Old Mill Chiropractic Explains An Abnormal Thoracic Spine
- a disc condition in which tearing of the elastic fibers of the interverterbral disc causes pain and sometimes allows swelling of the disc to compress a nerve, resulting in leg pain (sciatica).
- a non-disc condition due to articular facet joint irritation at the motion areas of one vertebra with another.
A normal disc becomes abnormal when it loses its nucleus pulposus' fluid due to degeneration (nutrition loss), injury or arthritis. Such problems produce pain by
- thinning of the disc space (disc degeneration / arthritis)
- misalignment of facet articulations (subluxation)
- narrowing of the spinal nerve opening (stenosis)
- compression of the spinal nerve root via the escape of the nucleus pulposus' center (disc herniation / non-contained disc) that chemically or mechanically presses on the nerve
- compresssion of the spinal nerve root via the nucleus pulposus' center pushing the outer fibers (anulus fibrosis) into the spinal canal and onto a spinal nerve (disc herniation / contained disc)
Other conditions due to thoracic spine issues include
- Compression fracture
- DISH
- Hyperkyphosis
- Osteoporosis
- Persistent Post-Surgical Pain Syndrome
- Rib subluxation
- Scheuermann’s Disease
- Scoliosis
- Sprain/Strain
- Stenosis
- Subluxation
- Thoracic outlet syndrome
You must understand that it takes three months for a torn disc to heal well enough to allow you to return to daily activities like prolonged ironing, painting, holding a phone, etc. Now that doesn't mean that you will have pain for three months, but rather that it takes that time to heal whether you feel pain or not. The first three to four weeks of concentrated in-office treatment, therapies, and at-home care are designed to allow the best opportunity for your disc to heal quickly.
In office, Pro Active uses Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression to lower the pressure in the disc so the nucleus pulposus returns to the center of the disc, aid in the healing of the torn anular fibers, and drive out chemicals that irritate and inflame the spinal nerves.
Contact Old Mill Chiropractic for relief of your abnormal thoracic spine pain.