January 2024 Healthy News from Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. 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 little disc isn’t necessarily pain-free. Surprised? If you have a small disc and pain, you are not! What does matter is (1) how much mechanical pressure the disc protrusion is placing on the nerve root and/or (2) the amount of chemical irritation is involved 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 hurt when this new chemical irritant comes in! A tiny disc extrusion can produce enormous pain if chemical irritation is part of the problem. A huge protruded may not produce pain at all if it does not contact a spinal nerve. (1-7) A 2023 published study just ended their report with the conclusion 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 Auburn back pain with or without sciatic leg pain or neck pain with or without arm pain radiculopathy, come see Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. for some Auburn 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 because of a disc herniation.
Auburn 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’re analyzing influencing factors that chronic pain sufferers and their caregivers ought to address for optimal clinical outcomes:
- Understand the condition. A clear grasp of the chronic primary low back pain condition via education/advice was related to improvements in pain, function, quality of life, and psychological outcomes. (9)
- Consider emotional influences. Adverse childhood events were found to be significantly associated with chronic pain and pain-related disability as an adult. (10)
- Undergo spinal manipulation. A review of nonpharmacological pain management approaches undergone by Medicare patients found that manipulative therapies, mainly chiropractic, have been the most extensively investigated methods. (11) Cox® Technic flexion-distraction - as we utilize in our chiropractic practice – benefitted 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 over a 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! Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. is happy to be your Auburn chiropractic partner in this effort. See you soon!