ARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACK(Keywords: arthritis in lower back, back arthritis, lumbar spine stenosis, chiropractic help, arthritis of the back )ARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACK. Sometimes I am utterly humbled by the power of Chiropractic. When you as a practitioner are faced with a case history like this one, you absolutely know that Chiropractic has to do something special... it's an awesome responsibility. Mrs P, aged 69 first consulted me two months ago with a fifty-year history of low back pain. Her mother too had a horrid back. For the last year it had been unbearable and the pain in the right buttock and both legs despite various medical treatments was disabling, and walking had become very difficult. Contrary to most backs, sitting caused no pain, and bending forwards relieved the pain. Extension, backward bending, was very painful. It all added up a serious diagnosis: Lumbar spine stenosis. Call it back arthritis if you will, affecting the spinal nerves, and often the spinal cord itself.
 Custom Search
The first obvious abnormality was a short left leg, between 5-7mm. Sometime authorities think this not significant, but it's my fist step in a difficult case like this. She now wears a heel lift of 5mm in her left shoe. That immediately partially corrected the spinal curvature.There were disturbing neurological findings in her left leg. Weakness of the quadriceps, change in its reflex, and numbness on the side of the leg. The Femoral nerve stretch test was positive: pain in the upper leg. Thirdly, her sacroiliac joint anatomy was absolutely haywire. Orthopaedic tests were positive, and the fixation I would describe as like 'concrete'. Absolutely jammed, stuck, fixated, subluxated... and badly. No wonder the poor woman couldn't walk. All in all a tough call. TREATMENT: ARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACKThe question is where to start with a case like this. Back arthritis is challenging for the practitioner, it's widely acknowledged. There are so many problems... I chose to start with some Thompson drop treatment on the sacroiliac joints and a very gentle side-posture drop bilaterally. There were no audible releases.I haven't needed to change the treatment, it has been so effective. It's not perfect of course, but she has little pain, plenty of stiffness but she is faithfully doing my exercises. She can walk again! With the heel lift. I now need to get to her feet to see if there are fixations, and a dropped arch. She's had nine treatments in nine weeks, and we are now spacing them out: the next over three weeks. When a 69-year old woman starts flirting with you, then you know it's getting better. I love the spirit of so many elderly Dutch people. So many of them at 70 and 80 and even 80+ are younger than some people I could name in their twenties. It's those brewing aneurisms that are going to get her, and probably quite soon. There are more than likely others in her head and neck. I don't touch her neck! She is on blood pressure treatment. Hopefully it'll be a quick and clean stroke, not on the day of a chiropractic consultation I hope, but it's coming... whether I treat her or not. We have discussed these things. She knows the risks, but her quality of life has improved to such an extent that she presses on. And so do I. Gently! Stop smoking? Never!
A hereditary condition: ARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACKMrs P is doing incredibly well, and now comes in every three weeks for maintenance care ... Yesterday she told me... Her great niece, aged 17 had Harrington rods put in her spine about four years ago for the scoliosis. It was apparently reasonably successful. But last week, the lass went in for a further spinal fusion at L5-S1 - and woke up with a foot-drop. Nuff said...Update: Mrs P continues to do well. We have now exended the maintenance treatment to every six weeks. And, the arthritis of the back is no different. Another X-ray would probably look just the same. But she's a different woman. The arthritis of the back wasn't per se the cause of her pain.
An aside...The love of North Americans to sue their doctors at the drop of a hat, means that many patients with conditions like this go untreated, or undertreated. They must suffer; the Americans and Canadians have so intimidated their doctors that few would have the temerity to take on a case like this.
"Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation. " Susan B. Anthony, reformer and suffragist Enough said, nothing will change the culture of greed that characterises litigation... In a landmark case a Chiropractor was successfully sued a few years ago after a patient had a stroke SEVENTEEN days after a chiropractic treatment. Mrs P could have one any day, and it would have absolutely nothing to do with chiropractic. The treatment with drops is really quite gentle. It's said that a country gets the politicians it deserves. And certain other professions too. I'm sad.
HYALINE CARTILAGEARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACKHyaline cartilage is the super-smoother-than-ice (literally) substance that lines the ends of bones within a joint. The friction coefficient is lower than that of ice-on-ice. It's covered with highly specialised chemicals that retain water.This cartilage has no blood supply of its own and its nutrients and oxygen comes from the fluid within the joint. If that fluid is deficient... or isn't swishing about, ARTHRITIS of the back. Taking anti inflammatory drugs and particularly dual antiinflammatory drugs for extended periods for arthritis in lower back is nothing but a snare and a delusion. Those arthritic joints need to start moving, that's their salvation, not drugs except perhaps in very exceptional cases.
Perfect young pig cartilage... Obviously I have no pictures of the hyaline cartilage lining the ends of Mrs P's bones, but it certainly looks more like this... than our pig's beautiful shiny smooth hyaline cartilage.
A degenerative lumbar disc disease case file ...CONVICTIONS"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
It's true in religion, but it's true in healthcare too. Like: "You have arthritis, Mrs Jones. I'm afraid there's nothing to be done." It's a conviction commonly held in medical circles and light years from the scientifically proven truth. Think fatty fish, think exercise, think weight loss, think strawberries, think magnesium deficiency ( FRESH SPINACH RECIPES - the richest source of magnesium.) ... think Chiropractic. But yes, sometimes it is difficult. Always? Definitely not!
CHICKEN BONES extract for healthy cartilage. GLUCOSAMINE CHONDROITIN sulphate... Return from ARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACK to RESEARCH PROPOSAL TOPICS … Go from ARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACK to CHIROPRAC6TIC HELP home page … MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - ARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACK
BACK ISSUES... Issue #10: Friday Fun Stones in my Clog. / Cucumber Issue #09: Friday Fun: Headache Issue #08: Spinal Stenosis/ Celery Issue #07: Root of all Healing / Garbanzo beans /Chickpeas ... Issue #03: How to stop falling / Danger of a low fat diet Issue #01: Tingling in the arms and hands / Apples (PS. If you find them irrelevant to your needs or an exercise in tedium, one click will UNsubscribe you.) ARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACKDid you find this page useful? Then perhaps forward ARTHRITIS IN LOWER BACK to a suffering friend. |
LOW BACK and LEG PAIN
L4 lumbar spine casefile
FALLS
CHIROPRACTIC HELP How to stop falling
L4 lumbar spine
Lateral disc herniation
BENDING AND TWISTING
DEGENERATIVE LUMBAR DISC DISEASE CaseFile
POSTERO LATERAL DISK HERNIATION
LOWER BACK AND LEG PAIN
SITTING
CHIROPRACTIC HELP FOR SCIATICA PAIN
Short leg?
LEG LENGTH INQUALITY and Low Back Pain
Low back and leg pain
LOWER BACK AND LEG PAIN
LUMBAR FACET SYNDROME
SLIPPED DISC SYMPTOMS Case File
SACROILIAC JOINT TREATMENT
SPONDYLOLYSTHESIS
EXAMINATION
SACROILIAC JOINT Case File
SLUMP TEST
Can you stand on one leg on your heel, and raise the big toe? Can you stand on your toes without your leg shaking?
CHIROPRACTIC TIPS
Prick your foot with a pin. Is the feeling the same in the other foot?
Chiropractic Therapy ...what is it?