The human spine is made up of a series of vertebrae (bone) and disc in alternating fashion. The discs of the spine exist for a few reasons, providing proper spacing, providing some cushion or shock absorption, and allowing for movement in the spine.
The discs are made up of a fibrous ring around the outside and a nucleus, jelly like material in the inside. As we undergo stress or trauma, the fibrous ring can breakdown leading to some deformation of the disc.
The discs of the spine take a lot of stress throughout a normal day. From prolonged sitting with poor posture, running, jumping, and of course the occasional fall - the stress begins to accumulate and cause some damage to the discs.
There are three main types of disc injuries that we see and treat regularly in our Boulder chiropractic office:
Disc degeneration - defined as chemical changes associated with trauma. Repetitive stress or aging causes the discs to weaken and the nucleus material of the disc to shift without herniation.
Disc Prolapse - form or position of the disc changes with slight impingement into the spinal canal which can pinch a nerve. This can also be called a bulge or protrusion.
Disc extrusion - the nucleus pulposus breaks through the fibrotic rings surrounding the disc which leads to massive inflammation and pain. Also known as a lumbar disc herniation.
Think you might have one of the disc injuries listed above? Give us a call today!
In our society, disc injuries are incredibly common. This is likely due to the long periods of sitting that most people undergo on a very regular basis. Prolonged sitting typically leads to a decrease in core strength and stability. When we cannot use the muscles to support the spine, we end up imparting more stress, more frequently on the discs of the spine.
Unfortunately there are a lot of adults who’ve been involved in a car accident. The trauma that can occur in a car accident can linger. The force from a rear-end automobile collision will send massive force into the lumbar discs in the lower back in a slightly different vector than they were designed to handle. If not treated appropriately, the disc injuries sustained in a car accident will linger and can be a “weak spot” for years. Click here to learn more about how we can help you get pain relief if you have been involved in a car accident in Boulder.
Most commonly, the lumbar discs that take the most stress and are most frequently damaged are: L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs. These account for 95%-98% of all disc herniations.
At our office, in addition to your typical chiropractic adjustments, we offer a therapy that most Boulder chiropractors do not have: class four laser therapy.
Class IV laser therapy is a modality that provides low back pain relief, quickly.
The laser sends light energy into the body. The energy is absorbed by the cells and it helps to speed up normal cellular reactions. This speed increase helps the body go through the normal inflammatory cycle, only much faster.
Unlike other methods of low back pain relief, class IV laser therapy does not try to slow down the inflammation cycle. Typical treatments such as medication, ice, muscle stimulation, ultrasound, etc all attempt to change the normal inflammatory cycle. This is not a good thing because the inflammatory cycle signals to the immune system and the body that healing is required in that area. If you change that signaling, you can have an injury that lingers or doesn’t heal as quickly or fully.
Class IV Laser therapy has been shown in plenty of research papers to be an effective way to decrease pain and increase function in lower back pain patients.
In the case of a disc injury, massive inflammation and pain is typically felt by the patient. The pain leads to muscle spasm and typically leaves the patient with a hard time finding a postural position of relief. Laser therapy is typically used to decrease pain and inflammation quickly in our lumbar disc injury patients. Once we’ve decreased the inflammation we can start to release the tight muscles using active release technique (ART) or trigger point dry needling. Finally restoring normal joint motion with gentle chiropractic techniques and using corrective exercises to strengthen the core muscles will typically resolve a normal disc injury in a short period of time.
If you’re suffering from a lumbar disc bulge or disc herniation, call Boulder Sports Chiropractic today to get an appointment for low back pain relief.