Thank you for joining me again this evening for our nightly podcasts. I perform these podcasts in the hopes that you will be able to education yourself on the topics discussed so you can make better informed medical decisions regarding your health in the future. I am doctor Harrison Campbell of Restoration Health a premier sugar land chiropractors office. Previously we discussed X-rays and the benefits of this imaging modality and the negatives associated with it as well. Tonight, we will be discussing a treatment plan for a recent patient along with the examination findings and the treatments best suited to help.
We recently discussed disc herniations over a few different podcasts, and we did hit on the topic of neuralgia. Tonight, we will be going more in depth on this topic however due to a patient which was seen at Restoration Health recently who was suffering from these conditions. As sugar land chiropractors can tell you neuralgia is nerve pain and this condition is commonly associated with disc herniations. Also recall that neuralgia can have associated muscle weakness and sensory decreases.
To provide some background for this patient who we will call John Doe let us start with the mechanism of injury. John Doe was involved in a car accident approximately two to three months ago. As is common with a car accident, he injured his neck and one of thee injuries to the cervical spine was a cervical disc herniation. Now sugar land chiropractors can tell you cervical disc herniations are common in motor vehicle accidents due to the force which is exerted on the neck as a result of the crash. This particular patient sought care at a different chiropractic clinic other than Restoration Health for approximately ten to twelve visits.
According to the patient electrical stimulation and massage in conjunction with chiropractic manipulation and some active care exercises. He reported some improvement in the symptoms but failed to continue home exercises following the conclusion of his care at the facility. As a result of not continuing home care, he is suffering pain in the arm with numbness and tingling being continuous and loss of strength in this extremity as well.
This leads us to the situation we have where he presents to Restoration Health. There is some symptomology in the neck associated with joint dysfunction and muscle tension to protect the cervical disc which is still injured along with a continuing of the neurological symptoms such as weakness and numbness and tingling. What this means to sugar land chiropractors is that there are still injuries to the cervical disc generating inflammation which is placing pressure on the nerve. This nerve responds to this irritation with the neurological symptoms and the condition being classified as neuralgia.
We will apply a real world treatment plan to this condition of neuralgia as an example of what sugar land chiropractors and more specifically Restoration Health can do for you should you be in the unfortunate situation such as John Doe. The first step is an examination, naturally. We want to ascertain the full extent of the condition which is affecting the patient. The examination is this case revealed the following conditions. Positive tests for decreased sensory to the right C6 dermatome. Recall that C6 denotes which disc or nerve in the cervical spine, for this case the sixth cervical nerve. There is also decreased reflexes at the biceps and brachialis DTRs. A DTR is a deep tendon reflex, and each DTR is associated with specific nerves. For the biceps and brachialis we are look at the C5 and C6 nerves. There was also motor weakness in the right bicep and brachialis with additional problems with grip strength.
One of the better treatments we have for disc herniations without going invasive is decompression. We have covered decompression before. This is where pressure is taken of the disc herniation allowing proper healing of the injured tissue fibers. What the decompression of the disc does is create a negative pressure inside the disc. This negative pressure draws things in, which pulls the disc herniation back into place. The affects of pulling the pressure inwards allows the annulus fibrosis, the outer shell of the disc, to begin the healing process. Remember we want tissue to heal but also heal function, this is where the exercises come into play.
Exercises will be done to apply force to the healing tissue. This force will influence the modeling of the tissue so that we have tissue which is strong but also flexible. This will allow us to remain functional without having to worry about tissue breaking due to it not being flexible while performing basic activities. Remember sugar land chiropractors drive therapy to helping tissue to not just heal but to be functional. Tissue which is not function is not useful, and if it is not useful we limit our quality of life. This goes back to why bedrest is not an advised treatment plan for bad backs anymore.
Additionally sugar land chiropractors will pair possible chiropractic manipulations to help restore normal joint motion to the facet joints. Joint which undergo injury suffer joint dysfunction. Recall that joint dysfunction is a loss of free range of motion in the joint. This can lead to pain and if left uncorrected for long enough can cause degermation and progressively increased levels of pain. By using adjustments to restore free range of motion we can reset the joints, help the muscles relax, and have proper biomechanics for the area.
Thank you for joining me again this evening for another great podcast. I hope you enjoyed the discussion on applying what we have been discussing to an actual patient’s treatment plan. As always should you or someone you know require a sugar land chiropractors services or simply have more questions on what was discussed please call Restoration Health today. We would love to schedule you an appointment and get you on the path to better health today. Thank you once again for joining us. Have a good night.