Your Discs -Keep Them Happy-Jefferson Park-Seaman Chiropractic
Published by Chicago Chiropractor Seaman Chiropractic on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 6:19 PM.
Your Discs – Chiropractic Keeps Them Happy
Between your spinal bones (vertebrae) are flexible, gel-like pads called intervertebral discs. You have 23 discs and they help give your spine its curves, flexibility and strength (a curved, flexible spine is much stronger than a straight, rigid one). Discs act like shock absorbers so your vertebrae don’t crash into each other when you walk (which would be very painful); they also connect your vertebrae together.
Discs affect your height too – you are about ¼"- ½" taller when you wake up than when you went to bed the night before because walking and sitting make your discs thin a little each day; they expand back while you lie in sleep (astronauts gain about 1" in height due to weightlessness).
A proper alignment between the disc, the vertebrae and other structures in the spine is essential for healthy discs and that is why chiropractic has such an excellent record with disc sufferers, often saving them from the bleak prospect of back surgery. MRI and CT scans have shown that chiropractic care can reduce and correct lumbar disc protrusion or hernation.
Chiropractic spinal care may help prevent disc deterioration and herniation in the first place. Can you visit a chiropractor even if you’ve already had surgery? Yes! Chiropractors have helped many people relieve the pain and frustration of failed back surgery and may help prevent future operations. However surgery permanently changes the body – it’s far better to prevent such operations, especially since they often don’t work.
Labels: Your Discs -Keep Them Happy
