About Toronto Spondylolisthesis

You loved sports as a kid. You ran and jumped and wrestled with the best of them. Then you had an injury that may have slowed you down for a bit, but didn't quite stop you. Until a later time in your life, like now. 

Spondylisthesis is the forward slipping of one vertebra (See arrow.), usually L5, upon the one below.

Spondylolisthesis commonly occurs in combination with disc degeneration and spinal arthritis.

xray of spondylolisthesis 

 Graphic Animation of Spondylolisthesis

Spondylolisthesis takes on two forms: one with a fracture ("true") and one without a fracture ("pseudo").

• the forward slippage of one vertebra on the vertebra below
• caused by a stress fracture in the middle section of a vertebra called the pars interarticularis.
• Such fractures occur typically between the ages of 7 to 10 years.  
• This stress fracture is due to repeated stresses applied to a weakened area of bone by contact sports like football, hockey, injury, etc. As a matter of fact, it is reported that up to 30% of baseball players have spondylolisthesis. 
• If you have true spondylolisthesis, you join the select group of 6% of people who have this condition.

"Pseudo-spondylolisthesis"

• 25% of spondylolisthesis cases are not caused by the stress fracture as "true" spondylolisthesis cases are described.
• Degenerative spondylolisthesis is a more apt term for this type of spondylolisthesis as it is caused by disc degeneration or other congential conditions such as facet asymmetry or elongated pars interarticularis.   
• It occurs secondarily to facet arthritis and disc degeneration.
• The L4-5 level is the most common level affected with L3 being the next.
• More women than men are affected. 
• It is mostly seen in people over 50 years of age.
• Long-standing degenerative processes in the spine are the culprits, creating instability in the spine.

A thorough, clinical examination that may include imaging is important to your recovery.

In office, Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre uses Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression to widen the canal space, drop the intradiscal pressure and increase the disc height to relieve pain.

You will welcome the Cox Technic manipulation that gently "pulls you apart," as many patients describe the treatment or say they need. Depending on the severity of your pain and symptoms, gentler Protocol I may be applied until 50% relief of pain or more restoring Protocol II may be applied to guide your recovery. 

In office adjunctive care may hasten your recovery.

The 1000 cases study of low back pain patients showed that 95% of spondylolisthesis patients attained maximum improvement in less than 90 days and 90% needed less than 30 visits.

If you implement suggestions from Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre to control spondylolisthesis' symptoms, it responds quite nicely to very gentle Cox Technic though it may take a few more visits than other conditions.

Interestingly, reducing the pain of spondylolisthesis varies inversely with the amount of force of the treatment, meaning that you may feel the doctor needs to use more pressure to treat you, but clinically it is found that the more gentle the flexion-distraction distraction treatment, the better the response of spondylolisthesis.

Tight hamstrings are quite common in symptomatic spondylolisthesis cases. You will be shown special exercises to stretch your hamstrings. Flexible hamstrings allow you to flex and lift with less stress on your low back.

You may experience no pain with spondylolisthesis, but know that if you have slight pain in the low back or severe pain down the leg, your doctor using Cox Technic to adjust the spine and reduce the stress created by the slippage of the vertebra can help relieve your pain. Contact Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre today.

At home you may want to avoid sitting for long periods of time, wear a support brace if recommended, take nutritional supplements that help rebuild disc cartilage, do exercises that strengthen your spine, sleep on a supportive mattress, sit in an ergonomically designed chair, and modify your daily activities as needed.

• Case report of a US Veteran treated for spondylosis and spondylolisthesis
• Degenerative Spondylolisthesis At L4 With Spinal Stenosis - Flexion Distraction Manipulation Or Surgical Fusion?
• Degenerative Disc Disease Of The Lumbar Spine With Spondylolisthesis Treated With Cox® Decompression Adjusting
• Lumbar Spine Degenerative Disc Disease With Spondylolisthesis Treated With Cox® Decompression Adjusting
• Spondylolisthesis at L5 in a Truck Driver, Long-Standing Low Back and Leg Pain, Relieved with Cox® Decompression Adjusting
• MRI Study of a patient who was surgically fused at L4-5-S1 for low back and lower extremity pain due to degenerative spondylolisthesis of both L4 and L5 segments
• Cox® Distraction Treatment of True L5-S1 spondylolisthesis with L5 nerve root sciatic radiculopathy
• Chronic Intractable Pain with C5/6 fusion, spondylolisthesis, T11/12 disc, and fibromyalgia Relieved by Cox Technic 
• Cox® Distraction Treatment Of Multi-Level Degenerative Spondylolisthesis With L3-S1 Central And Lateral Recess Stenosis
• Pain from Spondylolisthesis and Disc Herniation in a 37 year old Female Relieved with Cox Technic
• Cox® Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression Treatment of L3-L4 Degenerative Spondylolisthesis and Spinal Stenosis and a Transitional L5 Vertebral Segment (Bertolotti’s Syndrome)
• Disc Herniation with Spondylolisthesis Treated with Cox Technic
• Cox Technic Relieves Chronic Low Back Pain and Leg Pain due to Degenerative Spondylolisthesis and Stenosis

Contact Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre about pain relief for your spondylolisthesis.