Lumbar nerve root compression may trigger pain and/or weakness for patients with spinal stenosis and disc herniation. Younger patients are more likely to respond more rapidly to both surgical and non-surgical treatment. (1) That’s logical as the nerve has not been irritated as long. Disc herniations tend to arise in our 30’s and 50’s. Luckily, only 3% to 6% of them are symptomatic. Spinal stenosis is more likely to bother us in our 50’s and 60’s. Muscle weakness appears in as many as 30% to 50% of disc herniation patients. 80% of disc herniation patients with weakness show improvement with 6 weeks of non-operative care, 90% at 12 weeks, 93% at 24 weeks. Surgical patients discover that the most clinically significant weakness improvement came within 6 weeks of spine surgery for a disc herniation. 66% of these patients had no improvement after that. (Ghahreman in 1) Motor power improvement can occur over the following two years after surgery. Some sensory loss is typical but barely conspicuous. (1) BONUS: The cost of chiropractic care for a lumbar disc herniation only accounted for 2% of all the money spent, so the researchers urged a trial of conservative, non-operative care before choosing back surgery for disc herniation. (2) Bring your West Des Moines back pain and related muscle weakness to Executive Chiropractic of Iowa for West Des Moines non-operative care first.
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Dean Greenwood on The Back Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson about a patient with muscle weakness accompanying a synovial cyst that improved with chiropractic care utilizing the Cox® Technic System.
Maintaining strong bones is important, and vitamin C can be a part of the plan! Osteoclasts are bone cells that decay bone tissue. Vitamin C prevents them from doing that. Osteoblasts are cells that bind bone while bone forms. Vitamin C fosters bone regeneration by fostering osteoblast formation. (3) Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin C. They are packed with antioxidants known to impact bone quality. In a recent study, vitamin C increased the L5 vertebra’s density! (4) That’s a benefit your West Des Moines spine specialist likes to hear! Consume your vitamin C every day! Eat, or supplement! Let us chat at your next West Des Moines chiropractic appointment.
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Schedule your West Des Moines chiropractic appointment. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa is here to help you regain your muscle loss and develop your bones! Thank you for trusting your spine’s health to Executive Chiropractic of Iowa!