Chiropractic Care of Inflammatory Augusta Back Pain
The variety of spinal conditions abounds! Your Augusta chiropractor is well aware of this. Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic welcomes them all! For best relief of pain and limited function, the initial step is to recognize the condition then arrange its proper treatment. Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic is experienced in both! This week’s featured condition is inflammatory back pain, axial spondyloarthritis, and the spine-specific kind, ankylosing spondylitis.
AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS
Axial spondyloarthritis is an inflammatory back pain condition. It’s often missed as a cause of chronic low back pain although approximately 1% of the US population experiences it. Characteristics of axial spondyloarthritis consist of onset before 45 years of age, morning stiffness, improvement with exercise not rest, alternating gluteal pain, and good response to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment. Other characteristics of axial spondyloarthritis care enthesitis (inflammation of tendons and ligaments insertion into bone), dactylitis (inflammation of a finger or toe), peripheral arthritis, extra-articular appearances (like psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, or uveitis), positive for the human leukocyte antigen B27, and a family history of the disease. Prompt diagnosis is key as is a rheumatology referral for evaluation and cooperative care. (1) Not only is axial spondyloarthritis overlooked in medical offices, but it is sometimes overlooked in chiropractic offices, too. (2) It’s just not identified as what it is: an immune-mediated inflammatory disease. Your Augusta chiropractor is aware and looks for it so that typical lapses of time - sometimes years - will not go by between symptom onset and diagnosis. Since it’s a back pain condition, axial spondyloarthritis can be diagnosed and co-managed with chiropractic care for effective outcomes.
ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS: A SUBSET OF AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS SPECIFIC TO THE SPINE
One variety of axial spondyloarthritis is ankylosing spondylitis. Spondylitis is defined as inflammation of the vertebrae. Interdisciplinary management with chiropractic and medical care with rehabilitation often works well for these patients in decreasing their symptoms and improving musculoskeletal function. (3) Treating this condition requires gentle care that certified Cox® Technic chiropractic physicians are good in delivering. A case of a 30-year-old male first diagnosed at age 12 whose condition, despite medical care, led to fusion of his sacroiliac joints and his facet joints in the lumbar and cervical spine. The patient was treated with chiropractic spinal manipulation of his thoracic, lumbar, and cervical spine areas and physical therapy stretches for 12 weeks. His advanced condition responded well with some improvement in pain and flexibility. (4) Another male patient aged 34 years with a 10-year history of AS underwent 18 weeks of chiropractic spinal manipulation and mobilization. This resulted in a 90% improvement in a disease activity index and an 85% improvement in a functional index from beginning to end. (5) Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic performs very gentle spinal manipulation and mobilization in the form of Cox® Technic distraction decompression. An advanced type of the condition does not rule out chiropractic care or its resulting positive outcomes.
CONTACT Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Gabriel Monterrubio on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. He discusses his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for treating ankylosing spondylitis.
Set up your Augusta chiropractic appointment now. All types of spine-related conditions are welcome!
