Question
I'm 56 years old and otherwise in good health.  Based on a back x-ray I have been diagnosed by an orthopedic surgeon as having degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine.  Specifically my lowest vertebra is out of alignment and the disc appears to be badly compressed.  My treatment is the practice of good posture standing and sitting, and back exercises to strengthen the muscles.  Am I likely to benefit from treatment by a chiropractor?  Thank you.

Answer
Dear Rick Laske,

Thank you for your question.  Yours is similar to those I have heard from others who are investigating chiropractic.  Unfortunately, though, it is based on some misconceptions.  In order to answer it properly, I'll first need to give you some background on the chiropractic profession.

There are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation. This is not specifically the same as the findings referenced in your question, but they may exist together.  The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without vital brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.

Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential.  People with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as delivering a baby or, for that matter, being born, but also such things as accidental trauma, sleeping posture and mattress condition, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, etc.), which are, unfortunately, regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  The branching of the nerve pathways is complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person's spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.

Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about your pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

A key question to ask for your purposes, then, would be, Is someone with a diagnosed degenerative process in the lumbar spine better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open?  It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise.  So, the short answer is, yes, being checked for vertebral subluxation by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor and having any that are found corrected will be of benefit you.  How that will be experienced is the unknown.  It's not intended to be a treatment for the degenerative process you described any more that it is intended to sharpen your sense of humor!  Consider, though, that every aspect of human performance is potentially affected by vertebral subluxation ?negatively by its presence and positively by its correction.

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to this and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  Please understand that the practice objectives of therapeutic mixed chiropractic and non-therapeutic straight chiropractic are quite different, as described above.  What I can tell you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  

With that said, I will not comment on the therapeutic goal of treating the degenerative changes or even whether it will be possible to straighten your spine geometrically, the therapeutic goal.  It is not pertinent to whether you would benefit from being free of vertebral subluxation should you decide to be checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor.  It would be wise to have your spine checked for subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor, even if you still elect to have therapeutic attention for treatment concerns.  Remember, the two objectives are not the same.  If you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area, please contact me at this site again or at [email protected].  

Rick, I wish you the best in exploring and understanding the world of chiropractic.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.