July 2021 Healthy News from Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers
Distraction and Patient Education and Exercise
Hip and knee osteoarthritis are known and growing concerns as our society gets older…around the world. Currently in 2021, Canada is evaluating the “Good Life with Osteoarthritis in Demark” (GLAD) program for knee and hip osteoarthritis. The program combines manual therapy, exercise and patient education. (1) In one GLAD study in which patients attended 2-3 patient education classes and 12 supervised exercise sessions over the course of 8 weeks, patients’ pain intensity improved 26-33%, walking speed got better by 8-12%, chair standability improved 18-30%, and joint-related quality of life got better by 12-26%. (2) (Another study utilized MRI to determine the thickness of knee joint cartilage after distracting the knee joint to find that it thickened with treatment resulting in significant short- and long-term cartilage regeneration up to 10 years post-treatment. (3) This was done with young people, but there is hope!) Back in 2017, a Canadian chiropractor described the benefit of his utilization of Cox® flexion-distraction-principle-based distraction to the osteoarthritic knee, and the success he’s seen in his patients. Inclusively (acute and chronic patients combined), patients related a mean visual analog scale score decrease from 7.7 to 1.8 in 3 weeks and 5.3 treatments. Acute knee OA patients’ scores dropped from 8.1 to 1.1 in 4.8 treatments in 2.4 weeks. Chronic patients’ scores dropped from 7.5 to 2.2 in 3.3 weeks and 5.4 treatments. (4) Chiropractors like yours at Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers are ahead of the curve with their modified Cox® Technic principles-based-flexion-distraction-approach to knee osteoarthritis. Novel protocols for use in hip OA are also in development. Let’s talk today about how distraction treatment may help you with Baton Rouge knee and hip osteoarthritis!
HOPE FOR DEGENERATED DISCS: Chondroitin Sulfate
Back pain treatment approaches from surgery to manual therapy to exercise to nutrition abound while back pain continues. Injecting hyaluronic acid hydrogel is demonstrating some promise as it is shown to suppress the loss of disc height, promote tissue hydration for disc repair, and decrease inflammation and innervation to prevent more disc degeneration. (5) The nutritional approach continues to hold hope for back pain sufferers as the disc matrix components are known, two key components being chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and hyaluronan. Making chondroitin sulfate available to the disc in addition to controlling the hydrostatic pressure of the disc is helpful. (6) Cox® Technic is documented to drop intradiscal pressure, so combining it with chondroitin sulfate may be, too. Are you taking yours? You may want to think about including a disc supplement that has chondroitin sulfate to your routine after we talk. Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers is ready!
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he discusses the part chondroitin sulfate plays in the health, degeneration and possible regeneration of the intervertebral disc and in the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
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Schedule your next Baton Rouge chiropractic appointment with Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers. See you then!