Discs:
The COX protocol for the non-surgical care of herniated discs.
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Gentle Care:
Dr. Strasser emphasizes non-force and low impact chiropractic techniques as well as traditional chiropractic adjusting depending on your needs.
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Headaches & Migraine:
An Effective Natural, Drugless Program of Care.
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Cranial Therapy:
Combining Gentle Cranio-Sacral, Craniopathy and European Cranial techniques, Dr. Strasser provides a unique approach.
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Children:
For over 20 years, Dr. Strasser has specialized in treating Children and Adolescents. Dr, Strasser discusses his gentle approach to care.
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"I've never seen a doctor show so much concern, nor go so far out of his way to care for a patient...I think your method of adjustment is much easier for kids to handle than the more traditional ways..."
Judy K.
Portland, Oregon
Portland Oregon Chiropractor
DISCS: Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation and "Slipped Disc" in the Neck and Low Back with Arm Pain and Leg Pain
Arn Strasser DC
There is a solution to back and neck pain associated with bulging, "slipped" or herniated discs. Spinal specialists agree that a course of conservative, non-surgical care should be initiated before surgery is considered, except in rare cases such as cauda equina syndrome.
For twenty years, I have used a non-surgical protocol developed by Dr. James Cox to successfully treat disc conditions of the neck and low back with arm and leg pain . Cox disc decompression technique is a gentle, well-researched protocol that provides a rational, organized approach to care.
The Cox technique utilizes a specialized instrument, a flexion-distraction table, in conjunction with gentle chiropractic manipulative techniques to draw fluid and nutrients to the compressed disc. An injured disc has lost fluid and has an increase in inner-disc pressure. Cox protocol is a hands-on, precise, non-force approach.
Cox technique decompresses the disc and this lifts the disc away from the injured nerve and reduces inflammation.
Arm pain in cervical discs and leg pain in low back discs result from the compressed disc pushing against the nerve root and causing inflammation at the nerve root which causes radiating pain into the extremities.
Cox disc decompression increases motion to the facet joints. Facet joints, capsule-like ligaments on either side of the vertebra, allow movement of one vertebra on another. Maintaining motion in the facet joints is crucial to disc health. Disc deterioration and loss of disc height may shift balance of weight bearing to the facet joint.
Beginning in our 20's, imaging (MRI) studies of the spine show the beginnings of degeneration in the discs. Factors contributing to disc degeneration include the force of gravity, sitting for long periods, overloading the capacity of the discs such as lifting heavy loads, and hereditary factors.
As we age, our discs bulge and loses height and the area can become mechanically unstable. Tears can appear in the fibrous rings, called the annulus, that surround the gelatinous center of the disc. Risk factors for disc injury include lack of motion in the spine, pelvic and structural imbalances, lack of exercise and conditioning, weak abdominal and pelvic region strength, and long hours of sitting. Smoking decreases oxygen tension in the avascular disc and is an important ris factor.
With injury, discs can protrode or "slip" (bulging with an intact annulus), extrude (disc material breaking through annulous), or be sequestered (disc material is free in canal).
The injured, compressed disc is associated with inflammation and pressure against the nerve. Compression of the motor nerve results in muscle weakness. Compression of a sensory nerve results in numbness. Radicular pain results from inflammation of the nerve.
In my treatment of disc injuries, the precise manipulation associated with Cox technique is combined with physical therapy modalities such as electrotherapy, specialized exercises, and lifestyle and nutritional protocols to provide an integrated program of care.
An immediate goal of treatment is to provide relief of the neck or back pain, and the arm or leg pain, associated with the injured disc. More importantly, the goal is to restore optimum disc health, improve facet and joint motion, and improve muscle and spinal mechanics.
Some disc injuries cannot be treated successfully with conservative care. Cox protocol includes careful monitoring of signs so that disc injuries that are beyond the scope of conservative care are referred for neurosurgical consultation.
For the great majority of disc injuries, bulging and herniated discs, the gentle organized protocol of Cox technique provides a solution by treating the mechanical and chemical causes of injury. This provides not just temporary relief of symptoms, but long term preventive care.