“You have to know where you came from to know where you are
going.”
It is true for all of us individually,
domestically, and professionally. It is true for
medicine – allopathic and alternative - too. It is true for the understanding
of the disc and the spine it holds. Understanding
of Ashburn back pain continues to evolve, and
one of the major milestones was rather new
in the history of man. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn shares
old and new discoveries about the disc
and the back pain it causes as well as the
Ashburn chiropractic care that relieves that back
pain.
HISTORY OF THE DISC HERNIATION
The knowledge of disc herniation as a
compressive force on spinal nerves causing back pain and leg
pain is a relatively recent wonder. Keep
in mind that the spine changes as it grows older. The spinal disc’s shape and tissue
composition changes. The disc’s center,
nucleus pulposus, changes and gets smaller. (1) We know
better today, but in 1909, the disc herniation was thought
to be a tumor. In 1930, a neurologist (T Alajouanine) and surgeon (D
Petit-Dutaillis) described their surgical experiences with disc
herniations that were initially talked about by a pathologist
named CG Schmorl. But it wasn’t until 1934 when WJ Mixter and JS
Barr published the first report of surgically removing disc herniations in 19 patients. (2) (Unless it is
published, it didn’t happen…and you don’t get credit
for it!) So it was fewer than 100 years ago that
the disc herniation was termed a disc herniation and known
as such! Allopathy and alternative medicine like chiropractic have grown
to the challenge in that time.
ALLOPATHY and ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Allopathic medicine is traditionally centered
on the disease and tends to focus
on symptom-specific treatment (usually pharmacological or invasive) to remove the cause of pain. Alternative medicine traditionally
focused on a whole-body approach and has a tendency to focus on treatments that increase
the body’s capability to heal itself (herbal supplements, Reiki, chiropractic, Tai chi, acupuncture, etc.) to decrease pain. (3) Today, integrative medicine is growing in its valuing and utilization of the best of both.
CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT FOR DISC HERNIATION
Chiropractic care is all-encompassing
care for spine pain conditions. For the disc herniation causing
low back pain, neck pain, leg pain and/or arm pain, gentle flexion distraction
spinal manipulation is relieving. A new study states that horizontal traction was quite effective
in producing a significant enlargement of
average lumbar spine disc height and reduction in lumbar
lordosis. (4) Such is available with the Cox Technic System of Spinal Pain
Management causing long-y axis distraction. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn concentrates
in this treatment. Cox Technic is depicted as a non-thrust low
velocity variable amplitude spinal manipulation that manages low
back pain non-pharmacologically. It is evidence-based to
reduce pain in chronic low back pain patients. (5) It reduces
intradiscal pressure in the disc to as low as -192mmHg, opens the
spinal canal area by 28%, and increases disc height by 17%. (6)
Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn eases back pain due to disc herniation quite
effectively.
CONTACT Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn
Listen to this PODCAST
by Dr. Jake Bohnen on The Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. He discusses a
case of a disc herniation he treated with Cox® Technic and reduced pain…and the
herniation on MRI!
Schedule a non-surgical Ashburn chiropractic care
appointment with Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn today. Together, we will figure
out where you’ve been on your back pain journey
and set a path of correction and control for its
future with the most appropriate treatment possible.