It is common to hear “I’m just getting old” right after someone experiences some sort of physical ache or pain. Yes it is true that our body starts to deteriorate to various degrees as we age but it is also true that we can also slow down the process. A topic in particular is aches and pains caused by degeneration or osteoarthritis of the spine called Spondylosis.
Spondylosis can occur in one or all levels of the spine to include cervical which is the neck, thoracic or upper to mid back and lumbar which is the low back. It involves different parts of the spine including the intervertebral discs, the vertebrae and the facet joints.
Causes of spondylosis include several different things including aging, genetic predisposition, repetitive motions, occupation or any type of injury to the spine. The changes that occur affect intervertebral disc height, development of bone spurs, and inflammation to the facet joints which can lead to eventual stenosis or narrowing of the spinal canal and nerve root compression which causes numbness, weakness and pain.
Although this occurs to some degree as we age there are things we can do to slow down the process. At Institute for Functional Health our goal is to decrease your pain and improve your quality of life without using invasive measures. By utilizing different techniques and therapeutic exercises our goal is to strengthen your body and slow down injury if it is already present or prevent it from rapid deterioration.