What is an Annular Tear and How Can You Find Relief?

Have you been told you have an annular tear on one of your spinal discs and it's causing you back pain? 

In this article, we'll explore what an annular tear is, how long it takes to heal, and what are some of the best treatment options.

Most commonly these tears can occur in the lumbar spine at L4-L5 and L5-S1, which is part of your low back or lumbar spine.

Annular Tear Causes

Annular tears happen to your spinal disc. The discs of your spine are located between the bones of vertebrae; like a sandwich. The discs are designed to act as small shock absorbers and disperse the impact or load of gravity as you move your body throughout the day. 

Every single segment of your spine moves a little bit in each directly- forward (flexion), backward (extension) and side to side (lateral bending and rotation). The cumulative result of each segment moving a little bit is our full range of motion! 

 But as we age and encounter injuries, sometimes small micro tears can happen on the outside of your spinal discs. Those outside rings of your spinal discs are called the annular fibrosis, and that's why a tear in that portion is called an annular tear. 

When annular tear happens, it does not mean that all the fluid inside your disc immediately gets push out. The inside portion of the disc, called the nucleus pulposus is more like crab meat and less like water. 

Your discs are pretty tough but when a tear occurs it often results in immobilizing, debilitating pain. Many patients that I've spoken with just feel their back lock up when the tear happens, and they're unable to move. That can be really scary. But usually, after a few days, you can slowly get back to their normal patterns of life.

Annular Tear Treatment

Controlled careful motion actually helps heal your discs after a micro-tear happens. Medications or injections for torn discs can sometimes take away the pain, but they don't really promote actual healing. That's why conservative measures like chiropractic care, light exercise, and sometimes even light traction can be a great way to keep your spine mobile and improve your healing. 

Can a Chiropractic Adjustment Make You Stronger?

Did you know that a chiropractic adjustment doesn’t just help reduce your pain levels it enables you to get stronger? It’s true.

Researchers measured the electrical activity in the arms and legs before, during and after a chiropractic adjustment. What did they find? An increase in cortical drive post chiropractic adjustment. That’s science-speak for more strength.

Why it Matters:

Stronger is Better¦ better stamina, better balance, better coordination, better performance in every area of your life. What will you do with more strength?

• Your brain powers your movements and your strength through your nervous system
• Adjustments have been shown to increase your cortical drive, which helps make your stronger
• While one adjustment may not make you a champion powerlifter, this exciting new research is important for all of us who want to live an active lifestyle

Next Steps:

Pay attention. That’s right, consider being more mindful of where having more strength can be more positive in your life.

Science Source:

Impact of Spinal Manipulation on Cortical Drive to Upper and Lower Limb Muscles. Brain Sciences. 2017. 7,2

Solving the Opioid Crisis...with chiropractic?

Over the past few years, our country has been fighting one of the most deadly epidemics in history: addiction to prescription pain medications. What’s more, thanks to a pharmaceutical industry that has billions of dollars to spend on lobbying and advertising…t's been an uphill battle.

In the United States alone, over 300 million prescriptions for pain relievers are filled each year.

Many of the people filling those medications started taking them due to back pain, and until recently, prescribing pills has been the standard of medical care for acute pain. That’s why we have so many people addicted to painkillers, and it’s estimated that 2% of the population will eventually become addicted to these prescription painkillers.

There is a better, safer way; a way to find relief without becoming addicted to these dangerous medications.

New research shows that when Chiropractic care is added to standard medical care, over 73% of people have significant improvement or complete relief! What’s more, when people focus on correcting the cause of the problem and experience relief naturally, they don’t need to keep taking that higher and higher dose of medication to reduce their pain.

That’s why many healthcare organizations are looking towards Chiropractic care as a tremendous ally in the fight against prescription medication abuse and addiction.

•  Medications are no longer recommended as a first-line treatment for back pain.
• Over 73% of people who added Chiropractic to their medical care found significant or complete relief from back pain.
• Adjustments can help you address the cause of the pain, not just mask the symptoms.

Science Source:

Adding Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy to Standard Medical Care for Patients With Acute Low Back Pain. SPINE Volume 38, Number 8, pp 627-634. @2013

How Chiropractic Adjustments Can Help Foraminal Stenosis

If you have had pain going down your arm or leg due to a pinched nerve chiropractic may be one of the best things you can do to get well quickly. 

The discs are located between the bones, or vertebrae, in your spine. They act as spacers, allowing room for the nerve to travel out the holes, or foraminal canals. That is the place where the nerve can often get pinched, and when it's pinched, it hurts. Sometimes that pinching can happen due to a bone spur, due to the disc becoming degenerative and flattening out, or a ligament is constricting and compressing on that nerve. 

Chiropractic adjustments work by helping to open up those holes and take the pressure off of the nerve. The tunnels, or foraminal canals, are "opened" when a gentle adjustment is given, and proper motion to the vertebrae is restored. That takes the pressure off of the nerve, allows the pain to subside, and the function to increase. So if you have been suffering from a pinched nerve due to a bone spurs or ligament overgrowth; do not hesitate to reach out to your local chiropractor to see if chiropractic care may be the best solution to get you on track and feeling great as quickly as possible. 

Before You Reach for That Bottle of Pills, Reach for New Research from The Lancet

If you have back pain, you may not want to reach for that bottle of pills. Brand new research from one of the oldest and most respected medical journals, the Lancet, has showcased that mediations, injections, and surgery should be your last options when dealing with back pain. 

They also discussed that a collaborative approach to care, between medical doctors and chiropractors, just might be the future of back pain relief. 

The Lancet showcased that collaborative care model is best when dealing with back pain. Back pain is one of the most significant burdens on people worldwide with over half a billion people suffering at any given time. But here is the really interesting part of their research0 they point out that many of the common practices like medications, injections, and even surgery should not be your first option when dealing with back pain. As a matter of fact, they go on to say that there has historically been a massive gap between what the evidence shows to be effective care and the actual care given in many medical doctors offices today.

Conservative collaborative care, including the care given by chiropractors, is the best place to start. 

Chiropractors were also involved in the publication and the research behind these groundbreaking papers. So, it is a fantastic day when collaborative conservative care comes to the forefront and medications, injections, and surgery go to only those who need it (which thankfully is only a tiny percentage of the people).

So if you know someone who has suffered from back pain, please keep in mind that a collaborative approach to care is best. Staying conservative with exercise, perhaps seeing a chiropractor, staying as active as possible, and maintaining a positive outlook is crucial to recovering and thriving after a bout of low back pain. 

Learn more about this exciting research on The Evidence Based Chiropractor Podcast.