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All I Want for Christmas is a Spine
Replacement
Dr. Don Parkerson, Jr.
Everyone seems to be getting their body
parts replaced or upgraded now. Hips,
knees, shoulders, noses, eyes, ears, hearts, and the list goes on and on. And now many patients tell me they'd really
love a new spine.
They say they’d like a spine that didn’t
go through those car accidents or the years of degeneration. They would love to get a new spine that
didn’t hurt when they played golf or picked up their grandchildren. If only the marvels of medical technology
could replace the spine like so many other body parts. Will this ever be possible?
The Upgrade Society
Americans have always wanted the best of everything. That ideology doesn’t stop with our cars and houses. Through modern science, we can all but create the perfect physical body surgically.
If you don’t like your nose, plastic
surgeons can build a new one. If your
chest isn’t the way you’d prefer, men can get pectoral implants and the ladies
can have breast implants. The same goes for buttock implants, if you so desire.
Don’t like your waistline? No problem - you can have liposuction. Better yet, you can have gastric bypass
surgery and just remove most of your stomach.
A Matter of Health
Of course, not all bodily improvements are a matter
of choice. A dear older patient of mine
once told me that everything that worked on her was artificial. Many of these advances have greatly enhanced
the quality of life for our senior population.
For instance, if the cartilage in your knees has
completely degenerated, you can get a brand new titanium knee joint. The same is true for the hips if your hip
joint capsule or upper leg is worn out.
Occasionally, even a non-weight bearing joint like the shoulder gets
replaced after years of deterioration.
If your eyes are failing, the Lasik procedure can
restore many patients to 20/20 vision.
Can’t hear? Cochlear implants and
hearing aids can help that. Losing your
teeth? Dental implants can give you a mouth
full of pearly whites.
And if situations really get serious, you can even
have your bodily organs replaced. Hearts
can be transplanted, kidneys can be donated, and a portion of one person’s
liver can save another’s life.
What About a Spine Replacement?
If nearly every other body part can be replaced, then
why can’t we create a new spine? Or, at
the very least, why can’t we just upgrade the most problematic portion of the
spine? What is it about the spine that
precludes replacement?
In the past 12 months, Zimmer, Inc. has sold over
$3.2 billion worth of titanium hips, knees, shoulders, teeth, and other medical
devices. They are the world’s leader in
discovering new ways to replace body parts.
If anyone was going to figure out how to replace the spine, it would be
the researchers at Zimmer. Yet, their
only solution to the spinal problems is more elaborate devices to carry out
surgical fusions.
Likewise, some prominent orthopedic clinics are now
performing titanium disc replacements.
Some of our patients have undergone these experimental procedures, with
mixed results at best. Very few medical
procedures have had less consistent success over the last 30 years than spinal
fusions.
In the end, the spine will never be replaced. No amount of research, medical technology, or
American ingenuity can ever duplicate the wondrous power held within our
spines. That power is the core of our
very being, the innate force that governs our body’s organs and systems.
That inherent power is within every spine and cannot
be reproduced by titanium replacement parts.
As such, we must work with that inborn potential to find the highest
level of function that each spine can attain.
We must adapt to each spine’s individual needs and overcome its
destructive histories. That is the true
essence of chiropractic.
For further information on this topic, you may contact Dr. Parkerson at
770.952.5353, by email at Parkerson@humberparkerson.com,
or visit our clinic on the web at www.HumberParkerson.com.
The Highest Level is the monthly e-mail newsletter of the
© Humber Parkerson
Clinic 2005
December 2005 issue of The Highest
Level
