the cervical spine, flexion decreased disc
protrusion and enlarges the sagittal diameter of the vertebral
canal while extension increased the disc protrusion and narrowed the vertebral canal causing
stenosis. (2) In a degenerative lumbar spine with spinal stenosis, flexion widened
the vertebral canal and reduced pain while extension worsened
the stenosis and produced pain. (3) Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. knows
the key to eliciting the benefits of extension is in recognizing
when to use extension.
Auburn CHIROPRACTIC USE OF EXTENSION
Auburn chiropractic treatment incorporates
extension into the Auburn chiropractic treatment plan for its benefits.
Cox® Technic used with the cervical spine reduced
intradiscal pressures to as low as 502 mmHg (4) and to as low as -192 mmHg in
the lumbar spine. (5) Extension increased pressures in the lumbar
spine to 1250 mmHg (the most the transducer could measure).
(4) Reducing intradiscal pressures and back pain is what
Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. aims to do for its Auburn back pain
patients.
CONTACT Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C.
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. David Atiyeh on the Back
Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. He shares how he cared for
a patient whose back pain persists after multiple back
surgeries with flexion distraction which relieves her pain
as the table is flexed not extended.
Schedule your Auburn chiropractic appointment
with Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. today. Let’s figure out
the role extension might have in your back pain recovery and future
back pain control strategy.