Bone-on-Bone, Bulging Discs, and Arthritis

by Judy Soborowicz, Active Health Chiropractic

We all know someone with pain due to arthritis, or perhaps you yourself have even been told that is the reason for your pain. Whether it’s arthritis in your shoulder, a disc bulge in your low back, or a knee that is bone-on-bone. We discover there is an anatomical change in our bodies responsible for our pain. It is often described as wear-and-tear, or simply normal aging, and we are told there is not much that can be done. It is only a matter of time before surgery once we can’t bear the pain anymore.

This story, despite being very common, is not quite the whole picture nor how the body functions. Anatomical changes like arthritis and disc bulges are not the cause of pain—rather, both are symptoms of nerve flow interference, correctable through chiropractic. In fact, many people have anatomical changes, like arthritis or a disc bulge, and seemingly experience no additional pain or symptoms. For example, a 2015 study in the American Journal of Neuroradiology found nearly one in three pain-free twenty-year-olds have a disc bulge, while a whopping two-thirds of people over sixty also have a disc bulge with no back pain.¹ That being said, we all know someone dealing with terrible pain who also has a disc bulge or arthritis. This happens because the pain, degeneration, disc bulges, and arthritis are all symptoms of the same cause: nerve flow interference. More specifically, nerve flow interference leading to reduced nerve system function.

Our nerve system is responsible for every function of our body including how we move and stabilize. Healthy nerve flow supports proper function, stabilizing and controlling our movements, which protects and heals our joints from the wear and tear that leads to arthritis. In contrast, inadequate nerve flow leads to instability and more irritation on our joints, ultimately ending with what we call bone-on-bone, bulging disc, and arthritis. So, the reason many folks are able to live pain free with a disc bulge or arthritis, while others experience intense pain with little to no arthritis or degeneration, is nerve system health and functioning nerve flow. By looking beyond the painful disc bulge and toward our nerve system function as a whole, we can prevent and help reverse painful arthritis. So before resorting to major surgery for arthritis, many people look to chiropractic for help. Chiropractic is the only healthcare profession uniquely trained to detect interference and restore nerve system function.

The story of bone-on-bone, arthritis, and disc bulges is not a prophecy of inevitable surgery, and is not written in bone—it is composed in the stability of our nerve system. Each one of us is capable of improving nerve system function by reducing nerve flow interference, and restoring proper stability. Join the millions who have experienced the benefits of restoring nerve system function as the cause, and improving nerve flow through natural chiropractic.

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25430861/