Oxford Back Muscles Affected By Back Pain

The spine is maintained by many muscles. Back pain and degenerative spine conditions affect those muscles. Chiropractors like yours at Satterwhite Chiropractic address both the degenerative spinal pain condition as well as the related degenerated spine muscles. Oxford chiropractic back pain treatment plans incorporate pain-relieving approaches for both the spine and its musculature.

BACK PAIN AND MUSCLES’ RESPONSES

Back pain affects back muscles. Different Oxford back pain conditions impact different Oxford back muscles, too. Paraspinal muscles exhibit varied responses to spinal degenerative conditions. Alterations in the lumbar spine paraspinal muscles of low back pain patients have been explained. Wasting of the multifidus muscles in patients with back pain, lumbar radiculopathy, and lumbar degenerative kyphosis are particularly documented. Intensified fat infiltration of the multifidus muscle is also present in patients with lumbar radiculopathy and lumbar degenerative kyphosis. (1) In a report on 78 patients with either degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis or degenerative lumbar kyphosis, researchers described these degenerative muscle patterns. The multifidus muscle is seen as the stabilizer of the lumbar spine segments while the erector spinae muscles are usually referred to as the stabilizers of spinal sagittal balance. Multifidus muscle degeneration was more significant in the patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis. Erector spinae degeneration was more significant in the degenerative lumbar kyphosis patients as well as more closely connected to the severity of spinal kyphosis curvature. (2) Continuous chronic low back pain sufferers as contrasted with non-continuous and recurrent low back pain sufferers were documented to have higher EMG activity in erector spinae and multifidus muscles in extension. (3) Your Oxford chiropractor at Satterwhite Chiropractic takes great care in addressing these variations.

BACK PAIN AND BACK MUSCLES: STABILITY

Satterwhite Chiropractic also notes back pain and muscle response on spinal stability. Researchers stated that chronic low back pain weakens spinal stability of its sufferers. In looking at the activation patterns of the latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, and upward scapular rotation muscles of chronic LBP patients, researchers discovered a significant increase in upward scapular rotation in all shoulder abduction positions on both sides. The left side was more significant than the right. Further, they found increased latissimus dorsi muscle activities and decreased gluteus maximus activities in chronic low back pain. (4) Spinal manipulation is described as eliciting transient physiological responses of which paraspinal muscle activity and muscle spindle responses are included. (5) Your Oxford chiropractor will keep these in mind when treating your spine as well as in designing exercises to address weaknesses. 

CONTACT Satterwhite Chiropractic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Paulette Hugulet on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. She describes her implementation of spinal manipulation, namely the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management, for a 77-year-old patient to decrease pain and improve muscle strength and function.