Preventing Spinal Degeneration with Chiropractic

Spinal degeneration is a common term used to describe the aging process of the spine. Although the process occurs naturally over time, constant stress or pressure on the spinal bones and a variety of untreated spine complications can degenerate the tissues faster, ultimately changing the overall structure of the spine.

The Effects of Spinal Degeneration

When the spine degenerates with age, the spinal bones gradually begin to deform. These changes can then affect the soft-tissues surrounding the spine: muscles, tendons, ligaments, discs, joints and even spinal nerves.

Through overuse, bad posture and/or as a result of an injury or other underlying condition, the spinal discs are the most commonly affected structures when the spine begins to degenerate. The spinal discs, or vertebral discs, primarily function as a shock absorber between each vertebra. These also act as ligaments to hold the bones of the spine together and provide mobility to the spine. As people age, the body begins to wear and tear from use. The spinal discs will degenerate from loss of fluid, causing these to become thinner and less flexible, no longer providing a comfortable cushion between each vertebra. The supporting ligaments, tendons and muscles can also begin to weaken, leading to various complications, including pinched nerves, herniated discs, spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis, and misalignments of the spine.

Because spinal degeneration occurs over an extended period of time, its symptoms can appear subtle and are often overlooked in its early stages. However, once this natural wear and tear begins to develop into much more severe complications, a majority of individuals will experience neck, back and lower back pain, depending on the location of the spinal issue. The amount of pain can vary for each person, ranging from almost no pain or a nagging level of irritation to a severe and disabling pain. Engaging in physical activities that involve bending, lifting and/or twisting can often worsen the individual’s symptoms.

More advanced stages of spinal degeneration can make a person’s lifestyle challenging and difficult as this can generally be painful and uncomfortable. While there are several treatment options available to relieve the symptoms associated with spinal degeneration, preventive measures are the best way to ensure spinal health as you age.

For those individuals experiencing spinal degeneration, chiropractic care is an alternative treatment option that can help both prevent spinal complications and treat the painful symptoms which may have already developed with. Foremost, a chiropractor will properly diagnose the individual to determine the location and cause of their symptoms, carefully evaluating the flexibility and range of motion of their spine.

Preventing Spinal Degeneration

Chiropractic treatment helps maintain the proper wee-being of the body’s musculoskeletal structure, especially the spine, enabling the body to heal naturally and without the use of medication or surgery. The goal of a chiropractor is to improve the function of the spine by reducing inflammation and swelling as well as restoring the natural alignment of the spine. The function of the spinal discs can also improve with chiropractic care if the disc degeneration is not severe. Chiropractors commonly utilize spinal adjustments and manual manipulations to treat spinal complications. Spinal manipulations are primarily used to restore mobility to joints which may have been restricted by scar tissue after an injury, repetitive stress or improper posture, relieving the painful symptoms caused by spinal degeneration.

While natural degeneration of the body with age is unavoidable, the process can be prevented from progressing rapidly. Chiropractic care can relieve eliminate degeneration symptoms to allow the body to age smoothly without feeling pain and discomfort. For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.elpasochiropractorblog.com

Obtaining Optimal Health & Fitness with Chiropractic: A Client’s Story

Dr. Alex Jimenez’s health and fitness care and recommendations have helped avoid injuries and conditions from developing in many individuals while also providing individuals with the tools they need to improve their overall wellness. Bernadette Banda’s fitness journey begins with her ambition to become healthier and lose weight. She was introduced to CrossFit at Push-as-Rx ®™ and it was her first encounter with the trainers that kept her motivated. Inspired to continue training at Push as Rx, Banda shares her uplifting story for others to find the encouragement to pursue a healthier lifestyle like she did. Bernadette Banda displays her greatest gratitude for the opportunity she was given to improve her life at Push as Rx.

Dr. Alex Jimenez’s clinic and PUSH-as-Rx ®™ system is leading the field with laser focus supporting our youth sport programs.  The PUSH-as-Rx ®™ System is a sport specific athletic program designed by a strength-agility coach and physiology doctor with a combined 40 years of experience working with extreme athletes. At its core, the program is the multidisciplinary study of reactive agility, body mechanics and extreme motion dynamics. Through continuous and detailed assessments of the athletes in motion and while under direct supervised stress loads, a clear quantitative picture of body dynamics emerges. Exposure to the biomechanical vulnerabilities are presented to our team.  Immediately, we adjust our methods for our athletes in order to optimize performance.  This highly adaptive system with continual dynamic adjustments has helped many of our athletes come back faster, stronger, and ready post injury while safely minimizing recovery times. Results demonstrate clear improved agility, speed, decreased reaction time with greatly improved postural-torque mechanics.  PUSH-as-Rx ®™ offers specialized extreme performance enhancements to our athletes no matter the age.

By Dr. Alex Jimenez

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