Ashburn and Herndon Chiropractic Care Respects Spinal Extension

Extension of the spine: It’s good. It is bad. So what is up with extension for the spine? Both are accurate: It’s valuable. It is harmful. It’s the job of your Ashburn and Herndon chiropractor to help you determine the role of extension in your Ashburn and Herndon back pain relief plan and Ashburn and Herndon back pain control plan getting past the present episode of back pain. Your Ashburn and Herndon chiropractor at Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn is well trained in the effects – good and bad – of spinal extension and respects its role in spinal health and mobility.

SPINAL CURVES

Two of the spine’s most prominent curves – the cervical and lumbar curves – are lordotic curves meaning they curve inwardly. Flexion flattens these curves. Extension magnifies them. When a disc herniates or bulges, it does so into the concavity of the curve and potentially pushes on the spinal nerves causing pain. Flexion often permits the disc bulge to move off of the nerve. Extension often permits the disc bulge to press on the nerves more. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn sets out to help decrease painful situations like this!

SPINAL MOTION

75% of the flexion and extension movement in the low back occurs at the L5-S1 level of the lumbar spine. 20% is at the L4-L5 level. Therefore, 95% of flexion and extension of the lumbar spine happens at these two lower disc levels. Here, degenerative disc disease (minor and more advanced) happens most. In the cervical spine, C5-C6 is the spinal level where most of the flexion takes place, and C4-C5 is where most of the extension takes place. Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic patients need beneficial extension!

SPINAL EXTENSION

Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn respects extension and gets how it may help and harm. The extensor muscles in the back weaken and degenerate just as discs do. (1) Extension helps strengthen these muscles to support the spine. Extension is essential for this when the spine is healthy enough to perform extension. Extension to a painful spine may be harmful. Why? In the cervical spine, flexion decreased disc protrusion and maximizes the sagittal diameter of the vertebral canal while extension made the disc herniation larger and narrowed the vertebral canal producing stenosis. (2) In a degenerative lumbar spine with spinal stenosis, flexion widened the vertebral canal and relieved pain while extension exacerbated the stenosis and caused pain. (3) Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn knows the key to getting the benefits of extension is in knowing when to apply extension.

Ashburn and Herndon CHIROPRACTIC USE OF EXTENSION

Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic treatment incorporates extension into the Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic treatment plan for its advantages. Cox® Technic used with the cervical spine dropped intradiscal pressures to as low as 502 mmHg (4) and to as low as -192 mmHg in the lumbar spine. (5) Extension escalated pressures in the lumbar spine to 1250 mmHg (the highest amount the transducer could measure). (4) Dropping intradiscal pressures and back pain is what Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn aims to do for its Ashburn and Herndon back pain patients.

CONTACT Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. David Atiyeh on the Back Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. He shares how he helped a patient whose back pain persists after multiple back surgeries with flexion distraction which relieves her pain as the table is flexed not extended.

Schedule your Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic appointment with Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn today. Let us figure out the role extension might play in your back pain recovery and future back pain control strategy.