Dedicated to Your Well-Being in Eaton Rapids
Your chiropractic care specialist in mid-Michigan is located on Main Street in Eaton Rapids. Colestock Family Chiropractic is dedicated to your well-being in keeping you physically healthy. Low back pain bothering you, stop on in. Upper back pain, neck pain, hip pain, headaches…any or all of the above bothering you? Stop on in and let’s discuss what is causing your pain and correct it.
One of the few proficiency-rated qualified chiropractors using the Activator Method Technique in the State of Michigan, Dr Denise Colestock of Colestock Family Chiropractic is very knowledgeable and experienced in back pain management.
As a licensed chiropractor conviently located in Eaton Rapids, Dr Colestock also serves the surrounding communities of Charlotte, Springport, Rives Junction, Holt, Mason, Potterville, Grand Ledge, Lansing, Onondaga, Vermontville, Leslie, Dimondale, Bellevue, Pleasant Lake, Olivet and clients as far away as Cass City. A client base that understands and knows the Activator Method Techique that Dr Colestock specializes in works and works very well. No need to snap-crackle-and-pop the spine to allieviate your back pain.
Whether your experiencing low back pain, upper back pain, sciatica, back aches, headaches, stiff neck, shoulder or hip pain, whiplash symptoms, grinding teeth, carpal tunnel, disc problems, muscle spasms, or even knee pain, contact one of the few licensed and qualified chiropractors in the state of Michigan for the Activator Method, located in Eaton Rapids.
Colestock Family Chiropractic has been in the same location since 2003 at 802 S. Main St (M-50)
Office phone number is 517.663.8825. Office hours and more information can be found at the “About Us” link.
If chronic pain of any kind is a problem for you, please call us to discuss your situation and see if we can help you become pain free through the Activator Method. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain so call us now.
Degenerative Disc Disease - What is it?
Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of low back pain, and also one of the most misunderstood. Many patients diagnosed with low back pain caused by degenerative disc disease are left wondering exactly what this diagnosis means for them. The common questions that are often on patients’ minds include:
If I have low back pain from degenerative disc disease in my thirties, how much worse will it become with age?
Will the degenerative disc disease become a crippling condition? Will I end up in a wheelchair?
Should I restrict my activities? Is playing sports no longer an option? Will it spread to other parts of my body? Will this degenerative disc disease cause any permanent damage?
These are all excellent questions.
A large part of most patients concerns is that degenerative disc disease sounds like a very aggressive condition. However, this condition is not strictly degenerative and it’s not really a disease.
The term degenerative sounds scary and it implies that your symptoms will get worse with age.
While it is true that the disc degeneration is likely to progress over time, the low back pain from degenerative disc disease usually does not get worse and in fact usually gets better over time.
Degenerative disc disease is not really a disease at all, but rather a degenerative condition that at times can produce pain from a damaged disc.
Disc degeneration is a natural part of aging and over time all people will exhibit changes in their discs consistent with a greater or lesser degree of degeneration. However, not all people will develop symptoms. In fact, degenerative disc disease is quite variable in its nature and severity.
Medical practitioners disagree on degenerative disc disease
Finally, many patients are confused about degenerative disc disease because many medical professionals don’t agree on what the phrase describes. In practical terms, this means that few practitioners agree on what does and does not constitute a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease. Even medical textbooks don’t usually attempt to give an accurate description. Therefore, while many practitioners believe that degenerative disc disease is a common cause of low back pain in young adults, very few agree on the implications.
While there is still a lot of debate in the medical community about degenerative disc disease, a few aspects of the condition are known.
Source of the pain
Generally, the pain associated with degenerative disc disease is thought to stem from two different factors:
-Inflammation
-Abnormal micromotion instability
The proteins in the disc space can cause a lot of inflammation, and inflammation in the disc space can lead to low back pain radiating to the hips. The associated pain can also travel down the back of the legs.
If the annulus—the outer rings of the intervertebral disc - becomes damaged or worn down, it is not as effective in resisting motion in the spine. This condition has been termed “micromotion” instability because it is usually not associated with gross instability (such as a slipped vertebral body or spondylolisthesis).
Both the inflammation and micromotion instability can cause muscular spasm in the low back. The muscle spasm is the body’s attempt to stabilize the low back. It is a reflex, and although the body’s response of muscle spasm is not necessary for the safety of the nerve roots, it can be quite painful.
There is minimal blood supply to the disc, and blood is what brings healing nutrients and oxygen to damaged structures in the body. This means that the spinal disc lacks any significant reparative powers. Unlike muscles, which have good blood supply, once a spinal disc is injured it cannot repair itself.
Degenerative disc disease and low back pain
The natural history of lumbar degenerative disc disease is relatively benign. The pain tends to be intermittent, and although at times the pain may seem to be getting worse, the painful symptoms are generally not progressive. While the disc degeneration will progress, the low back pain and other symptoms do not tend to get worse with the progression of the degeneration.
Many patients worry that if they are have a lot of low back pain when they are only 35 years old, the pain will become much worse and they may be in a wheelchair by the time they’re in their sixties. However, if patients can find a way to manage their back pain and maintain their function, the natural history is really quite favorable.
With continued disc degeneration, all the inflammatory proteins within the disc space will eventually burn out, and the disc will usually become stiffer, thus decreasing micro-motion. In fact, someone who is 65 years old is actually less likely to have discogenic back pain than someone who is 35 years old.
Common symptoms of degenerative disc disease include:
>The low back pain is generally made worse with sitting, since in the seated position the lumbosacral discs are loaded three times more than standing.
>Certain types of activity will usually worsen the low back pain, especially bending, lifting and twisting.
>Walking, and even running, may actually feel better than prolonged sitting or standing.
>Patients will generally feel better if they can change positions frequently, and lying down is usually the best position since this relieves stress on the disc space.
Types of pain from degenerative disc disease
Most patients with degenerative disc disease will have some underlying chronic low back pain, with intermittent episodes of severe low back pain. The exact cause of these severe episodes of pain is not known, but it has been theorized that it is due to abnormal micro-motion in the degenerated disc that spurs an inflammatory reaction.
In an attempt to stabilize the spine and decrease the micro-motion, the body reacts to the disc pain with muscle spasms. The reactive spasms are what make patients feel like their back has “gone out”.
The severe episodes of low back pain from degenerative disc disease will generally last from a few days to a few months before the patient goes back to their baseline level of chronic pain. The amount of chronic pain is quite variable and can range from a nagging level of irritation to severe and disabling pain, although severe, disabling pain is quite rare.
In addition to low back pain from degenerative disc disease, there may be leg pain, numbness and tingling. Even without pressure on the nerve root (a “pinched nerve”), other structures in the back can refer pain down the rear and into the legs. The nerves can become sensitized with inflammation from the proteins within the disc space and produce the sensation of numbness/tingling. Generally, the pain does not go below the knee.
These sensations, although worrisome and annoying, rarely indicate that there is any ongoing nerve root damage. However, any weakness in the leg muscles (such as foot drop) is an indicator of some nerve root damage.
Chronic pain versus acute pain
One very important tenet in chronic pain is that the level and extent of pain does not equal tissue damage. Severely degenerated discs may not produce much pain at all, and discs with little degeneration can produce severe pain.
In this manner, chronic pain is very different from acute pain. With acute pain, the severity of pain directly correlates to the level of tissue damage. This provides us with a protective reflex, such as the reflex to remove your hand immediately if you put it on something hot.
In chronic pain, the pain does not have the same meaning—it is not protective and does not mean there is any ongoing tissue damage.
Article written by Peter F. Ullrich, Jr, MD
Hamstring Stretching Exercises for Sciatica
Most types of sciatica will benefit from a regular routine of hamstring stretching.
Where are your hamstrings you ask? Hamstrings are muscles located in the back of your thigh which help bend your knees and extend your hips. By having tight hamstring muscles it places increased stress on your lower back and often aggravates some of the conditions that result in sciatica.
It is important to remember that when doing hamstring stretches that you should avoid bouncing, which can then trigger a muscle spasm.
Streching Your Hamstrings While Lying on Your Back
Most individuals who suffer from low back pain will benefit from hamstring stretching exercises while lying on their back.
Here are two of the least stressful types of hamstring stretches:
- Lie on your back and support your thigh behind the knee with your hand or with a towel. Slowly straighten your knee until you can feel the stretch in the back of your thigh. Try to get the bottom of your foot to face the ceiling…one leg at a time. Hold the position for 10 seconds initially and work your way up to 20-30 seconds for each leg. Do this 6 times per leg eventually working your way up to 10 each time you lay down to stretch your hamstrings.
- Another good low stress hamstring stretch is to lie on your back on the floor with your buttocks against a wall at a corner or a door jam. Keeping one leg on the floor, place the foot of your other leg against the wall and try to gently push your knee straight so your raised leg and the leg on the floor make a 90 degree angle. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds.
But what if you’re at work and having lower back pain and you aren’t able to lie down somewhere to do these stretches?
Stretching Your Hamstrings While Sitting
Although less gentle on your back than doing the stretches laying down, hamstring stretches can also be done while in a sitting position.
- While sitting at the edge of your chair, straighten out one of your legs so it’s in front of your body with the heel of your foot on the floor. Then, try to sit up straight by sliding back into the chair and pushing your navel towards your thigh without leaning the trunk of your body forward. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds and repeating it 3 times for each leg.
Women tend to be more flexible and may need to elevate the foot on a stool or chair to get a deep enough stretch.
Stretching your hamstrings while lying on your back is going to be gentler and less stressful than those done while in a sitting position. If you’re suffering from sciatica pain, sitting for any length of time will be a position you’ll want to avoid unless you’re immune to pain.
What it boils down to is patients with low back pain should choose whichever position is most comfortable when doing your stretching. Low back pain exercises should first be ok’d by a health professional prior to you attempting your own lower back pain therapy.
Before doing any exercises, or sciatica stretching, patients should seek the opinion of a health professional to get a correct diagnosis for their pain and to rule out any more serious issues. The proper exercises differ depending on the condition that is causing your low back pain, so patients should not attempt to self-treat their sciatica before consulting a professional.