January 2024 Healthy News from Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre Disc Herniation Size Doesnt Always Matter and Ways to Lower Chronic Pain
DISC SIZE DOESN’T (necessarily) MATTER!
Now there’s a novel idea for the start of a new year amidst all the talk of new year’s talk of dieting to downsize! In the world of back pain and neck pain, a small disc is not really pain-free. Surprised? If you have a small disc and pain, you’re not! What matters is (1) the amount of pressure the disc protrusion is putting on the nerve root and/or (2) the amount of chemical irritation is present if an extruded disc’s inner gel-like material has left the outer annular fibers and now envelops the spinal nerve(s) which has (have) never touched each other before. Nerves hurt when this new chemical irritant comes in! A tiny disc extrusion can produce enormous pain if chemical irritation is part of the problem. A huge disc protrusion may not cause pain at all if it does not contact a spinal nerve. (1-7) A 2023 published study just concluded that the size of a disc protrusion did not show a significant relationship to pain and function. (8) If you or a loved one or friend is beginning 2024 with Toronto back pain with or without sciatic leg pain or neck pain with or without arm pain radiculopathy, come visit Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre for some Toronto pain relief with gentle, safe chiropractic Cox® Technic care!
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Timothy Gagan on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson about use of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for a patient suffering with back and leg pain due to a disc herniation.
Toronto CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE MONTH: 4 Ways to Reduce Chronic Pain In 2024
As researchers and healthcare professionals work toward establishing practice guidelines (ex: WHO) in managing chronic pain (back, neck, etc.), they’re studying influencing factors that chronic pain sufferers and their caregivers ought to address for best clinical outcomes:
- Understand the condition. A clear understanding of the chronic primary low back pain condition via education/advice was related to improvements in pain, function, quality of life, and psychological outcomes. (9)
- Consider emotional influences. Adverse childhood events were documented to be significantly associated with chronic pain and pain-related disability as an adult. (10)
- Undergo spinal manipulation. A study of nonpharmacological pain management approaches chosen by Medicare patients found that manipulative therapies, mainly chiropractic, have been the most widely studied approaches. (11) Cox® Technic flexion-distraction - as we utilize in our chiropractic practice – helped a 67-year-old veteran who suffered with chronic low back pain and intermittent lower extremity pain for several decades get overall improvement in his condition, reduce use of pain medication, and gain mobility after 4 sessions in just a short 4-week period. (12)
- Exercise. Structured exercise programs were reported to reduce pain and functional limitation in chronic low back pain patients. (13)
Make 2024 your year for pain relief! Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre is ready to be your Toronto chiropractic partner in this project. See you soon!