Browsing articles from "November, 2011"
Nov 22, 2011
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Spinal Stenosis – How Spinal Decompression Lawrenceville GA Works

Spinal stenosis is a condition that causes narrowing in the spine. It can take place at the center of your spine, where the canals branch off the spine and/or between its bones. The narrowing puts pressure on your nerves and spinal cord and can induce pain. Men and women older than 50, are more likely to be affected with this condition. Nonetheless, younger people with a spine injury or a narrow spinal canal and those with arthritis and scoliosis are also at risk. Symptoms may show up progressively or may not show at all. A person with spinal stenosis may experience back pain, neck pain, numbness, weakness or pain in the arms or legs, and foot problems.

Medications, physical therapy, braces, and surgery are traditionally used as treatments that address problems accompanying spinal stenosis. However, they only work to relieve the symptoms, not the cause. Remedying the cause is the most effective solution to relieve the symptoms and prevent its recurrence. That is what spinal decompression can do. Spinal decompression Lawrenceville GA is an alternative treatment that eases back pain, neck pain, and other symptoms caused by spinal stenosis and it can be an excellent alternative for surgery.

What is spinal stenosis?

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of spaces in the spine which results in pressure on the spinal cord and/or nerve roots. This disorder usually involves the narrowing of the canals and openings of the vertebrae where the nerve roots pass through. The narrowing may involve a small or large area of the spine. This can occur in the neck (cervical) as well as the lower back (lumbar) and on rare cases, in the mid spine (thoracic).

What are the symptoms of spinal stenosis?

Symptoms usually get worse gradually over time. Most commonly, symptoms will be on one side of the body or the other. If the pressure it causes takes place on the lower part of the spine or on nerve roots branching out from that area, it may give rise to pain or numbness in the legs. If it occurs in the upper back, it may cause similar symptoms in the neck, shoulders, or arms. Additional symptoms of spinal stenosis include difficulty or poor balance when walking and problems controlling urine or bowel movements.

What causes spinal stenosis?

Arthritis, the weakening of any joint in the body, is the most usual cause of spinal stenosis. In the spine, it is the result of degenerating disc and loss of hydration. As an individual gets older, the discs start to dry out and weaken. This problem causes settling down, or collapse of the disk spaces and loss of disk space height. Other causes of spinal stenosis include accidents, falls, and bone diseases.

How can spinal stenosis be treated?

In treating the disorder, traditional concepts such as medications and physical therapy can help lessen pain but only with short term results. Moreover, they only work on reducing the symptoms rather than treating the root cause, which is why pain only reoccurs before long. Surgery on the other hand may work on the actual cause but it comes with dangerous risks and complications and it does not ensure success either.

Luckily, doing away with the pain for good just takes much safer and cost-friendly conservative treatments. Spinal decompression therapy can be used to help minimize the pain for a long time. It works by lessening mechanical stress on bone surfaces, resulting to a substantial decrease in inflammation.

Decompression Therapy Lawrenceville GA supports improved moisture to the discs, which can eventually improve their thickness and in turn reduces the mechanical stress on the spine. The immediate effect of this reduced mechanical stress is often a dramatic reduction in inflammation. And because spinal decompression corrects the affected area of the spine, where the underlying cause is, the effect can be lasting. Disc decompression also enhances disc hydration which helps slowing down or stopping the progression of the abnormal bone formation.

To sum it all, spinal decompression can be a highly effective treatment for spinal stenosis and can help prevent the need for invasive treatments. The spine and rehab center in Lawrenceville accepts patients with spinal stenosis Lawrenceville GA. For those who are considering surgery, this treatment can be a very good alternative to surgical treatment.

Nov 21, 2011
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What is Facet Joint Syndrome? Learn How Spinal Decompression Lawrenceville GA Can Help

Facet Syndrome

Facet joint syndrome is a disorder mostly caused by structural degeneration of one or more spinal joints by which can eventually cause pain. It may occur in the upper back or lower back. If the condition occurs in the cervical spinal area or upper back, it is called cervical facet syndrome. If it occurs in the lumbar spinal area or lower back, it is called lumbar facet syndrome.

Facet syndrome generally causes back pain and neck pain which can be excruciating for some people. It reduces quality of life if left untreated. Patients can find an excellent solution for facet joint syndrome Lawrenceville GA with the help of spinal decompression, a nonsurgical treatment that uses technological advances to provide relief in a precise yet gentle way.

Facet Joints

Facet joints are the connections between the bones of the spine. These are the joints where nerve roots from the spinal cord pass through to the other parts of the body such as the arms and legs. They allow the spine to move smoothly and keep the back from slipping or twisting past limits.

Symptoms

The most frequent complaints of people with facet syndrome are pain and stiffness. The pain commonly occurs on the affected area of the spine and is exaggerated while twisting, bending, or straightening up. A person loses range of motion and flexibility in the affected vertebrae.

For someone who has cervical facet syndrome, the condition can be presented with neck pain, shoulder pain, headaches, or difficulty turning the head or having to move the entire body to look over to the left or right.

In lumbar facet syndrome, symptoms may feature low back pain, thigh and groin pain, and discomfort in the buttocks.

Causes

Facet joints are in almost constant motion with the spine and commonly wear out or become degenerated in many people. When facet joints become worn or torn, the cartilage may become thin or disappear which may result to overgrowing of bone spurs and enlargement of the joints.

Facet joint syndrome is a form of arthritis, in which the root causes are not clearly known. What is known is that the aging process and traumatic injury can both cause cartilage to degrade, which can result to pain as adjacent bones rub together.

Older people are more susceptible to facet joint syndrome. Natural aging process usually gives rise to osteoarthritis and joint degeneration. Athletes like gymnasts and acrobats are also at risk of facet joint syndrome. The rigors of their sport cause exceptional degeneration in their spine.

Treatment

Spinal decompression is more likely to be efficient in improving the symptoms of facet syndrome. It is a nonsurgical treatment that offers relief to distressing back and neck pain sufferers by gently separating the bones of the spine using a decompression equipment.

As the bones are gradually and methodically separated, the pressure in the facet is reduced. Decompressing the affected spinal joints can significantly reduce pain and disability. Spinal decompression also sets off vacuum effect that can pull much-needed oxygen, nutrients and fluids into the injured part to enable healing.

Spinal decompression Lawrenceville GA is a computer-controlled treatment, providing precise therapeutic decompression to the injured joints. It uses angulated elongation methods to target specific joints of the spine.

If you have been living with this kind of pain and other treatments do not work, try Lawrenceville GA Spinal Decompression. In a clinical study, this impressive treatment has been proven effective that it remarkably decreased the pain and provided a high success rate in patients with facet joint syndrome.

Chiropractic Care in Lawrenceville
Dr. Ross Carter and Dr. Michael Schulman
1860 Duluth Hwy, Ste 103 Lawrenceville Ga 30043
770 - 817 - 4445
www.chiropractorlawrencevillega.com

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