Degenerative conditions usually lead to pain. Pain refers to uncomfortable sensations in your body due to an illness or injury. It happens as a result of the activation of the nervous system. While many people see pain as bad, chiropractors can tell you that that isn’t always true. Pain serves the valuable purpose of letting us know that something is wrong with our bodies.
However, that doesn’t make pain from injuries or illnesses more bearable. That’s why you must always seek professional help from an experienced chiropractor to deal with the discomfort you’re experiencing.
When it comes to chiropractic care for pain, many people think it’s limited to neck and back pain. That’s not true; chiropractors treat way more conditions than those. For example, chiropractors are experts in treating the pain associated with many degenerative conditions.
In this article, we’ll discuss the meaning of degenerative diseases. We’ll also examine how chiropractors improve patients’ quality of life with degenerative conditions through effective pain relief techniques. If you need expert chiropractic care in Greenville, contact Carolina Spine and Pain Center.
What’s a Degenerative Condition?
When we say that something is degenerative, we mean that it can get worse over time. That’s precisely what we imply when we use it in medical terms. Degenerative diseases cause loss of function in a patient’s organs or tissues even as the condition progressively deteriorates. The patient’s vital organs stop working gradually and may eventually lead to death.
The risk factors for degenerative conditions include traumatic injuries, wear and tear, and aging. Degenerative diseases can also be classified into neurodegenerative diseases, degenerative bone diseases, etc. People living with conditions that worsen over time need quality medical attention to live their best lives.
Common Examples of Degenerative Diseases That Chiropractors Treat
Some degenerative conditions inflict excruciating pain on the patient. They also cause joint stiffness and affect mobility. Many times the discomfort from the conditions becomes intolerable.
Chiropractors can help to relieve the pain in patients with these degenerative conditions:
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Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease, affects millions of people worldwide. It’s the most common type of arthritis and results from the wearing down of the joint’s cartilage. This condition typically affects the patient’s hand, hips, knee, and spine joints. However, it can damage any other joint in the body.
Pain is one of the primary symptoms of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis patients suffer excruciating pain in the affected joint areas, especially during and after movement. Other symptoms of this condition include joint stiffness, bone spurs, loss of flexibility, tenderness, etc.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis
Like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects the joints and is a pretty common condition worldwide. However, unlike osteoarthritis, it’s an autoimmune and inflammatory disease. This means that if you have rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system is attacking your joints and making them inflamed. This condition typically causes joint pain in the feet, wrist, and fingers.
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Degenerative Disk Disease (DDD)
We all have flat, circular, and rubbery pads called spinal disks or intervertebral disks between our vertebrae. Their function is to act as shock absorbers between the spinal bones and vertebrae and enhance flexibility. The spinal disks start breaking down as we get older, but without pain. If you experience pain as this breakdown occurs, you have degenerative disk disease.
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Spondylolisthesis
Spondylolisthesis occurs when one of your spinal bones (vertebra) slips out of alignment. This condition is different from a slipped disc that affects the tissues between bones instead. Spondylolisthesis causes lower back and thigh pain which worsens as you perform various activities or stand. Many times, you will have to lie down to feel better.
Common causes of spondylolisthesis include congenital disabilities, sudden or repetitive spine trauma, worn-out vertebrae joints, and bone abnormalities. This condition also causes lower back tenderness, stiffness, tight hamstring, and buttock muscles.
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Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a nervous system disorder that has no cure. It happens when the substantia nigra (the part of the brain that coordinates movement) cells start degenerating. As such, this condition affects mobility and causes loss of automatic movements. This means a reduced frequency of spontaneous movements like blinking, smiling, swinging hands while walking, etc.
Parkinson’s disease also causes stiff muscles, tremors, slurred speech, and balance/coordination problems. Risk factors for this condition include age, family history, and exposure to toxins. Generally, men are more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than women. Even though pain is not a primary Parkinson’s disease symptom, it’s a complication that may be associated with it.
How Chiropractic Care Helps Relieve Pain From Degenerative Conditions
Asides from the conditions we discussed above, many more degenerative diseases can cause excruciating pain. No one deserves to suffer such discomfort. Fortunately, you can get pain relief with these gentle and non-invasive chiropractic care techniques:
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Spinal Adjustments
Also known as chiropractic adjustment or spinal manipulation, a spinal adjustment is one of the most effective chiropractic methods for pain relief. This method will manipulate your body’s alignment to improve function and ease pain. They do this by applying controlled force with their hands or a small device to the spinal joint.
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Therapeutic Massage
Therapeutic massage helps to relieve pain by relieving tension and relaxing painful muscles, tendons, and joints. Chiropractors also use therapeutic movements to stimulate competing nerve fibers and prevent the brain from receiving pain messages.
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Trigger Point Therapy
This is one of the most effective methods chiropractors use to relieve pain in patients with degenerative diseases. This method involves identifying the tight, painful points on the patient’s muscles. After identifying them, the chiropractor applies direct pressure to relieve pain.
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Manual Joint Stretching and Resistant Techniques
There are numerous stretching exercises that chiropractors recommend for pain. They help to free up tensed or stiff joints. That’s helpful because the limited range of motion is one of the causes of pain in patients with some degenerative diseases. Common types of stretches for patients with back pain include child pose, spinal twists, and knees to chest.
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Spinal Decompression Therapy
Nonsurgical spinal decompression relieves pain by gently stretching the spine with a motorized device. This therapy typically focuses on back and leg pain. It takes the tension off the patient’s spinal disc and nerves.
Get the Best Chiropractic Care for Degenerative Diseases
No one does it better than an experienced chiropractor when it comes to relieving pain. So even if your discomfort is from a degenerative disease, your chiropractor will offer you quality care. The results from chiropractic care are speedy and long-term. The techniques are non-invasive and don’t require medications.
At Carolina Spine and Pain Center, we use a personalized approach for every client. We understand how much pain you’re going through already; we would handle your situation with the delicateness it deserves.
If you’re considering chiropractic care for your degenerative condition, don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment with our Greenville injury treatment center.
