Extension of the spine: It is good. It
is bad.
So what is up with spinal extension?
Both are accurate: It’s good. It’s
bad. It
is the job of your Tonawanda chiropractor to help you determine the role of extension for your Tonawanda
back pain relief plan and Tonawanda back pain control plan in the future.
Your Tonawanda chiropractor at Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation is well experienced
in the effects – good and bad – of spinal extension and respects its role in spinal
health and motion.
SPINAL CURVES
Two of the spine’s most prominent curves –
the cervical and lumbar curves – are lordotic curves meaning they curve inwardly.
Flexion flattens these curves. Extension magnifies them. When a disc herniates
or bulges, it does so into the concavity of the curve and potentially presses
on the spinal nerves resulting in pain. Flexion often
allows the disc bulge to get away from the
nerve. Extension often permits the disc bulge to compress
the nerves more. Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation intends to help lessen
painful situations like this!
SPINAL MOTION
75% of the flexion and extension movement in the low back occurs
at the L5-S1 level of the lumbar spine. 20% happens at the
L4-L5 level. Therefore, 95% of flexion and extension of the lumbar spine occurs
at these two lower disc levels. Here, degenerative disc disease (minor and more
advanced) occurs 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. Tonawanda chiropractic
patients need beneficial extension!
SPINAL EXTENSION
Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation respects extension and gets
how it may benefit and harm. 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 necessary
for this when the spine is healthy enough to do extension. Extension to a painful spine may hurt. Why? In the cervical spine, flexion reduced disc
protrusion and enlarges 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 widened
the vertebral canal and relieved pain while extension worsened
the stenosis and triggered pain. (3) Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation understands
the key to eliciting the benefits of extension is in recognizing
when to apply extension.
Tonawanda CHIROPRACTIC USE OF EXTENSION
Tonawanda chiropractic treatment incorporates
extension into the Tonawanda chiropractic treatment plan for its benefits.
Cox® Technic used with 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 escalated pressures in the lumbar
spine to 1250 mmHg (the highest amount the transducer could measure).
(4) Reducing intradiscal pressures and back pain is what
Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation does for its Tonawanda back pain
patients.
CONTACT Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. David Atiyeh on the Back
Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. He shares how he cared for
a patient whose back pain continues after multiple back
surgeries with flexion distraction which gives her relief
as the table is flexed not extended.
Schedule your Tonawanda chiropractic appointment
with Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation today. Let’s discover
the role extension might play in your back pain recovery and future
back pain control plan.