St Peters Back Muscles Affected By Back Pain
The spine is maintained by many muscles. Back pain and degenerative spine disorders affect those muscles. Chiropractors like yours at Old Mill Chiropractic address both the degenerative spinal pain condition as well as the related degenerated spine muscles. St Peters chiropractic back pain treatment plans integrate pain-relieving methods for both the spine and its musculature.
BACK PAIN AND MUSCLES’ RESPONSES
Back pain alters back muscles. Different St Peters back pain conditions affect different St Peters back muscles, too. Paraspinal muscles exhibit different responses to spinal degenerative conditions. Changes in the lumbar spine paraspinal muscles of low back pain patients have been described. Wasting of the multifidus muscles in patients with back pain, lumbar radiculopathy, and lumbar degenerative kyphosis are particularly noted. Increased fat infiltration of the multifidus muscle is also seen in patients with lumbar radiculopathy and lumbar degenerative kyphosis. (1) In a report on 78 patients with either degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis or degenerative lumbar kyphosis, researchers documented these degenerative muscle patterns. The multifidus muscle is seen as the stabilizer of the lumbar spine segments while the erector spinae muscles tend to be referred to as the stabilizers of spinal sagittal balance. Multifidus muscle degeneration was more significant in the patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. Erector spinae degeneration was more significant in the degenerative lumbar kyphosis patients as well as more closely connected to the severity of spinal kyphosis curvature. (2) Continuous chronic low back pain sufferers as compared to non-continuous and recurrent low back pain sufferers were documented to have higher EMG activity in erector spinae and multifidus muscles in extension. (3) Your St Peters chiropractor at Old Mill Chiropractic pays close attention to these variations.
BACK PAIN AND BACK MUSCLES: STABILITY
Old Mill Chiropractic also notes back pain and muscle response on spinal stability. Researchers stated that chronic low back pain weakens spinal stability of its sufferers. In looking at the activation patterns of the latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, and upward scapular rotation muscles of chronic LBP patients, researchers discovered a significant rise in upward scapular rotation in all shoulder abduction positions on both sides. The left side was more significant than the right. Further, they found increased latissimus dorsi muscle activities and decreased gluteus maximus activities in chronic low back pain. (4) Spinal manipulation is explained as stimulating transient physiological responses of which paraspinal muscle activity and muscle spindle responses are included. (5) Your St Peters chiropractor will keep these in mind when treating your spine as well as in setting exercises to address weaknesses.
CONTACT Old Mill Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Paulette Hugulet on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. She describes her implementation of spinal manipulation, namely the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management, for a 77-year-old patient to reduce pain and better her muscle strength and function.
