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When Arthritis Affects Your Spine

Maybe you know someone with arthritis in their hands or even their knees. But arthritis in their spine – now that might be a new one on you!

Arthritis of the spine is known by several names, including osteoarthritis, degenerative joint disease and subluxation degeneration. It is actually quite common - but do you know what it is or what causes it?

This is how it starts – after all – we’re talking about degeneration, which by the very nature of its definition means a process of deteriorating over time. In fact, the first phase of subluxation degeneration can take 20 years to develop!

One of your spinal joints experiences some sort of trauma. When this happens, your body tries to stabilize the joint by splinting together the bones that make up the joint. It does this by moving calcium into the area of the inflamed joint; the calcium is what actually causes the splint to develop. As the calcium deposits build up, abnormal bone growth results. Subluxation degeneration eventually takes its toll on your body’s health, leading to other conditions.

Maintaining proper joint movement is essential to prevent subluxation degeneration. It is best to have a chiropractic examination as soon as possible after any type of spinal trauma to reduce your risk of doing damage to your spine.

Keep in mind that trauma to the spine may occur during the birth process or during any of the “tumble and fall” years of early childhood and adolescence – right on up through the early adult years. In fact, it can take 40 – 65 years for full spinal degeneration to set in – that’s a long time to go without care for a vertebral subluxation that may have occurred when you fell off the bed at the age of two!

Remember that chiropractors are uniquely qualified to detect any type of degenerative change in the spine. The earlier it is detected, the better chance you have for total correction, protection against further damage and a real opportunity to experience what true health is all about!

Chiropractic adjustments can help to improve joint function and remember, we can also advise you on the best exercise to do to help relieve pain and keep the condition from progressing. But we can only help you if you come in for regular examinations so we can monitor your spine for any telltale signs of degeneration.