Category Archives: Chiropractic Treatment

10 Ways to Achieve Back Pain Relief from Spinal Arthritis

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One of the most common side effects of aging is the phenomenon of arthritis. It is a situation where a person continues to make cartilage to cover the joints, but starts to lose it at a rate faster than production.

spinal arthritis

The facet joints can develop arthritis at multiple levels and cause pain.

The joints of the spine, called facet joints, are no exception to this situation. Similar to an extremity joint such as the hip or the knee, the facet joints can experience degeneration from arthritis and chronic back pain as a result.

The decision to have a total joint replacement with hip or knee degeneration is an elective one that usually works very well for patients. In fact, hip and knee replacements are two of the top operations for improving a person’s quality of life.

What it comes to spinal arthritis however, spinal surgery is typically not such a fantastic idea. If a person has an associated degenerative scoliosis then it may be indicated, or if significant nerve root compression is present that could be an option. Additionally, if one has spinal instability then fusing those levels may provide significant pain relief and a great outcome. But typically, if a person has spinal arthritis at multiple levels then putting that person through a spinal fusion of all those levels does not produce the great outcomes like a hip or knee replacement. There is no satisfactory facet joint replacement that exists yet.

Here are 10 nonoperative methods of achieving pain relief when dealing with spine arthritis.

1. Over-the-counter medications. These include Tylenol and nonsteroidal best pain clinic in Phoenixanti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen. They may help with mild to moderate pain and should always be taken according to the manufacturers dosing recommendations. As long as a person makes sure not to mix too many anti-inflammatories along with steroids, they can usually be taken on a regular basis.

2. Physical therapy. When it comes to arthritis treatment, treatment for spinal arthritis conceptually is not different than that of an extremity such as the knee. The objective is to strengthen up the muscles around the spine as well as in a person’s core, which includes the abdominal muscles. What this will do is take pressure off of the arthritic joints and help to relieve pain in the process. Along with the strengthening, having the patient go through a stretching regimen can also relieve pain.

3. Chiropractic treatment. Chiropractic manipulations will not cure arthritis or provide permanent pain relief. However, when done on a regular basis, spinal manipulations can achieve significant pain relief. in addition, chiropractic offices often perform electrical stimulation along with spinal decompression therapy.

4. Spinal decompression therapy. While on the subject of chiropractic manipulations, spinal decompression therapyanother treatment often seen in chiropractic offices is spinal decompression therapy. It is an intermittent form of spinal traction that tricks the spinal musculature into not going into spasm while decompressing the arthritic joints and disks. This can provide relief of pain and allow oxygen and nutrients with the increased blood flow to come into the damaged areas. It has been shown to provide spinal arthritis relief for months at a time.

5. Short-term narcotic medications. Taking narcotics chronically for spinal arthritis is a bad idea as the risks starts to outweigh the benefits such as with addiction and tolerance. However, in acute exacerbation phases, the short-term narcotics can help the patient significantly to perform the activities of daily living.

6. Neurologic modifying medications. Often times when a person has spinal arthritis they often have associated spinal stenosis. This is when bone spurs and overgrown soft tissue pinch on spinal nerves and cause pain to be referred down into the buttock area, the hip region, and into the lower extremities. Medications such as Lyrica or Neurontin can provide excellent pain relief for spinal stenosis. It is not known exactly how these medications work, but they are non-narcotic and non-addictive.

7. Medial branch blocks and facet injections. This is when numbing medicine is injected az pain centeraround the arthritic joints where the tiny little nerve endings (medial branches) bring sensation to the arthritic area. If pain relief occurs from the injection, it diagnoses that joint as a problem. It also may provide pain relief for a few months at a time. Facet injections are when the pain doctor puts numbing and steroid medicine right into the arthritic joints. They can provide excellent pain relief similar to the same type of injection going into an arthritic painful knee.

8. Radiofrequency ablation. This is one of the most technologically advanced procedures in pain management today. If a medial branch blockworks well and then wears off, radiofrequency ablation entails heating up the area around the arthritic joints and deadening the medial branch tiny nerve endings to provide pain relief. This may provide

radiofrequency lesioning

The tiny nerve endings are deadened for pain relief with a radiofrequency ablation.

pain relief for a few months upwards of two years. it can then be repeated if necessary.

9. Activity modification. This is when a patient avoids activities that exacerbate the person’s pain. For instance if jogging is a typical activity and exacerbates the back pain, then that person could switch to swimming or cycling as cross training to avoid that painful result.

10. Spinal bracing and Tens Units. Spinal bracing is not a good chronic answer for the pain of spinal arthritis. Studies have shown that it tends to make the muscles inactive around the spine and they can get atrophied as a result. Therefore, only short-term spinal bracing use is indicated for spondylarthritis. TENS units have been shown to be a noninvasive mobile device that has small pads over the painful areas. the device itself is about the size of an iPod and can fit on a person’s belt while the wires attached to foam pads on the skin emit small electrical impulses for pain relief. They can provide excellent pain relief and also decrease the amount of opiate medications or anti-inflammatory medications necessary.

These 10 nonoperative pain management methods of treatment for spinal arthritis can best AZ pain doctorhelp a person avoid surgery and increase his or her activities for a better quality of life.

Interestingly, all are provided by Arizona Pain Specialists with options customized to each patient’s needs. The Arizona Pain doctors are Board Certified and Fellowship Trained, serving the entire Valley out of multiple AZ pain center locations.

Call (602) 507-6550 today for more information and scheduling.

Treatment Options for Spinal Stenosis from an AZ pain center

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Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis can cause pinching in the middle of the canal or also the side areas where the nerve roots are exiting.

Spinal stenosis affects millions of Americans predominately as they enter the fifth decade and older. It is a condition that results mostly from spinal arthritis causing bony and soft tissue overgrowth which then pinches on nerve roots as they come off of the spinal cord and attempt to leave the spinal canal.

Symptoms of spinal stenosis tend to vary between individuals. It may cause some buttock and hip pain, or it may cause pain that radiates down a person’s legs into the thighs or past the knee to the feet. Because the pinching of nerves may be positional, the symptoms may wax and wane on any given day or may come on for a few weeks and then subside. Inflammation may spark up and then die down every few months.

Undergoing surgery for symptomatic spinal stenosis is a quality of life decision. No one ever died from having spinal stenosis, so whether or not to have a laminectomy performed is completely an elective decision. Most of the time, non-surgical pain management options work very well for individuals.

First line treatment for symptomatic spinal stenosis should involve over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory’s. These should be taken according to the manufacturer’s recommended dosing. As a low risk, inexpensive treatment, these may provide excellent relief for spinal stenosis pain that is mild to moderate.

Spinal stenosis treatmentFor those periods when the symptoms are severe, short term narcotic medications provide excellent relief. It is not a good idea to take opiate medications for a chronic duration for spinal stenosis. The risks of those medications start to outweigh the benefits including potential tolerance and addiction issues.

Additional treatment for symptomatic spinal stenosis may include neurologic modifying agents such as gabapentin, otherwise known as Neurontin. It is unknown exactly how this medication works for relieving the pain from pinched nerves, but it does work fairly well. There is a newer medication that is similar called Lyrica, and they are low risk non-narcotic prescription medications that may provide excellent symptomatic relief from the pain of spinal stenosis. Some studies have displayed their benefits.

Physical therapy and chiropractic treatment also can provide excellent symptomatic relief. The chiropractic manipulations can un-pinch nerves that are causing pain. This is not a permanent solution, they can provide some relief, especially if performed on a regular basis. Physical therapy can strengthen up the muscles around the spine and relieve some of the pain as well. Electrical stimulation can help modify the way that the brain perceives pain signals. This can be applied during treatment sessions, or it can also be applied by the patient themselves with a TENS unit.

Spinal decompression therapy is another nonsurgical treatment that has been shown to help provide nerve root decompression. As spinal stenosis is a mechanical problem, spinal decompression therapy does not provide a permanent solution. But it is low risk, FDA cleared, and the cost is less than 5% that of spine surgery.

Interventional pain management treatments with epidural steroid injections are the gold standard for pain management injections for spinal stenosis. Multiple studies have shown injection for spinal stenosisthem to be extremely beneficial for the condition, and over 75% of individuals with symptomatic spinal stenosis obtain relief from these cortisone injections.

There are some pain management injections involving nonsteroidal medications, but there is not extensive research to show their benefit for spinal stenosis. The epidural cortisone injections may provide weeks to months of pain relief, and can then be repeated as necessary for the condition.

If you suffer from symptomatic spinal stenosis, let Arizona Pain Specialists help you. These Award-Winning and Board-Certified pain management doctors and chiropractors offer comprehensive pain management for spinal stenosis. The treatments range from medication management to chiropractic treatment as well as physical rehabilitation and interventional pain treatments.

Each location serving Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix, Avondale, Tempe, Fountain Hills and more also has a spinal decompression therapy table as well.

Call today at 602-507-6550 for more information and scheduling, sometimes same day appointments are available!

Pain Management and Chiropractic Treatment for Fountain Hills Arizona

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If you live in Fountain Hills AZ and are experiencing acute or chronic neck or back pain, Arizona Pain Specialists can help you. This Arizona pain center has an award-winning team of board-certified pain management doctors and chiropractors serving Fountain Hills Arizona out of the Northeast Scottsdale clinic.

The Scottsdale chiropractor at Arizona Pain Specialists has over 15 years of experience in managing back, neck and extremity pain.

Same day chiropractor appointments are available and the clinic treats most major insurances along with Medicare and Personal Injury claim patients along with Worker’s Compensation and self-pay.

Spinal manipulations, acupuncture, spinal decompression therapy, massage and electrical stimulation are all offered at the clinic.

The Scottsdale pain management doctors at Arizona Pain are all fellowship trained and experts in comprehensive pain treatment. This includes medication management along with interventional treatments such as epidural and facet injections, radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulators, vertebroplasty procedures, hypogastric and celiac plexus blocks, occipital blocks, along with joint injections.

Both the pain management doctors along with the Scottsdale chiropractor have multiple options for affectively treating migraine headaches, cluster or tension headaches, back or neck pain, sciatica, radiculopathy, failed back surgery or degenerative scoliosis pain.

Call the clinic today to receive effective treatment that will bring your smile back and change your life! For more information and scheduling call (480) 535-7370.

Serving zip codes: 85268, 85269, 85250, 85251, 85254, 85255, 85257, 85258, 85259, 85260, 85262, 86266