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February 25, 2011
Are you...
  • a female ?
  • over age 45 ?
  • with low back pain ?
  • with leg pain that extends into your buttock, thigh, or even into the calf with occasional numbness or pain into the foot ?
 

Degenerative spondylolisthesis is a common cause of the above-described problem. What is degenerative spondylolisthesis? It is a condition whereby a vertebra in the low back (lumbar spine) slips forward on the vertebra below. The reason the vertebra slip occurs is that the disc between the vertebrae becomes unstable due to long-standing strain from previous injury or simply due to usual degenerative change in the disc. Don't be alarmed if your degenerative spondylolisthesis is caused by disc degeneration. It is a condition that all of us humans will develop as we age.

In La Grande we all care about our aging family members and recognize the signs of aging which are more dramatic in some versus others. Well, degenerative disc disease is a part of the aging process. Just as some of us may have more wrinkles or loss more hair or lose more height than our age-similar friends, some of us may have more disc degeneration than others making us more susceptible to degenerative spondylolisthesis.
 
 
In degenerative spondylolisthesis there is usually some arthritis of the facet joints, the joints between the vertebral bones where motion of the spine takes place. As a vertebra slips forward (white arrow), the disc causes pain because the disc is pain sensitive. The spinal nerve at the spinal level of the slip is also compressed or irritated to cause radiating pain into the buttock whih is often very uncomfortable. It may feel like a toothache or be even more of a boring yet very irritating feeling.
 
Cox Technic Helps Degenerative Spondylolisthesis
 
In La Grande Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC offers chiropractic Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression spinal manipulation for alleviating pain due to degenerative spondylolisthesis. Cox Technic has specific protocols for degenerative spondylolisthesis pain relief. Other adjunct care approaches may include electrical stimulation to sedate the irritated nerve and specific at-home exercises to relieve and control the pain. Degenerative spondylolisthesis is not a curable condition, that is, the slipped vertebra cannot be placed into its totally normal position again, but degenerative spondylolisthesis' pain can usually be controlled by the procedures mentioned here and offered at the Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC.
 
A Patient Case Report
 
Read about one patient's experience with degenerative spondylolisthesis and relief with Cox Technic that allowed her to return to her gardening and other tasks that she enjoyed. Even with degenerative spondylolisthesis, you, too, can return to or continue enjoying all those things that make your life in La Grande worthwhile with a solid in-office and at-home chiropractic treatment plan.
 
Contact Us

Contact Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC for a thorough chiropractic examination to determine if you suffer from degenerative spondylolisthesis and experience help in La Grande to relieve the pain and control degenerative spondylolisthesis so its pain does not negatively affect your activities of daily living.