February 2023 Healthy News from Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn Spinal Canal Area Englargement and Back Pain Reduction with Chiropractic Care

Do you experience back pain? Spinal stenosis? Degenerative disc disease? Do you know what they have in common (besides pain)? Reduced spinal canal area. With disc degeneration, the disc reduces, leading to a decreased spinal canal area. With spinal stenosis, a(n) disc bulge, herniated disc, osteophyte, discal cyst, synovial cyst, spinal cyst affects the the area of the spinal cancal. A new paper explained how chiropractic flexion distraction treatment, namely Cox® Technic spinal manipulation and mobilization, increased the spinal canal area and created vertebral motions. The new study just published in January 2023 reported that chiropractic flexion distraction increased spinal area, height, and width due to increased nerve foraminal area. (1)

Such spinal alterations made more space for involved spinal elements like spinal nerves to glide leading to subsequent (though occasionally quicker or even instantaneous for some patients) back pain relief. Outcomes and published research like this are the forces behind our use of gentle, safe chiropractic treatment approaches like Cox® Technic that has research explaining its biomechanical effects on the spine. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn invites you to share your degenerated disc and/or spinal stenosis with us!

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Ram Gudavalli, the main researcher in Cox® Technic studies, on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the research behind The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Back pain sufferers are often recommended exercises to strengthen spinal, gluteal, and core muscles as a way to enhance their in-office chiropractic care. Classic lumbar flexion (Williams) exercises have been standard for a long time, going back to the 1930s as they restrict lumbar extension while improving lumbar flexion with high levels of research evidence (III and IV) support. A typical exercise sequence would have a patient lie on the floor, keeping hands along the side of the body and bending the knees with feet flat on the floor, then simply tighten abdominal and gluteal muscles while flattening the spine against the floor. The following exercise would be a knee-chest motion (pulling one knee to chest then the other knee then both knees to chest) exercise. (2) There are additional such exercises in the series, but we’d be thrilled for our new Ashburn and Herndon back pain patients to start with these simple moves on day 1 (after we go through a complete examinations and establish a treatment plan, of course). Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn looks forward to talking soon about you and your spinal stenotic, disc degenerative spine and any exercises that may help!

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Have a wonderful February! We anticipate seeing you and your spine this month!