Leg pain can be a baffling condition to treat. This is because the nerves that run down the legs are connected in a complex manner to the spinal cord. Any problems with the lower part of the spinal cord are likely to cause at least some amount of pain in the upper half of the legs especially at the back of the thighs. Nerve compression can result from a large number of conditions relating to the spine. It is important for a proper diagnosis to accurately determine the cause of the pain before proceeding to treatment.

This article will help a lay person to perform a preliminary check that should be verified by a qualified chiropractic doctor.

Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis is caused when the spinal canal is smaller than normal. This can be due to a variety of conditions and almost always causes leg pain. The quality of pain is quite unique in that it is radicular in nature. This means that it can range from numbness to a feeling of extreme pain on the outside of the calf. Spinal stenosis can be checked by what is known as the “Bicycle test” where the patient is made to exercise on a stationary bicycle. If there is a feeling of not enough blood flowing to the legs and the symptoms are relieved when the patient leans forward, it is a strong sign of spinal stenosis.

Degenerative Disc Disease

The discs that sit between the vertebrae perform an important function in keeping the spine flexible and cushioning the bones. Over a period of time however, they lose their flexibility and their suppleness thereby ceasing to perform their function adequately. In certain individuals, this happens sooner than in others and they suffer from a degenerative disc disease. This causes a lot of pressure to come onto the spinal nerves and can cause excruciating pain. Buttock and leg pain is a classic symptom of this disease.

Treatment

There are many other reasons for nerve related leg pain. Traditional treatments focus on painkillers and surgery. However, the non invasive and drug free treatment known as spinal decompression is fast gaining acceptance as the primary way to treat such conditions with a success rate of 86%. An experienced chiropractor can, with a few sessions of decompression greatly alleviate your nerve related leg pain and get you back on your feet – literally.

A person’s spine is a marvelous construction that is quite unlike any other in the body. True, it has less flexibility in a given direction than others, but it makes up for it by being subject to other considerations that don’t apply to the rest of the body’s joints. The rotation, movement in all directions (and not just one), as well as the fact that all the vertebrae must cooperate at the same time to carry out a movement, all make it totally unique.

This flexibility is achieved party due to certain juxtapositions of vertebrae called Zygapophysial joints or Facet Joints. These joints are behind the spinal cord (towards the back that is), and there are a pair of them on each vertebrae junction – linking up to the ones above or below it. The provide approximately 20% of the mechanism for spinal movement.

Ailments relating to Facet Joints

Due to their complexity, Facet joints are subject to various issues that can cause excruciating pain. This pain is usually restricted to the cervical region or the lower back area. Such pain in the neck means that a person will have great difficulty rotating his or her head – necessitating the entire body to turn instead. When the pain is in the lower back, it causes significant mobility issues and stiffness. Even worse, such pain can be referred down to a person’s buttocks or thighs, thereby compounding the problem.

Facet joints can be distorted either due to a condition such as osteoarthritis, or it could be caused by an injury. One of the ways to diagnose a Facet joint problem is to administer a local anesthetic and and an anti-inflammatory injection to the joint and observe whether or not the pain reduces immediately.

Treatment by Spinal Decompression

Spinal decompression is one procedure that is very successful in alleviating the pain caused by Facet joint syndrome. By increasing the space between the vertebrae, it allows the facet joints to get some relief from the pressure and increases the blood flow to them, enabling them to heal effectively. However, the patient must also undertake physical therapy along with spinal decompression. A professional chiropractor will suggest posture improvement techniques as well as a comprehensive program that will get you back on your feet without surgery or side effects.

So if you’re suffering from Facet joint syndrome or you suspect that you might be, contact one of our qualified Chiropractors now to schedule an appointment.

Chiropractic technique is fundamentally different from all other healing practices you’re familiar with. Its distinguishing features is its holistic approach taking a broad view of human health. As such, it’s very important for patients to have the right attitude towards healing. Without this, they are prone to stray from the program and give up before they’re fully healed.

A factor that plays a large role in the attitude of patients is the Chiropractor themselves. The first session with a patient is the most important and if the education is left incomplete, it’s almost a given that the treatment will not be successful.

Understanding Chiropractic Procedure

Holistic Chiropractic technique takes into account the patients mental state of mind as well. It is a basic tenet of the field that health is a rounded subject which requires the proper functioning of several disparate systems. Your doctor is therefore also your friend whose care for you goes beyond your mere physical wellbeing.

We have seen in earlier articles how chiropractic techniques enable the nerves in the spine to properly transfer messages from the brain. It’s important to understand the chiropractic therapies do not directly try and heal, but provide the right conditions for the body’s natural healing process to take over.

Walking out with the right attitude

The first impression is the most lasting one. When a patient first walks into a chiropractor’s office, their initial understanding of what Chiropractic procedure is all about makes all the difference in the world. What is important is having them walk away from that first meeting a with the confidence and the ability to say “This is going to work!” Time and again, doctors have reiterated the importance of this initial briefing and it’s one whose importance cannot be overestimated.

Spreading the love

It’s no secret that the reputation of a doctor spreads by word of mouth. People are more likely to believe their friends who have had great experiences rather than advertisements in various media. And Chiropractic treatment is something so personal that people can’t but help tell people about it. Thus the importance of instilling the right attitude in patients also allows others to benefit creating a more healthy community in general.

Summary

The attitude towards Chiropractic treatment is the key from which success flows. It provides the proper motivation as well as the added boost for the body that accelerates recovery. Apart from this it also helps spread the word, creating more opportunities for a healthy environment.

Cervical Traction

This exercise is a direct alleviation of the cervical column. It can be extremely effective and provide very quick relief when used properly. It consists of a “sling” like structure that attaches to a frame such as the top of a door. The sling hangs low and the patient sits at a comfortable height with his or her chin resting on the loop and gently applies pressure, lifting the head and decompressing the cervical column. Different sellers have varying mechanisms and some of them have automatic gauges that adjust the pressure appropriately.

Such an apparatus is useful for conditions such as cervical disk herniations, spondylosis and pinched nerves in the upper spinal column. Old devices utilized a doughnut shaped water like implement, but modern inventions have replaced them.

Inversion Tables

Inversion tables are one of the most widely used implements to help those with back pain. By reversing the body, the pull of gravity is inverted allowing the discs to decompress and regain fluid and nutrients. Chiropractors often smile approvingly at them because they act as a supplement to regular therapy and enable patients to get better more quickly. It has also been found that circulation improves after the proper use of an inversion table – athletes have been known to use them to great effect.

Another advantage of an inversion table is that patients can learn how to use it gently since there’s no need for a full immediate suspension upside down – so each person can find his or her own point of comfort. It actually feels great!

Summary

There are many helpful exercises that can be performed in order to help a patient recover from spinal injuries. Along with proper chiropractic treatment and spinal adjustment, they can rapidly improve a person’s health and enable them to get back on their feet in no time.

Neck pain can come in many different forms and from many causes. Not surprising since the muscles and joints of the neck are at once very delicate as well as very strong. It’s no secret that the sedentary lifestyle of today plays a major role in the acute prevalence of neck pain these days.

Neck pain can be temporary or chronic. Chronic neck pain is one that lasts for more than a few weeks. Temporary neck pain can last for just a day. There are also many different ways in which neck pain manifests itself. It can be sharp and shooting, a dull ache, numbness, or even tingling.

Given that there are so many ways neck problems can manifest themselves, there are many ways this can happen.

Causes of Neck Pain

The most common cause of acute neck pain is something we all have faced at some time or the other – namely going to sleep in the wrong position. This causes the muscles to cramp and rarely leaves an after effect for more than a day. More serious is neck pain that has become systemic due to poor posture when it occurs as a part of every day life. Studies have shown that working at a computer which is placed in the wrong position can cause strain that is deleterious to the health of the musculoskeletal tissue of the neck.

However, it is frequently found that pain in the neck and back are poor indicators of damage in the area where pain is manifested. This means that while your neck pain may be very real, the problem could lie elsewhere. These problems are pathological in nature. Degenerative disc disease for example can cause the discs in the spine to lose their ability to perform their task of absorbing shocks. This pain can show itself in the neck.

Whiplash injury, a herniated disc, or a pinched nerve can all serve to create neck pain that is difficult to diagnose as well as difficult to treat with traditional medicinal techniques.

Spinal Decompression for Neck Pain

The chiropractic treatment for neck pain is one of the most effective means for holistic health of the 7 structures that make up the neck. Spinal decompression, by stimulating the discs and loosening the pressure on them allows a natural healing to take place. This combined with a gentle realignment of the neck makes it one of the most practical, and cost effective ways to receive treatment.

Over the years, chiropractic care has expanded to include people of all ages. Children especially are regularly brought in for sessions by their parents as a means to ensure that they stay healthy. Growing children need the best protection for diseases and other ailments since this will lay the foundations for their future health. Chiropractic care, with it’s holistic approach to health, helps children build up essential aspects of their body like their immune system without drugs or any invasive procedures.

How Chiropractic care helps children

Preventive chiropractic care is meant to improve general health instead of specific conditions. This means that in case of sickness, it must be complimented with regular traditional health care. However, chiropractic sessions help reduce the amount of time your child will be ill and will also ease the stress of harmful drugs that are ingested during this time.

Chiropractic treatment focuses on the phenomena of subluxation that is crucial to the practice of chiropractic care. Subluxation involves the compression or stress of a spinal nerve that interferes with the proper functioning of the body. Since the entire spinal and muscular apparatus of the body is one coherent system, an improvement in the central spinal apparatus leads to a greater overall benefit to the body.

Dealing with External disturbances

We all have a natural defense system in our bodies. These systems are meant to defend us from a number of external stimuli such as allergic substances including pollen, germs, and even climate. When these natural defense are compromised, people – and especially children – fall sick more easily. Chiropractic care aims to strengthen these natural defenses, thereby allowing your child’s body to fight off dangerous stimuli by himself or herself, making the defenses even stronger in the process.

Subluxation can be caused due to a variety of reasons – some of them internal, and others external. For example, stress due to school and worry about exams can cause an improper functioning of the spinal nerves. It can also be caused by traumatic events that affect the head, neck or back. While healing might be superficial, it’s possible that the remnants of the injury are stamped on the spinal nervous system.

Chiropractic Analysis detects these problems through a variety of techniques and attempts to correct them through direct manipulation of the spine. Pinched nerves and other conditions can be relieved by the gentle application of pressure in the correct way using painless and non surgical means.

Summary

Chiropractic care for children can therefore be an integral part of their health program alongside regular traditional checkups. After all, you owe it to your child to leave no stone unturned when it comes to their health.

Nerve pain is one of the most difficult symptoms to isolate and treat. This is due to a variety of reasons including the pain not being restricted to the area where the affliction is occurring. For example, a pinched nerve in the spine can have effects as low down as the calf. It takes a very experienced practitioner to understand the nuances of how nerve pain manifests itself.

What Pinched Nerves are

“Pinched nerves” is a catch all and rather descriptive term for what is not really a medical phrase Nerve compression can take place in many different areas of the body including the hands and wrists. In fact, repetitive stress injury and carpal tunnel syndrome are very well known examples of pinched nerves. While these have been relatively well documented, pinched nerves arising in the lower back are a little more difficult to diagnose.

There are several possible reasons for pinched nerves in the spinal cord. Some of these are herniated disks, bone spurs and spinal stenosis. Sciatica is also caused by pinched nerves.

Symptoms of Pinched Nerves

The symptom of pinched nerves in the back is pain radiating down the buttocks and thighs. Back pain often results from a pinched nerve. Since there is so much variance in the symptoms of pinched nerves in the back, it is extremely difficult to come up with a standard set of symptoms.

Treatment

The most common treatment for a pinched nerve is rest. For those patients for whom the problem is more endemic, the treatment depends on the specific cause. For example, a herniated disk can cause a pinched nerve and the treatment for that is rest, physical therapy and anti inflammatory injections.

Spinal stenosis on the other hand might require surgery for removing the lamina. This is called a laminectomy.

Spinal Decompression

Of late, a new technique for treating pinched nerves has gained acceptance among the general public called Spinal Decompression. This non surgical and non invasive procedure involves gentle stretches and manipulations of the spine. It has been found to be efficacious for many different kinds of spinal problems including pinched nerves. The latest techniques involve the spine being scientifically manipulated by a machine formally known as the DRX9000.

Due to the drug free and holistic approach used by spinal decompression, many doctors have taken it up as a safe means to alleviate patients from back pain resulting from pinched nerves. Use our guide to find out how to choose a chiropractor to suit your needs.

Back pain that goes shooting down one or both legs is a telltale sign that your spinal nerve is getting pinched between two pieces of bone. The pain can be so bad that it makes walking impossible. Left untreated, it can have a myriad of side effects like muscle atrophy.

Traditional treatment for this sort of problem is a surgical procedure known as a laminectomy. However, it has a lower than average success rate, carries the risk of complications and requires a great deal of recovery time. Thankfully, there is new hope for patients suffering from this condition as a device nicknamed the X-Stop promises to provide a much easier alternative.

The X-Stop

Dr. Harold Hess from Menorah, Illinois has developed a device called the X-Stop that sits between the bones that are pinching the nerve and can alleviate the resulting pain. The device requires a much easier surgical procedure for implantation than a laminectomy and therefore has fewer complications and a much shorter recovery time.

Though it’s an FDA approved procedure, private insurers are still calling it “experimental” even though Medicare covers it.

Risks

There could be a problem with infection or with the device falling out, though Dr. Hess is very confident that the chances are small. Also, back pain can be caused due to a complex variety of factors and there is no guarantee that the procedure will result in the alleviation of pain. This is true for all back surgeries however, and there is no guarantee of a successful treatment even with conventional surgery.

Spinal Decompression

For those who are averse to even the smallest intrusive treatment, there is another alternative available that has helped a large number of people – spinal decompression. It consists of a series of traction movements against the spine performed under the guidance of a certified chiropractor. These movement cause a negative pressure between the bones of the spine alleviating the pressure on the nerve.

It is non invasive and its application has been successful on several occasions. Patients feel better almost immediately, and many have reported a complete cessation of pain after a few sessions. Use this website to find a chiropractor who suits your needs and your style. You can use our guide on how to choose a chiropractor in order to find one whom you are comfortable with.

Summary

There are several new and exciting developments in the field of back pain treatment. Spinal Decompression and the X-Stop are two of the latest techniques that demonstrate the level of innovation and options available to patients.

The McKenzie approach has been used by chiropractors for decades now ever since Robin McKenzie formalized his principles of pain management based on his own research. The breakthrough occurred when a patient named “Smith” unexpectedly found his pain significantly reduced when he was in a position that was at the time considered unhealthy. McKenzie then applied his nascent theories to other patients and what he learned has now become a vital concept in modern physical therapy today.

The McKenzie philosophy is more about an approach to back and neck pain rather than a specific set of exercises. Robin McKenzie always maintained that pain could be reduced only through active involvement of the patient and not by passive techniques such as cold or hot compresses. While patients might need guidance initially, the ultimate aim is to ensure that they can take care of themselves.

McKenzie Principles

The central theory of McKenzie’s principles was the concept that spinal extension was a primary technique for pain management. Since only the patient knows the exact sort of pain he or she is undergoing, the specific postures cannot be dictated solely by the physician. The main tenet of the McKenzie technique is a concept known as centralization whereby the patient attempts to extend his or her muscles in such a way that the pain experienced “goes back” to the center of the back. Centralized back pain is preferable to pain that radiates away to the legs, stomach, or shoulders.

Each patient has a different direction towards which they must lean to obtain this relief and this is called “Directional Preference.”

McKenzie Exercises

The McKenzie exercises revolve around a system of classification to accurately diagnose the cause of the patients pain. The three classifications are:

1. Postural: Problems caused due to the stress of soft tissue caused by incorrect posture
2. Dysfunction: Pain caused due to tissue being shortened because of scars
3. Derangement: Change in the position of the vertebrae due to fluid imbalances in the discs

The classifications are determined by pain responses in various patients which enables physicians to arrive at an accurate assessment.

The McKenzie exercises depend on this classification with each type receiving different treatment.

McKenzie Certified Doctors

The McKenzie Institute International certifies McKenzie providers in the McKenzie techniques. The offices are present in 26 countries and even where it is not present, courses are available. It is a 16 day course and is a thorough elucidation of the McKenzie principles which culminates in a certification exam.

Chiropractors are an enterprising lot. Due to their mechanical outlook on the way the body functions, they are able to look at treatments from a new angle and come up with solutions that are quite novel in nature. Inversion therapy and inversion tables are one such example.

Inversion therapy essentially refers to the therapeutic use of remaining upside down in order to relieve back pain. There are several different ways to do this including gravity boots and inversion tables. Though it isn’t accepted as a mainstream tool, the use of such methods undoubtedly help relieve back pain – even the experts concede that.

Relieving pressure on the spine

The premise of inversion therapy is that by reversing the pull of gravity on the spine, the pressure on the discs is relieved – thereby enabling them to regain nutrition and blood flow. Chiropractors often recommend regular use of inversion tables as a supplemental treatment to other treatments such as spinal decompression. In fact, inversion therapy is form of spinal decompression.

Image Credit: karenwithak

Benefits of Inversion Therapy

Chiropractors advise Inversion therapy for a number of benefits including improved ligament strength and body posture. There is evidence that inversion therapy aids in better flexibility as well as blood flow. The lymphatic system in particular benefits from the inversion therapy since it doesn’t have it’s own dedicated circulatory system, but borrows off from the action of the muscles.

Athletes frequently make use of inversion therapy to strengthen their muscles and improve circulation. It has also been shown that the procedure aids in the speedy recovery of the muscles after exercise.

Health Risks

Benefits aside, there are several caveats to be noted when performing this procedure. Those at risk are usually only those who are not healthy and have signs and symptoms of heart disease or high blood pressure. Retinal bleeding is also a danger due to the excessive blood flow to this area of the body.

Inversion Therapy and Spinal Decompression

My chiropractors are glad to prescribe some form of inversion therapy while their patients undergo spinal decompression. Inversion tables are most often used for this purpose. Unlike other devices, you don’t hang completely upside down using an inversion table, but are instead gently lowered to an angle that you are comfortable with. It is therefore safe and it feels good too! It is specially useful when treating scoliosis of the spine which we learned about in a previous post.

To learn more about inversion therapy and how it can help you, talk to your chiropractor.