Radiculopathy may take many forms in the people it affects, and can cause disruption across numerous areas of the body. Whether it’s secondary to degenerative disc disease or the result of subluxations or slipped discs, radiculopathy is a condition that requires precise evaluation and tailored treatment. Treating lumbar radiculopathy offers a similar concept to treating cervical radiculopathy, for example, yet it requires a different, vetted approach.

Assessing the Spine to Treat Radiculopathy

Using Chiropractic BioPhysics (CBP) to map and qualify the health and position of a patient’s spine is critical in providing chiropractic adjustments to minimize the effects of radiculopathy, wherever it occurs. In determining the degree of subluxation and the scope by which the root of a nerve is being impeded by the condition, a chiropractor is able to make every adjustment count towards relief.

At Ideal Spine Health Center, we work to identify radiculopathy in patients in Boise, ID and from across the United States. Using CBP, we’re able to do this to a high degree of effectiveness, to provide meaningful results to sufferers of radiating pain due to a compressed nerve root.

Defining the scope of radiculopathy

Patients presenting with radiculopathy do not frequently seek chiropractic care first. Numbness and pain in the legs and arms or chest pains send people to their general physician. It’s usually only after misdiagnosis, temporary relief, or a cognizant physician that spinal adjustments are realized as a course of treatment.

While it’s easy to discern the general scope of radiculopathy based on the affected area of the spine (thoracic, cervical, lumbar), what’s harder is pinpointing the exact nerve(s) and the degree of damage. For this, CBP is a critical approach and mapping a patient’s spinal alignment against the Harrison Full Spine Model is a first priority. This will provide insight into:

  • Where subluxation(s) is taking place (specific vertebrae);
  • To what geometric degree the spine is out of position;
  • The degree of rotation or translation involved in the subluxation(s);
  • Identification of nerves trapped within the subluxation(s).

As quantifiable data comes to light about the intensity of pressure being placed on the nerve root, steps can then be taken towards relief. This involves generating an adjustment plan to alleviate pressure by resolving subluxations. Over time, as vertebrae are moved back into place, radiculopathy-induced pain will begin to subside.

Classifying radiculopathy

Another way CBP can be leveraged to effectively treat radiculopathy is through discovery. Because the first step in CBP is evaluative, chiropractors will receive qualitative and quantitative information from the patient that can be used to properly classify the condition. Patients may not think to mention radiating arm pain or deem it pertinent to talk about numbness in the legs. A complete CBP evaluation will bring these variables to light, narrowing the focus on radiculopathy as a concern.

If a patient’s condition is pinpointed as a variation of radiculopathy, effective treatment can begin immediately, before the condition has time to worsen. In this way, CBP spurs relief on quicker than treating for general discomfort or localized pain.

To learn more about radiculopathy and how the experts at Ideal Spine Health Center in Boise, ID utilize CBP to assess and address this spinal condition, get in touch with us today. We’re ready to provide you with a free evaluation, to yield insight into your spine’s health!

Chiropractic BioPhysics, or CBP, is one of the most scientific, researched, and results-oriented corrective care techniques. CBP-trained chiropractors aim to realign the spine back to health, eliminating nerve interference and addressing the source of pain, fatigue, and disease. As with all chiropractic care, CBP is gentle, painless, and non-invasive.