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
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