Adjust vertebrae

General

The adjustment of a vertebra is usually carried out when the mobility of individual vertebral bodies is restricted by a so-called blockage of the vertebra. The underlying blockages are a clinical picture of manual medicine for which only a few studies and research results are available. By setting up with a treating doctor who has an additional qualification in the field of manual medicine and chiropractic, typical complaints that occur in the context of the blockage can be eliminated. Since there are different studies with contradicting recommendations on how to carry out the straightening, and the measure is not associated with possible risks, there is currently no general recommendation that includes the straightening of vertebral bodies in certain clinical pictures.

Performing the setting

The straightening of a vertebral body is also known as unblocking. The adjustment can occur spontaneously during everyday movements, as well as with the help of certain measures.

However, the measure should only be carried out by a specially trained doctor who has previously been able to rule out other diseases with similar symptoms. There are a number of different measures that can provoke the straightening of a vertebral body. A distinction can be made between exercises that either the doctor performs on the patient or the patient himself, under supervision.
After adjusting the vertebra and loosening the blockage, symptoms usually improve immediately.

However, it should be noted that the straightening of vertebral bodies is not without controversy. There are contradicting study results that compare the effectiveness of the measure with the risks. Some studies have shown that manual straightening of the vertebral bodies is not significantly more effective than the administration of pain-relieving medication.

Manual adjustment is also critical because there are certain contraindications.
Since these may be overlooked, serious complications can arise which, as a rule, do not occur with medical and physical therapy.

Which doctor should I see?

There are different ways of adjusting a blocked vertebra.
In many cases, the blockage resolves spontaneously during everyday movements.

If this is not the case, manual adjustment may be indicated. The manual adjustment should be carried out by a doctor who has the additional qualification of manual medicine or chiropractic therapy.

Orthopedists often have this additional designation.
Non-orthopedists with the additional designation are often specialists in general medicine.
Physiotherapists can also receive the additional designation and are therefore also qualified to carry out manual straightening of a vertebral body.

Appointment with a back specialist?

I would be happy to advise you!

Who am I?
My name is dr. Nicolas Gumpert. I am a specialist in orthopedics and the founder of .
Various television programs and print media report regularly about my work. On HR television you can see me every 6 weeks live on "Hallo Hessen".
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The spine is difficult to treat. On the one hand it is exposed to high mechanical loads, on the other hand it has great mobility.

The treatment of the spine (e.g. herniated disc, facet syndrome, foramen stenosis, etc.) therefore requires a lot of experience.
I focus on a wide variety of diseases of the spine.
The aim of any treatment is treatment without surgery.

Which therapy achieves the best results in the long term can only be determined after looking at all of the information (Examination, X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, etc.) be assessed.

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Adjust vertebrae yourself

There are some exercises and application techniques that make it possible to adjust yourself. It is important to only perform the exercise to the extent described and not to try to force a result with careless force. Stop exercising as soon as you feel pain.

There is a risk of unintentional injuries. In the case of acute tension due to incorrect posture, the pain can be improved by reducing the vertebral bodies into the correct position.

A straightening will not help with chronic pain. If it is chronic back pain or an injury, an orthopedic surgeon or trauma surgeon must be consulted. Certainly, it is also advisable to consult a doctor in the event of frequent pain and to clarify in advance whether you will be able to adjust yourself. Stretching exercises are basically a supportive factor when it comes to poor posture and the associated need to straighten the back. Not too frequent adjusting is safe if it is done carefully. It shouldn't become a habit, however.

Do you have chronic back pain? - Then find out more about the here Therapy for chronic back pain - what works best?

Therapy according to Dorn

The Dorn Method describes a holistic therapeutic approach that is based on manual application, i.e. works with the hands and based on traditional Chinese medicine.

To adjust the back to Dorn, it is best to stand in front of a shelf where you can support yourself. Then you look for the vertebral body that is causing pain and while you exert pressure on the side of it with your thumb, you swing the leg on the same side forwards and backwards until you feel the pain relieved by a reduction in pressure.

Therapy with the Blackroll

A black roll is a foam roll that you can use to do stretching exercises against resistance through the floor or wall. The roller massages the muscles and thereby loosens them and can prevent injuries from incorrect movements.

You put the roll on the floor and place it between your shoulders. The feet are hip-width apart, the knees are bent and the lower back is raised.With the feet as a source of power, the roll is now rolled along the back from top to bottom, with the weight always shifting to the right or left in the lower back.

Risks

The potential risks of reducing one or more vertebrae are highly controversial.

It is important, however, that a detailed diagnosis should always be carried out before the measure is carried out in order to minimize the risk: by excluding serious illnesses, a large part of the risks can be prevented.

In particular with tumors of the spine or with herniated discs, a straightening should be avoided, as this can lead to serious consequences.

New studies have also been able to show that in rare cases the straightening of the vertebrae in the cervical spine can damage the arteries running there (aortic dissection) and, in the worst case, lead to a stroke.
Nerve damage can also occur. If the impulse is too strong and performed incorrectly, fractures are also possible.

Patients with known osteoporosis in particular should therefore not be adjusted.

Is it allowed to straighten a herniated disc?

In the event of a herniated disc, it is essential to discuss applications on the back with the attending physician.

Basically, it is not advisable to have any manual therapy carried out at the site of the herniated disc, not even by a physiotherapist or chiropractor during acute periods. The risk is too great to cause further injuries or worsen the damage. Therefore, you should refrain from straightening yourself in the event of a herniated disc. Complaints should be discussed with an orthopedic surgeon.

Adjusting vertebrae during pregnancy

During pregnancy, there is often stress on the muscles and the skeleton of the pregnant woman and thus also frequently in a vertebral body blockage.

Since the blockage is often associated with severe pain and restricted mobility, affected women also often seek treatment from a doctor.

Manual straightening of the vertebrae in pregnant women is usually just as possible as it is for non-pregnant women.
However, a comprehensive diagnosis should be carried out in order to exclude serious clinical pictures, which can also be associated with similar symptoms, and thus to minimize the risks of therapy.
Individual advice and the implementation of the therapy should always be provided by the treating doctor with the appropriate additional designation (see above).

Cause of vertebral blockage

The cause of a blockage in the vertebral bodies has not yet been fully researched. For a long time it was assumed that certain joints in the spine were mechanically blocked and that this led to the typical symptoms.

However, the data from current studies could show that activation of certain nerve fibers, which are responsible for the transmission of pain, lead to the clinical picture.
The pain fibers are activated by certain causes and lead to tension in the muscles which are localized on the back near the pain occurrence.

There are many reasons for the activation of the pain fibers. Chronic inappropriate stresses in particular are known to contribute to the development of the blockages.

In most cases, however, no cause for the development of the disease can be found.

Symptoms of a blocked vertebra

Typical symptoms which occur when one or more vertebral bodies are blocked and which are an indication for the straightening of the vertebrae are movement-dependent back pain.

It should be noted that if the vertebrae are blocked, the joint movement of the spine is never completely restricted.
In this way, the area of ​​the spine can continue to move in at least one direction, although there is a blockage. Muscle tension in the area of ​​the blockage is also noticeable. In many cases, blockages are symptom-free and resolve spontaneously through movements of the back in everyday life.

In the case of symptomatic courses, it is particularly important to rule out certain diseases that generally require different therapeutic methods. Symptoms of a herniated disc or so-called sciatica, in particular, speak against the existence of a blockage in individual vertebral bodies.

Back pain

Dragging is characteristic of vertebral blockage Pain on move, Which movement dependent occur.

So the pain usually occurs with movements of the Spine in a certain direction, while movements in other directions are often easily possible.

Since pain can also occur in the context of many other diseases, a comprehensive diagnostics take place by the attending physician.
Especially in the case of severe pain, it is important to rule out serious clinical pictures and then continue with the appropriate therapy.

Shoulder blade pain

Blockages often occur in the upper back between Shoulder blades on.

The shoulder blade itself, on the other hand, is rarely the cause of the pain of the blockage.
Since it is part of the Vertebral blockage usually too Muscle tension However, symptoms affecting the shoulder blade may occur.

Movements of the shoulder blade can therefore be painful if the muscles are tense, which occurs as part of the blockage.

The cause of this in these cases is often a blockage of one or more vertebral bodies in the area of ​​the Thoracic spine.

Pain in the neck

To release muscular tension and prepare for straightening, it helps to massage the neck muscles. An improvement in the pain by stretching the neck in all degrees of movement can help.

That means bending your head back and forth, turning it right and left, and tilting it right and left. In order to achieve a lowering, one can, for example, place the right palm on the right cheek - the ball of the hand should be placed under the lower jaw. Then the head is moved to the left by pressing on the ball of the right hand until the joints of the spine let out the typical crackling sound.

Do the same with the left hand on the other side. Alternatively, the hand can also be clenched into a fist and pressure against the lower jaw can be released with the fist. Another possibility is to sit at the desk and position your right elbow on the table and hold your chin with your right palm. The head is gripped with the left arm and the left hand is placed behind the right ear. In this position, the head is then rotated clockwise.

Thoracic / middle back pain

Standing or working in front of a screen for long periods of time often leads to pain in the thoracic spine and upper back. Before a reduction, it is also advisable to do some stretching of the back muscles in order to correct the posture and to stretch the ligaments of the back muscles.

In some cases, stretching itself solves the problem. An exercise is easiest to do in a chair, so it is recommended for work or school. You slide your buttocks up to the front edge of the chair, but your upper back touches the upper edge of the back of the chair.

With the palms of the hands on the forehead, slowly exhale so that the head and shoulders drop behind the back of the chair until it comes to the right position. An alternative while standing requires that you cross your hands behind your back on your spine with the backs of your hands pointing towards yourself. Then move your hands a few centimeters up the spine and lean back with your upper back until you feel the straightening.

What are the consequences of straightening?

If the adjustment is carried out carefully, not beyond pain and not too often, it is safe.

However, if it becomes a habit and is adjusted daily, in the long term this can damage the ligaments of the back muscles and lead to so-called hypermobility - a condition that is characterized by particularly strong flexibility of the ligaments and joints and reduced stability in the muscles concerned.

If there is an extremely frequent need for straightening, the cause should be found out with an orthopedic surgeon and, for example, posture should be improved by strengthening the spinal muscles.

Diagnosis of vertebral blockage

Before a blockage by straightening one or more whirl is fixed, the Diagnosis of a blockage by the attending physician secured. The anamnesis of the person concerned is in the foreground here, as the symptoms alone can provide a strong indication of the underlying disease. Then the physical examination of the affected and painful area of enormous importance, since a blockage usually with a tense muscles is associated with the affected area. By feeling the tense muscles and performing them special movement tests can diagnose a Vertebral blockage mostly be asked.

Carrying out a thorough medical history and physical examination is essential, as certain diseases with similar symptoms should be ruled out before starting therapy. This is especially important when symptoms of serious illnesses appear. To certain Contraindications for the manual adjustment of a vertebra to be able to rule out a X-ray examination occur.

Summary

The straightening of vertebrae can be done with a so-called Vertebral blockage represent a sensible therapy option. To resolve a blockage, doctors and physiotherapists with additional qualifications in manual medicine / chiropractic can be consulted. That is important precise diagnostics before the implementation of the measure, in order to be able to safely rule out contraindications for the adjustment. Both the therapy of the blockage by straightening, and the possible risks, are very controversial. In addition to setting in, there is also the possibility of a drug or physical therapy. Since the possibility of serious risks occurring especially when straightening the Cervical vertebrae cannot be ruled out, a detailed analysis of the indication for therapy should be carried out by the attending physician.