Strain Injury to the Spine!

One of the most common problems I see on a regular basis is injuries to the neck and back. Most often this comes from injury, over exertion, or repetitive use (chronic stress).

This can come from auto accidents but just as common lifting or moving things with poor bio-mechanics. Such as picking up a 60lbs child without bracing yourself and bending those knees. This puts unnecessary strain on the lower back and leading to injury to the disc. This can happen in a single incident but more commonly happens over a long period of time. I’m talking 10, 15, 20 years of doing the same thing until one day you wake up and say I can’t move.

A herniated disc is when part of the disc material called the annulus fibrosus opens up and the inner material called the nucleus pulposus leaks out. This leads to contact on the nerves of the spine at the level they push into. A bulging disc is very similar in the idea that the disc is causing compression on the nerves.

Spinal degeneration happens over a long period of time, think arthritis when you have constant rubbing of bones. The body will want to do whatever it can to protect itself. Meaning it will start to send more pain signals for you to stop doing whatever it is that is causing the pain and possibly start to fuse or lock up segments.

A pinched nerve can cause debilitating pain to any part of the body. Typically, when it gets this bad most people think “it’s too late” and are making an emergency time decision. So why not avoid all of that and do what it takes to get Back In Action!

There are many different ways you can address tightness, stiffness, pain, and poor range of motion of the lower back. Surgery is a possibility, but I run with the philosophy of least invasive to most invasive basically surgery should be the absolute last resort!