In many individuals with spinal issues, how does spinal decompression compared with traditional care restore muscle strength?

Introduction

Many people unknowingly put pressure on their spines during daily activities, causing intervertebral disc compression and tightness in surrounding ligaments, muscles, nerve roots, and tissues. Repetitive motions and aging can also lead to intervertebral disc cracking and misalignment, resulting in pain and discomfort in the three common areas: the back, neck, and shoulders. Spinal stenosis is a spinal condition where the spinal cord is compressed and narrow and can cause symptoms of muscle weakness and pain to the upper and lower body extremities if left untreated. This article explores how non-surgical treatments like advanced oscillation and spinal decompression can restore muscle strength and alleviate the effects of spinal stenosis. By working with certified medical providers who use our patients’ information to treat individuals suffering from spinal stenosis. We inform them about non-surgical treatments to regain spinal mobility and restore muscle strength. We encourage our patients to ask essential questions while seeking education from our associated medical providers about their situation. Dr. Alex Jimenez, D.C., provides this information as an educational service. Disclaimer

 

Spinal Stenosis Causing Muscle Strength Issues

Do you find yourself struggling to hold onto objects while doing activities? Are you experiencing strange sensations like numbness or tingling in your arms or legs? Or you’re dealing with chronic back and neck pain that won’t go away. These issues can all be related to problems with your spine, which can cause your muscles to weaken and lead to conditions like low back pain, sciatica, and spinal stenosis.

 

 

Research shows that spinal stenosis is a common condition caused by nerve root impingement or ischemia in the spinal canal. This can lead to pain, weakness, sensory loss in your extremities, and tingling or numbness in your hands or feet. Additionally, studies have found that spinal stenosis in the lumbar spine can increase your risk of developing locomotive syndrome, which can further affect the muscle strength in your arms and legs. {Kasukawa, 2019} 

 

Strong muscles are important for daily movements, such as using your arms, legs, hands, and feet. However, spinal stenosis affects your muscle strength. In that case, it can cause various issues, including numbness or tingling in your upper and lower limbs, severe pain when walking but relief when sitting or resting, decreased grip strength, sciatic pain that mimics and reduced walking distance. While spinal stenosis can be caused by normal or traumatic factors that affect the mobility, flexibility, and stability of the upper and lower muscle quadrants in the body, several available treatments can alleviate the effects of spinal stenosis and help restore muscle strength to the body.

 

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Discovering The Benefits Of Chiropractic Care-Video

Many people experiencing musculoskeletal pain symptoms related to spinal stenosis use over-the-counter medication, hot/cold therapy, and stretching to alleviate the referred pain. Traditional surgery is an effective option to remove the damaged disc that is aggravating the nerve root and relieve the spinal column. However, this surgery is typically only recommended when other treatments have failed and can be expensive. {Herrington, 2023} Nevertheless, numerous cost-effective non-surgical treatments are available to help reduce the pain-like symptoms caused by spinal stenosis and alleviate associated symptoms. Chiropractic care and spinal decompression are non-surgical treatments that use mechanical and manipulated techniques to realign the body and minimize nerve entrapment that causes pain-like symptoms. The video above provides more information about how non-surgical treatments can assist many individuals in maintaining mobility and flexibility by providing a personalized treatment plan to prevent the recurrence of musculoskeletal and spinal conditions.

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Advanced Oscillation For Spinal Stenosis

Many people opt for non-surgical treatments such as chiropractic care, massage therapy, spinal decompression, and advanced oscillation to alleviate pain. In “The Ultimate Spinal Decompression,” written by Dr. Eric Kaplan, D.C., FIAMA, and Dr. Perry Bard, D.C., it is noted that advanced oscillation therapy can be tailored to an individual’s needs, helping to minimize pain symptoms caused by spinal stenosis. Advanced oscillation settings can help reduce inflammation and muscle spasms associated with spinal stenosis while promoting the replenishment of nutrients in the spine. In addition, advanced oscillation can help the body restructure and re-tone the targeted spinal structures, loosening them up and reducing nerve entrapment. Advanced oscillation is one of the non-surgical treatments that synergizes well with spinal decompression.

 

Spinal Decompression To Restore Muscle Strength

Now spinal decompression has a unique ability to reduce the effects of spinal stenosis as it is safe on the spine, cost-effective, and non-invasive. What spinal decompression therapy does to the body is like advanced oscillation. It uses gentle traction to reduce intervertebral disc pressure through negative pressure, allowing oxygen, fluids, and nutrients to the spinal disc and releasing the aggravating nerve root. {Choi, 2015} Spinal decompression can also help restore disc height from the spine, allowing the compressed disc causing spinal stenosis to be put back into its original space. {Kang, 2016} When many individuals start thinking about their health and wellness, non-surgical treatments can give them a positive experience and improve their pain.

 

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References

Choi, J., Lee, S., & Hwangbo, G. (2015). Influences of spinal decompression therapy and general traction therapy on the pain, disability, and straight leg raising of patients with intervertebral disc herniation. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 27(2), 481–483. doi.org/10.1589/jpts.27.481

Herrington, B. J., Fernandes, R. R., Urquhart, J. C., Rasoulinejad, P., Siddiqi, F., & Bailey, C. S. (2023). L3-L4 Hyperlordosis and Decreased Lower Lumbar Lordosis Following Short-Segment L4-L5 Lumbar Fusion Surgery is Associated With L3-L4 Revision Surgery for Adjacent Segment Stenosis. Global Spine Journal, 21925682231191414. doi.org/10.1177/21925682231191414

Kang, J.-I., Jeong, D.-K., & Choi, H. (2016). Effect of spinal decompression on the lumbar muscle activity and disk height in patients with herniated intervertebral disk. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 28(11), 3125–3130. doi.org/10.1589/jpts.28.3125

Kaplan, E., & Bard, P. (2023). The Ultimate Spinal Decompression. JETLAUNCH.

Kasukawa, Y., Miyakoshi, N., Hongo, M., Ishikawa, Y., Kudo, D., Kijima, H., Kimura, R., Ono, Y., Takahashi, Y., & Shimada, Y. (2019). Lumbar spinal stenosis associated with progression of locomotive syndrome and lower extremity muscle weakness. Clinical Interventions in Aging, Volume 14, 1399–1405. doi.org/10.2147/cia.s201974

Munakomi, S., Foris, L. A., & Varacallo, M. (2020). Spinal Stenosis And Neurogenic Claudication. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430872/

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