Chiropractic Care of Inflammatory Fort Wayne Back Pain
There are so many spinal conditions! Your Fort Wayne chiropractor is well aware of this. Aaron Chiropractic Clinic welcomes them all! For optimal relief of pain and limited function, the first step is recognition of the condition then arrange its proper treatment. Aaron Chiropractic Clinic is experienced in both! This week’s highlighted condition is inflammatory back pain, axial spondyloarthritis, and the spine-specific kind, 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 include 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. Prompt diagnosis is important as is referral to a rheumatologist 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 Fort Wayne chiropractor is aware and looks for it so that typical lapses of time - sometimes years - will not pass between symptom onset and diagnosis. Being a back pain condition, axial spondyloarthritis can be diagnosed and co-treated with chiropractic care for positive outcomes.
ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS: A SUBSET OF AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS SPECIFIC TO THE SPINE
One type of axial spondyloarthritis is ankylosing spondylitis. Spondylitis is defined as inflammation of the vertebrae. Interdisciplinary management with medical, chiropractic and rehab frequently works well for these patients in decreasing their symptoms and increasing musculoskeletal function. (3) Treating this condition requires 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 underwent chiropractic spinal manipulation of his thoracic, lumbar, and cervical spine areas and physical therapy stretches for 12 weeks. His advanced condition responded favorably 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) Aaron Chiropractic Clinic offers very gentle spinal manipulation and mobilization in the form of Cox® Technic distraction decompression. An advanced type of the condition doesn’t rule out chiropractic care or its subsequent positive outcomes.
CONTACT Aaron Chiropractic Clinic
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 managing ankylosing spondylitis.
Make your Fort Wayne chiropractic appointment soon. All types of spine-related conditions are welcome!
