CHIROCARELA.COM: Blog

Herniated discs are extremely common and they don’t just cause soreness in the back; they can also compress nerves headed elsewhere in the body. Dr. Alajajian and his staff in Glendale, CA, provide patients with expert holistic treatment for symptoms and work to put the body in the best position to heal itself. But preventive care is also one of our priorities, so we want our patients to know more about disc degeneration.   The spinal discs are the shock absorbers in between the main bodies of articulated vertebrae. They are made up of a gel center, the nucleus pulposus, and a fibrous outer ring, the annulus fibrosus. Degenerative disc disease is different from a disc being injured by an acute injury, although it puts discs at greater risk of being damaged by a sudden blow. It is unclear why the discs lose water as people age, but as their shape changes, they tend to bulge outward and become less springy. When the annulus fibrosus ruptures, it releases inflammatory proteins, and the sw...

Although lower back pain and neck pain receive a lot of attention, upper back pain is also quite common.If your job requires you to sit in a chair all day, you may be at particular risk for developing a degenerative condition. Dr. Jack Alajajian and his staff at ChiroCareLA.com in Glendale can help you recover quickly and safely, but first, we’ll have to determine the nature of the injury.   The twelve thoracic vertebrae are somewhat better protected than the rest of the spine from acute injuries. They are less mobile due to their connections to the ribs, and the upper thoracic vertebrae are supported by the shoulder muscles. However, the discs between them may degenerate, particularly if a person is older or often dehydrated, and the facet joints between them may develop arthritis. The muscles running between the vertebrae can also be worn down by overuse, or they may shorten from underuse. Nerves branching out of the thoracic vertebrae lead to the chest and abdomen, so a nerve root ...

Chiropractic enables a body to function comfortably by using noninvasive means of realigning the musculoskeletal system. At ChirocareLA.com, we offer a full suite of treatments for the core and limbs, but since the spine is so important for the body’s overall function, we wanted our patients to understand the basics of how it is built.  Vertebrae are the bones of the back. Most of them are “articulated,” meaning that they move independently. The seven vertebrae that are located in the neck are called cervical vertebrae. They include the atlas, which moves the head up and down, and the axis, which moves it side to side. With the exception of those two, each articulated vertebrae is separated by a spongy disc that functions as a shock absorber. Below the neck are the twelve thoracic vertebrae that make up the upper back. They have additional joints for the ribs to connect to. The five lumbar vertebrae are the bones of the lower back. Below them are two structures in the pelvic region tha...