Healthy News January 2023

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is reportedly one of the most common spinal conditions in the US, afflicting over 500 million people over 65 years old. (1) As researchers grapple with a more systematic approach to dealing with patient care for lumbar spinal stenosis sufferers, your West Palm Beach chiropractor delivers gentle, safe, relieving treatment. The latest attempt at a system underscored that each LSS patient is unique in her/his experience which limits any algorithm to be “soft guidance” as to its treatment plan based initially on the LSS patient's pain relief in spinal flexion. (2) Since spinal stenosis is characteristically a systemic issue, meaning if you have spinal stenosis in the lumbar spine, you likely have it in other spinal areas like the cervical as well, you don’t want to ignore it. Further, lumbar spinal stenosis isn’t a condition that appears and disappears forever. Its pain can be managed, but it’s often “chronic,” meaning it lasts beyond 90 days. Be hopeful! Chiropractic Care is experienced in ways to help with lumbar spinal stenosis relief. One study documented that flexion distraction significantly reduced pain and disability for lumbar spinal stenosis patients. (3) Another study noted that chronic back pain sufferers with moderate to severe symptoms improved most with the chiropractic technique, Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction Decompression (CTFDD), compared with physical therapy. (4) Those same patients experienced significantly lower pain scores over the following 12 months than did patients who underwent physical therapy. (5) LSS patients also experience altered gait and balance concerns. (1,6) CTFDD helps these things, too! A study regarding the influence of spinal manipulation on balance issues in LSS patients explained that flexion distraction spinal manipulation improved function, symptoms, and performance-based mobility in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. (6) We also anticipate the outcomes of a prospective data collection study in its second year for follow-up with patients who were treated with CTFDD for relief of their LSS-related back pain. Data collection will be done in late 2023 with findings being published in the years to come. West Palm Beach lumbar spinal stenosis is everywhere, and its relieving partner is your West Palm Beach chiropractor here at Chiropractic Care!

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Dean Greenwood on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes his alleviating treatment of a spinal stenosis patient with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

As a group of researchers starts a new study to see if a 6-week education and exercise program will improve the walking capacity of lumbar spinal stenosis patients who also have neurogenic claudication (7), Chiropractic Care suggests