San Francisco Chiropractor Comments:
We have been helping patients with degenerated discs in the SF Financial District for almost 20 years now.
The spinal disc has two primary functions:
1. The spinal disc is a ligament. Ligaments hold bones together. A spinal disc holds the spinal bones above it and below it together.
2. The spinal discs also act as shock absorbers, for they absorb the weight of the body and allow for twisting and bending.
Here is an excerpt from a really cool page (and image) on Spinal Disc Anatomy from Chirogeek.com that does a great job of explaining what a lumbar spinal disc is, what it's made of, and how it functions:
The lumbar spine of the human is made up of five lumbar
vertebrae that are separated by five intervertebral discs (blue structures in
fig. #1). The discs may be thought of as spinal shock absorbers, for they
absorb the load of the body. They also allow for movement at the waist as they
act as a pivot point and allow the lumbar spine to bend, rotate, and twist.
There are 23 discs in the human spine: 6 in the neck (cervical
region), 12 in the middle back (thoracic region), and 5 in the lower back
(lumbar region). This page shall focus on the lumbar spine; however, the
thoracic and cervical spines are similar in make-up.
The disc is made up of three basic structures: the nucleus pulposus, the annulus fibrosus
(aka annulus fibrosus) and the vertebral end-plates.
Although their percent composition differs, the latter three structures are
made of three basic components: proteoglycan (protein), collagen (cartilage),
and water. We will learn all about these structures below.
Click here for full article
In order for a spinal disc to function as intended, the spine needs to be in it's proper alignment. If a bone is out of alignment (normal spinal motion is also disturbed) it will put abnormal stresses on the disc and they will wear unevenly and degenerate. This is very similar to the way the tires on your car will wear abnormally when your front end is out of alignment. Over time this can lead to disc degeneration, disc bulges, and disc herniations.
Since chiropractors are primarily concerned with restoring proper spinal alignment and motion, it only makes sense that chiropractic adjustments can help prevent, slow down, and occasionally reverse spinal degeneration.
Some of the things that cause the spine to lose it's normal alignment (vertebral subluxations) are spills and falls, auto accidents, sports injuries, poor posture, stress, bad mattress, obesity, soft pillows, sitting all day, lack of exercise, poor food choices, and on and on...Life.
In reality we are designed to be running around the jungle all day hunting for food. We need lots of exercise and motion...and we are primarily plant eaters.
Compare this to the average American who sits in a cubicle all day under artificial light, eating artificial food.
So YES...chiropractic can help spinal degeneration...and so can fine tuning many of the other lifestyle choices you make. What happens to a race car when you put cheap gas and motor oil into it? It runs like crap. Well...that's what happens to us when we eat poorly and sit around all day.
The chiropractic lifestyle of regular adjustments, daily exercise, a good pillow and mattress, proper ergonomics, a sound diet, and lots of water, will go a long way to help you adapt to the stresses of modern day living at optimum levels.
So find yourself a good chiropractor and take care of your body so it can take care of you :-)
Dr. Eben Davis is clinic director of Executive Express Chiropractic at the San Francisco Embarcadero Center. To schedule an appointment call 415-392-2225.
Directions to Executive Express Chiropractic Executive Express Chiropractic on facebook
Spine-health.com Interactive Video on Degenerative Disc Disease
San Francisco Chiropractor Comments:
We have been helping patients with degenerated discs in the SF Financial District for almost 20 years now.
The spinal disc has two primary functions:
1. The spinal disc is a ligament. Ligaments hold bones together. A spinal disc holds the spinal bones above it and below it together.
2. The spinal discs also act as shock absorbers, for they absorb the weight of the body and allow for twisting and bending.
Here is an excerpt from a really cool page (and image) on Spinal Disc Anatomy from Chirogeek.com that does a great job of explaining what a lumbar spinal disc is, what it's made of, and how it functions:
The lumbar spine of the human is made up of five lumbar vertebrae that are separated by five intervertebral discs (blue structures in fig. #1). The discs may be thought of as spinal shock absorbers, for they absorb the load of the body. They also allow for movement at the waist as they act as a pivot point and allow the lumbar spine to bend, rotate, and twist.
There are 23 discs in the human spine: 6 in the neck (cervical region), 12 in the middle back (thoracic region), and 5 in the lower back (lumbar region). This page shall focus on the lumbar spine; however, the thoracic and cervical spines are similar in make-up.
The disc is made up of three basic structures: the nucleus pulposus, the annulus fibrosus (aka annulus fibrosus) and the vertebral end-plates. Although their percent composition differs, the latter three structures are made of three basic components: proteoglycan (protein), collagen (cartilage), and water. We will learn all about these structures below.
Click here for full article
In order for a spinal disc to function as intended, the spine needs to be in it's proper alignment. If a bone is out of alignment (normal spinal motion is also disturbed) it will put abnormal stresses on the disc and they will wear unevenly and degenerate. This is very similar to the way the tires on your car will wear abnormally when your front end is out of alignment. Over time this can lead to disc degeneration, disc bulges, and disc herniations.
Since chiropractors are primarily concerned with restoring proper spinal alignment and motion, it only makes sense that chiropractic adjustments can help prevent, slow down, and occasionally reverse spinal degeneration.
Some of the things that cause the spine to lose it's normal alignment (vertebral subluxations) are spills and falls, auto accidents, sports injuries, poor posture, stress, bad mattress, obesity, soft pillows, sitting all day, lack of exercise, poor food choices, and on and on...Life.
In reality we are designed to be running around the jungle all day hunting for food. We need lots of exercise and motion...and we are primarily plant eaters.
Compare this to the average American who sits in a cubicle all day under artificial light, eating artificial food.
So YES...chiropractic can help spinal degeneration...and so can fine tuning many of the other lifestyle choices you make. What happens to a race car when you put cheap gas and motor oil into it? It runs like crap. Well...that's what happens to us when we eat poorly and sit around all day.
The chiropractic lifestyle of regular adjustments, daily exercise, a good pillow and mattress, proper ergonomics, a sound diet, and lots of water, will go a long way to help you adapt to the stresses of modern day living at optimum levels.
So find yourself a good chiropractor and take care of your body so it can take care of you :-)
Dr. Eben Davis is clinic director of Executive Express Chiropractic at the San Francisco Embarcadero Center. To schedule an appointment call 415-392-2225.
Directions to Executive Express ChiropracticExecutive Express Chiropractic on facebook
Spine-health.com Interactive Video on Degenerative Disc Disease