La Grande Chiropractic Newsletter from Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC for February 2016

 

 

So when do you seek medical help? When you hurt! And what's the most common cause of pain in adults? Low back pain! It's the second condition that sends patients seeking care. In one study, the average age of low back pain care hospitalizations was 47.8 years with only 3.1% of those patients having a surgical procedure. (1) Luckily, that’s just lower percentage of patients, leaving 97% of patients in need of non-operative care. Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC offers La Grande chiropractic care that is non-operative and relieving for La Grande back pain. 

 

 

Patients with leg pain, weakness and paresthesias due to lumbar spine disc herniations do well and improve with non-operative care. Researchers write thatback surgery as an intervention is reserved for those patients who have severe or progressive motor deficit or symptomatology of bowel or bladder control loss. (3) So that's where your La Grande chiropractor comes into play! Chiropractic's forte is non-surgical care for those suffering with back pain and related leg pain radiculopathy, and Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC’s forte is relieving non-operative care of La Grande back pain and neck pain.  

 

 

Stretching connective tissue starts a series of events that help reduce inflammation when it's just starting. Stretching reduces inflammatory lesion thickness and the neutrophil (white blood cells that fight off infection) count and increases resolvin (a pro-resolving mediator that promotes inflammation reduction) levels. (2) So stretching connective tissue that's been damaged helps that tissue heal more quickly, and Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC’s La Grande chiropractic manipulative care via Cox Technic spinal manipulation stretches gently and safely. Check it out! 

 

Spinal manipulation, particularly the type that involves low velocity passive oscillatory movement, positively affects the central nervous system to reduce spine pain among other positive effects like improved balance and posture, reduced stiffness, and improved muscle function. (4) The chiropractic spinal manipulation Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC uses is called Cox Technic which is just that low velocity passive oscillatory movement that can produce positive effects like these for our La Grande back pain patients!   

 

 

Sick discs - protruded discs, extruded discs, degenerated discs - show lower levels of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content. And these discs will show this loss biochemically before they show it on imaging. (5) So what is GAG?  It's the building block of white fibrocartilage of the disc, essential for a healthy disc. It attracts fluid into the disc to keep it healthy and able to do its job. Do you know how healthy your discs are? If you have back pain, your discs are likely missing GAG. Let's talk at your next La Grande chiropractic visit about how to improve those GAG levels with spinal nutrition. 

 

 

Using spectrometry testing, researchers correlate the amount of degeneration of low back discs and their levels of metabolites like chondroitin sulfate. What's chondroitin sulfate? It's glycosaminoglycan (GAG). Lower levels of chondroitin sulfate biochemically correlate with more degeneration on imaging studies. (6) So again, let's add the element of supplementation to your La Grande chiropractic treatment plan to feed your discs the nutrients they crave to be healthy!