The brain and the spine. They are connected. They’re connected more closely than any of us appreciate
as we go about our daily lives. New Roads Chiropractic Center keeps this connection top-of-mind as we take care of our New Roads back
pain sufferers’ spines and pay attention to their stories of
pain and ways of coping. New Roads chiropractic care at New Roads Chiropractic Center
respects the brain and spine connection and implement gentle, safe
chiropractic services incorporating spinal manipulation to reduce
pain affecting both.
BRAIN CHANGES IN New Roads BACK PAIN
Pain changes the brain. A person in pain feels
it. Special tests today can show it. BOLD (blood oxygen level
dependent) responses were examined after stimulating lumbar spinous
processes with manipulation and demonstrated activity in the
secondary somatosensory cortex, cerebellum and other parts of the
brain. (1) Motor cortex stimulation triggers a spinal
anti-inflammatory response to decrease pain. (2) Depression,
anxiety, cognitive deficits often come with chronic
constriction of the sciatic nerve as a result of its effect
on the medial prefrontal cortex. (3)
Spinal manipulation may be a means 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 New Roads chiropractor’s head
spinning a little! What a subject! Without having to understand
all these terms and measurements discussed in the study, know that
the study shared that the brain, even the adult brain, is pliable.
Of course, the young developing brain is most malleable, but with the proper
input, the older, adult brain can change. The researchers in
this study measured and compared the brain’s cortical size
before and after stimulation and compared their size on MRI. They saw
a difference. More research should be done, but they did describe
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 noted
in musicians, Braille readers, and persons after spinal manipulation and stroke
rehab. (4) This understanding of the brain
informs the New Roads chiropractic treatment
plan!
BRAIN CHANGES WITH CHRONIC PAIN
Just how is the chiropractic treatment plan affected
with such knowledge of the brain? Let us start
by examining the brain with chronic pain. The two brain regions that encode the
intensity of painful stimuli and add to the whole
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. Post-treatment, the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is thicker. To the researchers, this indicated
that treating chronic pain can restore normal
brain functions. (6) New Roads Chiropractic Center care for New Roads back pain patients all day long. It is amazing to think
that treatment might alter more than the pain response
alone!
CONTACT New Roads Chiropractic Center
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 continually remodeling and adjusting to
their ever-changing mechanical environment, and how chiropractic may help.
Schedule a non-surgical New Roads chiropractic care
appointment with New Roads Chiropractic Center for your pain, brain, and spine! The
connection is there between pain and the brain. New Roads Chiropractic Center can get in the middle
of those two and help you obtain some New Roads pain relief.