"SLIPPED DISC"
Means Back Pain!!
Slipped disc is often a catch phrase for severe pain in the lumbar spine.
However, it can also be used in connection with the upper back and neck.
The discs between the vertebrae are shock absorbing cushions that allow us
to twist, turn, bend, run, jump and walk with ease. The discs in an adult are
about one quarter to one half inch thick, donut-like spacers with a jelly-like
center. By increasing the space between the vertebrae, not only does it help
us with the above functions, it also creates more space for the spinal nerves
which exit from in between each of the vertebrae.
It is probably more accurate to refer to the "slipped disc" as a
"compressed disc." When the vertebrae in the spine becomes subluxated
(misaligned), they tend to compress a disc more on one side that the other,
causing the disc to protrude into the neural canal or hole through which the
spinal nerves pass. It is somewhat like compressing the cushion on your sofa
when sitting on it. Your weight will cause the cushion to be compressed and
protrude out from the sofa slightly. When the compressed disc, which is caused
by a spinal subluxation, touches or "shorts" a nerve, severe pain
and/or numbness along the course of the nerve results.
The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), a division of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced that standard tests
and therapies typically used to diagnose and treat lower back pain are both
expensive and often ineffective. The agency panel consisted of eleven medical
doctors, two osteopathic doctors, two chiropractic doctors, along with specialists
in rehabilitation medicine, physical therapy, psychology, spine research and
orthopedic surgery. These experts reviewed more than 3900 studies in preparing
their guidelines.
The AHCPR guidelines advise against surgery and a host of high-cost tests,
including CT scans and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The guidelines
validate what doctors of chiropractic have asserted for 100 years and who millions
of chiropractic patients already know, that spinal adjustments offer safe and
effective relief from back problems without drugs or surgery.
In an attempt to curtail rising medical costs and decrease time lost from
work, the panel recommended spinal manipulations for back pain (slipped discs)!
If you know someone suffering with back pain, please suggest they call us for
an appointment. If they are not a patient that chiropractic care is suitable
for, we will tell them. And if they are suited to chiropractic care, WE'LL HELP
THEM!!!
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