Lumbar nerve root compression may trigger pain and/or weakness for some spinal stenosis and disc herniation patients. Younger patients are more likely to respond more quickly to both surgical and non-surgical treatment. (1) That makes sense as the nerve has not been irritated as long. Disc herniations are more likely to arise in our 30’s and 50’s. Fortunately, only 3% to 6% of those are symptomatic. Spinal stenosis is more likely to bother us in our 50’s and 60’s. Muscle weakness is found in as many as 30% to 50% of disc herniation patients. 80% of disc herniation patients with weakness demonstrate improvement with 6 weeks of non-surgical care, 90% at 12 weeks, 93% at 24 weeks. Surgical patients discover that the most clinically significant weakness improvement came within 6 weeks of spine surgery for a disc herniation. 66% of these patients had no improvement after that. (Ghahreman in 1) Motor power improvement can take up to two years post surgery. Some sensory loss is typical but hardly noticeable. (1) BONUS: The cost of chiropractic care for a lumbar disc herniation only accounted for 2% of all the money spent, so the researchers recommended a trial of conservative, non-operative care before choosing back surgery for a herniated disc. (2) Bring your Elgin back pain and related muscle weakness to Connected Chiropractic for Elgin non-operative care first.
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Dean Greenwood on The Back Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson about a patient with muscle weakness accompanying a synovial cyst that improved with chiropractic care utilizing the Cox® Technic System.
Keeping bones strong is important, and vitamin C can be a part of the plan! Osteoclasts are bone cells that break down bone tissue. Vitamin C prevents them from doing that. Osteoblasts are cells that bind bone while bone develops. Vitamin C fosters bone regeneration by fostering osteoblast creation. (3) Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin C. They are full of antioxidants known to impact bone quality. In a recent report, vitamin C improved the density of the L5 vertebra! (4) That’s a benefit your Elgin spine specialist likes to hear! Consume your vitamin C every day! Eat, or supplement! Let us chat at your next Elgin chiropractic appointment.
CONTACT Connected Chiropractic
Make your Elgin chiropractic appointment. Connected Chiropractic is ready to help you regain your muscle loss and build your bones! Thank you for entrusting your spine’s health to Connected Chiropractic!