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Normal Degeneration Linked with Manahawkin Spinal Stenosis

Normal degeneration of the spine may sound incongruous when talking about degeneration, but age encounters us all. Age brings on degeneration normally. Our Manahawkin chiropractic practice acknowledges and respects age for its influence on the spine and its influence in paraspinal muscle and disc degeneration. They go hand-in-hand. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center treats them gently and successfully, especially when our patients participate fully by keeping appointments, exercising, and taking supplements that can be beneficial. It is all part of the Manahawkin chiropractic treatment plan!

NORMAL DEGENERATION: Age

Age. Not a topic we enjoy talking about, but age does not mind. It keeps doing what it does. Age contributed much when comparing the fatty infiltration of muscle in normal people to that in lumbar spinal stenosis patients matched for age, BMI, weight, etc. The paraspinal muscle changes in lumbar spinal stenosis patients and normal people were comparable. Degeneration of these muscles related to age was more noticeable in lumbar spinal stenosis patients especially in the multifidus muscles. (1) In a radiographic study of degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis patients, age-related risk factors were noted. Researchers wrote that larger intervertebral disc height and more severe vertebral endplate failure may trigger degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis because of the increased mobility of the segment, progressing disc degeneration. Weakened paravertebral muscles may weaken lumbar spinal stability. (2) Truly, the spine and all its muscles are linked. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center looks at them all, to their response to treatment, to their part in the pain.

BACK PAIN AND ITS PALS

Low back pain has friends. It brings with it degeneration, change, fat, imbalance and more. Researchers adknowledged intervertebral disc degeneration as being the number one cause of chronic low back pain. It is a familiar and recurrent condition in spine surgery fields. Disc degeneration is related to disc inflammation. As we humans age, researchers pointed out that its bone marrow changes to bone marrow fat, triggering an inflammatory response in the disc and paraspinal muscles which influence spine stability. As the muscles fill with fat, low back pain transitioned to chronic. (3) In a study of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and sciatica/leg pain, researchers saw that lumbar degenerative diseases prompted paravertebral muscle degeneration with higher levels of intramuscular fat infiltration. Women’s paraspinal muscles were significantly smaller. The erector spinae muscle and multifidus muscle in older aged patients were described as having more fat in them. (4) Manahawkin Chiropractic Center appreciates that aging contributes to back pain’s development, path, and treatment.

LESS IS MORE: Treating Aged Back Pain

Since researchers noticed that with age comes fatty infiltration of paraspinal muscles and inflammatory responses in the disc, it is logical that doing less if back surgery is done would be wise. A recent study wrote that adding fusion to a decompression back surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis increased the odds of new stenosis on an MRI two years later at the operated level or at an adjacent spinal level even when spondylolisthesis (a condition that one vertebra slipped on another one) was noted at surgery. (5) Less is more oftentimes when treating back pain. Gentler treatment can go far in reducing pain. That is the motto of the CTFDD treatment plan at Manahawkin Chiropractic Center: gentle spinal manipulation, gentle exercise, etc.

CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Joseph Beissel on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the relief with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for a patient with chronic low back pain.  

Schedule your Manahawkin chiropractic appointment soon. There’s no escaping age or its accompanying pal, degeneration. If disc degeneration and spinal muscle degeneration are now your pals, trust Manahawkin Chiropractic Center to get you all on a path to healing. 

 
Manahawkin degenerative spinal changes  
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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."