Richmond Back Muscles Affected By Back Pain
The spine is supported by many muscles. Back pain and degenerative spine disorders affect those muscles. Chiropractors like yours at Johnson Chiropractic deal with both the degenerative spinal pain condition as well as the associated degenerated spine muscles. Richmond chiropractic back pain treatment plans incorporate pain-relieving approaches for both the spine and its musculature.
BACK PAIN AND MUSCLES’ RESPONSES
Back pain affects back muscles. Different Richmond back pain issues impact different Richmond back muscles, too. Paraspinal muscles exhibit different responses to spinal degenerative conditions. Alterations in the lumbar spine paraspinal muscles of low back pain patients have been explained. Wasting of the multifidus muscles in patients with back pain, lumbar radiculopathy, and lumbar degenerative kyphosis are particularly noted. Intensified fat infiltration of the multifidus muscle is also present in patients with lumbar radiculopathy and lumbar degenerative kyphosis. (1) In a report on 78 patients with either degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis or degenerative lumbar kyphosis, researchers described these degenerative muscle patterns. The multifidus muscle is described as the stabilizer of the lumbar spine segments while the erector spinae muscles are usually seen as the stabilizers of spinal sagittal balance. Multifidus muscle degeneration was more significant in the patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. Erector spinae degeneration was more significant in the degenerative lumbar kyphosis patients as well as more directly connected to the severity of spinal kyphosis curvature. (2) Continuous chronic low back pain patients as compared to non-continuous and recurrent low back pain sufferers were found to have higher EMG activity in erector spinae and multifidus muscles in extension. (3) Your Richmond chiropractor at Johnson Chiropractic takes great care in addressing these differences.
BACK PAIN AND BACK MUSCLES: STABILITY
Johnson Chiropractic also notes back pain and muscle response on spinal stability. Researchers stated that chronic low back pain weakens spinal stability of its sufferers. In examining the activation patterns of the latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, and upward scapular rotation muscles of chronic LBP patients, researchers documented a significant increase in upward scapular rotation in all shoulder abduction positions on both sides. The left side was more affected than the right. Further, they found greater latissimus dorsi muscle activities and reduced gluteus maximus activities in chronic low back pain. (4) Spinal manipulation is explained as stimulating transient physiological responses of which paraspinal muscle activity and muscle spindle responses are added. (5) Your Richmond chiropractor will carefully note these responses when treating your spine as well as in setting exercises to address weaknesses.
CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Paulette Hugulet on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. She describes her implementation of spinal manipulation, namely the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management, for a 77-year-old patient to decrease pain and improve muscle function and strength.
