Your Richmond chiropractor at Johnson Chiropractic is here to take care of you, your spine and your spinal discs. Johnson Chiropractic helps relieve back pain and related leg pain, and Johnson Chiropractic is quite prepared to help prevent those painful conditions whenever possible! Certainly, Johnson Chiropractic loves to see you, and we know you appreciate not having to see Johnson Chiropractic professionally if it can be avoided! So let’s look at running and bending and twisting and lifting as preventable pain producers.

So just why does running and bending and carrying cause low back pain? At your Richmond chiropractic office, this question is addressed every day, usually many times. Let’s look at some explanations. First, we chiropractors know that increased loading weight on the intervertebral disc of the low back will cause it to tear and allow herniation of the disc to occur. That means that so simple a spine motion as bending backwards can cause a disc to tear and herniate. (1) (Johnson Chiropractic has lost count of the number of Richmond back pain patients who came to us describing such a motion and resultant pain!) Now, this was proven in spine specimens exposed to both flexion and extension which showed significantly more disc tearing and loss of height compared to those exposed to flexion alone. So this means that while flexion alone can still cause the disc to herniate, the effects are compounded when it is followed by a subsequent cycle of extension or bending backward at the waist. Thus, movements which require both repetitive bending forward and backward have the potential to produce more disc damage than those which require merely flexion or bending forward. (1) Take for example nurses and nursing assistants. They are at risk of musculoskeletal trouble like low back pain due to bending and lifting overweight patients. (2) Now, even patients who have back surgery and spine fusion - and even sometimes show considerable relief of pain and disability - will still have decreased trunk extension and flexion strength 3 months after back surgery. Therefore, there is need for a proper, progressive strength training protocols to normalize back function. (3) Johnson Chiropractic is here to help. Johnson Chiropractic sees the need for symmetrical spine motion with strong spinal muscles to attain and maintain spine health as the spine researchers point out. The effect of applying compression loading to the spine makes the above facts even more realistic and motions even more pain producing.

Therefore, Johnson Chiropractic encourages activity. Johnson Chiropractic often recommends walking. Interestingly, chronic low back pain affects HOW we walk. Knee joint angle and trunk and lower limb motion is altered when the back hurts (4), but our Richmond patients are encouraged to walk. Some Richmond chiropractic patients choose to run. More power to our Richmond runners! So Johnson Chiropractic asks Richmond back pain patients to consider that while moderate intensity running is generally advocated for apparently healthy adults, running causes a loss in stature that is thought to reflect spinal disc compression. MRI scans and stature measurements were taken before and after 30 minutes of moderate treadmill running. The height and volume of the discs in the low and middle back were measured. It was found that moderate intensity running resulted in reduced disc height and volume. (5) Our Richmond running patients just need to know.

Finally, as understood at Johnson Chiropractic, progressive disc damage occurs under simple and complex cyclic loading conditions. Such disc damage is initiated at the back or posterior part of the disc and extends into the depths of the disc. Such disc damage required both flexion and extension while compression of the disc occurs. (6) Again, that coupled motion is key. When Johnson Chiropractic treats your spine, the facts presented here are taken into account. Namely, Johnson Chiropractic remains aware of the effects of bending forward and backward at the waist and the compressive load being born on the spine during these motions. The type of actions such as running, bending and lifting heavy objects, participating in sports, etc., are understood when treating your Richmond back pain. Your Richmond chiropractor will educate you in how to avoid damaging your disc and how to potentially stop disc degeneration - and even initiate disc regeneration through spinal manipulation and nutritional support of the intervertebral disc.  

So contact Johnson Chiropractic today. Set up your first or fiftieth Richmond chiropractic visit. Johnson Chiropractic is here to take care of you, your spine and your discs!