St Peters Chiropractic Treatment of Back Pain and Related Fatty Infiltration of Paraspinal Muscles
No doubt, our St Peters chronic back pain sufferers have heard about related paraspinal (multifidus, psoas, quadratus lumborum, erector spinae) muscle fatty infiltrate. These are all linked together: fatty muscle infiltration, disc degeneration, spinal stenosis, facet joint degeneration, back pain. Old Mill Chiropractic addresses all of them, too, to reduce back pain, strengthen the spine, and enhance your quality of life.
WHAT IS PARASPINAL MUSCLE FATTY INFILTRATE?
Paraspinal muscle fatty infiltrate is the growth of fat within the tissue of the muscles located near the spine, the paraspinal muscles. This condition may be triggered by aging or genetics although it can also be activated by lifestyle issues like poor nutrition or lack of exercise. This condition does not always cause symptoms, but if it does, they can include low back pain and associated stiffness in the lower back and legs or difficulty walking because of gait disturbances. Intervertebral disc degeneration is a well-known culprit of chronic back pain, disc inflammation, and even spinal stability. Strong, effective paraspinal muscles assist spinal stability. With back pain comes fatty infiltration of the paraspinal muscles that interfere with that. (1) Old Mill Chiropractic tests for these issues carefully during the chiropractic examination with an appreciation for the possible connection.
THE BACK PAIN AND WEAK PARASPINAL MUSCLE CONNECTION
A recent study summarized that disc degeneration and paraspinal muscle weakness were strongly correlated, facet joint degeneration and paraspinal muscle weakness were weakly correlated, and facet joint degeneration and disc degeneration were strongly associated. It stated that the level of paraspinal muscle weakness increased with amount of lumbar disc degeneration and facet joint degeneration while fatty infiltration of the multifidus paraspinal muscle was susceptible to weight. (2) Further, the published literature on the extent to which low back pain and fatty infiltration of multifidus and other paraspinal muscles (erector spinae, psoas, quadratus lumborum) influenced each other was somewhat conflicting – which comes first (pain or fatty infiltrate), can fatty infiltrate be fixed, is one predictive of the other (back pain that there is fatty infiltrate or fatty infiltrate that points to future back pain)? (3) Old Mill Chiropractic keeps on top of published research and urges our back pain patients to improve the muscles that they can so that they can support the spine in healing and preventing future bouts of pain as best as possible.
CHIROPRACTIC CARE OF BACK PAIN AND MUSCLE WEAKNESS
Old Mill Chiropractic knows that low back pain patients don’t just suffer pain; they also get to deal with muscle quality loss due to increased fatty infiltration of the paraspinal muscles. Just how much loss is highly correlated with the severity of the back pain and related dysfunction. (4) That’s the reason that rehabilitation is so important in addition to treatment of back pain for pain relief and prevention. Implementing The Cox Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in addition to other chiropractic services, nutrition and exercise, Old Mill Chiropractic is here to help! While researchers are still studying whether fatty infiltration is changeable, Old Mill Chiropractic finds the attempt to tone and improve strength a worthy effort.
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kurt Olding on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the many options open to back pain sufferers regarding healthcare providers and emphasizes the benefit of seeking a chiropractor trained in the protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
CONTACT Old Mill Chiropractic
Make your St Peters chiropractic visit to address your back pain and weakened paraspinal muscles. Relief and an enhanced quality of life are in your future!
