Because degenerative disc disease, or DDD, can weaken the structures of the spine significantly, you might need to focus on strengthening your back, neck, and core muscles to improve the condition. Subsequently, the proper care and treatment for DDD can help support the spine better, which might result in decreased pain. A healthcare professional may often recommend physical therapy to help treat degenerative disc disease.
Physical therapy includes both passive and active treatments. Passive treatments help relax you and your body. They are called passive because these do not require individuals to actively participate in the treatment. If you’re experiencing severe pain, you’ll most likely start with passive treatments while your own body heals and/or recovers from the symptoms of the disorder. However, the goal of physical therapy is to get the patients into treatments that are lively. These are curative exercises that reinforce the body to ensure the spine has better support and structure.
Passive Physical Therapy for DDD
Your physical therapist may give you one of the following passive treatments:
Deep tissue massage: This technique targets chronic muscle tension that could build up through daily life stress and spasms. You could also have spasms or muscle tension due to strains or sprains from sports injuries or other injuries. A physical therapist may utilize direct pressure and friction to release the tension in your soft tissues, such as ligaments, tendons and muscles.
Hot and cold treatments: The physical therapist will switch between cold and hot therapies. Through the use of heat, the physical therapist will achieve an increased blood flow to the target area. More oxygen and nutrients are brought to the affected region as a result of an increased blood circulation. Good circulation is also needed to remove waste by-products developed by muscle spasms.
Cold therapy, also called cryotherapy, slows circulation, helping to reduce inflammation, muscle spasms, and pain. An ice massage or an ice pack can be used to perform cold therapy. Another cryotherapy option is a spray called fluoromethane, which can cool the body’s tissues. A physical therapist may work with you to additionally stretch the muscles that are affected.
Spinal traction: By extending the back, spinal traction works to alleviate pain caused by muscle tightness or compressed nerves. The physical therapist can achieve that manually by using their own body or mechanically with unique machines. Particularly in case your nerve has been pinched by the foramen, the place where the nerve exits the spinal canal, traction may strive. By stretching the spine to readjust the vertebrae, it is believed to help widen the foramen and improve symptoms of DDD.
Active Physical Therapy for DDD
In the active portion of physical therapy, your therapist is going to educate you on various exercises to improve your flexibility, strength, core stability, and range of motion, or how readily your joints move. Your physical therapy program is individualized, taking into consideration history and your well-being. Your exercises might not be acceptable for another individual with degenerative disc disease.
Degenerative disc disease, or DDD, may not entirely “go away” once the individual’s discs have begun to degenerate. You can’t reverse the process and because of that, your physical therapist will help you learn how to work with it and how to limit the pain. You’ll understand body mechanics and how to avoid situations that can aggravate pain and other symptoms.
The specialist will also show you how to correct your posture and integrate ergonomic principles into your daily activities if needed. This is all part of the “self-care” or “self-treatment” aspect of physical therapy: Through physical therapy, you learn good habits and principles that allow you to take better care of the body.
Your physical therapist could also propose a personalized exercise program for you personally. The goals may include: strengthening abdominal and back muscles, increasing muscle endurance (so that your more powerful muscles can work harder longer), and getting your body to carry your weight more proficiently. An exercise program comes with a different bonus�it can assist you to drop some weight. Extra weight can exacerbate pain so your physical therapist can work along with one to establish goals and after that follow through, if you need certainly to lose excess weight.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Whole Body Wellness
Maintaining overall health and wellness through a balanced nutrition, regular physical activity and proper sleep is essential for your whole body�s well-being. While these are some of the most important contributing factors for staying healthy, seeking care and preventing injuries or the development of conditions through natural alternatives can also guarantee overall health and wellness. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective treatment option utilized by many individuals to ensure whole body wellness.
Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Alexander Jimenez looks into Tai Chi for back pain.
Q&A with Tai Chi Specialist Dr. Paul Lam
While lots of people take a �no pain, no increase� approach to work out, that�s for handling back and neck pain not always safe or effective. That�s where tai chi comes in. This low-impact, slow moving form of exercise delivers results without the sweat and soreness. Though it�s tender and meditative tai chi promotes strength, flexibility, and balance�the trifecta to get a healthier spine.
In case you have back or neck pain�or you�re looking for methods to prevent it in the first place �tai chi may be worth investigating. To help answer common questions and shed light on lesser-known facts relating to this ancient Chinese mind and body practice, we reached out to Dr. Paul Lam, manager of the Tai Chi for Health Institute in Australia.
Tai Chi Can Help
Q: During your research, what has become the most insightful finding you�ve found about tai chi as it relates to back pain?
A: The most insightful finding in my research concerning tai chi involved the mental impact and the deep stabilizer muscles to back pain.
Ninety percent of men and women have back pain at some period in their own lives, and more than 60 percent of that is continual. I discovered that nearly all individuals with back pain, no matter what the cause, have poor stabilizer muscles. Research has shown that strong stabilizers will prevent back pain and hasten healing.
Reinforcing the stabilizer muscles that are back is quite similar to tai chi training. The main element is an erect pose, exercising the stabilizers through the pelvic floor along with the transverse abdominus muscles, and using abdominal breathing. This really is among the important reasons why tai chi works so well for back pain.
One other insight I�ve discovered involves your head. Anxiety makes pain worse. Oftentimes with the continuing and persistent back pain, the cause of the pain might have gone, but the pain continues. Like a phantom pain, the thoughts�s ingrained custom proceeds to provide pain signals to the brain. Tai chi trains body and the mind, making both integrated and more powerful. It is but one of the utmost effective tools to greatly help with the mental aspects of back pain.
Q: What�s your best advice for somebody who’s apprehensive about beginning tai chi?
A: The reason why they are apprehensive about beginning tai chi, it depends. I can guarantee them it is safe, simple to understand, and proven effective, if people believe tai chi is a martial art and might be overly hard to learn. Millions of people around the globe have learned and profited from it, although the other consideration is the fact that individuals might believe tai chi is too tough to learn.
Q: How do individuals get the most?
A: I advocate people to practice tai chi for 30�40 minutes daily (it may be performed in separate sittings) most days each week. You will gain significant improvement in your quality of life and relief from back pain.
Q: Do you have some success stories that are personal which you can share regarding the benefits of tai chi for back pain?
A: Thousands! But to pick on only one, I�ve comprised a letter below written by a woman named Amatullah from Saudi Arabia.
“In 2009, I ‘d back pain for quite a while. Nothing worked, although I attempted many types of therapy. My friend said, �Try tai chi, it’s a gentle exercise.� Because my back was sore, I refused at first, but I attempted it. It was really surprising to me how people from 35 to 80 years old could do the movements, when I couldn�t. I found to be able to steadfastly keep up their health, some of them had been practicing for up to 35 years. I understood they were much fitter and much more flexible than my parents, therefore I decided to learn it. I practiced in all weather, in the park every day. My back pain vanished and has never return.”
Q: Are there tai chi resources you can recommend?
A: Yes, the Tai Chi for Health Institute web site has many resources, including a summary of accredited educators around the planet.
El Paso, TX. Chiropractor Dr. Alex Jimenez takes a look at chiropractors and�how they can act as an antioxidant through their practice.
The practice of chiropractic truly works on the grounds the work removes blockages to the body�s natural health and healing abilities, although most folks link chiropractors with pain management. This consists of removing pressure from nerves that relay signals from the brain to the organs and systems of the body.
Chiropractic Care Benefits
In 2005, a landmark study published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation (JVSR) found evidence that chiropractic care can reduce oxidative stress within the body.
Oxidative stress is the damage occurring when free radicals outnumber the body�s antioxidants. Oxidative stress damages all body cell components: lipids, proteins and DNA.
Oxidative stress plays a job in a whole host of diseases and ailments: Alzheimer�s rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, heart problems, Parkinson�s disease, disease and many others.
Thiols are compounds within the body that act as antioxidants, reacting with free radicals to neutralize them. Serum amounts of thiols report scientists of Biomedical Diagnostic Research, Inc reflect DNA�s ability to mend itself, and can be used to measure aging and disease status.
In a 2003 study published in the Journal of Anti Aging Medicine, the scientists found low serum thiol levels with nine distinct categories of disorder and human disease in people.
The study published in JVSR consisted of 76 participants: one group received short-term chiropractic care; a second group received long term chiropractic care; and the 3rd group received no chiropractic care.
After qualifying for age, gender as well as the usage of nutritional supplements, the participants that received chiropractic care for 2 or more years that were healthy had higher serum thiol levels than people that have disorder. Some of the chiropractic patients had serum thiol levels higher than what is linked with wellness that is ordinary.
Chiropractor Dr. Christopher Kent explained: �Oxidative tension, metabolically creating free radicals, is a broadly accepted theory of how we age and grow ailment.�
�Going through life,� we experience chemical, physical and psychological stress. These pressures change the function of the body’s nervous system. We hypothesized that oxidative stress could affect and DNA repair on a cellular level.�
�Chiropractic care seems to improve the power of the entire body to adapt to anxiety,� concluded Kent.
Correcting your posture does feel difficult and challenging at first because your body has become habitual of sitting or standing in that wrong posture. Here we tell you 5 exercises to help
Postural problems are the common cause of concern these days and the culprits here are desk jobs and our addiction to smartphones. Experts say that correcting your posture does feel difficult and challenging at first because your body has become habitual of sitting or standing in that wrong posture. However, a bit of practice, consistency and determination can facilitate the task and later your body will definitely thank you for this correction. Desk hunch (when you feel pain in your upper back after sitting at a computer all day) and text neck (the neck pain and damage sustained from looking down at your smartphone) are the two most prevalent postural problems these days.
Over time, both these problems contribute to you developing a rounded upper back, which can cause shoulder and upper back stiffness. However, practicing the below-mentioned stretches and workouts can turn your saviour here. The list includes upper back, neck and rear shoulder strengthening exercises, chest stretches and neck posture drills.
Seated rows: This workout emphasises muscles around the back including the lats, the erector spine, rear delts, biceps, and forearm flexors.
Pull-ups: If you are new at this exercise, then using a chin assist machine is the way to practice it. These machines use weight to help you push your bodyweight.
T-Spine Mobility in Child’s Pose: This pose stretches the lower back, tones the abdominal organs, and stimulates digestion and elimination.
Lat Hang: It alleviates the tight lats, pecs, upper back, and opens up the shoulder girdle prior to upper-body pushing or pulling movements.
Prone Y extension: It rotates your shoulders outward, stretches your abdomen, chest, and strengthens your lower back extensor muscles, along with the upper back muscles.
The Green Bay Packers drafted former Miner Aaron Jones on Saturday afternoon. The running back was drafted with the 36th pick in the fifth round (182nd overall).
The last time a Miner was drafted was in 2008 when a trio was selected.
Tackle Oniel Cousins was selected by the Baltimore Ravens (third round, 36th pick, 99th overall), free safety Quintin Demps was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles (fourth round, 18th pick, 117th overall) and running back Marcus Thomas was picked by the Dallas Cowboys (fifth round, 31st pick, 166th overall).
Aaron Jones set multiple school records during his prolific junior season including earning AP All-American third team and All-Conference USA first team honors. The El Paso native rushed for a single-season school-record 1,773 yards, while climbing his way to the top of the program’s career-rushing list with 4,114 yards, breaking John Harvey’s 28-year old record.
The three-time letter winner averaged 7.7 yards on 229 carries and scored 17 rushing touchdowns (third most in program history). Jones added three more receiving scores, while tallying 2,006 all-purpose yards (fourth best single-season performance in school history).
Jones capped the 2016 campaign with a career-high 301 yards and a career-best four rushing touchdowns against North Texas. Jones’s 301-yard effort is the second most yards rushed in a single contest in UTEP history. He finished the season ranked third in the nation with his 147.8 rushing yards per contest.
Berkley, Ca. – The UTEP track and field team had four first-place finishes in six different events on day one Friday at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge.
Karol Koncos won the men’s hammer throw tossing 63.35m (207-10). Koncos has thrown over 60m four times this season. Kevin Rincon placed 12th overall with a throw of 45.02m (147-08).
Daniel Cheruiyot took the lead in the 3,000m steeplechase and never looked back stopping the clock at 9:07.17. Antony Kosgei (14:37.21) and Evans Kirpono (15:07.87) finished first and second respectively in the 5,000m run.
Winny Koech took home gold in the women’s 5,000m run leading the race from the start to finish with a time of 16:45.77, followed by teammate Gladys Jerotich with a season-best 17:23.25.
Fayon Gonzales threw 50.11m (164-05) to place fourth in the javelin and placed eighth in the hammer throw with a toss of 37.75m (123-10). Abedola Akomolafe took ninth-place with a toss of 48.96m (160-07), followed by Cierra Chenault in 10th with a personal-best 45.91m (150-07).
Lucia Mokrasova placed fourth in the women’s javelin with a toss of 36.67m (123-07).
The Miners return to action on Saturday with the first field event starting at 10:00 a.m. PT and the first running event starting at 1:20 p.m.
For live updates and breaking news follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram.
It can be difficult to diagnose degenerative disc disease (DDD) because it grows gradually and can pose a multitude of associated problems (spinal stenosis, herniated disc, etc). For example, your doctor may be able to rapidly diagnose you for having a herniated disc, but it is more challenging to diagnose a herniated disc due to degenerative disc disease.
If you have back or neck pain that comes on suddenly, or in the event you have pain that persists, call a doctor who will refer you to a spine specialist. Your healthcare specialist will make an effort to discover the reason for your pain so that he or she can develop an accurate treatment plan for you�a method to manage your pain and other symptoms of degenerative disc disease and also that will help you recover.
As he/she works toward a diagnosis, your spinal specialist will ask about your present symptoms and what treatments you’ve already attempted.
Common Degenerative Disc Disease Questions
When did the back or neck pain begin?
What activities did you lately do?
What have you done for your own pain?
Does the pain go or radiate to other areas of your body?
Does anything lessen the pain or allow it to be worse?
Neurological and physical exams will be also performed by the healthcare professional. In the physical exam, she or he will notice your position, range of motion (how well and how much you can transfer specific joints), and physical state, noting any movement that triggers you pain. They will aslo feel for muscle spasms, notice alignment and its curvature, and will feel your back.
During the neurological exam, he or she will test your reflexes, muscle strength, other nerve changes, and pain spread (that is�does your pain travel from your back and into other parts of the body?). As it can impact your nerves or even your spinal cord, the neurological exam is especially significant in degenerative disk disease.
You may require to get some imaging tests, to diagnose degenerative disk disorder. You could possibly have an x-ray, which can help your healthcare specialist “see” the bones in your spine. X-rays are good at revealing narrowed spinal stations (spinal stenosis), fractures, bone spurs (osteophytes), or osteoarthritis. Your spinal specialist may refer to these as “basic films.” By that, she or he means that you will have several normal x ray viewpoints done. You’ll have one chosen from the side; that is called a lateral view. You will also provide a “straight on” shot, and it can be done in the front or the back. An x ray shot from the front is named an anteroposterior (AP) view; from the back, it’s called a posteroanterior (PA) view. On the plain pictures, your spine specialist will be trying to find break, scoliosis, and vertebral alignment �other spinal problems that can come along with DDD.
Your healthcare professional may also order flexion and extension x-rays to assess the stability of your back as well as your range of movement (how well your joints move). You’ll be requested to bend forward (flexion) and backwards (extension) during these x rays.
A computerized tomography (CT) scan or or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test may be demanded. These evaluations are somewhat more effective than x-rays at showing the soft tissues in your back and can help to identify issues such as a bulging disc or a herniated disc. A CT scan is useful because it’s more easy to begin to see the bones and nerves on it, therefore if a bone spur is pressing on a nerve, the surgeon can easily spot.
In case the specialist suspects nerve damage from degenerative changes in your spinal column, he or she may order a special test called an electromyography (EMG) to measure how fast your nerves respond.
Additional evaluations can be required by making a degenerative disk disorder identification.
Bone scan: To assist your surgeon find spinal difficulties for example osteoarthritis, fractures, or illnesses (which could all be related to DDD), you may have a bone scan. You’ll possess a rather small number of radioactive material injected into a blood vessel. Your bones will go during your bloodstream and absorb that. An area where there’s unusual activity, including an inflammation will absorbs more radioactive material. A scanner can discover the amount of radiation in all your bones and show the “hot spots” (the places with more radioactive material) to help your surgeon figure out where the problem is.
Discogram or discography: This is really a process that confirms or denies the disc(s) as the way to obtain your pain. You will possess a harmless dye injected into among your disks. When there is an issue together with your disk�like the herniated of it’s �the dye will leak from the disk. The surgeon will likely be capable of see that on an xray, and which will reveal him/her that there’s something wrong along with your disc.
Myelogram: To see for those who have a spinal canal or spinal cord disorder�perhaps nerve compression causing weakness and pain �you might possess a myelogram. In this evaluation, you’ll have a unique dye injected to the area around your spinal cord and nerves. (Before that happens, the region is going to be numbed.) Then you’ll have an x-ray or a CT scan. The image will give a thorough anatomic picture of your spine, notably of the bones, that’ll help your spine surgeon to recognize any abnormalities.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Whole Body Wellness
Maintaining overall health and wellness through a balanced nutrition, regular physical activity and proper sleep is essential for your whole body’s well-being. While these are some of the most important contributing factors for staying healthy, seeking care and preventing injuries or the development of conditions through natural alternatives can also guarantee overall health and wellness. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective treatment option utilized by many individuals to ensure whole body wellness.
IFM's Find A Practitioner tool is the largest referral network in Functional Medicine, created to help patients locate Functional Medicine practitioners anywhere in the world. IFM Certified Practitioners are listed first in the search results, given their extensive education in Functional Medicine
