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Healthy News - April 2021

McHenry chiropractic care for cervical radiculopathy and lumbar spinal stenosis is often ignored in medical studies and guidelines despite documented benefits.  

 
CRITICISM OF NOT CONSIDERING NON-SURGICAL, CONSERVATIVE CARE: Cervical Radiculopathy and Lumbar Spine Stenosis

Conservative treatment – like chiropractic spinal manipulation and Cox® Technic - of some of the highly common spinal pain conditions is often not considered in medical studies despite the plethora of studies demonstrating benefit. (The “why?” discussion is for another article.) Here are two examples. (1) One example is in treating cervical radiculopathy patients, patients with neck-related arm pain, and myelopathy. The original study examined the outcomes 12 months after cervical spine surgery for these conditions with no comparison to conservative care for patients who wonder what would happen if they decided not to have surgery. (1) The research about Cox® Technic for patients with cervical spine radiculopathy show advantages for such patients. Cervical radiculopathy due to a large C5-6 settled with flexion distraction. (2) In a 39-patient study, cervical radiculopathy treated with Cox® Technic provided relief in a mean of 13.2 visits. (3) At 2-year follow-up for a cervical disc herniation patient with arm pain after 10 weeks and 15 treatments, relief remained stable. (4) (2) The other example is not suggesting non-surgical treatment for lumbar spine stenosis. In an analysis of published clinical practice guidelines for lumbar spine stenosis care, researchers reported that non-surgical treatments (28.6%) were less commonly recommended than injections (92.3%) and surgery (66%). (5) The research on the advantage and effectiveness of conservative care of lumbar spinal stenosis is expanding, especially with Cox® Technic. A case report stated that Cox® flexion distraction reduced frequency and intensity of radicular leg pain and back pain linked with lumbar spinal stenosis. (6) Another stated that 12 visits for flexion distraction treatment and ancillary therapies alleviated low back and leg pain symptoms of stenosis. (7) In a 30-patient report of lumbar spine stenosis, flexion distraction decreased pain and disability. (8) In a 57 lumbar spine stenosis patient study, Cox® relieved pain by 76%. Disability improved in 73%. (9) In a 30-patient study, Cox® was shown to be an effective intervention for treating pain and dysfunction in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. (10) The time has come for non-surgical, conservative care of conditions like cervical radiculopathy and lumbar spine stenosis. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic offers such chiropractic care. Your McHenry chiropractor is skilled in its delivery. Come see!

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Amanda Harris on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she describes her use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for lumbar spine stenosis.

McHenry chiropractic patients are encouraged to check their mobility via the sit-to-stand test…and improve mobility by doing it! 

McHenry CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE MONTH:
Practice Sit-To-Stand for Balance

OrthoIllinois Chiropractic talks with our McHenry chiropractic patients about practicing sit-to-stand motion to keep and increase mobility and health. Sit-to-stand test is ascertained by how many times you can stand up from a fully seated position in 30 seconds. A lower number of stands indicates a higher fall risk. By age, the number of stands for risk differs. In women from ages 60-64, less than 12 is a higher risk; 65-69, less than 11; 70-79, less than 10; 80-84, less than 9, 85-89, less than 8; 90-94, less than 4. Men 60-64, less than 14; 65-74, less than 12; 75-79, less than 11; 80-94, less than 10; 85-89, less than 8; 90-94, less than 7. (11) Moving slowly as we age may reduce the quality of daily life. Increasing the speed of motion may increase mobility in older folks. (12) The faster the speed of the STS, the more the low back and knee moved which should be taken into consideration when testing back pain and knee pain patients. (13) Test your sit-to-stand ability. How is it? OrthoIllinois Chiropractic can work with you to tackle back pain and knee pain problems that may be slowing you down!

CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic

Thank you for trusting OrthoIllinois Chiropractic with your healthcare needs. We are happy to be a member of your healthcare mobility and spinal care team and look forward to seeing you at OrthoIllinois Chiropractic for your next appointment!