- Chiropractic
Patients seek chiropractic care in Atlanta for many health conditions. Back and neck pain is so common that every other person suffers from it. Thousands of people visit hospitals with complaints of pain caused by degenerative disc disease (DDD). When you are in pain, the first thing you want to know is how you can find relief with a chiropractor’s help. Chiropractic care offers several benefits to help you relieve the pain and enjoy a healthy life.
According to recent estimates, more than 90% of people show evidence of disc degeneration by the age of 60. Here, we will break down what degenerative disease is, what causes it and how we can effectively provide care to our patients.
Who Can Benefit from Chiropractic Care in Atlanta?
People of all age groups can benefit from chiropractic care. Of course, aging adults are more prone to such disorders as degenerative disc disease.
Common symptoms of this disorder include back pain that gets worse when twisting, lifting an object, or when seated. General muscle weakness in the legs and numbness is also common. The holistic non-surgical and non-medical approaches of chiropractic care can do wonders and deliver the right outcomes for your pain.
Degenerative Disc Disease & How Can a Chiropractor Help?
With effective chiropractic care in Atlanta, subluxations are corrected, and the spine is brought back into balance. This offers full-body benefits along with back pain relief.
When you have degenerative disc disease, the discs between the vertebrae of your spine are damaged. This happens over time. It is very rare to reach a certain age without experiencing some degree of degenerative disc disease.
When a person gets older, their spinal discs start to deteriorate. Degenerative conditions speed up this process resulting in rapid and severe damage to the spinal discs. This often causes excruciating pain.
Your spinal discs’ main function is to absorb shock and help you with flexing and support. These discs act as the cushion between your backbones. When the discs degenerate, the backbones press against the nerves, causing immense pain.
Causes of Degenerative Disc Disease
The most common cause of degenerative disc disease is old age. Yet not every old person suffers from degenerative conditions. Some people are just more prone to this condition due to underlying risk factors. When you know about these risk factors you can take better control of your health and live a healthier life.
Some of the risk factors include the following:
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Accidents
Accident injuries and trauma can cause degenerative disc disease. Your injuries can cause dislocation of spinal discs or swelling of the back muscles. The accidents can be from sports, slips, and falls, or labor work.
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Obesity
One of the main purposes of your back is to support and carry your body weight. The more weight you gain, the more pressure you put on your back. With obesity, the spinal discs get compressed causing desiccation and deterioration.
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Disc Desiccation
Discs tend to dry out with age. The spinal discs become thinner. They become unable to provide the required support to the vertebrae that they used to.
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Weak Bones
Weak muscles and bones are another significant reason people suffer from degenerative conditions. Your back supports all your body motions and it needs specific strength to allow the movements. Weak muscles and bones cause inflexibility that affects the discs. Weak discs have a higher tendency to slip, crack, or tear. Strength training and exercise can help you with weak bones and muscles.
Symptoms of Degenerative Disc Disease
Mild to severe back pain and immobility are the most common symptoms of a degenerative disc condition. The pain begins in the spine region and spreads to other parts of the body. The pain usually starts from the back and radiates to your lower body.
You should look out for the following symptoms:
- Reduced or lack of mobility
- Sciatica
- Pain when lifting, standing, sitting, or bending
- Numbness tingling or burning sensation
- Stiff back
Chiropractic Care Can Help You
Chiropractic care in Atlanta is an alternative solution to medicinal treatment. It helps patients find relief without the need for surgery or medicines. With a chiropractor’s help, patients can get a better quality of life while relieving their pain. If left untreated, degenerative disc disease can become extremely painful.
The following chiropractic care techniques are used for degenerative disc disease:
- Nutritional counseling
- Joint mobilization
- Physical therapy
- Soft tissue manipulation and massage
- Physical treatment with laser, ultrasound, heat, or ice
- Spinal manipulations and decompression
Chiropractic care uses techniques that can fix herniated discs and realign your vertebrae so that your backbones don’t press against nerves.
An experienced chiropractor will analyze your condition to properly diagnose the degenerative disc disease stage and develop a care plan. They will also take your past medical history and evaluate your symptoms. Along with a physical exam, they might take some X-rays to locate the problem area and the extent of the damage.
Your chiropractic treatment will begin with manual spinal manipulations. This allows your chiropractor the chance to identify your problem areas. They will apply gentle pressure to determine which areas hurt worse than others. This will help in relieving pressure from nerves and providing you relief.
If you are suffering from degenerative disc disease due to compressed vertebrae, your chiropractor will use a motorized table to perform a stretching technique that will fix herniated discs. Range of motion and circulation problems are fixed with chiropractic massage therapies. This massage is focused on deep tissue rubdowns in the affected parts. This form of treatment reduces pain and inflammation.
Get Professional Help From an Atlanta Injury Care Center
Surgery for degenerative conditions carries several risks including damage to the spine, infection, and other associated complications. The recovery from surgery may take months, whereas chiropractic care is non-invasive. The recovery is fast and smooth.
The treatment costs are much lower than surgery. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used for degenerative disc disease also help with relieving pain but do not provide true healing. These drugs can cause other complications.
If you or your loved ones are suffering from degenerative conditions, get in touch with our Atlanta injury care center. Get the best treatment with the latest technology backed by medical knowledge. Our experienced chiropractors will help you find relief and improve your quality of life.
