Extension of the spine: It is good. It’s bad.
So what’s with spinal extension?
Both are true: It’s valuable. It is harmful. It’s the job of your Fort Wayne chiropractor to help you establish the role of extension in your Fort Wayne
back pain relief plan and Fort Wayne back pain control plan getting
past the present episode of back pain.
Your Fort Wayne chiropractor at Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc is well experienced
in the effects – good and bad – of spinal extension and respects its role in spinal
health and mobility.
SPINAL CURVES
Two of the spine’s most noticeable curves –
the cervical and lumbar curves – are lordotic curves meaning they curve concavely.
Flexion flattens these curves. Extension magnifies them. When a disc herniates
or bulges, it does so into the concavity of the curve and potentially pushes
on the spinal nerves resulting in pain. Flexion often
permits the disc bulge to move off of the
nerve. Extension often allows the disc bulge to press on
the nerves more. Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc intends to help reduce
painful situations like this!
SPINAL MOTION
75% of the flexion and extension movement in the low back happens
at the L5-S1 level of the lumbar spine. 20% occurs at the
L4-L5 level. Therefore, 95% of flexion and extension of the lumbar spine happens
at these two lower disc levels. Here, degenerative disc disease (minor and more
advanced) happens most. In the cervical spine, C5-C6 is the spinal
level where most of the flexion occurs, and C4-C5 is where
most of the extension occurs. Fort Wayne chiropractic
patients need beneficial extension!
SPINAL EXTENSION
Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc respects extension and gets
how it may benefit and hurt. The extensor muscles in the
back weaken and degenerate just like discs do. (1)
Extension helps strengthen these muscles to support the spine. Extension is essential
for this when the spine is healthy enough to do extension. Extension to a painful spine may be
harmful. Why? In the cervical spine, flexion decreased disc
protrusion and maximizes the sagittal diameter of the vertebral
canal while extension increased the disc protrusion and narrowed the vertebral canal causing
stenosis. (2) In a degenerative lumbar spine with spinal stenosis, flexion opened
the vertebral canal and reduced pain while extension worsened
the stenosis and caused pain. (3) Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc knows
the key to eliciting the benefits of extension is in knowing
when to use extension.
Fort Wayne CHIROPRACTIC USE OF EXTENSION
Fort Wayne chiropractic treatment incorporates
extension into the Fort Wayne chiropractic treatment plan for its advantages.
Cox® Technic applied to the cervical spine reduced
intradiscal pressures to as low as 502 mmHg (4) and to as low as -192 mmHg in
the lumbar spine. (5) Extension increased pressures in the lumbar
spine to 1250 mmHg (the most the transducer could measure).
(4) Dropping intradiscal pressures and back pain is what
Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc does for its Fort Wayne back pain
patients.
CONTACT Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. David Atiyeh on the Back
Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. He shares how he helped
a patient whose back pain persists after multiple back
surgeries with flexion distraction which gives her relief
as the table is flexed not extended.
Schedule your Fort Wayne chiropractic appointment
with Cox Chiropractic Medicine Inc today. Let us discover
the role extension might play in your back pain recovery and future
back pain control strategy.
"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the
DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by
Dr. James M. Cox I."