3 Simple Ways Your Chiropractor Helps You Heal Degenerative Changes in Your Spine

We put in a valiant effort to make life better for ourselves and our loved ones.  Many people like to make it a point to learn at least one new thing every day.  I love this concept.  There are so many ways to uplift the quality of your life and the relationships in it.  Something that I do not see stressed enough, in many situations, is the importance that your spine plays in your nervous system and the overall health of your body and mind, reaching past your vitality and mood.  Similarly, many do not talk about the vital role that your chiropractic doctor can play in the treatment and prevention of degenerative changes in your spine.


What are Degenerative Changes of the Spine?

When your spine is out of alignment or subluxated, the discs and nerves between your vertebrae get pinched and are not able to function properly.  There are many people out there with subluxations who have no idea because they do not feel any pain directly associated with the issue.  The longer you have this alignment issue, the more damage your spine and body endures.  Eventually this will lead to degeneration in your spine.  The degree of degeneration depends on just how severe the subluxation is.3  Degenerative changes to the spine can lead to some serious, painful conditions.  Some examples include bone spurs, nerve compression, degenerative disc disease, and arthritis.1  The doctors at Advanced Chiropractic of Knoxville can help you to identify and resolve those issues in your spine.


What are Some Causes of Spinal Degeneration?

Trauma: Injuries encourage misalignment in the spine causing faster than normal degeneration and weakness.  Lifting objects improperly, poor posture, car accidents, and falls can all stimulate early degenerative changes in your spine.1

Genetics: There are many ways that genes can pre-dispose people to degenerative conditions in the spine.  This is a great reason to always keep on top of your spinal health!  People may have genetic predispositions for being overweight, having bulging or herniated discs, and even osteoarthritis; all of which are very much intertwined with those degenerative changes.  Stenosis (a narrow spinal canal) and scoliosis (an irregular curvature of the spine) are both spinal conditions that can be handed down to you, making you more susceptible to these degenerative changes.1

Lifestyle: The better you treat your body the longer it will be healthy for you!  Cigarettes and a poor diet damage and weaken your spine.  Lack of movement and exorcise in your life can also cause issues with your overall spine health.  Hydration is very important to the health of your spine, so if you are not drinking enough water, you may very well be damaging your spine.


How Do I Treatment Degeneration in the Spine?

Chiropractors help to turn that disc degeneration around.  They focus on your spinal health by reducing inflammation and getting the movement back into your spine.  Three ways that your chiropractor will help you to heal your spine is through lifestyle advice, adjustments, and threapy.2  Through the proper treatments, degenerative changes in your spine can turn into regenerative changes.2    Your chiropractor can help you live a significantly more active and pain-reduced lifestyle!2

The chiropractors here at Advanced Chiropractic proudly utilize CBP®, or Chiropractic BioPhysics®.  This is an extensively researched program that measures different aspects of your individual health then calculates just the right treatment plan for you.6  This is an effective approach to seeing exactly what issues your spine is having and then getting you healed gently and efficiently.  We know that your time is worth a lot and we would like for you to get the most of it inside and outside of the clinic!

Lifestyle

Keeping a well-rounded lifestyle does wonders for slowing and even reversing degeneration of the spine.  It is vitally important for you to keep moving!  Make sure to walk enough every day and when in an office environment, frequently getting up to walk and stretch is very important.  Allowing your body to be stagnant for very long at all is bad for your spine health.  Posture is another big part of a healthy lifestyle, make sure to always keep a straight spine; especially when spending time looking at your phone or a computer screen.

Dive further into advice from you chiropractor on a healthy lifestyle and you will find a whole lot of nutrition advice.  Your chiropractor will tell you foods and vitamins that are essential for your spine health as well as foods to avoid.  Turmeric is a great example of an essential food when healing not just the spine in general; it works wonders in assisting the healing of disc degeneration. This beautiful root relieves the pain caused by degeneration of the spine, fights inflammation, as well as promotes bone and joint health along with protection from spinal cord injury!4

Adjustments

Getting adjusted by your chiropractor will stimulate all around circulation and relieve irritation to your nerves; both of which help to provide pain relief alongside effective healing.2  Chiropractic helps this degeneration by allowing those stagnant joints to get moving again, which in turn allows the entire unit to work properly, restoring the health to the discs and bones in the spine.  Different cases call for different techniques; manual and activator chiropractic doctors, like the ones at Knoxville’s Advanced Chiropractic, are the best choice when dealing with degenerative issues in the spine.

Physical Therapy

There are several therapies that will help you in healing your degenerative spinal condition.  Advanced Chiropractic Associates in Knoxville, TN utilize disc decompression, or traction, for both the lumbar and cervical spine.  Those neck and low back regions of the spine are more likely to suffer from degenerative issues.  Comparable to an adjustment, decompression takes pressure off of the discs and nerves in the spine, encouraging oxygen and essential fluids to flow in and heal the discs.5  To assist in the healing process, you might find your chiropractor including ultrasound or stim (electrical stimulation) before or after your traction.5 


The thing about degeneration in your spine is that the condition only gets worse without treating the initial cause: subluxation.  One of the best things that you can do for your health in general is prevention.  So, even if you do not have degenerative issues or you only have a mild case, getting adjusted regularly and living a healthy lifestyle will help you to continue onto a mobile, thriving future.  Call Advanced Chiropractic Associates today to get a step up on your health.





Advanced Chiropractic Associates, PLLC

7349 Chapman Hwy

Knoxville, TN 37920

865-579-6500






About the Author

Kali S. Garcia is a natural health enthusiast.  As the owner and author of Mama Tea Social, she feels compelled to heal and present the cold hard facts.  Connect with her on Facebook.





References

1. “What Causes Degenerative Changes in the Spine?” Laser Spine Institute, www.laserspineinstitute.com/back_problems/degenerative_spine/what_causes/.


2. “Can Chiropractic Care Help Disc Degeneration?” The Joint Chiropractic, www.thejoint.com/california/lake-forest/lake-forest-31004/can-chiropractic-care-help-disc-degeneration.

3. Fardon, David F., et al. “Lumbar Disc Nomenclature: Version 2.0.” The Spine Journal, vol. 14, no. 11, Nov. 2014, pp. 2525–2545., www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1529943014004094#fig8.


4. K, Keshav. “4 Ways Turmeric Benefits In Degenerative Disc Disorder [UPDATED].” Turmeric for Health, 13 Oct. 2017, www.turmericforhealth.com/turmeric-benefits/turmeric-and-degenerative-disc-disease.


5. “Spinal Decompression Therapy.” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/back-pain/guide/spinal-decompression-therapy-surgical-nonsurgical#1.


6. “What Is CBP®?” Chiropractic BioPhysics, www.idealspine.com/what-is-cbp/.


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