What causes spinal ARTHRITIS?
Arthritis is a “catch-all” term for degenerative changes that occur in the spine. Some of these changes include the disc wearing out, bone spurs, and loss of normal structure. So what causes all of this to occur?
The degeneration cascade is a series of events that leads to arthritis in the spine.
Phase 1: In this phase, structural changes occur in the spine. In the neck, the big change we see is a loss of curvature. This leads to instability in that region of the spine. In an attempt to stabalize an unstable area, certain bones of the spine stop moving (subluxation). Phase 1 is characterized by loss of normal structure coupled with subluxations.
Phase 2: If the strucutral changes and subluxations aren’t address for a prolonged period of time (usually takes years), we enter phase 2 where we start to see degenerative changes occur. The discs don’t get blood supply, they gets their nutrition through motion. As the bone above and below move, it pumps nutrients through the end plate which keeps the disc healthy. Over time, as the motion is lost the disc starts to wear away. As the disc wears away, more pressure is placed on the front of the bones and we see bone spurs develop. Phase 2 is a CRITICAL stage. At this point, we can’t ungrow bone spurs or regrow discs but we can restore motion, take pressure of the nerves and get someone feeling better. If we don’t do anything in phase 2, we progress to phase 3.
Phase 3 and 4: As the degenerative process continue, we enter into phase 3 and 4. As a chiropractor, this is past what we deal with. At this stage, we see bones fusing together, discs completely worn out and nerves being totally compressed. This is advanced, late stage arthritis. Pain medication and surgery is usually the approach at this stage.
Nobody should progress past stage 2 of the degeneration cascade. If strucutral changes and subluxations are addressed early on, we can prevent the degeneration cascade from continuing. This is one of the reasons regular visits to see you chiropractor are so important.
