Lumbar nerve root compression may cause pain and/or weakness for some spinal stenosis and disc herniation patients. Younger patients are more likely to respond more quickly to both surgical and non-surgical care. (1) That’s logical as the nerve hasn’t been irritated as long. Disc herniations are more likely to occur in our 30’s and 50’s. Fortunately, only 3% to 6% of them are symptomatic. Spinal stenosis tends to be a nuisance for us in our 50’s and 60’s. Muscle weakness appears in as many as 30% to 50% of disc herniation patients. 80% of disc herniation patients with weakness show improvement with 6 weeks of non-operative care, 90% at 12 weeks, 93% at 24 weeks. Surgical patients find that the most clinically significant weakness improvement came within 6 weeks of spine surgery for a disc herniation. 66% of these patients showed no improvement after that. (Ghahreman in 1) Motor power improvement can take up to two years post surgery. Some sensory loss is typical but barely noticeable. (1) BONUS: The cost of chiropractic care for a lumbar disc herniation only accounted for 2% of all the money spent, so the researchers urged a trial of conservative, non-operative care before patients undergo back surgery for a herniated disc. (2) Bring your McHenry back pain and related muscle weakness to OrthoIllinois Chiropractic for McHenry non-surgical care in the beginning.
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Dean Greenwood on The Back Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson about a patient with muscle weakness due to a synovial cyst that improved with chiropractic care utilizing the Cox® Technic System.
Maintaining strong bones is important, and vitamin C can help! Osteoclasts are bone cells that break down bone tissue. Vitamin C prevents them from doing that. Osteoblasts are cells that connect bone while bone develops. Vitamin C promotes bone regeneration by fostering osteoblast creation. (3) Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin C. They are full of antioxidants known to influence bone quality. In a new report, vitamin C improved the L5 vertebra’s density! (4) That’s a benefit your McHenry spine specialist loves to hear! Consume your vitamin C daily! Eat, or supplement! Let’s chat at your next McHenry chiropractic appointment.
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Schedule your McHenry chiropractic appointment. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is here to help you reclaim your muscle loss and build your bones! Thank you for entrusting your spine’s health to OrthoIllinois Chiropractic!