Brooks Exercise and Manipulation May Help Get Water into Disc

Water is central to the body. Water makes up about half of the body. The spinal disc has around 80% water. Disc degeneration involves the loss of water and disc hydration. Chiropractic manages disc problems like disc degeneration with a variety of forms of care. Exercise helps with water diffusion into the disc. Spinal manipulation enhances diffusion of water into the disc. Drinking water cannot hurt either!  Soft Health and Healing Clinic utilizes spinal manipulation to help our spine pain patients suffering with Brooks back pain and neck pain and related leg and arm pain and suggests exercise to enhance the effects of spinal manipulation to improve the health of the spinal disc.

DIFFUSION OF WATER INTO THE DISC VIA EXERCISE

Can exercise benefit the intervertebral disc in non-specific low back pain sufferers? Researchers reported that muscles, tendons and bone do respond well, so they looked at the disc to see if it does.  One new study used imaging to find out. On T2-weighted MRI imaging after six months of exercise in this type of patient, the non-specific low back pain patient, the researchers didn’t uncover a benefit though at 3 months the imaging showed increased L5S1 diffusion coefficients. They did explain that other types of low back pain sufferers may respond differently. (1) That’s noteworthy. The increased 'apparent diffusion coefficients' is promising yet when we read other articles about diffusion of water into the disc. Wong explained that non-specific low back pain patients who responded with greater than 30% relief to spinal manipulation therapy compared with non-responders demonstrated a higher apparent diffusion coefficient for diffusion of water into the disc. (2) If exercise can boost that even a little, it has a place in neck and back pain management. If nothing else, a Brooks back pain sufferer may well increase the odds of responding to conservative care by raising the water content of disc with exercise and spinal manipulation!

Brooks SPINAL MANIPULATION AND WATER DIFFUSION INTO THE DISC

Studies of manual therapy and traction effects on the intervertebral disc in back pain patients demonstrated that there is an impact on the physiology (the structure and function) of the disc primarily via water diffusion and molecular transport. Both of these are important for a healthy disc. (3) Beattie reported that changes in the diffusion of water within the the L1-2, L2-3, and L5S1 discs were seen after only one treatment of spinal manipulation. (4) Soft Health and Healing Clinic utlilizes the gentle distraction treatment called Cox Technic spinal manipulation to make a push-pull-pumping effect on the disc and its endplates to encourage imbibition of fluid into the disc help our Brooks spine pain patients.

CONTACT Soft Health and Healing Clinic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he further discusses the process of disc degeneration and how Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction helps in its care via manipulation.

Schedule your Brooks chiropractic appointment today. Your body survives on water. Disc degeneration is a loss of water. Soft Health and Healing Clinic guides Brooks chiropractic back pain sufferers toward healthier discs with spinal manipulation and exercise to enhance water content.