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 ignored in medical studies regardless of the abundance
of studies describing benefit. (The “why?”
discussion will be addressed in another article.) Here are a
couple examples. (1) One example is in treating
cervical radiculopathy patients, patients with neck-related arm pain, and
myelopathy. The original study looked at the outcomes 12
months after cervical spine surgery for these conditions with no
comparison to conservative care for patients who speculate
what would ensue if they decided not to have surgery.
(1) The research regarding Cox® Technic for patients with cervical
spine radiculopathy show advantages for these
patients. Cervical radiculopathy because of a large C5-6 resolved
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 and arm pain after 15 treatments
in 10 weeks, 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 wrote 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 growing, 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 study of lumbar spine stenosis,
flexion distraction reduced pain and disability. (8) In a 57
lumbar spine stenosis patient study, Cox® improved pain by 76%. Disability
eased in 73%. (9) In a 30-patient study, Cox® was shown
to be a helpful intervention for treating pain and
dysfunction in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. (10) Now is the time for non-surgical, conservative care of conditions like cervical radiculopathy and lumbar
spine stenosis. Pflugerville Wellness Center offers such chiropractic care. Your Pflugerville
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.
Pflugerville CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE MONTH:
Practice Sit-To-Stand for Balance
Pflugerville Wellness Center talks with our Pflugerville chiropractic
patients about practicing sit-to-stand motion to maintain
and improve 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 smaller number of stands signifies
a greater fall risk. By age, the number of
stands for risk differs. In women aged 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) The slower we move as we age, the less our quality
of life may be.
Increasing motion speed may boost
mobility in older people. (12) The quicker
the STS, the more the knee and low back moved which
should be considered when testing back pain and
knee pain patients. (13) Try out your sit-to-stand ability.
How did you do? Pflugerville Wellness Center can work with you to address
back pain and knee pain issues that may be slowing you down!
CONTACT Pflugerville Wellness Center
Thank you for trusting Pflugerville Wellness Center with your healthcare needs. We are
pleased to be a part of your healthcare mobility
and spinal care team and look forward to visiting with you at Pflugerville Wellness Center
for your next visit!