The variety of spinal conditions abounds! Your Groton chiropractor is well aware
of this. Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office welcomes them all! For best
relief of pain and limited function, the first step is to
recognize the condition then arrange its proper
treatment. Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office is experienced in both! This week’s featured
condition is inflammatory back pain, axial spondyloarthritis, and the spine-specific
type, ankylosing spondylitis.
AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS
Axial spondyloarthritis is an inflammatory back pain condition.
It’s often missed as a cause of chronic low back pain while
approximately 1% of the US population experiences it. Characteristics
of axial spondyloarthritis include onset before 45 years of
age, morning stiffness, improvement with exercise not rest, alternating
gluteal pain, and good response to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drug treatment. Other features of axial spondyloarthritis
care enthesitis (inflammation of tendons and ligaments as
they insert into bone), dactylitis (inflammation of a toe or finger), peripheral arthritis, extra-articular appearances (like psoriasis,
inflammatory bowel disease, or uveitis), positive for the human leukocyte
antigen B27, and a family history of the disease. Early diagnosis
is key as is a rheumatology referral for evaluation and cooperative care. (1)
Not only is axial spondyloarthritis missed in medical practices,
but it’s sometimes overlooked in chiropractic practices, too. (2) It’s just not identified as what it is: an immune-mediated
inflammatory disease. Your Groton chiropractor is aware and looks for it so that typical lapses of time - sometimes years - will not pass between symptom onset and diagnosis. Since it’s
a back pain condition, axial spondyloarthritis can be diagnosed and co-managed
with chiropractic care for positive outcomes.
ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS: A SUBSET OF AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS
SPECIFIC TO THE SPINE
One variety of axial spondyloarthritis is ankylosing
spondylitis. Spondylitis means inflammation of the vertebrae.
Interdisciplinary management with medical, chiropractic and rehab often works well for
these patients in reducing their symptoms and increasing
musculoskeletal function. (3) Treating this condition calls for
gentle care that certified Cox® Technic chiropractic physicians are good
in delivering. A case of a 30-year-old male first diagnosed at age 12 whose condition, despite medical care, resulted in fusion of his sacroiliac joints and his
facet joints in the lumbar and cervical spine. The patient was
treated with chiropractic spinal manipulation of his thoracic, lumbar, and
cervical spine areas and physical therapy stretches for 12 weeks. His advanced
condition responded well with some improvement in
pain and flexibility. (4) Another male patient who was 34 years old with a 10-year history of AS underwent
18 weeks of chiropractic spinal manipulation and mobilization. This resulted in a 90% improvement in a disease activity index and an 85%
improvement in a functional index from beginning to end.
(5) Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office performs very gentle spinal
manipulation and mobilization in the form of Cox® Technic distraction
decompression. An advanced state of the condition does not
preclude chiropractic care or its resulting
good outcomes.
CONTACT Shoreline Medical Services/ Hutter Chiropractic Office
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Gabriel Monterrubio on The Back Doctors Podcast with
Dr. Michael Johnson. He discusses his use of the Cox®
Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for treating ankylosing
spondylitis.