Help for Baton Rouge Back Pain's Fatty Paraspinal Muscles
If you suffer from chronic back pain, like many other Baton Rouge back pain patients, odds are you’ve heard of paraspinal muscle fatty infiltrate. This spinal issue can cause a great deal of discomfort and can even result in gait disturbances. In this blog post, we will look more closely at paraspinal muscle fatty infiltrate and how it is related to lumbar spinal stenosis and its treatment with spinal manipulation offered at Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers.
WHAT IS PARASPINAL MUSCLE FATTY INFILTRATE?
Paraspinal muscle fatty infiltrate is a build-up of fat within the tissues of the muscles located near the spine. Genetics or aging are often culprits of this condition, but it can also be activated by lifestyle factors such as eating poorly or not exercising. It is important to note that this condition does not always cause symptoms, but if it does, they can include low back pain, stiffness in the lower back and legs, or difficulty walking due to gait disturbances as gait relies on hip muscles like the gluteus medius. A recent report described how the extent to which the gluteus medius is atrophied (weakened) influenced lumbar spinal stenosis symptomatology. (1) One of the most common spinal problems impacting more than 500 million people over 65 years old, lumbar spinal stenosis, is associated with altered gait as gait relies on robust muscle activity. (2) Baton Rouge chiropractic patients know Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers checks for gait issues during our chiropractic exam.
PARASPINAL FATTY INFILTRATE AND LUMBAR SPINAL STENOSIS
Paraspinal muscle fatty infiltrate can be related to lumbar spinal stenosis—a narrowing of the spinal canal that puts pressure on nerve roots and causes pain and other symptoms in the lower back and legs – and resulting Baton Rouge back pain. Intervertebral disc degeneration and fatty-infiltrated paraspinal muscles – multifidus, erector spinae, etc. – are related and found to contribute to chronic low back pain and related issues: the more fat, the more degeneration. (3) Other researchers agreed that fat infiltration of the paraspinal muscles like the multifidus muscle may be associated with lower back pain when it was not linked to other factors like a person with back pain being older, male, or having a higher BMI. (4) Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers offers relieving chiropractic treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis and its back pain.
LUMBAR SPINAL STENOSIS & SPINAL MANIPULATION
Treatment options for lumbar spinal stenosis vary depending on severity and the healthcare practitioner who was seen from nutrition, surgery, exercise, drugs, and/or spinal manipulation and mobilization. A study described that one session of spinal manipulation was documented to significantly decrease spinal stiffness and enhanced the multifidus muscle thickness ratio which maintained for more than 7 days for spinal manipulation responders. (5) Your Baton Rouge chiropractor uses such care for back pain relief, especially the well-researched chiropractic Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management. Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes how The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management addresses back pain and affiliated muscles.
CONTACT Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers
Paraspinal muscle fatty infiltrate is a common condition that can cause a range of issues involving low back pain, stiffness in the lower body, and gait disturbances. It is sometimes associated with lumbar spinal stenosis. If you have any symptoms associated with paraspinal muscle fatty infiltrate or lumbar spinal stenosis, it's time to speak with your Baton Rouge chiropractor at Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers about your treatment options so you can find relief as fast as possible. Make your appointment today!
