This is a transcript of a Dr. Jay Show broadcast on 1560TheGame in Houston, TX. Dr. J. Michael Bennett is a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon and a Fellowship Trained Sports Medicine Physician serving patients from Katy, Fort Bend County, Metro Houston and Southeast Texas from offices in Houston and Sugar Land, TX. Call 281-633-8600 for an appointment.
Our special guest for the show was Dr. Benoy Benny. He is a physical medicine rehabilitation physician, and he is board certified for pain and spine as well as for minimally invasive procedures in spine. He’s also a professor at Baylor College of Medicine. Bob Lewis of 1560TheGame is also a guest on the show.
Here’s the transcript of the eighth section of the Show:
DR. J. MICHAEL BENNETT: I’ve got a great question. My wife always has me pop her back, which drives me crazy. She’s like, “I’ve got to pop my back, I’ve got to pop my back, it’s not feeling good and it’s got to pop.” There’s a lot of people out there that it’s the same way. I’ve got a buddy of mine that also complains all the time about his back, and we’re working out, and I think he’s actually trying to get out of the workout, personally. But he’s got the same type of thing. So do manipulations help? Does popping the back help? First off, what exactly is popping the back? And secondly, manipulations. There’s a lot of chiropractors out there that do a lot of these manipulations which I think do help some patients, but can you tell us a little bit about that and what’s the downside and the dangers involved?
DR. BENOY BENNY: There’s not a lot of data that we have to support one thing or another and really, with manipulating your back, you’re doing a few things. You’re moving the muscles in a range more than it’s normally used to moving. And you’re moving the joints in a range that it’s normally not used to being able to move. You’re releasing some fluid. It’s the releasing of synovial fluid and with that release of that it’s releasing the tension, and then people feel better. Does it work? On some people, absolutely. They’ll swear by it. They’ll go to their chiropractor, they’ll get manipulated, and it works. Does it work for everybody? Absolutely not. I think the thing to make sure of is that you don’t have anything imminent going on in your spine before you do it. So if you’re having any neurologic changes, I would not suggest going and getting popped or manipulated. But if you’re not having any of that, I think it’s something that’s worth trying. And there are good chiropractors and not so good chiropractors just like with anything in life. To me the good chiropractors are the ones who can work on you and then teach you techniques that you can use on yourself at home so you don’t have to come there every day of the month.
DR. BENNETT: Right and I think it’s important to know the neurologic symptom thing. It really can make a big difference. If you manipulate, sometimes that can create a situation for that disc to herniate. So that little bit of a nerve tingle you have, you go and get a manipulation and your arm now is weak and at your sides.
If you have questions about a sports medicine or orthopedics issue, please call our office at 281-633-8600.
