Can Physical Therapy Help Lower Back Pain
Physical therapy is one of the best ways to treat lower back pain, and if your bowel problems are related to back pain, it will ease those symptoms as well. Physical therapy will help ease lower back pain and help you find relief in motion. If you are struggling with this, it is best to seek physical therapy as soon as possible. This will help prevent any need for an operation down the line. In the worst cases, if you do need surgery, our team will be by your side every step of the way helping you recover.
To learn more about the link between lower back pain and constipation, or other bowel problems, call ProFysio Physical Therapy at 812-5200 or contact us online.
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Eat The Right Amount Of Fiber
The USDA recommends about 25g dietary fiber per day for women and 38g for men.1 Try to have some fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and/or other high-fiber foods with each meal. If you have a sore throat due to spine surgery on the neck, use a blender to make foods easier to consume. And remember, dont overdo it with too much fiberthat can also cause constipation.
See After ACDF: Trouble with Swallowing
The Spine And The Digestive System
Many common digestive conditions can be traced back to the spine. A range of spinal cord issues can cause problems in other parts of the body. The spinal cord sends nerve signals to the rest of your body, impacting its function, which can cause digestive problems. Issues that can lead to these problems include disc compression, herniated discs, or strained ligaments.
The lumbar spine, or lower back, is particularly important here. The sacrum is especially important when it comes to nerve function. Issues in the lower spine and sacrum can lead to symptoms like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, or bladder malfunction. This occurs because the lower spine includes sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves that connect directly to the digestive system, so interference directly affects these processes.
This process can work in reverse, as well. If you are experiencing stress in one of your digestive organs, the organ will send a message back to your spinal cord through the same nerves. The muscle that corresponds to these nerves may become tense, contracted, or could trigger back pain.
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Difficulty In Bowel Movement
Aside from the frequency of bowel movements, the difficulty of stool evacuation should also be considered. If youre having trouble with your bowel movements, it could be that the stool inside your digestive system has become too large to push out. Forcing a bowel movement in that situation can cause serious damage to your rectal lining.
Under no circumstances should you consider self-medication unless approved by a doctor. While laxatives and other medications can help alleviate mild symptoms of constipation and lower back pain, any serious or chronic back problems should always be diagnosed by a medical professional first.
Safe Natural & Effective Slipped Disc Treatment
The good news is that we can treat most slipped disc problems at our clinic in Norwalk, Slovin Chiropractic Center. Using targeted techniques, Dr. Slovin examines the body as a whole and doesnt focus on just one symptom. A Gonstead adjustment isnt the same as spinal manipulation. Manipulating the spine is like shaking up a puzzle box and hoping all the pieces fall in place. With a Gonstead approach, you can expect a tailored, personalized treatment that targets the unique issues youre experiencing.
Learn more about how a Gonstead chiropractor treats slipped discs.
No matter how long youve had a herniated disc, our chiropractors are well-equipped to help you find the right solution. Dr. Slovin has successfully treated hundreds of back pain conditions over the last two decades without using dependency-causing medications or invasive surgeries. Experience the relief for yourself and request an appointment at Slovin Chiropractic Center today.
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Understanding How The Human Spine Works
Before we move to explaining the condition and treatment, it is important to explain how the human spine works. In the lack of a better word, it is a masterpiece. Spine is also known as the backbone and it allows us to sit, bend, move and twist. It consists of 33 vertebrae that are hollow inside and form a spinal canal. Through this canal, nerves and spinal cord pass.
Cervical vertebrae are at the top of the spine and they are labeled C1-C7. They are used when we turn or move our head. In the middle, we have thoracic vertebrae labeled T1-T12. There are obviously 12 of them. L1-L5 are the lumbar and they are located in the lower part of the spine. These vertebrae are under a lot of stress and they support most of your body and the rest of the spine. The sacrum is labeled S1-S5 and these do not move. The tailbone is the last part that is used for attaching pelvis muscles to it.
Between the vertebrae, spine has intervertebral discs. They act as cushions and they are flat with an interior filled with gel-like substance. That gel is held in place by an annulus or outer ring, which is flexible.
Spinal cord consists of 31 pair of nerves passing through the spine. The main purpose of these nerves is to conduct impulses between the brain and the muscles. Spine also has soft tissues such as ligaments that connect vertebrae. Tendons are used to connect muscles to the bone. Back muscles allow you to move and they act as support.
How Is A Diagnosis Made
A careful medical exam will confirm or rule out a suspected diagnosis of cauda equina. Evaluation includes a medical history and physical exam. A loss of sensation in the anal area is a clear finding. A patient who complains of severe leg weakness, numbness in the genital area, or loss of bladder or bowel function will undergo an MRI scan to reveal the extent to which the herniation is compressing the spinal nerves. The doctor may also order a CT scan or a myelogram.
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Can Back Pain Impact My Digestion
Our health is impacted by a variety of factors that all interact with each other. Rarely is there a condition that has a single, isolated cause. This is why it can be important to identify the root cause of your health problems and address them there. Symptoms in one area of your body may be a reflection of a problem happening in a completely different location. Many people visit a spine doctor expecting only to deal with their back pain and are surprised to learn that their treatment may help other health issues as well. This is often the case when chiropractic treatment improves digestion.
Herniated Disc L5/s1 Treatment
Herniated Disc L5/S1 disorder can be treated and cured. There are several methods commonly used today. A doctor will start with the least invasive treatment and move towards more complex and more complicated treatments if there is a need for that. Below, we will explore the treatments and help you determine which one is the best and most suitable for you.
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What Are The Symptoms
The symptoms of cauda equina compression include problems with bladder, bowel, or sexual function, such as trouble urinating or trouble holding it . Most people have searing pain in the low back and buttocks as well as numbness and tingling in the âsaddle areaâ . Pain may travel down the back of the thigh, past the knee, to the calf and foot . An individual might experience weakness or paralysis in the leg or foot, especially when getting up out of a chair. Extreme leg weakness and loss of bladder or bowel function are signs of an emergency if this has occurred, seek medical help immediately.
Summary And Contact Us Can We Help You How Do I Know If Im A Good Candidate
We hope you found this article informative and it helped answer many of the questions you may have surrounding Craniocervical Instability, upper cervical spine instability, cervical spine instability, or simply problems related to neck pain. Just like you, we want to make sure you are a good fit for our clinic prior to accepting your case. While our mission is to help as many people with chronic pain as we can, sadly, we cannot accept all cases. We have a multi-step process so our team can really get to know you and your case to ensure that it sounds like you are a good fit for the unique testing and treatments that we offer here.
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Actions To Prevent Or Minimize Constipation
There are a few simple measures that one can take to help prevent and/or minimize the possible pain and discomfort from constipation following back surgery.
- Increase activity as soon as possible after surgery. Walking is an excellent way to help bodily functions return to normal, and also helps with healing from the surgery.
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Limit use of narcotic medications to just what is necessary for adequate pain control. Narcotics slow down bowel motility, leading to constipation. Consider switching to a non-narcotic pain reliever for pain control shortly after surgery to reduce the risk of constipation.
- Begin using a fiber laxative, stool softener, or combination product after surgery to reduce the risk of constipation, particularly if one has experienced constipation in the past.
- Drink plenty of water and other non-caffeinated fluids , provided that the physician has not restricted fluid intake for another reason. Prune juice and apple cider are also excellent natural laxatives.
- Eat foods that are naturally high in fiber to stimulate the intestines. High-fiber foods include beans, whole grains and bran cereals, fresh fruits , and vegetables . Limiting foods that contribute to constipation is also a good idea, such as cheese, meat, and processed foods.
- Eat small, frequent meals throughout the day, rather than large meals to aid in the digestive process.
Masses Around The Lower Back
Cancer can often manifest in lower back or lower limb pain, alongside bloody stools and difficulty with bowel movements. Since the tumor mass can press on the spinal cord and other nerves found in the lower back, it can often escalate into a life-threatening situation if left unattended.
Swelling, inflammation, lumps, or acute pain and discomfort are also symptoms of tumors. Its often possible to feel the tumor itself if its around the lower back area. These lumps arent always tumors: they can also be swollen lymph nodes, one of the latest signs of colorectal cancer.
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What Is A Bowel Program
A bowel program is a plan to retrain your body to have regular bowel movements. A doctor or nurse designs a bowel program specifically for you. Your health, bowel and personal history, physical examination are an important part of this review:
- The level and completeness of your spinal cord injury
- Description and pattern of bowel problems
- Past and present medical problems
- Intake of food and drink
- Physical activities
The goals of a bowel program are:
- Passing a stool on a daily or every-other-day basis
- Preventing unplanned bowel movements
- Emptying your bowel around the same time of day
- Passing medium or large stool every time you have a bowel movement
- Emptying all or most of your rectum each day
- Having stools that are soft, formed, and bulky
- Emptying your bowel completely within 30 minutes after eating
Herniated Disc Weak Leg Causation
Weakness in the legs can be described as objective or subjective:
Subjective weakness is by far the most commonly reported type, describing a general feeling of weak muscles and the inability to perform as usual. In subjective weakness, the muscles may feel weak, but are actually still performing fine upon diagnostic testing.
Objective weakness means that muscular deficits actually exist, making the leg far less capable of performing normally.
The difference between these 2 forms of weakness may help to diagnose the causative condition, as long as the physician understands the basis of comparison and takes the time to perform a complete hands-on physical evaluation and symptom correlation.
It is worth mentioning that when foraminal stenosis is the working causative theory, weakness should be the last symptomatic expression to develop, usually after pain and paresthesia. In central stenosis diagnoses, weakness may occur progressively or acutely and may or may not be preceded or followed by other various symptomatic complaints.
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Managing Your Herniated Disc
If you have a herniated disc, the key question is not whether it will technically heal. Rather, the most important question is how you should focus your treatment and rehabilitation to reduce your acute symptoms and prevent future problems.
If you have recurrent symptoms from a herniated disc, there are known surgical options that have favorable results in improving pain and dysfunction.
See Treatment Options for a Herniated Disc
While early surgical intervention may be recommended for severe pain and disability, non-surgical treatment is usually the first prescribed course of action.
The bottom line is to not worry too much about whether or not your herniated disc is healed. MRI research studies have identified many people who have a sizable disc herniation and yet are totally pain free. For those folks, the disc herniation is not a source of pain .
How Does A Slipped Disc Progress
In most cases, the symptoms tend to improve over a few weeks. Research studies of repeated magnetic resonance imaging scans have shown that the bulging prolapsed portion of the disc tends to shrink over time in most cases. The symptoms then tend to ease and, in most cases, go away completely. About 50 out of every 100 people improve within 10 days, and 75 out of a 100 after four weeks. In only about 2 out of every 100 people with a ‘slipped’ disc is the pain still bad enough after 12 weeks that they end up having to have surgery .
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Use Pain Medications As Directed
Opioid pain medications, which are among the strongest pain killers commonly prescribed after spine surgery, can significantly increase the risk for developing constipation. It is typically advised to transition off opioids as soon as a weaker pain medication, such as acetaminophen , can effectively manage the pain. Stay in touch with your doctor about how your pain management is going and when it might be appropriate to start taking fewer opioids. If your constipation is related to pain medications, your doctor might try a different medication to see if that helps.
See Opioid Medication Potential Risks and Complications
Keep Moving When Possible
When recovering from spine surgery, especially the first few days, you are likely to feel lethargic and need lots of rest. However, be sure to ask your doctor how much walking is allowed or recommended when you are recovering at home. If your doctor has cleared you to start walking and doing other light activities, give it a try. Walking every day is typically recommended to help promote blood flow, healing, and regular bowel movements during the recovery process.
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Diagnosing Herniated Disc L5/s1
Your doctor will have to diagnose the condition in order to give you proper treatment. This type of diagnosis is considered as more complicated, hence there are multiple steps a doctor will have to complete before giving you an accurate diagnosis.
First, he or she will start with questions. These should give the doctor a better idea about your problem and the pain. Questions such as type of pain you are experiencing, other medical conditions, your job, history of your health, and your family are essential, and usually, all Herniated Disc L5/S1 patients get all of these questions.
A physical exam is more complicated and there are 6 tests a doctor will perform. He may perform just a few or all of these, depending on your age and your initial symptoms. Anyway, you can expect tests as mentioned below.
If the condition is not severe, a doctor may prescribe you treatment right away. In other words, imaging tests are not needed. On the other side, getting at least one of the following tests is beneficial and can confirm doctors diagnose. Dont forget that most doctors recommend that a person waits for 6 weeks in order to see if symptoms go away. Usually, they do.
Anyway, if imaging tests are required, your doctor will order one or more of the following tests.
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What Is A Slipped Disc
When you have a ‘slipped’ disc, a disc does not actually slip. What happens is that part of the inner softer part of the disc bulges out through a weakness in the outer part of the disc. A prolapsed disc is sometimes called a herniated disc. The bulging disc may press on nearby structures such as a nerve coming from the spinal cord. Some inflammation also develops around the prolapsed part of the disc. Inflammation may irritate a nerve and also causes swelling, which may put pressure on a nerve.
Any disc in the spine can prolapse. However, most prolapsed discs occur in the lower back . The size of the prolapse can vary. As a rule, the larger the prolapse, the more severe the symptoms are likely to be.