Lumbar nerve root compression may cause pain and/or weakness for patients with spinal stenosis and disc herniation. Younger patients tend to respond more quickly to both surgical and non-surgical treatment. (1) That makes sense as the nerve has not been inflamed as long. Disc herniations tend to arise in our 30’s and 50’s. Luckily, only 3% to 6% of those are symptomatic. Spinal stenosis is more likely to be a nuisance for us in our 50’s and 60’s. Muscle weakness is found in as many as 30% to 50% of disc herniation patients. 80% of disc herniation patients with weakness show improvement with 6 weeks of non-operative care, 90% at 12 weeks, 93% at 24 weeks. Surgical patients find that the most clinically significant weakness improvement happened within 6 weeks of spine surgery for a disc herniation. 66% of these patients had no improvement after that. (Ghahreman in 1) Improvement in motor power can take up to two years after surgery. Some sensory loss is normal but barely conspicuous. (1) BONUS: The cost of chiropractic care for a lumbar disc herniation only accounted for 2% of all the money spent, so the researchers recommended a trial of conservative, non-operative care before patients undergo back surgery for a herniated disc. (2) Bring your Ashburn and Herndon back pain and related muscle weakness to Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn for Ashburn and Herndon non-operative care in the beginning.

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Dean Greenwood on The Back Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson about a patient with muscle weakness accompanying a synovial cyst that improved with chiropractic care using the Cox® Technic System.

Maintaining strong bones is important, and vitamin C can help! Osteoclasts are bone cells that decay bone tissue. Vitamin C stops them from doing that. Osteoblasts are cells that connect bone while bone takes shape. Vitamin C promotes bone regeneration by fostering osteoblast formation. (3) Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin C. They are full of antioxidants known to influence bone quality. In a recent report, vitamin C improved the L5 vertebra’s density! (4) That is a benefit your Ashburn and Herndon spine specialist likes to hear! Get your vitamin C daily! Eat, or supplement! Let’s talk at your next Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic appointment.

CONTACT Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn

Schedule your Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic appointment. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn is ready to help you reclaim your muscle loss and develop your bones! Thank you for trusting your spine’s health to Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn!