QuestionI'm a 56 years young male with degenerative subluxation at C3 on C4 and C4 on C5,Endplate degenerative changes at C5-6 and C6-7, stenosis, spondylosis,spurring,etc. Also alot of Lumbar defects. My question is, Can you tell if these defects were caused by trauma at some point in life? I was an army paratrooper in the early 70's when I experienced a near fatal fall. The base hospital put a cast on my leg and called it good. As a professional, can you deviate between injury or ageing? Sorry, I didn't mean for this to be so long.
Answerosteoarthritis, degenerative joint disease, degenerative disc disease, DJD, DDD, arthritis, vertebral subluxation, disc degeneration,
Hello Gary,
Thank you for your question. Not too long at all....
Thank you for your service to our great country.
I am sorry to hear of your accident/ incident. I am sorry to hear of this resultant degeneration of your spinal joints.
You state: ".....degenerative subluxation at C3 on C4 and C4 on C5,Endplate degenerative changes at C5-6 and C6-7, stenosis, spondylosis,spurring,etc. Also alot of Lumbar defects. My question is, Can you tell if these defects were caused by trauma at some point in life?.....". Believe it or not,,,, our joints are meant to go on for 60, 70, 80 years WITHOUT 'normal' degeneration, 'normal' deterioration. I have people into their 60s, 70s, 80s, -WITHOUT any osteoarthritic degeneration, AND I have youngsters in their 30s and 40s WITH Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD), osteoarthritis (OA).
Here is an information sheet I hand out to my staten Island Arthritis patients:
Degenerative Disk Disease
DDD = Degenerative Disc Disease; OsteoArthritis- THE most common Arthritis- the 憌ear and tear disease?.
DJD = Degenerative Joint Disease; = similar/ same OsteoArthritis.
Degenerative Disc Disease (old term = DJD) is actually a quite common condition. However, the course of the condition is highly variable. Some patients with DJD literally cannot walk, yet other patients with similar X-ray/ MRI findings may be able to run marathons or lift heavy weights.
Some people suffer for only a few days with pain and symptoms, some people suffer for months. Although the course is highly variable, there are certain steps that are always helpful to follow: Ice the area when painful- 10/ 15minutes on, 30/ 45 minutes off; avoid certain postures and movements; bend the knees when coughing or sneezing; bend the knees when lifting anything; do not extend legs straight out when sitting, laying down, lifting, or driving.
Avoiding certain movements and postures will prevent aggravation of the condition. Practicing good postures and movement patterns will help the condition heal and be less painful. DDD, DJD, OsteoArthritis, - deteriorating discs (disk) is/ are often caused by, or often concurrent with the Vertebral Subluxation Complex.
VSC is a misalignment which hastens deterioration of the joints involved. Misalignment/ improper motion patterns CAUSE/ HASTEN OsteoArthritic degeneration.
Vertebral Subluxation Complex (a.k.a. 憇ubluxation?
The vertebral subluxation complex is the underlying cause of many healthcare problems.
A subluxation interferes with the proper functioning of joints, and can cause osteo-arthritic degeneration, Degenerative Disk Disease, degenerative joint disease, etc.
A subluxation interferes with the proper functioning of the nervous system (the master system which controls and coordinates all function within the body) and may cause various other conditions, symptoms and problems.
Subluxation is a serious condition identified by its five parts:
Spinal Kinesiopathology:
This is fancy way of saying the bones of the spine have lost their normal motion and position. It restricts your ability to turn and bend. It sets in motion the other four components.
Neuropathophysiology:
Improper spinal function can choke, stretch, or irritate delicate nerve tissue. The resulting nerve system dysfunction can cause symptoms elsewhere in the body.
Myopathology:
Muscles supporting the spine can weaken, atrophy, or become tight and go into spasm. The resulting scar tissue changes muscle tone, requiring repeated spinal adjustments.
Histopathology:
A rise in temperature from an increase in blood and lymph supplies result in swelling and inflammation. Inflammed Discs can easily bulge, herniate, tear, or degenerate. Other soft tissues may also suffer permanent damage.
Pathophysiology:
The VSC contributes to OsteoArthritic degeneration. Bone spurs and other abnormal bony growths attempt to fuse malfunctioning spinal joints. This spinal decay, scar tissue, and long-term nerve dysfunction can cause other systems of the body to malfunction.
The Vertebral Subluxation Complex describes what happens when spinal bones lose their normal movement patterns and position. When subluxated, joints are in a stressed, vulnerable, compromised condition. Subluxation may cause Arthritis, Disk Herniation, Disk Degeneration, or aggravate such conditions.
Vertebral Subluxation cannot be corrected through chemicals (medicine), stretching, yoga, vitamins or physical therapy alone. Subluxation- a neuro/skeletal/muscular- mechanical- problem requires a mechanical correction- - - a manipulation, best performed with the chiropractic adjustment.
Dr. Victor E. Dolan, Doctor of Chiropractic; Diplomat, American Chiropractic Board of Sport Physicians; Diplomat, American Academy of Pain Management; Certified Clinical Nutritionist (IAACN); FIRST Chief of Chiropractic in a Hospital in New York State (DHSI); As Seen in PREVENTION Magazine , Selected to provide care- USA Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs Colorado 2010
When the front end of your car is out of alignment, the tires wear out faster; when your joint is out of alignment, it wears out faster. When the front end of a car is in PROPER alignment, tires can go 50- 60,000 miles now a days; when our spine (or other joints) is properly aligned, our joints can go 70- 80 years with little deterioration.
"....My question is, Can you tell if these defects were caused by trauma at some point in life?....", yes you can. Depending upon the pattern you can see if it is from 'poor posture', or some traumatic injury. A chiropractic radiologist or medical radiologist could give an opinion on age of the problem and whether or not it is traumatic.
"....As a professional, can you deviate between injury or ageing?...."- I would go to an expert in radiology for a definitive answer; but, can a regular Chiropractic Doctor, and probably a Medical Doctor tell you trauma or age- I would say YES, usually.
Can an 'expert' date it specifically?, that would probably not be possible. Could an expert say a year old, probably, a year vs ten years, yes.... but ten vs twenty vs thirty..... I do not think so, but you could ask a radiology expert on that.
Many people do not realize that many of the medications that they take can HASTEN the development of Osteo-Arthritis, here is another information sheet I utilize in my Staten Island Chiropractic office:
PAIN
Pain is a 憆ed light on the dashboard? RED LIGHT = Trouble !!
Pain is your body telling you that something is wrong. Think you should listen??
That RED LIGHT on the dashboard of your car-
-- do you ignore it until the car breaks down,
or do you get it checked and correct the problem?
Pain,
pain in your body-
-- do you ignore it until your body breaks down,
or do you get it checked and correct the problem?
Pain,
do you cover up the pain by taking a painkiller?
Take a painkiller,
mask the pain,
and allow a problem to progress in your body?
Pain Killing medication??? = 16,000 deaths ( probably under-reported )
DEATH ! ? ! ? better watch out on those medications!!!
NOTICE ON PAIN RELIEVERS:
Label changes ORDERED by FDA; the FDA announced proposed label changes for OTC over-the-counter pain relievers to include the potential for stomach bleeding and liver damage (FDA news 206- 207; 12-9-06) ;
SIXTEEN THOUSAND DEATHS: "Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective medications for the treatment of many chronically painful medical conditions. However, it is estimated that 25% of all serious adverse drug reactions involve NSAIDs, with more than 100,000 hospitalizations and 16,000 deaths occurring annually due to NSAID-induced gastrointestinal (GI) events."----- http://hhc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/13/6/468 Home Health Care Management & Practice, Vol. 13, No. 6, 468-475 (2001) Motrin, Advil = NSAIDS
The American Heart Association issued a scientific statement recommending medical doctors change the way they prescribe OTC pain relievers from a first choice to an alternate of recommending non-pharmacologic treatment (AHA statement 2-26-07).
NSAID Acceleration of ARTHRITIS; an important side effect of Aspirin and other NSAIDS is that it will inhibit cartilage repair and accelerate cartilage destruction ( Journal of Rheumatology, 1982; 9: 3- 5 ). Many times people take NSAIDS for the pain of Arthritis, not realizing these drugs may make the underlying condition worse. These medications cover up the pain, and cause the problem to worsen.
http://rinf.com/alt-news/business-news/prescription-drugs-kill-300-percent-more-...
= An analysis of 168,900 autopsies conducted in Florida in 2007 found that three times as many people were killed by legal drugs as by cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines put together. BE CAREFUL WITH THAT MEDICATION !!!
It was reported in 2000, that 700,000 U.S. citizens die as a result from medical causes (iatrogenics). Of course, other records and statistics had the number above the one million mark. Whether 700,000 or one million people, that's a lot of innocent people dying from visiting a hospital and trusting a medical doctor.= http://www.dherbs.com/articles/iatrogenics-99.html
Pain can often be the result of the Vertebral Subluxation Complex.
Vertebral Subluxation is actually a quite common condition. Doctors of Chiropractic look for pathological conditions which may require referral to other specialties, and also look for 慡ubluxation? Other disciplines look for pathology, but overlook the importance of alignment and movement in the spine which affects our nervous system (the master control system- ALL health disciplines learn this). VSC- 慡ubluxation??can be the cause of many symptoms and conditions.
Only a Doctor of Chiropractic will evaluate and treat for VSC, as well as other pathology.
The course of VSC is highly variable. Some patients with VSC literally cannot walk, yet other patients with similar test findings may be able to run marathons or lift heavy weights. Some patients immediately develop symptoms related to the VSC, some patients take years to develop symptoms. Some people suffer for only a few days with pain and symptoms, some people suffer for months. Some people recover in days, some take months or years, depending upon severity of the condition.
A subluxation interferes with the proper functioning of the nervous system (the master system which controls and coordinates all function within the body) and may cause various other conditions, symptoms and problems.
The Vertebral Subluxation Complex describes what happens when spinal bones lose their normal movement patterns and position. When subluxated, joints are in a stressed, vulnerable, compromised condition. Subluxation may cause Arthritis, Disk Herniation, or aggravate such conditions.
Vertebral Subluxation cannot be corrected through chemicals (medicine), stretching, yoga, vitamins or physical therapy alone. Subluxation- a neuro/skeletal/muscular- mechanical- problem requires a mechanical correction- - - a manipulation, best performed with the chiropractic adjustment.
Dr. Victor E. Dolan, Doctor of Chiropractic; Diplomate, American Chiropractic Board of Sport Physicians; Diplomate, American Academy of Pain Management; Certified Clinical Nutritionist (IAACN); FIRST Chief of Chiropractic in a Hospital in New York State (DHSI); As Seen in PREVENTION Magazine , Invited to Colorado Springs (Olympic Training Center) to Care for USA Olympic Athletes 2010
Chiropractor to the Championship NYPD Football Team, and the PSAL High School Football Champions (Curtis)
I hope this helps, If you need further, do not hesitate
to RE-contact your Staten Island Chiropractic Expert here at
http://www.allexperts.com/ep/965-100794/Chiropractors/Victor-Dolan-DC-DACBSP.htm
Thank you for the question,
I wish you good luck in returning to good health,
Dr. Victor Dolan, DC
