Spinal oa
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi I wanted to ask a few questions. I'm 29 female. Last year I had a car accident and saw a chiropractor after for low back pain I was having. I never really felt pain before the accident. Lately I've been noticing pain now in my thoracic and upper back as well. I started googling and came across spinal arthritis. I looked through my chiropractor folder and they wrote my curves are associated with spinal arthritis and ddd on two of my x rays. On two other parts of my back, they said may lead to spinal arthritis. No one ever mentioned this to me at the time. They just said you have degeneration let's start treatment... I've been really freaking out after reading how badly it progresses and people not being able to walk. I'd honestly rather die if it got to that point. Is there a way to keep this from progressing? I'm willing to keep up with physical therapy and chiro adjustments the rest of my life. I just am really scared of not being able to walk correctly and don't want to walk with a cane. It really frightens me. My pain is ok right now. If I do activities it worsens but if I lie down a bit it gets better.
0 likes, 19 replies
loxie wendy47988
Posted
Best advice, see your GP and discuss it. Chiropractic is very specific and can cause further damage in certain circumstances. Ask your doctor's advice and possibly request a scan, which is the only sure fire way of determining whether the 'reduction' is leading to arthritis. OA is effectively wear and tear and as you have suffered damage to your back, it may be likely that you have deterioration in some of the cartilage, this is a common result from injury. It's how my OA started when I had a major accident to one ankle. OA is progressive but can be rapid or very slow - if it is diagnosed it doesnt automatically follow that you will be immobilised in the near future, I've had it for years and although painful at times, I still have my mobility. Again, best advice, forget the chiropractic and see your doctor for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
Anhaga wendy47988
Posted
I completely agree with Loxie. The best treatment can be determined by your GP, and I wouldn't be surprised if it includes physiotherapy. A physiotherapist will treat your spine more gently than a chiropractor, generally speaking, and they are also trained in the best exercises to teach you so that you can contribute greatly to your recovery and maintenance of spine health. I didn't ever have an accident like you, but I've had osteoarthritis in my neck for many years, probably since I was in my teens, and later in my lumbar spine. Physiotherapy has helped rid me of lots of referred pain caused by my wonky spine, as well as pain in the spine itself. I do my (very very boring) exercises nearly every morning and evening, and have done so for many years.
Anhaga
Posted
I don't want to be critical of a particular profession, but.... My father was a GP and he would say how patients of his with back pain would go to the chiropractor and end up in much worse condition than before. My uncle had neck problems (obviously a family weakness) and went to a chiropractor, who caused such injury that my uncle had to retire early from his work as a dentist. So I want to emphasize that there is no doubt a place for a chiropractor, I have friends who go to their chiroproactor all the time (which I find worrying actually as you'd want the chiropractor to be able to dismiss a healed patient as a physiotherapist usually can) and find their treatment satisfactory. But this is probably not the best place for you as you are still recovering from injury.
loxie Anhaga
Posted
amkoffee wendy47988
Posted
I can understand how at your age you would be freaking out. But please calm down. As long as you stay active and do your stretches and don't allow your back to sideline you, you will be fine.
A lot of people have degenerative disc disease and they have it with no pain at all. All it means is that there is changes in the spine due to aging. It's often times the start of arthritis. But for all the people that have that show up on an MRI only a handful of those people will even have any pain at all.
So don't let Dr Google scare you. Talk to you Chiropractic or your physical therapist about what's in your file and calm down keep yourself healthy and you'll be fine.
wendy47988
Posted
Thank you everyone. So this doesn't mean I won't not be able to walk 15 years down the road?
loxie wendy47988
Posted
Very unlikely wendy - as amkoffee has pointed out, degenerative discs basically come to us all (or most) - it's basic wear and tear as we age. Only the most extreme cases become totally immobilised, the vast majority just get 'twinges' and a simple anti inflammatory heads it off at the pass. I have OA in multiple locations and yes it restricts what I can do but I still walk, cook, clean, sleep, etc etc., I am just more mindful about not doing too much or doing things that I know will cause it to flare up. Have to add that I am now 61 and have had it for many years without it ruining my life.
Nyxks wendy47988
Posted
depends on your body
4 years ago my legs started having issues, last year I was dianosed with Spinal OA with decompression and a year later I'm not in a chair but at times it is necessary and i'm not even 40.
wendy47988
Posted
Thank you everyone for responding. I took out a blue cross ppo and it takes three months to start. I took out my old physical therapy folder from after the car accident and wanted to start doing the exercises they gave me to straighten my spine in the meantime. I'm doing them all correctly but I feel as though they aggravate my lower back pain. I've just been doing gentle ones. Cat and dog and some stretches lying on my back but after a week, my lower back feels like it did after my car accident. I remember when I was going, I was in pain everyday. Is this normal when you first start doing them? I know everyone has advised against the chiropractor, but I remember they really helped my pain.
wendy47988
Posted
Also.. is it possible to stop spinal arthritis. I understand you can't reverse it but can you keep it from getting worse?
loxie wendy47988
Posted
I've been spending some time researching ways of decreasing my pain levels. I have OA in my upper spine, one ankle and both thumb joints and common pain meds either cause me horrible reactions or just arent strong enough to have any effect. I've found some interesting research on something called Fibrin, which before a certain age breaks down effectively in our bodies but as we age, builds up, contributing to inflammation, pain, arthritis etc. There are certain enzymes (proteolytic) which help to effectively 'eat up' fibrin and scar tissue and increase the immune system. I'm looking into ways of being able to increase the levels/effectiveness of those enzymes, which according to the research I've read will slow down if not halt the advance of my OA. It's not a cure as damage already done is irreversible but it may significantly reduce the progression and the pain levels. If I find anything conclusive, I'll post on here.
wendy47988 loxie
Posted
Yes please! Let's all keep each other updated. Also I've noticed vitamin d helps a lot. About a year ago every joint was cracking and hurting. My arms, legs, ankles. My doctor told me I was low in vitamin d. After taking it for a few months, the pain went away. If I stop for a few days, the symptoms come back. I think this is caused from the arthritis from what I've read not a vitamin d deficiency since I've been taking 5000 ius daily for a year and if I stop, the symptoms come right back and I doubt I'd become deficient again within a few days. Right now I've been taking glucosamine, msm, a collagen and joint supplement, vitamin c, d, and omega 3. I wasn't having much pain when I was juicing a lot of celery and cucumbers. I need to start again.
wendy47988
Posted
loxie wendy47988
Posted
Vitamin D deficiency can be a real issue,my levels were tested when they were doing other tests and apparently mine are 'normal', Vit D3 is the one to take I'm told.
I've also been given a new list of things that can help and have little or no side effects - bromelain, devil's claw and boswelia extract. Havent read enough about them yet to expend any money buying them.
Pineapple is supposed to contain some really helpful enzymes too - but care should be taken by anyone taking statins as the two contra indicate.
loxie wendy47988
Posted
wendy47988 loxie
Posted
I've read about devils claw and boswellia. I passed on devils claw because I read it could cause really bad stomach aches but I bought boswellia but haven't tried it yet. Stem cell therapy sounds amazing.. unfortunately I think it might be a scam after reading about it. I pray in the next ten years they come out with something new. Feel free to text me anytime. Maybe we can figure something out together.
loxie wendy47988
Posted
Thanks for the heads up on devil's claw, my tummy reacts very badly to lots of meds - and supplements, so I may give this a miss too. There's only so much money I can spend on new 'wonder cures'.
Wish I had your climate here - the damp weather in England really plays havoc with my joint pain.
I hear stem cell therapy really only works with early onset - I've been nagging my doctors for decades for some effective treatment, myOA is probably too far advanced for it anyway by now.
wendy47988 loxie
Posted
Oh no! The heat here is so horrific though. I'm boiling all day lol. I'm going to look more into stem cell. Hopefully mine is still mild? Apparently it runs in my family. My uncle said earlier he's had it since he was 20. He says he's fine at 67 now just has painful times where he lays in bed so that's hopeful. I read a few articles about the chiro with regular treatment is able to prevent further damage and the people who are more degenerated are the ones who skipped treatment for years. Hopefully if i stay on top it will slow it and I can be ok until 50?? I hope. It's so scary. I barely ate for a month thinking about it. I'll let you know which supplements help and don't. I bought a whole counter full. I wish I could give you some!
loxie wendy47988
Posted
I ordered some supplements which contain curcumin (from turmeric), ginger and Bromelain (extracted from pineapple I believe) - yet to start them but here's hoping.