The brain and the spine. They are connected. They
are connected more intimately than any of us appreciate
as we go about our daily lives. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center keeps this connection top-of-mind as we treat our Manahawkin back
pain sufferers’ spines and pay attention to their stories of
pain and ways of coping. Manahawkin chiropractic care at Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
respects the brain and spine connection and implement gentle, safe
chiropractic services incorporating spinal manipulation to ease
pain affecting both.
BRAIN CHANGES IN Manahawkin BACK PAIN
Pain changes the brain. A person in pain feels
it. Special tests today can reveal it. BOLD (blood oxygen level
dependent) responses were examined after stimulating lumbar spinous
processes with manipulation and exhibited activity in the
secondary somatosensory cortex, cerebellum and other brain areas. (1) Motor cortex stimulation triggers a spinal
anti-inflammatory response to decrease pain. (2) Depression,
anxiety, cognitive deficits often accompany chronic
constriction of the sciatic nerve because 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 associated issues.
SHORT TERM STIMULATION’S EFFECT ON BRAIN
Stimulating the brain even for a short time may influence
the pain experience. A recent study on Euclidean distance between
cortical sources and temporal dynamics of plastic changes in the somatosensory
cortex of the brain had even your Manahawkin chiropractor’s head
spinning a bit! What a subject! Without having to grasp
all these terms and measurements shared in the study, know that
the study presented that the brain, even the adult brain, is pliable.
Sure, the young developing brain is most impressionable, but with the appropriate
input, the older, adult brain can transform. The researchers in
this study measured and compared the brain’s cortical size
before and after stimulation and compared them on MRI. They noticed
a difference. More research needs to be done, but they did describe
that long term experience establishes cortical organization while
occasional, new and different stimulation can induce
cortical reorganization of the adult brain. Such changes have been seen
in musicians, Braille readers, and persons after spinal manipulation and stroke
rehab. (4) This knowledge of the brain
contributes to the Manahawkin chiropractic treatment
plan!
BRAIN CHANGES WITH CHRONIC PAIN
Just how is the chiropractic treatment plan influenced by such information of the brain? Let us start
by examining the brain with chronic pain. The two brain regions that encode the
intensity of pain 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 shown to be
thinner in chronic low back pain patients. Post-treatment, the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is thicker. To the researchers, this indicated
that treating chronic pain may well restore normal
brain functions. (6) Manahawkin Chiropractic Center care for Manahawkin back pain patients all day long. It is amazing to imagine
that treatment might modify more than just the pain response!
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
Listen to this PODCAST
by Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
defines more plainly the brain and spine and pain
connection, illustrates in more depth how the cells of the body
are constantly remodeling and adapting to
their ever-changing mechanical environment, and how chiropractic may intervene
positively.
Schedule a non-surgical Manahawkin chiropractic care
appointment with Manahawkin Chiropractic Center for your pain, brain, and spine! The
connection is there between pain and the brain. Manahawkin Chiropractic Center can get in the center
of those two and help you get some Manahawkin pain relief.