“You have to know where you came from to know where you are going.”
It’s true for all of us individually, familiarly, and professionally. It is true for medicine – allopathic and alternative - too. It’s true for the knowledge of the disc and the spine it houses. Understanding of Southern New Hampshire back pain continues to evolve, and one of the foremost milestones was relatively new in the history of man. New Hampshire Spine and Sport discloses old and new findings on the disc and the back pain it causes as well as the Southern New Hampshire chiropractic care that reduces that back pain.
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 phenomenon. Remember that the spine changes as it matures. 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 assumed 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 talked about by a pathologist named CG Schmorl. But it wasn’t until 1934 when WJ Mixter and JS Barr circulated the first report of surgically taking out disc herniations in 19 patients. (2) (Unless it is published, it didn’t happen…and you do not get credit for it!) So it was less than a century ago that the disc herniation was termed a disc herniation and recognized as such! Allopathy and alternative medicine like chiropractic have grown to the challenge in those intervening years.
ALLOPATHY and ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Allopathic medicine is usually centered on the disease and tends to focus on symptom-specific treatment (usually pharmacological or invasive) to get rid of the cause of pain. Alternative medicine usually focused on a whole-body approach and has a tendency to concentrate on treatments that stimulate the body’s ability 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 producing low back pain, neck pain, leg pain and/or arm pain, gentle flexion distraction spinal manipulation is relieving. A new report points out that horizontal traction was very helpful in producing a significant enlargement of 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. New Hampshire Spine and Sport 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 shown to reduce pain in chronic low back pain patients. (5) It reduces intradiscal pressure in the disc to as low as -192mmHg, opens the spinal canal area by 28%, and enlarges disc height by 17%. (6) New Hampshire Spine and Sport eases back pain due to disc herniation quite effectively.
CONTACT New Hampshire Spine and Sport
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 Southern New Hampshire chiropractic care appointment with New Hampshire Spine and Sport today. Together, we’ll figure out where you’ve been on your back pain journey and set a course of correction and control for its future with the most suitable treatment possible.