Showing posts with label Spinal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spinal. Show all posts

Friday, 18 November 2016

Learn About The Process Of Spinal Decompression Conroe


By Sandra Schmidt


The experience of back pain that is chronic and severe will place limitations on the ability to perform regular activities and affect general health. Lumbar injuries including a herniated or bulging disc compress the sensitive nerves and requires specific healthcare techniques to remove the restrictions. With the application of spinal decompression Conroe communities suffering from back problems can find long term relief.

With vigorous activity, ongoing pressure and age there is a gradual change in the condition of the vertebral discs and soft tissues. A change in healthy condition increases the potential for severe damage and restrictions placed on the ability to move the body with ease. To release abnormal levels of pressure and improve healing from damages, spinal decompression is advised by a professional in lumbar care.

Injury to the spine will require long term corrective treatment to improve wellness and alleviate the restrictions placed on the body. Poor posture and a curved spine can place large amounts of pressure on each vertebral disc making it difficult to move in a stress free manner. Therapy developed in support of individual healthcare requirements can tend to limitations without having to use prescriptions.

The process of decompression includes traction where the spine is gradually stretched with safe measures to encourage the healthy formation of the surrounding joints, nerves, and muscles. The discs consist of water and require constant hydration and nutrition to remain functional and properly formed. The gentle stretches are performed to increase the amount of nutrients and oxygen that are delivered to the spinal column.

Patients affected by spinal deterioration will improve with routine therapeutic strategies developed for individual needs. The gradual push and pull of the spine will increase the level of nutrients supporting the discs and the soft tissues. Patients can benefit from the process of therapy for ongoing support without having to undergo surgery that includes complex recovery.

Conventional therapy including rest and painkillers will not heal the symptoms of a herniated disc or improve degeneration, but can cause further difficulties. Individuals affected by a herniated disc suffer from the pain of nerve compression. The performance of routine stretching will increase the amount of nutrients delivered to the tissues to support healing and strengthen the discs.

Traction therapy is aimed at increasing the level of fluid within each disc assisting in decreasing friction and pressure between vertebrae. The gentle pulling of the spine can minimize the accelerated degeneration of discs responsible for severe pain and limited mobility. Consultation with an experienced practitioner will assist in determining the most effective solutions to relieve stress on the back.

The experience of back pain and difficulties in mobility require the assistance of a professional who can develop the proper means of care to support and recover well-being. The process of spinal decompression is an alternative form of care to provide relief from back injuries including herniated discs and the presence of degeneration. Learning about therapeutic strategies available can assist in improving healthy operation and supporting a fully balanced state of being.




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Saturday, 20 August 2016

Friday Q A Spinal Stenosis and Osteoporosis


This question of the week for this week came in about an older post from A Pair of Serendipities Re: Spinal Stenosis.

Q: Hello, I found this article very helpful and appreciate your information. I have a student who just started my class at a community college who has spinal stenosis, which as described here can be relieved by mindful forward bends. However, she also tells me she has osteoporosis (all on an intake form), which from my understanding is an indication to avoid forward folding. My class is very large and is beginners yoga, and I plan on talking with her about self monitoring and awareness, emphasis on hip hinge for forward folds, however I am wondering if you have any other thoughts in that these two conditions exist in one student simultaneously. In her early 60s, she is very motivated to be in my class.

A: Thanks for your question, and I am so pleased that you were checking out a much older post. I worry they will get cyber-dusty from not being read anymore. And your question is a great one! Even if we were not talking about spinal stenosis and osteoporosis, this sort of conundrum happens quite often for those of us who are teachers and for those of us who are students: two or more difficulties happening at the same time in the same body! Can a person get a break here!  Which one takes priority, are the recommended practices for each applicable for both, are the conditions somehow connected, and other questions can come up.

But to address your question directly: If someone has symptoms from their spinal stenosis already, but has only a diagnosis of osteoporosis without ever having had any complications (such as a fracture of wrist, thoracic vertebrae or hip), this may make your approach easier. One certainly would want to be cautious about practice intensity, opting for milder styles of practice, and since we’d like to keep the osteoporosis asymptomatic, you’d want to avoid techniques that would transmit hard, sudden forces into the bones. This can happen when jumping into and out of poses, as well as coming out of arm balances without control, in a thumping manner. But since arm balances would not serve the osteoporosis person due to the fracture risk, particularly handstand-like hand positions, this last group of poses should usually be avoided.

Regarding the safety of forward bends in osteoporosis, which we have noted can be helpful for spinal stenosis, I usually suggest that osteoporosis folks can try most beginning level poses, so spinal movements, but not to their limit. I recommend entering and exiting the poses slowly and mindfully, and not pushing or pulling on the spine once in the pose. Since most of the vertebral fractures in osteoporosis that I have seen were in the thoracic area and often associated with sudden thumping action through the spine as described above, such as jumping while dancing, if cautious, your basic beginning level yoga practice would be fine for the student with double the trouble. More specifically, I would try forward bends, back bends, twist and side bends, but gently and not to maximum range of motion. If you want to modify for this person, standing forward bends are safest, seated on a chair version the next safest, and on the floor versions the least desirable. But that still does not mean that doing seated forward bends on floor could not be included if done carefully and not to full intensity. 

As far as poses you might recommend for osteoporosis, including those that are weight bearing for both the legs and arms, it is the standing poses that are good for osteoporosis. However, those are the very poses that might make the symptoms of spinal stenosis worse. So when your class is weighted towards more standing poses, you will need to check in and make sure your student is doing OK!

So keep the conversation going with your enthusiastic student, checking in for a moment before and after class. Perhaps, if you provide that kind of service, you could even offer to meet one on one with your student to design a practice more personally suited to her needs. 

—Baxter

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Saturday, 7 March 2015

Spinal Decompression As An Alternative Treatment For Back Pains


By Iva Cannon


With all the pressure that we experience at a daily basis, it is easy to see why we resort to alternative treatment that makes us feel better. Feeling good is important not only to our overall well being but also to the quality of work that we do may it be at the office or at home. The demand is high that the medical industry has to device strategies on how they can address this need.

There are various health problems right now. Among them are the back pains that are common not only for adults but even for teens who spend a lot of time sitting down and doing activities that have the potential of harming the spine. This is why services like the spinal decompression Conroe is created.

The process comes in two major types, the surgical and non surgical. The former is a process that involves an intrusive mode of treatment in order to address the part of the spine that is causing the pain. The latter on the other hand is non intrusive. It uses an electronic table where the patient lies down and strapped against it.

By giving commands in the computer, the therapist can easily make the adjustments in no time. If there is a need to add pressure to a certain part of the back, he or she can do so. This method can be divided to a series of sessions, each running for about 40 minutes. Surgery is one time treatment but may need longer period for recovery.

Spinal decompression is considered an alternative therapy just like chiropractic and acupuncture. However, there are still critics, even on the medical field who dont approve its usage. They argue that the risk is very big considering that you are dealing with spine. While many have attested to its benefits, it is not enough to ward off the case rested by those who are against it.

That is why before you undergo this procedure, you have to be aware of the risks. You also have to make sure that you are dealing with a professional therapist working in a legit clinic or hospital. This will add assurance that you are on the right hands.

Simple back pains may just be caused by a strenuous activity we did for the day. However, if the the issues has been recurring, then you better take it seriously. It could means something more advanced. The earlier you determine the problem, the better.

Exercise remains an effective method of reducing the tension of your body. So if your work involves long hours of staying in the same position just like crouching in front of the computer, then you should definitely consider getting some quality physical activities every now and then. Exercising helps strengthen your bones and at the same time improve flexibility which encourages you to maintain good posture.

Alternative therapy has its own set of benefits and risks. The most important thing you have to keep in mind is the need that you have and the best options that are available. Discuss with your doctor about this and work on a good plan.




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Monday, 12 January 2015

Side Plank Pose Vastithasana Could Reduce Spinal Curves in People with Scoliosis!


by Nina
Side Plank Pose (photo "borrowed" from Wall Street Journal)
I’ve been hearing for some time that a single yoga pose, Side Plank pose (Vasithasana), is particularly beneficial for people with scoliosis (see Friday Q&A: Scoliosis). In my post Late-Onset Scoliosis is Common in Older Adults, I wrote about a New York Times article that said that late-onset scoliosis, a condition I have myself, is actually more prevalent in adults than it is in adolescents. The author of that article, Jane Brody, is not a regular yoga practitioner, but she described a “yoga exercise” that was recommended to her after she found out about her late-onset scoliosis.

"Determined to minimize further shrinkage and to avoid pain and nerve damage, I consulted a physiatrist who, after reviewing X-rays of my misshapen spine, said the muscles on my right side, where the spinal protrusion is, were overdeveloped relative to the left. He prescribed a yoga exercise — a side plank — to strengthen the muscles on the left and exert enough of a tug on my spine to keep it from protruding farther to the right. He suggested that the exercise might even straighten the curve somewhat. And I myself had the same pose, Side Plank pose (Vasithasana) recommended to me by my chiropractor (yes, I have a chiropractor for my scoliosis—I don’t believe that yoga is the answer to everything), so I have incorporated this wonderful strengthening pose into my regular yoga practice."

Now a recent scientific study, which was reported in the Wall Street Journal article Study: Doing the Side Plank Reduced Spinal Curving in Scoliosis Patients, found that for a small group of patients with scoliosis (21 women and four men, ages 14 to 85) practicing this one pose resulted in a curve reduction of almost 50 percent among teenage practitioners and 38 percent for adults. Yes, they studied just this single yoga pose!

"In this study, we assess the possible benefits of asymmetrical strengthening of truncal muscles on the convex side of the scoliotic curve through a single yoga pose, the side plank pose, in idiopathic and degenerative scoliosis."

For this particular study, they recommended that the participants do the pose on one side only, "with the convexity downward." For information on the original study, see Serial Case Reporting Yoga for Idiopathic and Degenerative Scoliosis.

While this study of Side Plank pose is—like so many other scientific studies of yoga—limited by the small number of participants being studied and the lack of control group, there is no question in our minds that this is an excellent strengthening pose. In his post Friday Q&A: Yoga for Surgically Repaired Scoliosis, Baxter mentioned Side Plank pose as one of the strengthening poses that he recommended for strengthening the muscles at the front, back, and sides of your body. Shari says the pose strengthens the serratus anterior, the obliques, the latisimus, quadratus the lumborum, the gluteus muscles, the fasciae latae, hamstrings, scapula stabilizers, teres minor and major, and then all the paraspinal muscle stabilizers. Wow that’s a lot of muscles! That's why we recommend this pose for anyone who wants to build upper body strength. And I’m betting that strengthening those paraspinal muscles (the muscles all along the spine) is particular beneficial for people with scoliosis.

So today seems like a good day to review our instructions for how to practice this pose. For people who don’t yet have the strength to do the pose on the floor, we provide the option of doing the pose with one hand on the wall. You can practice the wall version regularly until you build up the strength to do the floor version.

Side Plank Pose on the Floor


1. Start by taking Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) pose.

1. From Downward-Facing Dog, swing your shoulders forward almost into Plank position while keeping your hips lifted.

3. Make your right arm stronger by contracting the muscles of the arm to the bone, and tip your heels to the right, bringing the outer edge of your right foot and the inner edge of your left foot to the floor, with your feet slightly apart.

4. Turn your chest away from the floor and bring your left hand onto your left hip. Since this takes a lot of strength, stay just few breaths at first, and gradually add more time with more practice.

5. To come out, swing back into Downward-Facing Dog pose

6.  Unless you are practicing on one side only as in the study, repeat the pose on the second side. Afterward, rest in Child’s pose a few breaths.

Side Plank Pose on the Wall 


1. Start with your right side to the wall. 

2. Reach your right arm out to your side, parallel with the floor, and place your palm on the wall with your fingers pointing up. Engage your right shoulder blade into your chest wall and down slightly towards your right waist.

3. Step both feet out away from the wall, until your right foot is positioned directly under your left shoulder.

4. If your balance is good, try bending your left knee and bringing your left foot into Tree pose (Vrksasana).

5. Take your left arm up and overhead, reaching strongly towards the wall with your left arm and shoulder blade, aligning it like the top arm in Extended Side Angle pose (Utthita Parsvakonasna). 

6. Unless you are practicing on one side only as in the study, repeat on the second side. 

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