How Chiropractic Adjustments Can Help Foraminal Stenosis

If you have had pain going down your arm or leg due to a pinched nerve chiropractic may be one of the best things you can do to get well quickly. 

The discs are located between the bones, or vertebrae, in your spine. They act as spacers, allowing room for the nerve to travel out the holes, or foraminal canals. That is the place where the nerve can often get pinched, and when it's pinched, it hurts. Sometimes that pinching can happen due to a bone spur, due to the disc becoming degenerative and flattening out, or a ligament is constricting and compressing on that nerve. 

Chiropractic adjustments work by helping to open up those holes and take the pressure off of the nerve. The tunnels, or foraminal canals, are "opened" when a gentle adjustment is given, and proper motion to the vertebrae is restored. That takes the pressure off of the nerve, allows the pain to subside, and the function to increase. So if you have been suffering from a pinched nerve due to a bone spurs or ligament overgrowth; do not hesitate to reach out to your local chiropractor to see if chiropractic care may be the best solution to get you on track and feeling great as quickly as possible. 

Before You Reach for That Bottle of Pills, Reach for New Research from The Lancet

If you have back pain, you may not want to reach for that bottle of pills. Brand new research from one of the oldest and most respected medical journals, the Lancet, has showcased that mediations, injections, and surgery should be your last options when dealing with back pain. 

They also discussed that a collaborative approach to care, between medical doctors and chiropractors, just might be the future of back pain relief. 

The Lancet showcased that collaborative care model is best when dealing with back pain. Back pain is one of the most significant burdens on people worldwide with over half a billion people suffering at any given time. But here is the really interesting part of their research0 they point out that many of the common practices like medications, injections, and even surgery should not be your first option when dealing with back pain. As a matter of fact, they go on to say that there has historically been a massive gap between what the evidence shows to be effective care and the actual care given in many medical doctors offices today.

Conservative collaborative care, including the care given by chiropractors, is the best place to start. 

Chiropractors were also involved in the publication and the research behind these groundbreaking papers. So, it is a fantastic day when collaborative conservative care comes to the forefront and medications, injections, and surgery go to only those who need it (which thankfully is only a tiny percentage of the people).

So if you know someone who has suffered from back pain, please keep in mind that a collaborative approach to care is best. Staying conservative with exercise, perhaps seeing a chiropractor, staying as active as possible, and maintaining a positive outlook is crucial to recovering and thriving after a bout of low back pain. 

Learn more about this exciting research on The Evidence Based Chiropractor Podcast. 

How to Find Relief from Pinched Nerves

Pinched nerves are not exactly what most people would call a good time. A pinched or compressed nerve can cause pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness in your arm or leg. It can be debilitating! When the nerves are leaving your spinal column they have very little protection.

And if a disc, ligament, or bone spur get near a nerve…ouch! The pain can start there and then travel the entire length of that nerve root resulting in pain that radiates into your arms and legs. Let’s just say that your nerves don’t like being pushed around. 

Find Natural Relief from Pinched Nerves

The good news is that you can experience a lot of relief by taking the pressure off of the nerves. Research has shown that chiropractic adjustments can help reduce the pinching or compression on those delicate nerves roots. And with less pressure on the nerve, you can finally find relief. 

- Your nerves communicate with every organ, tissue, and cell in your body

- Bone spurs, ligament overgrowth, or disc problems can cause pressure on these nerves 

- Adjustments gently open the holes, or canals, of your spine, thereby decreasing the pressure on the nerves to help you function and feel better! 

Next Steps: 

Take a look around and do some "people watching" today. You will see that many people walk crooked or bent over towards one side. Sometimes this is the result of a pinched nerve. They are trying to lean away from the pain and open up those nerve channels. But, by staying active, maintaining a full range of motion, and getting periodic chiropractic care- you can count on standing tall for years to come! 

Science Source: 

Cervical radiculopathy: a systematic review on treatment by spinal manipulation and measurement with the Neck Disability Index. Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association 2012

Symptomatic, MRI Confirmed, Lumbar Disc Herniations: A Comparison of Outcomes Depending on the Type and Anatomical Axial Location of the Hernia in Patients Treated With High-Velocity, Low-Amplitude Spinal Manipulation. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2016

If you are a chiropractor? Learn more about this topic and much more here at The Smart Chiropractor.  

How to Keep Your Spinal Discs Healthy

Spinal discs are the shock absorbers between the bones, or vertebrae, of your spine. The discs have a tough outer ring and a jelly-like center. Their job is to help us move, bend, and twist while absorbing the weight of gravity. But, over time, our spinal discs can become degenerative.

Injuries, aging, and the effects of gravity all contribute to disc degeneration. The good news is that degenerative discs rarely cause pain unless they budge or herniate, placing pressure on the spinal nerves. So how you can slow down the degenerative process and keep your discs healthy?

Top research journals have recently discovered that movement and hydration are two important factors to keep your discs healthy. A well-hydrated disc can more easily adapt to movement and is less prone to injury. Many chiropractic techniques are designed to “pump” your spinal discs. This motion helps bring nutrients into the disc and pushes out inflammation and waste. That is a fancy way to say that chiropractic care can help keep your spinal discs healthy! Here are the key takeaways:

Your spinal discs act as small shock absorbers between the bones of your spine .

Movement helps bring nutrients into the disc and pushes out waste and inflammation; helping them stay healthy. 

Torn, herniated, or bulged discs can cause pain by irritating the nearby nerves. Researchers have found chiropractic care to be one of the best ways to heal and feel better!  

A combination of chiropractic care and staying well-hydrated are two ways to keep your spinal discs healthy and pain-free. But, don’t forget to stay active between your adjustments. And here is one more tip to slow down Father Time- daily exercise and stretching. Exercise and stretching will not only keep you fit and trim but can also potentially slow down the degenerative changes of your spine keeping you healthy and active for many years to come! 

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If you would like research-based content like this for your practice (we are talking about videos, newsletters, social media graphics, blog posts, and MORE) then visit us and learn more at The Smart Chiropractor.

Modern chiropractic marketing made easy. 

Chiropractic Before or After a Spinal Injection: The Facts!

Suffering through the pain associated with a disc herniation can be debilitating. When a spinal disc is pressing on a nerve it can result in excruciating pain that may seem like it will never go away.

Quite often medical doctor’s recommend nerve root injections (also known as Epidural Steroid Injections) if they see on an MRI that the disc is pressing on a nerve. But how many times do they also recommend chiropractic care with the injections? Not often enough.

Over 9 million spinal injections are given every year for spine-related pain. That is over 24,000 every day! Injections are often given when a patient is suffering from radiculopathy or a compressed nerve root.

Over 24,000 SPINAL injections are given every day!

I believe there is a better, research-supported way to find relief. But first, let's set the stage a bit.

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The 3 tissues that can pinch a nerve and cause pain are:

• Spinal Discs

• Bone Spurs and Osteophytes

• Ligament Overgrowth and Hypertrophy

Whether the compression is caused by a disc, ligament, or bone- the nerve doesn't care. It's aggravated and causing pain. Statistically, many of these people are going to visit their medical doctor to find relief. Over 30% of the patients in a primary care doctors office are there for treatment of a musculoskeletal complaint.

When they go to see their medical doctor with radiculopathy, the medical doctor may prescribe an anti-inflammatory, and perhaps physical therapy. Then an MRI is ordered. 

What do they find? 

Well, if it's a disc pressing on the nerve, the next stop for that patient is quite often a physiatrist, pain management doctor, or neurologist for a spinal injection. The goal of the injection is to decrease the inflammation and "numb" the area, which may provide temporary relief at best. And what happens when the injections stop working? It's off to the surgeon.

I believe there is a better path to relief.

I thought it would be interesting to look at the research showcasing the use chiropractic or injections for the treatment of radiculopathy. First up was a study from JMPT in 2013. The title is "symptomatic MRI-confirmed lumbar disc herniation patients comparing high-velocity low amplitude spinal manipulative therapy or image guided lumbar nerve root injections."

 And guess what the researchers found?

The researchers found, "both of the treatment groups had significant decreases in their pain scores at one month with a 60 percent reduction for the spinal manipulative therapy cohort and a 53 percent reduction for the nerve root injection group".

The spinal manipulation group had much better outcomes than the nerve root injection group.

Additionally, they found, "lumbar nerve and injections are commonly used, and accepted treatment option for these patients whereas lumbar spinal manipulation as a treatment for disc herniation remains controversial amongst some healthcare professionals." 

That tells us that there is some work to do on the relationships building front. With the volume of nerve root injections and all the risks- people should be exploring conservative care, such as chiropractic, first!
(in the absence of red-flags and extenuating circumstances)

Keep in mind this is a symptomatic, MRI-confirmed lumbar disc herniation. The disc is placing direct pressure on the nerve. And while both groups found improvement, the chiropractic group, the spinal manipulation group, ultimately outperformed the nerve root injection group. That's exciting!

The fact that a conservative care option can outperform a ton of steroids being dumped on an inflamed nerve is impressive.

Additionally, another study titled "spinal manipulation post-epidural injection for lumbar and cervical radiculopathy: a retrospective case series" had some interesting results. For instance, happens if you give an adjustment to someone who has already had an injection? 

Unfortunately, many people believe they are past chiropractic when they get the injection. And the researchers found the opposite is true.

They found, "the majority of the patients showed a positive response with only one treatment procedure".

Additionally, the researchers found, "theoretically epidural injections are proposed to address the inflammatory and central components of spinal pain whereas spinal manipulation is proposed to address the mechanical and neural aspects of the pain syndrome". 

Spinal manipulation is proposed to address the mechanical aspect of the pain, and you're getting physical motion into the joint with many chiropractic techniques. But they also cited the neural elements such as the impact to a central nervous system and the opening of the foraminal canals, decreasing the pressure on the nerve.  

Finally, the researchers found, "this data suggests that spinal manipulation post-epidural injection is a safe non-surgical procedure to use in the treatment of a patient with radiculopathy of spinal origin." 

So not only do many patients get well with chiropractic care before (or instead) of getting an injection, but even those individuals who went through an injection still saw improvement with chiropractic care.

This research is important information for your patients to know and is also as a great conversation starter for the providers in your community. Those conversations may save dozens, if not hundreds of people from going through expensive and sometimes dangerous, injections. 

We've featured both of these pieces of research as monthly research for our members of The Evidence Based Chiropractor; which is the complete system for relationship building with other healthcare providers in your community. Click here to learn more!

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