Low back pain due to Disc Conditions
Are you one of the 65 million Americans suffering from low back pain due to a disc problem? Which includes disc herniation, disc bulge, disc protrusion?
Maybe you’ve been to therapy or even seen a chiropractor but you’re still not feeling better OR worse… you haven’t tried anything because you don’t think there’s any help for you!
I’d like to share with you an excellent method you may not have heard about that is responsible for resolving thousands of people’s LBP because of disc issues.
The discs are supposed to act like spacers that are cushions in between the vertebrae. A disc bulge or herniation is when a section of the annular fibers weaken and the internal nucleus pulposus bulges or protrudes outward like jelly squeezing out of a donut. This creates irritation and inflammation and what’s worse it can put pressure on the nerve roots which leads to more pain and sometimes numbness, tingling, and radiation down one or both legs.
Another part of the problem, is that discs do not heal well or easily. Unlike bones, which have a very good blood supply, discs do not have a good arterial supply so they heal very slowly. In many cases, a broken bone may heal faster and better than a disc. And, unlike a broken arm or leg that can be immobilized, the disc is under constant pressure which impedes the healing process.
So how do we help people with lower back pain?
The method we use is called flexion/distraction and that’s a fancy way to say stretching and bending. You may also think of it as spinal decompression or axial decompression. When we flex and distract the spine we are decompressing the pressure that the body is putting on the disc and thereby decompressing the disc helping the bulge heal.
It also helps improve the imbibition. Imbibition is the exchange of fluid into the disc that happens by stretching and relaxing the spine, very much like squeezing and releasing a sponge. As we mentioned earlier, discs do not have a good arterial supply so they require proper spinal mechanical movement to heal.
For many people, flexion distraction has been the solution to helping heal their low back pain. And by itself it’s a wonderful technique. But there are times when we use this method along with other methodologies, such as physical therapy, ultrasound, electronic muscle stimulation, and exercise rehab.
And, many times my ace up my sleeve, is using flexion distraction along with acupuncture. This combination has helped many, many people alleviate their low back pain as well as avoid unnecessary, dangerous back surgery.
So if you were someone you know is suffering needlessly from lower back pain due to a disc issue, I want you to know there is hope. And we can help.
Call us today at 815-469-7472 to schedule your evaluation today.