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Orthopedics 210 — at a Glance
| Course: | Inflammatory Properties of Contained and Non-Contained Disc Disease · 2 PACE-approved CE hours |
| Faculty: | Howard Benedikt, DC, DCBCN · Clinical Nutrition Faculty, CCEDseminars |
| Format: | On-demand online video with assessment · downloadable handouts · instant certificate |
| Pricing: | $20/hr · automatic 10% off at 6–9 hrs, 20% off at 10+ hrs in one order · no promo codes |
| Approval: | PACE Provider #34015544 · co-sponsored by Texas Chiropractic College · acceptance varies by state |
Board-approved · PACE Provider #34015544 · CE Broker auto-reporting for states served · Instant certificate
Two patients with the same lumbar disc herniation on MRI can have very different pain, and the difference is often biochemical rather than mechanical. Orthopedics 210 draws the line between the contained herniation — nucleus still inside an intact annulus — and the non-contained herniation whose extruded nuclear material contacts epidural and foraminal tissue and provokes an aggressive inflammatory cascade of IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha and phospholipase A2 that sensitizes the nerve and drives radicular pain.
Dr. Howard Benedikt, the Orthopedics library’s clinical nutritionist, follows the cascade from the disc to the chart: how inflammation drives disc disease pathophysiology, the biomarkers — C-reactive protein, sedimentation rate, cytokine panels — that let the clinician measure inflammatory burden and track treatment response, and the natural remedies, nutritional interventions, joint restoration strategies and peripheral neuropathy management that align chiropractic’s conservative philosophy with the biochemistry of the degenerating disc.
Choose Your Orthopedics Path — Three Lanes, One Curriculum
The Orthopedics library — twenty-six courses by five CCEDseminars faculty: John Riggs III, MBA, DC, DIANM; Steven Yeomans, DC, FACO; Michael Hall, DC, FIACN; Dennis O’Hara, DC, DACBSP; and Howard Benedikt, DC, DCBCN — organizes into three working lanes: trace the nerve, evaluate the joint, and catch the presentations that change management. Orthopedics 201–224 together form the 48-hour Clinical Chiropractic Orthopedics Certification (CCO). Two hours each.
1 · Gut, Microbiome, Digestion and Detoxification
Dr. Riggs’ designed three-course sequence — the entrapment map from the shoulder girdle to the tarsal tunnel: median, ulnar and radial nerve entrapments of the upper limb, the thoracic outlet and scapular syndromes, piriformis, meralgia paresthetica, peroneal and tarsal tunnel — plus the athlete’s stinger.
201: Upper Extremity Entrapment Syndromes
202: Trunk & Upper Extremity Entrapment Syndromes
203: Nerve Entrapments of the Pelvis and Lower Extremities
221: Burner Syndrome
2 · Brain, Mood, Stress and the Nervous System
Regional evaluation and management down the kinetic chain — the joints your schedule is made of: the rotator cuff and the frozen shoulder, the neck-and-shoulder file, the hip, plica syndrome at the knee, the foot and ankle, Achilles tendinitis, the chronically unstable ankle, and the stress fracture that hides as focal pain.
204: Rotator Cuff Syndrome
206: Frozen Shoulder Evaluation
212: The Neck & Shoulder
215: Orthopedic Conditions of the Foot and Ankle
216: Plica Syndrome
217: Achilles Tendinitis
218: The Floppy Ankle
219: The Hip
225: Stress Fractures
3 · Musculoskeletal, Immune, Hormonal and Clinical Conditions
Stability testing, functional assessment and the presentations that demand recognition — cervical instability and position sense, cauda equina, dropped head syndrome, cervicovagopathy, gait and the lumbar spine, the Romberg sign and flexibility benchmarks — plus the chronic pain, inflammation and breathing science underneath. You are here: Orthopedics 210.
205: Cervical Spine Instability: The How-To
207: Finger to Floor & Sit-n-Reach
208: Managing Chronic Pain
209: The Romberg Sign
210: Inflammatory Properties of Contained and Non-Contained Disc Disease
211: Cervical Position Sense Testing
213: Coronal Plane Movement & Neuroplasticity
214: Cauda Equina & Lumbar Radiculopathy
220: Cervicovagopathy
222: Dropped Head Syndrome
223: Chronic Inflammation and Close Relationships
224: Breathe — Mouth Breathing and Health
226: Gait & the Lumbar Spine
Every course in the series is 2 PACE-approved CE hours at $40, and the automatic bundle discounts apply across the whole lane. The full 26-course catalog continues on the Orthopedics category page.
What You’ll Learn in Orthopedics 210
Understand the distinct inflammatory properties of contained and non-contained disc herniations and their clinical implications.
Explain how inflammation drives disc disease pathophysiology and contributes to chronic pain and radiculopathy.
Identify and interpret inflammatory biomarkers in patients presenting with disc-related pain and radicular symptoms.
Discuss evidence-based natural management strategies for reducing disc inflammation and supporting joint restoration.
Your Orthopedics Faculty
Howard Benedikt, DC, DCBCN — instructor of this course. Board-certified chiropractic clinical nutritionist, Diplomate and President of the Chiropractic Board of Clinical Nutrition, with more than 30 years in clinical nutrition and functional medicine. He authors the CCEDseminars Nutrition library and brings the inflammation biochemistry under the biomechanics to the Orthopedics series — here, why a non-contained herniation hurts differently, the cytokines behind it, the biomarkers that track it and the natural anti-inflammatory strategies that address it.
Full bio and the complete instructor roster: CCEDseminars faculty page.
Where Orthopedics CE Hours Count — State Rules Worth Knowing
Orthopedics coursework is clinical subject matter — examination, diagnosis and case management — which is exactly what several state boards ask for. In Iowa, these hours serve the 36-hour clinical case-management minimum; in Rhode Island, they address the 50-of-60 clinical requirement; and in Vermont — where practice-building coursework earns nothing — patient-care education like this counts fully under the clinical-focus rule.
Online-format allowances still vary by state — some accept every hour online, others cap distance learning or require in-person blocks. Check your state’s guide in the full state directory before building your renewal plan.
Build Your Orthopedics Block — or Take the Credential
Every course in the Orthopedics series runs 2 hours at $40, so the automatic discounts do the bundling for you: 6–9 hours in one order earns 10% off, and 10 or more earns 20% off — any ten courses from the series is 20 hours, which clears the 20% tier at roughly $320 instead of $400, with no promo codes. Inflammatory Properties of Contained and Non-Contained Disc Disease pairs naturally with Orthopedics 214 on cauda equina and lumbar radiculopathy and Orthopedics 208 on managing chronic pain; the three together reach 6 hours and the 10% tier. Pursuing the credential? The Clinical Chiropractic Orthopedics Certification (CCO) packages Orthopedics 201–224 — 48 hours — in a single $960 checkout. Browse Orthopedics Courses
Orthopedics 210 — Frequently Asked Questions
What does Orthopedics 210 cover?
Orthopedics 210 covers the inflammatory properties of contained and non-contained disc herniations for chiropractors: how the two differ, the pro-inflammatory cytokines released by extruded nuclear material, inflammation’s role in disc disease pathophysiology and radiculopathy, the clinical evaluation of inflammatory biomarkers, natural remedies for pain and inflammation, joint restoration strategies and the management of peripheral neuropathy associated with disc disease. Also known as the disc inflammation course, the disc herniation biochemistry course, or the inflammatory biomarkers course for chiropractors.
What is the difference between a contained and a non-contained disc herniation?
In a contained herniation the nucleus pulposus remains inside an intact annulus fibrosus; in a non-contained herniation the nuclear material breaches the annulus and reaches the epidural or foraminal space. The extruded nucleus provokes a markedly stronger inflammatory response — IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha and phospholipase A2 — which directly sensitizes nociceptors and helps explain why some radiculopathies hurt far more than the imaging predicts.
Can blood tests show inflammation from a herniated disc?
They can measure inflammatory burden — C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and, where available, cytokine panels — and that is how the course uses them: not to diagnose the disc, which imaging does, but to quantify the inflammatory load in a patient with disc pain or radiculopathy and to track whether the care plan is reducing it.
How is this different from Orthopedics 214, Cauda Equina & Lumbar Radiculopathy?
Orthopedics 214 is the clinical red-flag course — recognizing cauda equina syndrome and lumbar radiculopathy, the signs that demand urgent referral, and the newer research on fatty infiltration and sympathetic sensitization. Orthopedics 210 is the biochemistry underneath: why the non-contained disc inflames the root, how to measure that inflammation and how to reduce it conservatively. Take both for the mechanical and the chemical sides of disc disease.
How many CE hours is it, and where does it sit in the Orthopedics series?
It is 2 PACE-approved CE hours. Orthopedics 210 sits in the spine, stability and red-flags lane of the Orthopedics series with Dr. Howard Benedikt, alongside Orthopedics 208 (Managing Chronic Pain), 214 (Cauda Equina & Lumbar Radiculopathy), 223 (Chronic Inflammation and Close Relationships) and 226 (Gait & the Lumbar Spine).
State Approval and Licensing Reminder
Continuing education requirements — including online-hour caps and clinical-hour minimums — vary by jurisdiction. Review the online chiropractic CE guidelines page and contact CCEDseminars with questions about your specific licensing requirements before registering.
Ready to Enroll in Orthopedics 210?
The disc on the MRI and the pain in the chair are connected by a cytokine cascade you can measure and treat. Two hours here give you the contained-versus-non-contained distinction, the biomarkers and the natural anti-inflammatory plan.
CCEDseminars · PACE Provider #34015544 · Reviewed by Monte Horne, DC · Last updated September 2026 (CT)