Spinal stenosis affects gait…and today they’re working with “smart
shoes” to measure gait irregularities and connected
altered walking patterns! Our Millville chiropractic
patients dealing with spinal stenosis often remark
that they walk differently. That makes sense! Wilson Family Chiropractic can help alleviate
Millville back pain and the related effects of spinal stenosis.
SPINAL STENOSIS AND ITS SIDE EFFECTS
Older folks are more and more affected by frailty and locomotive syndrome, and those
who also experience lumbar spinal stenosis find themselves even more
affected. In a study of such patients who were going to undergo surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis, all but 1 of the 234
patients had locomotive syndrome while 24.8% were
documented to be frail. Post-surgically,
those with frailty displayed improvement in locomotion.
(1) Yet surgery doesn’t necessarily enhance gait
for all spinal stenosis patients. Researchers evaluated the
sagittal vertical axis using a gait motion analysis with lumbar spinal stenosis
patients before and after they had decompression surgery to see
if there was any improvement in spatiotemporal – how and how quickly a person moves
in terms of stride, pace, width of step, etc. - gait parameters. There wasn’t a change in sagittal vertical axis, but there
was significant difference in spatiotemporal parameters. (2) Cox®
flexion distraction treatment produced significant improvement to
lumbar spinal stenosis patients in terms of
improved function, symptomatology, and performance-based
mobility. Further all of their subjective improvement outcomes were
statistically and clinically meaningful. (3) This is valuable!
SPINAL STENOSIS AND POSTURE
It’s also beneficial to understand
that lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) patient’s static spine and pelvic posture are
associated with their symptoms. A recent study investigated the question of how dynamic alignment
of the spine and pelvic might be related to lumbar spinal
function in the everyday life of LSS sufferers and found
that weak hip or trunk extensor muscles, a greater pelvic
tilt angle, or less spinal flexion during gait resulted
in lower daily-life lumbar function. (4) Wilson Family Chiropractic
seeks to enhance the quality of life for our Millville
spinal stenosis patients and appreciates studies that disclose
what works. A future study’s goal is to establish
a set of data that can assist in defining and/or altering patient treatment plans, indications for surgery, and practices
for post-surgery rehab for lumbar spinal stenosis patients who elect
to have surgery. These patients come with a unique set of
issues concerning posture, balance, ambulation biomechanics,
paraspinal muscle quality and fatigue rates, as well as symptoms. (5) All of
these contribute to a lumbar spinal stenosis
patient’s care at Wilson Family Chiropractic and outcome.
SPINAL STENOSIS AND BACK PAIN AND SMART SHOES!
To make sure that the clinical outcome is as
good an outcome as viable, new tech may come
to the rescue. With lumbar spinal stenosis come gait
abnormalities like reduced gait speed and unevenness due to muscle weakness and pain in the lower extremities. Don’t
worry though. There are “smart shoes” to help. Smart shoes are wearable sensors that can sense
gait variations quicker, easier, and cheaper. (6) In the meantime while their accuracy and cost-effectiveness are analyzed - since
smart shoes might not be for everyone - the old fashioned in-clinic
tests still work, and Wilson Family Chiropractic knows them well!
Find out during your exam!
CONTACT Wilson Family Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Nate McKee on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he
describes how The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain
Management helps ease spinal stenosis and increase
balance.
Make your Millville chiropractic
appointment today to see us especially if you find
your gait being “off” and/or have back pain. Spinal stenosis
may be the culprit, and Wilson Family Chiropractic knows how to rein it
in!