Does it come to any surprise that high-level athletes have spine disc degeneration? I found it quite revealing that a paper in BMJ Open Sport and Excercise Medicine [1. Evaluation of spine MRIs in athletes participating in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympic Games ] revealed in a retrospective study that a high number [...]
Though people usually blame lower back pain and disc damage on heavy lifting, a new study [1. Numerical Prediction of the Mechanical Failure of the Intervertebral Disc under Complex Loading Conditions] determined that the true cause of damage is bending—specifically, in a forward direction. While studying the effects of complex loading conditions on sheep [...]
The language we use as professionals is important. When I took my chiropractic oath in 1999, it was the "first do no harm" I believed to be most important. As I began practice I could hear myself speak about findings and I struggled in the beginning to translate findings like 'degenerative disc disease' to the patient [...]
Herniated disc is common. Researchers believe that degeneration plays an integral role with herniation and is thought to be considered the main cause of back pain. [1.Carragee EJ (2005) Clinical practice. Persistent low back pain. N Engl J Med 352(18):1891–1898 ] [2.Battie MC, Videman T (2006) Lumbar disc degeneration: epidemiology and genetics. J Bone Joint Surg [...]
Fluid flow is crucial for spine. In particular, the discs rely on this fluid flow for both structural and cellular life. The cells that live deep within the disc are surrounded by an infrastructure without blood. This sets up a very unique situation for survival. Without a constant source of nutrients, it is imperative that they [...]
