Healthy News January 2023

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is seemingly one of the most common spinal conditions in the US, impacting 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 Manahawkin chiropractor delivers gentle, safe, relieving treatment. The most recent effort at a system underscored that each LSS patient presents a bit differently which restrains any algorithm to be “soft guidance” as to its treatment plan based primarily on the LSS patient's pain relief in spinal flexion. (2) Since spinal stenosis is characteristically a systemic issue, which means that if you have spinal stenosis in the lumbar spine, you likely have it in other spinal areas like the cervical as well, you do not want to ignore it. Further, lumbar spinal stenosis is not a condition that appears and disappears forever. Its pain can be contained, but its status as a condition remains one that researchers classify as “chronic,” meaning it lasts beyond 90 days. Have hope! Manahawkin Chiropractic Center is experienced in ways to help with lumbar spinal stenosis relief. One study reported that flexion distraction significantly lowered pain and disability for lumbar spinal stenosis patients. (3) Another study stated 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 year than did patients who did physical therapy. (5) LSS patients also have altered gait and balance issues. (1,6) CTFDD helps these things, too! A study regarding the influence of spinal manipulation on balance problems in LSS patients explained that flexion distraction spinal manipulation enhanced 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 of follow-up with patients who were treated with CTFDD for relief of their LSS-related back pain. Data collection will be completed in late 2023 with findings being published in the years to come. Manahawkin lumbar spinal stenosis is everywhere, and its relieving partner is your Manahawkin chiropractor here at Manahawkin Chiropractic Center!

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 evaluate if a 6-week education and exercise program will improve the walking capacity of lumbar spinal stenosis patients with neurogenic claudication (7), Manahawkin Chiropractic Center suggests