Chiropractic care and services help to correct subluxation or misalignment of the spine to bring it back into balance, offering benefits that reach far beyond mere back pain relief. Since conditions like degenerative disc disease are prone to worsening naturally, not doing anything to combat them leaves the door open to any peripheral conditions that may develop as the result of degeneration, leading to a lower quality of life.
Degenerative Disc Disease Explained
Although labeled as a disease, degenerative disc disease is a natural, progressive condition that can worsen over time and occurs due to aging, stress, or injury. It is a condition where one or more discs between your vertebrae lose elasticity and strength. Like shock absorbers, rubbery discs between our vertebrae usually allow for bending and flexing of the back. As we age, fluid levels in our discs decrease, increasing friction and wear. The important thing to note is these contributors that make up degenerative disc disease can be identified to mitigate the larger condition.
Can a Chiropractor Help with Degenerative Disc Disease?
While we’re still in search of the perfect cure, the short answer is yes. Chiropractic care is a preferred treatment option for a variety of reasons, but primarily because it is gentle and non-invasive. Chiropractic treatments are less likely to create undesirable side effects, which are common with surgery or prescription medications. While it is true that chiropractic treatments are more successful during the earlier stages of degenerative disc disease, it can still be life-changing even for those battling the most extreme cases.
Chiropractic Treatments for Degenerative Disc Disease
Getting chiropractic treatment can help to improve joint mobility and spinal flexion while promoting healthy circulation throughout the body for cell renewal and repair. Your chiropractor will figure out where needs adjusting and try several specific techniques to help ease the pain of degenerative discs while protecting your spinal health. These include:
- Instrument-assisted adjustments – with the use of a hand-held instrument, gentle pressure is applied to specific vertebrae without a jarring thrusting motion to bring your bones back to alignment. As intimidating as this sounds, most patients report little to no discomfort with this type of adjustment.
- Flexion distraction – a non-thrusting technique that can help treat issues like spinal stenosis and herniated discs, while providing support to compromised discs to gently correct your curvature.
- Specific, targeted adjustments – to provide pain relief and space for continued healing, areas of pain will be identified, and chiropractors will work with specific vertebrae that have been determined that degeneration has occurred.
Treat Degenerative Disc Disease with RejuvenX
Degenerative disc disease is an ongoing, chronic condition that will gradually worsen with time. However, keeping treatment a priority and working with a chiropractor to treat the conditions behind this can result in positive ripples that improve a person’s quality of life.
When working with our chiropractic experts at RejuvenX, the focus is always on the root cause and identifying ways to improve your overall quality of life. Contact us to learn more about our personalized treatments for degenerative disk disease.
