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OrthoIllinois Chiropractic Explains Degenerative Disc Disease and How Nutrition Helps

Usual questions of McHenry back pain sufferers at OrthoIllinois Chiropractic sound something like this: “What is McHenry degenerative disease?” (OrthoIllinois Chiropractic can explain what degenerative disc disease at the drop of a hat!) and “Can nutrition help?” (“Yes!”)

WHAT IS DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE?

Degenerative disc disease comes oftentimes from normal, age-related changes that happen in the discs of the spine that cause pain. The spinal discs act like shock absorbers between the vertebral bones of your spine. As discs degenerate, they do not do their job very well. A discs’ health depends on the health of surrounding structures as much as its own health. The cartilage endplates perform a vital role in the health of the disc. Unhealthy endplates do, also, as they may contribute to degenerative disc disease.

HOW CHIROPRACTIC CARE AND NUTRITION HELP DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE

Chiropractic care at OrthoIllinois Chiropractic manages disc health from both the inside and outside. The disc needs some special nutritional elements to maintain its health and strength, ready to preserve the mobility of the spine. It requires glucose, glycosaminoglycan, calcium, magnesium, chondroitin sulfate, and more. It gets these nutrients via the cartilaginous endplates that border it above and below (70%) and from the sides of the disc (30%). The cartilage endplates of the disc that are adjacent to the vertebral bodies of the spine feed nutrients to the disc. Permeability of the cartilage endplate increases as it ages and degenerates. Degeneration of the cartilage endplate is linked to the beginning of cell starvation and death of the disc due to poor nutrition. Degeneration of the cartilage endplate may well be responsible for mechanical load-induced dehydration of the disc’s nucleus pulposus and reduced levels of glucose in the nucleus pulposus (inner gel of the disc)-annulus fibrosus (outer bands of the disc) connection area. (Read more about disc nutrition with glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate.) (1) The endplates are key to the disc’s health. When the endplates are harmed by degenerative changes, they cannot perform their job of transporting nutrients into the disc. One study stresses this issue by describing how severe inhibition in the endplate nutritional pathways likely leads to intervertebral disc disruption. (2) Further, a good night’s rest may be beneficial for more than beauty! Lying down even for a short time permits an increase in the cervical spine and thoracic intervertebral discs’ hydration volume. (3) OrthoIllinois Chiropractic treats the disc from the inside with nutrition and the outside with sleep recommendations and spinal manipulation.

McHenry CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT HELPS DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE

While resting recumbent unloads the spine, dynamic loading of the spine helps, too. How? It comes back to those cartilage endplates once again.  Cartilage endplates’ ability to allow flow of nutrients depends on its porosity. The more porous and healthy the endplates are, the more flow of nutrients is permitted. The less porous, less hydrated, more degenerated the endplates are, the less flow of nutrients is allowed. Recent research today presents the benefits of dynamic loading (as opposed to static loading) on nutrient transport into the disc via cartilage endplates. (4) Chiropractic spinal manipulation is dynamic treatment of the spine. The protocols of Cox® Technic focus on individual segments of the spine to increase motion where disc degeneration may exist. It is gentle, relieving care delivered daily at OrthoIllinois Chiropractic!

CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Sylvia Hrefna from Iceland on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she presents her relieving care with Cox® Technic of a patient with disc degeneration in her cervical spine, the second of two cases in this podcast. 

Schedule a McHenry chiropractic appointment for your degenerated discs. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic has a treatment plan of spinal manipulation and nutrition to help you find some relief of pain because of degenerative disc disease.  
 
OrthoIllinois Chiropractic treats degenerative disc disease with chiropractic treatment and nutritional interventions.  
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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."