Healthy News - April 2021
Conservative treatment – like chiropractic spinal manipulation and Cox® Technic - of some of the highly common spinal pain conditions is too many time ignored in medical studies regardless of the abundance of studies demonstrating benefit. (The “why?” discussion is for another article.) Here are a couple examples. (1) One instance is in treating cervical radiculopathy patients, patients with neck-related arm pain, and myelopathy. The original study looked at the outcomes one year after cervical spine surgery for these conditions with no comparison to conservative care for patients who question what would happen if they chose not to have surgery. (1) The research regarding Cox® Technic for patients with cervical spine radiculopathy state advantages for these patients. Cervical radiculopathy due to a large C5-6 resolved with flexion distraction. (2) In a 39-patient study, cervical radiculopathy treated with Cox® Technic provided relief in a mean of 13.2 visits. (3) At 2-year follow-up for a cervical disc herniation and arm pain after 10 weeks and 15 treatments, relief stayed stable. (4) (2) The other example is not presenting non-surgical treatment for lumbar spine stenosis. In an analysis of published clinical practice guidelines for the care of lumbar spinal stenosis, researchers wrote that non-surgical treatments (28.6%) were less commonly recommended than injections (92.3%) and surgery (66%). (5) The research on the advantage and effectiveness of conservative care of lumbar spinal stenosis is expanding, especially with Cox® Technic. A case report stated that Cox® flexion distraction reduced frequency and intensity of radicular leg pain and back pain linked with lumbar spinal stenosis. (6) Another stated that 12 visits for flexion distraction treatment and ancillary therapies alleviated low back and leg pain symptoms of stenosis. (7) In a 30-patient report of lumbar spine stenosis, flexion distraction decreased pain and disability. (8) In a 57 lumbar spine stenosis patient study, Cox® relieved pain by 76%. Disability got better in 73%. (9) In a 30-patient study, Cox® was shown to be an effective intervention for treating pain and dysfunction in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. (10) The time has come for non-surgical, conservative care of conditions like cervical radiculopathy and lumbar spine stenosis. Dr. Butwell offers such chiropractic care. Your Georgetown chiropractor is experienced in its delivery. Come see!
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Amanda Harris on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she describes her utilization of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for lumbar spine stenosis.
Georgetown CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE MONTH:
Practice Sit-To-Stand for Balance
Dr. Butwell talks with our Georgetown chiropractic patients about practicing sit-to-stand motion to maintain and improve mobility and health. Sit-to-stand test is ascertained by how many times you can stand up from a fully seated sit in 30 seconds. A lower number of stands indicates a higher fall risk. By age, the number of stands for risk varies. In women from ages 60-64, less than 12 is a higher risk; 65-69, less than 11; 70-79, less than 10; 80-84, less than 9, 85-89, less than 8; 90-94, less than 4. Men 60-64, less than 14; 65-74, less than 12; 75-79, less than 11; 80-94, less than 10; 85-89, less than 8; 90-94, less than 7. (11) The slower we move as we age, the less our quality of life may be. Improving motion speed may boost mobility in older people. (12) The faster the speed of the STS, the more the low back and knee moved which should be considered when testing back pain and knee pain patients. (13) Try out your sit-to-stand ability. How did you do? Dr. Butwell can work with you to tackle back pain and knee pain problems that may be slowing you down!
CONTACT Dr. Butwell
Thank you for trusting Dr. Butwell with your healthcare needs. We are pleased to be a member of your healthcare mobility and spinal care team and look forward to seeing you at Dr. Butwell for your up-coming visit!