The brain and the spine. They’re connected. They’re connected more closely than any of us realize
as we go about our daily lives. Apple Country Chiropractic keeps this connection in
mind as we take care of our Williamson back
pain sufferers’ spines and listen to their stories of
pain and ways of coping. Williamson chiropractic care at Apple Country Chiropractic
respects the brain and spine connection and use gentle, safe
chiropractic services incorporating spinal manipulation to ease
pain concerning both.
BRAIN CHANGES IN Williamson BACK PAIN
Pain changes the brain. A person in pain knows
it. Special tests today can show it. BOLD (blood oxygen level
dependent) responses were analyzed after stimulating lumbar spinous
processes with manipulation and demonstrated activity in the
secondary somatosensory cortex, cerebellum and other brain areas. (1) Motor cortex stimulation provokes a spinal
anti-inflammatory response to reduce pain. (2) Depression,
anxiety, cognitive deficits often accompany chronic
constriction of the sciatic nerve because of its effect
on the medial prefrontal cortex. (3)
Spinal manipulation may be a way to address the
brain changes in chronic pain and its related issues.
SHORT TERM STIMULATION’S EFFECT ON BRAIN
Stimulating the brain even for a short time may influence
the pain experience. A new study on Euclidean distance between
cortical sources and temporal dynamics of plastic changes in the somatosensory
cortex of the brain had even your Williamson chiropractor’s mind
spinning a bit! What a topic! Without having to grasp
all these terms and measurements discussed in the study, know that
the study presented that the brain, even the adult brain, is pliable.
Sure, the young brain in
development is most impressionable, but with the proper
input, the older, adult brain can change. The researchers in
this study took measurements
before and after stimulation and compared their size on MRI. They saw
a difference. More research should be done, but they did explain
that long term experience establishes cortical organization while
transient, new and different stimulation can spark
cortical reorganization of the adult brain. Such changes have been seen
in musicians, Braille readers, and persons after spinal manipulation and stroke
rehab. (4) This knowledge of the brain
informs the Williamson chiropractic treatment
plan!
BRAIN CHANGES WITH CHRONIC PAIN
Just how is the chiropractic treatment plan affected
with such knowledge of the brain? Let’s start
by examining the brain with chronic pain. The two brain regions that encode the
intensity of painful stimuli and contribute to the overall
experience of chronic pain are the primary somatosensory cortex and posterior
insular cortex. (5) The cortex of the brain was shown to be
thinner in chronic low back pain patients. After treatment, the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is thicker. To the researchers, this indicated
that treating chronic pain can reestablish normal
brain functions. (6) Apple Country Chiropractic care for Williamson back pain patients all day long. It’s amazing to think
that treatment might alter more than the pain response
alone!
CONTACT Apple Country Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST
by Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
defines more plainly the brain and spine and pain
connection, illustrates in more depth how the cells of the body
are constantly remodeling and adjusting to
their always-changing mechanical environment, and how chiropractic may intervene
positively.
Schedule a non-surgical Williamson chiropractic care
appointment with Apple Country Chiropractic for your pain, brain, and spine! The
connection is there between pain and the brain. Apple Country Chiropractic can get in the center
of those two and help you get some Williamson pain relief.