Williamson Exercise and Manipulation May Help Get Water into Disc

Water is central to the body. Water makes up about half of the body. The spinal disc is composed of about 80% water. Disc degeneration involves the loss of disc hydration and water. Chiropractic takes care of disc problems like disc degeneration with a variety of approaches. Exercise assists water diffusion into the disc. Spinal manipulation enhances diffusion of water into the disc. Drinking water cannot hurt either!  Apple Country Chiropractic utilizes spinal manipulation to help our spine pain patients suffering with Williamson back pain and neck pain and related leg and arm pain and recommends exercise to boost the effects of spinal manipulation to improve the health of the spinal disc.

DIFFUSION OF WATER INTO THE DISC VIA EXERCISE

Can exercise help the intervertebral disc in non-specific low back pain sufferers? Researchers reported that muscles, tendons and bone do respond positively, so they turned to the disc to see if it would.  One new study made use of imaging to learn. On T2-weighted MRI imaging after 6 months of exercise in the patient with non specific low back pain, the researchers didn’t discover a benefit though at 3 months the imaging showed higher L5S1 diffusion coefficients. They stated that other types of low back pain sufferers may respond differently. (1) That’s noteworthy. The increased 'apparent diffusion coefficients' is promising though when we look at other articles about diffusion of water into the disc. Wong described that non-specific low back pain patients who responded with greater than 30% relief to spinal manipulation therapy compared with non-responders demonstrated a higher apparent diffusion coefficient for disc diffusion of water. (2) If exercise can enhance that even a bit, it has a place in back and neck pain management. If nothing else, a Williamson back pain sufferer may well improve the odds of responding to conservative care by maximizing the water content of disc with exercise and spinal manipulation!

Williamson SPINAL MANIPULATION AND WATER DIFFUSION INTO THE DISC

Studies of manual therapy and traction effects on the intervertebral disc in back pain patients showed that there is an effect on the physiology (the structure and function) of the disc primarily via water diffusion and molecular transport. Both of these are important for a healthy disc. (3) Beattie wrote that changes in the water diffusion within the discs at L1-2, L2-3, and L5S1 were seen after just one treatment of spinal manipulation. (4) Apple Country Chiropractic uses the gentle distraction treatment called Cox Technic spinal manipulation to make a push-pull-pumping effect on the disc and its endplates to encourage imbibition of fluid into the disc help our Williamson spine pain patients.

CONTACT Apple Country Chiropractic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he further describes the process of disc degeneration and how Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction helps in its care via manipulation.

Make your Williamson chiropractic appointment soon. Your body survives on water. Degenerated discs lose water. Apple Country Chiropractic guides Williamson chiropractic patients toward healthier discs with spinal manipulation and exercise to coost water content.