I just got back from a spine biomechanical seminar in London. The guys putting it on were from the US, great research chiros. We know that degeneration comes from a spine not in the best mechanical structural position. Structure dictates function. Even if the neck has lost its curve this can put dangerous tension on the spinal cord pulling it toward the front and then any disc bulge that presses posterior into the spinal canal causes extra interference on the spinal cord, not to mention pain. Check your MRI's and the cord should be in the lower 1/3 of the canal. If it is near the bodies or discs of the vertebra then you have excess tension from a structural problem of your spine. YES a lower back problem can be made worse by neck problems.

Degeneration, this is a touchy subject. The spine is strongest if it is straight when looked at from the front or back, and 3 very specific fluid curves from the side. If you have had trauma in the past (like you described earlier) your spine can buckle. What does this mean? Your spine deforms to a shape without failing or fracturing. This weakens the spine. Why does your spine degenerate? This malposition or buckling causes such abnormal stress in key points in the spine that bone remodels due to stress, causing degeneration. If you have a spur that is growing sideways then you have abnormal weight and stress on that point, the bone grows to help support the extra stress. (Wolff's law) Yes it is a law, which means it happens every time. Which is why when you break a leg, you must walk on it to make it heal faster and stronger.

Ever ask a simple Q like "Why do I have this degeneration or disk hernation?" If it is because of age then why aren't all of my discs like this one? Why don't I have degeneration in my entire spine, only the spot that hurts? It does not make any sense.

If you do have this abnormal spinal position, (subluxation) one problem with surgery or medication is that it will only help the symptoms for a short period of time. Surgery will get rid of the immediate tension (like the past, in your case) on your nervous system, but if the cause of the problem is still there, a new hernia will grow. Fusion causes abnormal mechanics in the spine, this usually causes excess degeneration of the spine of the discs above and below that area. Exercise is great!! It helps stabilize your spinal muscles and your whole body, but do you want to just stabilize a spine that is already in a weak position?

Solution: You may not like it, but honestly chiropractic with specific lower back and maybe neck traction to reposition and restabalize your spine to allow the best function is your best option. Like any doctor, willing to say it or not, I look at everything as having a chiropractic solution. Without looking at your spinal X-rays and specific shifts and twists of the vertebra, I don't how much a chiro can help you. But if this made sense, at least it will give you a few good questions to ask any doctor that you talk to.

Dr. Keith Giese