Why Postural Stress Can Create Spinal Degeneration

The term spinal degeneration refers to the breakdown of the bones, joints and discs that make up your vertebral column. Spinal Degeneration is often interchanged with diagnostic labels such as degenerative spinal arthritis, osteoarthritis of the spine, discogenic spondylosis, and spondyloarthrosis. Most often these changes are seen due to “wear and tear” to the spine.

Normal “wear and tear” can best be described as LIFE! We all have “wear and tear” on our body. But why don’t we all have spinal degeneration? This is where postural stress comes in. Think of how many hours you sit at work or home? How many falls and accidents have you had? How often do you bend over or lay twisted? These positions and movements create an increased load or stress to the spine. Day in and day out that can affect how the spine moves and functions. Physical, labor-intensive jobs such as construction obviously create more stress than other jobs do. However, jobs that produce repetitive movements such as assembly line jobs or even teachers that are continuously bending over helping kids do their schoolwork impact spinal health. Office jobs may be less labor intensive but sitting in one position all day puts a significant amount of stress on the low back. Lets look at how sitting on a chair (slouching) can affect the amount of stress put on the spine.



The top figure shows how 90% of us sit at a desk playing or working on the computer. You can see that the hunched over posture creates up to 24lbs of extra strain on the spine. The figure below depicts a correct posture, reducing the load or stress put on the lumbar spine. When there is a consistent increase in stress to the spine we are susceptible to spinal degeneration. The reason is described by Wolf’s Law:

States that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads it is placed under. If loading on a particular bone increases, the bone will remodel itself over time to become stronger to resist that sort of loading. The internal architecture of the trabeculae undergoes adaptive changes, followed by secondary changes to the external cortical portion of the bone, perhaps becoming thicker as a result.

Wolf’s Law is telling us that with increased load to the spine, physiological changes are occuring in the spine to compensate for the increase in stress. Overtime, the spine will begin to breakdown due to the physiological changes and lead to an increase in spinal degeneration.

Chiropractic care can be an effective treatment to prevent or slow down the process of spinal degeneration. Chiropractic adjustments are specifically focused to restore proper joint mechanics to the spine. When this occurs the joint has the ability to move and respond appropriately to increases in spinal stress. Of course it does depend on the amount of degeneration that is already present in the spine. Chiropractic doctors can base treatment on the four stages of spinal degeneration, which are:

Degeneration Phase 1
First your spine loses its normal balance. There may be a loss of normal spinal curves. Your nerves may be affected and the vital life energy that flows over them is interfered with. Also your joints, discs, nerves and posture and stressed and age more quickly. Surprisingly, there may be no pain other than occasional minor discomfort. Also present may be a slight lessening of energy and slight height loss. Response to spinal care is generally good.

Degeneration Phase 2
Here there is a much greater degree of decay, disc narrowing and bone spurs (deformations); postural changes are much worse. This condition is very common (by age 40, 80% of males and 76% of females exhibit moderate disc degeneration). Spinal canal narrowing or stenosis may occur. This phase is characterized by more common aches and pains, fatigue and a diminished ability to cope with stress. Height continues to decrease. With chiropractic care significant improvement is possible.

Degeneration Phase 3
Here there are more postural imbalances, increased nerve damage, permanent scar tissue and advanced bone deformation. Physical and/or mental weakness or disability begin. Also found in this phase are permanent loss of height and loss of energy. With care some reversal is possible.

Degeneration Phase 4
This is the most advanced stage of subluxation degeneration. The postural imbalance is severe and motion is limited. There is severe nerve damage, permanent scar tissue is formed and the bones may begin to fuse. In this phase we find pain, various degrees of physical or mental disability, and continued loss of energy and height. By now the condition is considered irreversible, although chiropractic may give some symptomatic relief.

Consult with you Chiropractic doctor if you’re concerned about spinal degeneration.

About the author: Dr. Luke Reineck is a Chiropractor that practices in Milford, OH. Dr. Reineck attended Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida receiving honors of cum laude. His goal for patients is to develop a proactive plan to improve their body’s structure and function to its maximum level. Dr. Reineck can be contacted at his office Living with Motion Chiropractic (513) 831-4433 or email drluke@livingwithmotion.com

Create Your Own “Stimulus Package”

Many believe we must have control of our own lives, however, in times of an economic crisis this may seem extremely difficult to do. Loved ones are losing their jobs, we’re trying to pay the bills and stressing over things that previously we would not. One point of good news is that we have the ability to control the way we take care of ourselves.

The small stresses of our daily activities slowly alter the mechanics of our bodies. This occurs day after day eventually leading to aches and pains we associate with everyday life. Consequently, muscles and ligaments change over time, increasing our chances of serious injury down the road. At that point, we will want a “bailout” from chronic pain and all the doctor’s fees.

Whether we talk about a “stimulus package” from the government or one we create for ourselves, it should improve our current situation as well as improve things down the road. In terms of health, we need a solution that will make us feel better now and provide continued health for the future. One solution is chiropractic.

The nervous system controls everything in the body. Every cell, tissue and organ is under the direct influence of the nervous system. Chiropractic adjustments are capable of stimulating the nervous system at a specific spinal level naturally; allowing the body to feel and function better. Chiropractors are well educated in detecting biomechanical faults throughout the body, which in turn could be putting that individual at risk of injury. The chiropractic exam can consist of several tools (x-ray, orthopedic tests, range of motion tests, etc) that allow the Chiropractor to properly evaluate the spine and/or extremities. Benefits from chiropractic adjustments include: decreased pain, restored joint motion, improved flexibility, proper muscle tone, increased circulation, improved immune response, and decreased stress.

Chiropractic care is a conservative option that is versatile in its treatment. Someone with chronic pain or someone with subtle symptoms can both benefit from chiropractic adjustments. When it comes to health and wellness, prevention is easier and cheaper than a cure.

During this economic downturn, the best investment is in your health. Just as we spend money, time and effort on saving and securing our long-term wealth, we should also secure and enjoy our long-term health.

About the author: Dr. Luke Reineck is a Chiropractor that practices in Milford, OH. Dr. Reineck attended Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida receiving honors of cum laude. His goal for patients is to develop a proactive plan to improve their body’s structure and function to its maximum level. Dr. Reineck can be contacted at his office Living with Motion Chiropractic (513) 831-4433 or email drluke@livingwithmotion.com.

What Are The Effects Of Stress On Your Body?

How do you define stress? Is it when you have a million things to get down before the end of your workday? Is it when your children are starting to drive you crazy? Is it when you and your significant other can't seem to get along? All of these situations create stress and are all examples of emotional stressors. Most of us relate "stress" to emotional stress and don't think about or know what else can stress us. But have you thought about the effects of stress when you eat a cheeseburger, drink a soda, or sit all day at work? Just as emotional stressors affect us, these physical and chemical stressors create imbalances in our body driving it further away from homeostasis.

Stress can be defined as a normal physiological response to situations or stimulus, which are perceived as "dangerous" to the body. The human body is complex; it must stay with in a very narrow range of physiological function to maintain homeostasis. The body is exposed everyday to different persons, species, situations and stimuli. If the exposure is hazardous then the body prepares itself to face the situation - the reason being is to maintain internal homeostasis and the bodies normal functioning should not be affected. This response is called the fight or flight response.

The fight or flight response occurs because the body needs more energy when its faced with situations deemed "dangerous". The initial step of this response is taken by the hypothalamus of the brain that in turn eventually stimulates your adrenal glands (located above your kidneys). The adrenal glands secrete two important hormones, adrenaline and cortisol. These two hormones work together to see that the body gets more energy by providing more oxygen and glucose. For these things to occur, the following adjustments are done. First, adrenaline makes blood flow toward your muscles, heart, and brain - and away from the skin and digestive track. Then, your heart beats rapidly and forcefully increasing heart rate and your blood pressure. At the same time your eyes dilate and your blood vessels constrict. Finally, the sugar stored in your liver is converted into glucose (blood sugar) for quick energy during the fight or flight response. Once the trigger is gone, the hormone levels drop and the body returns to normal. However if stress occurs repeatedly, then all the hormone levels are persistently high not allowing the body to come back to normal.

How often do you feel stressed? I think most of us would answer everyday. This means that we consistently have high levels of adrenaline and cortisol running through our blood. Remember, when we are stressed the body is looking for quick energy. To gain more energy, glucagon is being converted into blood sugar. This means you consistently have higher levels of blood sugar than what you should. Think about that. Is it hard for you to lose weight? Has your doctor told you that your headed toward diabetes? Have you improved your diet but still can't control your blood sugar? At my office, Living with Motion Chiropractic, we understand the effects of stress on your body. All day, everyday, your body is adjusting and compensating to maintain homeostasis. The next time you feel back pain from sitting all day (physical stress) or you get angry with your children (emotional stress) or you shovel down a burger with fries (chemical stress), remember how these situations impact your health. Finding a balance in your life physically, emotionally, and chemically will allow your body to respond appropriately to the effects of stress!

Most Effective Weight Loss Solutions for 2011!

Today the Internet is riddled with diet pills, weight loss plans, meal replacements, special exercise programs and a million other weight loss options. Why then are so many people overweight? Why is obesity continuing to rise? There is definitely more than one answer to these questions. Starting with the convenience and cheap cost of fast food, over consumption of calorie dense snack foods, pop, lack of preparation, and genetics to name a few. The fact regarding most of the weight loss solutions is that very few offer a solution to the real problem. We can only sustain restrictive diets or take pills and diet drinks that amp us up for so long. At some point we begin to revert back to what were comfortable with and find ourselves right back to where we started. A person’s will power to over come their emotional connection to unhealthy food will not last if their driving force to losing weight is merely cosmetic. Healthy decisions in general need a high level of will power for people to stick with and make those changes as part of who they now are. Your overall health improvement is what really should drive your decision to lose weight. A person’s waistline is one of the biggest predictors of health problems to arise in that individual. As the waistline increase outwards, so do the their health risks. You can find BMI (Body Mass Index) calculations on the Internet and then see where you fall in the category of increased health risks.

Being a Chiropractor, focused on overall health, I needed to experience what the most effective weight loss solution was. What I found, with the help of other doctors, was the HCG Professional Formula through DesBio. First, I put myself and several other test patients (including my mom) through the HCG Diet to measure its effectiveness, side effects and how easy it was to follow through with the diet. I have to say what other doctors were telling me was 100% right on. The effectiveness of this product was amazing, no side effects when performed the way we offer it, and the fact I was not hungry made it much easier to follow than I thought it would be. A common question I get is, “Wouldn’t anyone lose the same amount of weight eating a low calorie diet without HCG?” I tell them, you can lose weight by eating fewer calories and fat, but because the body stores fat during times of deprivation (very low calorie diet), you will most likely lose water, essential fat stores, and muscle mass before non-essential fat (belly, thighs, buttocks). This causes cellular metabolism to slow down, so in the long run, it would make gaining weight easier. Having done the HCG Professional Formula myself, I have continued to keep the weight off (even over two Christmas’s and New Year’s) and I 100% recommend the HCG Diet with DesBio as the most effective weight loss solution!