January 2024 Healthy News from Moriarty Chiropractic Disc Herniation Size Doesnt Always Matter and Ways to Lower Chronic Pain

DISC SIZE DOESN’T (necessarily) MATTER!

Now there’s a twist on new year’s resolutions of dieting to downsize! In the world of back pain and neck pain, a small disc isn’t really pain-free. Surprised? If you have a small disc and pain, you are not! What matters is (1) how much mechanical pressure the disc protrusion is placing on the nerve root and/or (2) how much chemical irritation is present if a disc extrusion’s inner gel-like material has exited the anular fibers that surround it and now envelops the spinal nerve(s) which has (have) never touched each other before. Nerves hurt when this new chemical irritant comes in! A tiny extruded disc can provoke enormous pain if chemical irritation is involved. A huge protruded may not trigger pain at all if it doesn’t contact a spinal nerve. (1-7) A 2023 published study just concluded that the size of a disc protrusion did not demonstrate a noteworthy relationship to pain and function. (8) If you or a loved one or friend is starting 2024 with Nashua back pain with or without sciatic leg pain or neck pain with or without arm pain radiculopathy, come see Moriarty Chiropractic for some Nashua pain relief with gentle, safe chiropractic Cox® Technic care!

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Timothy Gagan on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson about use of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for a patient experiencing back and leg pain because of a disc herniation.              

Nashua CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE MONTH: 4 Ways to Reduce Chronic Pain In 2024

As researchers and healthcare professionals work toward establishing practice guidelines (ex: WHO) in managing chronic pain (back, neck, etc.), they are analyzing influencing factors that chronic pain sufferers and their caregivers need to address for optimal clinical outcomes:

1. Understand the condition. A clear grasp of the chronic primary low back pain condition via education/advice was associated with improvements in pain, function, quality of life, and psychological outcomes. (9)
2. Consider emotional influences. Adverse childhood events were documented to be significantly associated with chronic pain and pain-related disability as an adult. (10)
3. Undergo spinal manipulation. A study of nonpharmacological pain management approaches used by Medicare patients reported that manipulative therapies, mainly chiropractic, have been the most extensively studied approaches. (11) Cox® Technic flexion-distraction - as we use in our targetlocation practice – benefitted a 67-year-old veteran who suffered with chronic low back pain and intermittent lower extremity pain for many decades get overall improvement in his condition, reduce use of pain medication, and increase mobility after 4 sessions in just a short 4-week period. (12)
4. Exercise. Structured exercise programs were shown to reduce pain and functional limitation in chronic low back pain patients. (13)

Make 2024 your year for pain relief! Moriarty Chiropractic is excited to be your Nashua chiropractic partner in this project. See you soon!

Schedule your Nashua chiropractic appointment now!