Patients with Degenerative Discs Helped with Chiropractic Pain, Mobility, Height, and Nerve Tension Improved with Adjustment

Patients with Degenerative Discs Helped with Chiropractic: Pain, Mobility, Height, and Nerve Tension Improved with Adjustment


This blog discusses the significance of the 2014 study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation called “Short-term effect of spinal manipulation on pain perception, spinal mobility, and full height recovery in male subjects with degenerative disease; a randomised controlled trial”.

Degenerative disc problems are not reserved for “old” people. Statistics reveal that over 85% of the population will show evidence of disc degeneration in their spine by the age of fifty. And the majority of degeneration occurring in people with no symptoms. Few studies have been done to explore the value of chiropractic spinal adjustive care for patients with degenerative disc conditions. This study explored the benefits of such care and the 2014 research revealed a significant multi-factorial benefit from spinal adjustments on this specific population. The results were as follows:

• Intervertebral disc disease is one of the main causes for low back pain.

• Disc degeneration is the most common pathology in the adult spine accounting for approximately 90% of surgery
cases.

• People with symptomatic disc disorders incur the highest health care expenditure amongst patients with low back
pain.

• Spinal adjustments have been demonstrated to decrease pain and improve function in patients with symptomatic disc
degeneration.

• This randomised double-blind controlled trial evaluated the influence of spinal adjustive care with 40 subjects of the
median age of 40 years old.

• Half of the subjects received a single spinal adjustment while the other half received a placebo (fake) adjustment to
compare the difference.

• 4 measurement outcomes were tested before and after treatment for each group: height, pain, neural tension, and
spinal mobility.

• Height measurement was taken by a stadiometer. (the stadiometer measures height variations and the amount of IVD
compression caused by pressure on the spinal column) The stadiometer is a non-invasive method that has proven
validity and is easier and less costly to use than an MRI.

• Pain was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).

• Neuro-mechanosensitivity was measured using the passive straight leg raise testing.

• Spinal mobility in flexion was measured using as finger to floor distance (FFD). This test has a 96-98% degree of inter-
examiner reliability.

• Every outcome measure improved “significantly” in the group receiving the single spinal adjustment compared to no
changes for the group receiving the placebo treatment.

• The average height improvement in the group receiving the spinal adjustment was 3.98 +/- 1.46mm.

• Pain perception decreased by 46% in those receiving spinal adjustments.
• The spinal adjustment group had a 14 +/-9 degrees of improvement in the straight leg raise.

• Spinal mobility was increased in the adjustment group by 4 +/- 2cm.

• The authors concluded that the single HVLA(high velocity low amplitude) adjustment in the lumbar spine performed
on men with degenerative disc disease immediately improves pain, spinal mobility, hip flexion, and subjects’ full height.

This study not only helps show the safety of chiropractic care for those suffering with degenerative disc problems, it exemplifies the effectiveness of spinal adjustments for patients with degenerative discs. Spinal adjustments were shown to help patients with degenerative discs reduce pain, improve function, increase mobility, and improve height despite the degeneration. Every person with a degenerative disc deserves to be evaluated by a chiropractor to determine if he or she could be helped without the use of drugs or surgery. Drugs should always be a last resort option after less invasive techniques and interventions such as chiropractic are implemented for those dealing with degenerative spinal problems.

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