Johnson Chiropractic Treats Disc Herniation Pain
“You have to know where you came from to know where you are going.”
HISTORY OF THE DISC HERNIATION
The understanding of disc herniation as a compressive force on spinal nerves resulting in back pain and leg pain is a relatively recent wonder. Keep in mind that the spine changes as it ages. The shape of the disc and the composition of it tissue changes. The disc’s center, nucleus pulposus, changes and decreases in size. (1) We know better today, but in 1909, the disc herniation was thought to be a tumor. In 1930, a neurologist (T Alajouanine) and surgeon (D Petit-Dutaillis) described their surgical experiences with disc herniations that were initially studied by a pathologist named CG Schmorl. But it wasn’t until 1934 when WJ Mixter and JS Barr published the first report of surgically taking out disc herniations in 19 patients. (2) (Unless it is published, it didn’t happen…and you don’t get credit for it!) So it was fewer than 100 years ago that the disc herniation was termed a disc herniation and recognized as such! Allopathy and alternative medicine like chiropractic have risen to the challenge in that time.
ALLOPATHY and ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Allopathic medicine is traditionally centered on the disease and has a tendency to focus on symptom-specific treatment (usually pharmacological or invasive) to remove the cause of pain. Alternative medicine traditionally centered on a whole-body approach and tends to concentrate on treatments that increase the body’s capability to heal itself (herbal supplements, Reiki, chiropractic, Tai chi, acupuncture, etc.) to decrease pain. (3) Today, integrative medicine is growing in its valuing and use of the best of both.
CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT FOR DISC HERNIATION
Chiropractic care is all-encompassing care for spine pain conditions. For the disc herniation resulting in low back pain, neck pain, leg pain and/or arm pain, gentle flexion distraction spinal manipulation is relieving. A new report states that horizontal traction was quite helpful in producing a significant increase in average lumbar spine disc height and reduction in lumbar lordosis. (4) Such is available with the Cox Technic System of Spinal Pain Management causing long-y axis distraction. Johnson Chiropractic specializes in this treatment. Cox Technic is depicted as a non-thrust low velocity variable amplitude spinal manipulation that takes care of low back pain non-pharmacologically. It’s evidence-based to decrease pain in chronic low back pain patients. (5) It decreases intradiscal pressure in the disc to as low as -192mmHg, widens the spinal canal area by 28%, and enlarges disc height by 17%. (6) Johnson Chiropractic relieves back pain due to disc herniation very effectively.
CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST by Dr. Jake Bohnen on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. He presents a case of a disc herniation he treated with Cox® Technic and reduced pain…and the herniation on MRI!
Schedule a non-surgical Richmond chiropractic care appointment with Johnson Chiropractic today. Together, we will determine where you have been on your back pain journey and set a course of correction and control for its future with the most suitable treatment possible.