Healthy News January 2023

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is reportedly one of the most common spinal conditions in the US, impacting more than 500 million people over the age of 62. (1) As researchers grapple with a more systematic approach to dealing with patient care for lumbar spinal stenosis patients, your West Des Moines chiropractor provides gentle, safe, pain easing treatment. The latest effort at a system emphasized that each LSS patient is unique in his/her presentation which limits any algorithm to be “soft guidance” as to its treatment plan based primarily on the LSS patient's pain relief with spinal flexion. (2) Since spinal stenosis is typically a systemic issue, which means that if you have spinal stenosis in the lumbar spine, you likely have it in other spinal areas like the cervical too, you do not want to overlook it. Further, lumbar spinal stenosis isn’t a condition that appears and disappears forever. Its pain can be managed, but it’s often “chronic,” meaning it lasts beyond 90 days. Have hope! Executive Chiropractic of Iowa is experienced in ways to help with lumbar spinal stenosis relief. One study reported that flexion distraction significantly lowered pain and disability for lumbar spinal stenosis patients. (3) Another study stated that chronic back pain sufferers with moderate to severe symptoms improved most with the chiropractic technique, Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction Decompression (CTFDD), compared with physical therapy. (4) Those same patients experienced significantly lower pain scores over the following 12 months than did patients who did physical therapy. (5) LSS patients also have altered gait and balance concerns. (1,6) CTFDD helps these issues, too! A study regarding the influence of spinal manipulation on balance issues in LSS patients explained that flexion distraction spinal manipulation enhanced function, symptoms, and performance-based mobility in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. (6) We also look forward to the outcomes of a prospective data collection study in its second year of follow-up with patients who underwent CTFDD for relief of their LSS-associated back pain. Data collection will be done in late 2023 with results being published in the years to come. West Des Moines lumbar spinal stenosis is everywhere, and its relieving partner is your West Des Moines chiropractor here at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa!

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Dean Greenwood on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes his alleviating treatment of a spinal stenosis patient with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

As a group of researchers establishes a new study to evaluate if a 6-week education and exercise program will enhanced the walking capacity of lumbar spinal stenosis patients with neurogenic claudication (7), we} suggest walking and exercising now! Much research exhibits that lumbar spinal stenosis responds to exercise. A study showed that individualized exercise (stretches and strengthening) mixed with manual therapy (like out CTFDD spinal manipulation mobilization!) beat medical care and group exercise with greater symptom and function improvement as well as walking capacity at 2 months of care. (8) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa has just the program of stretching, strengthening, and manipulation for you! We will design it together!

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We appreciate all of our patients here at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa and look forward to a healthy 2023! Make your next West Des Moines chiropractic appointment with Executive Chiropractic of Iowa now to maximize your spine’s health. See you then!