July 2021 Healthy News from Aaron Chiropractic Clinic
Distraction and Patient Education and Exercise
Hip and knee osteoarthritis are known and growing concerns as our society gets older…around the world. Currently in 2021, Canada is evaluating the “Good Life with Osteoarthritis in Demark” (GLAD) program for knee and hip osteoarthritis. The program incorporates manual therapy, exercise and patient education. (1) In one GLAD study in which patients attended 2-3 patient education classes and 12 supervised exercise sessions in 8 weeks, patients’ pain intensity got better by 26-33%, walking speed improved 8-12%, chair standability improved 18-30%, and joint-related quality of life got better by 12-26%. (2) (Another study used MRI to guage the thickness of knee joint cartilage after knee joint distraction to document that it increased with treatment resulting in significant short- and long-term cartilage regeneration up to 10 years after treatment. (3) This was done with young people, but there is hope!) Back in 2017, a Canadian chiropractor wrote a paper describing his treatment using Cox® flexion-distraction-principle-based distraction to the osteoarthritic knee, and the success he has seen in his patients. Inclusively (acute and chronic patients combined), patients related a mean visual analog scale score drop from 7.7 to 1.8 in 3 weeks and 5.3 treatments. Acute knee OA patients’ scores reduced from 8.1 to 1.1 in 4.8 treatments in 2.4 weeks. Chronic patients’ scores reduced from 7.5 to 2.2 in 3.3 weeks and 5.4 treatments. (4) Chiropractors like yours at Aaron Chiropractic Clinic are ahead of the curve with their modified Cox® Technic principles-based-flexion-distraction-approach to knee osteoarthritis. Novel protocols for use in hip OA are also in development. Let’s talk today about how distraction treatment may help your Fort Wayne hip and knee osteoarthritis!
HOPE FOR DEGENERATED DISCS: Chondroitin Sulfate
Back pain treatment approaches from surgery to manual therapy to exercise to nutrition abound while back pain continues. Injecting hyaluronic acid hydrogel is demonstrating some potential as it is shown to curb the loss of disc height, stimulate tissue hydration for disc repair, and lower inflammation and innervation to ward off more disc degeneration. (5) The nutritional approach continues to hold hope for back pain sufferers as the disc matrix components are known, two key components being chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and hyaluronan. Making chondroitin sulfate available to the disc as well as controlling the hydrostatic pressure of the disc is advantageous. (6) Cox® Technic is shown to decrease intradiscal pressure, so combining it with chondroitin sulfate may be, too. Are you including it in your daily supplements? You may want to think about adding a disc supplement that has chondroitin sulfate to your routine after we talk. Aaron Chiropractic Clinic is ready!
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he discusses the part chondroitin sulfate plays in the health, degeneration and potential regeneration of the intervertebral disc and in the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
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Schedule your next Fort Wayne chiropractic appointment with Aaron Chiropractic Clinic. See you then!