Chiropractic Care of Inflammatory Nashua Back Pain

There are so many spinal conditions! Your Nashua chiropractor is well aware of this. Moriarty Chiropractic welcomes them all! For optimal relief of pain and limited function, the initial step is recognition of the condition then set up its proper treatment. Moriarty Chiropractic is experienced in both! This week’s highlighted 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 consist of onset before 45 years old, morning stiffness, improvement with exercise not rest, alternating gluteal pain, and good response to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment. Other characteristics of axial spondyloarthritis involve enthesitis (inflammation of tendons and ligaments insertion 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 is sometimes overlooked in chiropractic practices, too. (2) It’s just not recognized for what it is: an immune-mediated inflammatory disease. Your Nashua 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-treated with chiropractic care for effective outcomes.

ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS: A SUBSET OF AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS SPECIFIC TO THE SPINE

One variety of axial spondyloarthritis is ankylosing spondylitis. Spondylitis is defined as inflammation of the vertebrae. Interdisciplinary management with chiropractic and medical care with rehabilitation often 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 experienced in performing. 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 as well as 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 reacted well with some improvement in pain and flexibility. (4) Another male patient aged 34 years with a 10-year history of AS was treated for 18 weeks with 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) Moriarty Chiropractic performs 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 resulting positive outcomes.

CONTACT Moriarty Chiropractic

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.

Set up your Nashua chiropractic appointment today. All types of spine-related conditions are accepted!