Size of Tonawanda Disc Herniation in Canal Isnt That Important
Disc herniations abound! 76% of us have one. (1) Do 76% of us have back pain right now? Nope! Thank goodness! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging is not the chief issue. The issue is whether that disc is producing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation figures this out during the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are extras that can help - or distract - the chiropractic back pain treatment approach if the doctor and patient let it. So let’s not allow it!
PERCENT OF SPINAL CANAL A DISC TAKES UP DOESN’T MATTER
Some imaging studies or MRI images will show huge discs in back pain sufferers who have little or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in excruciating pain may show a minimal disc herniation. It can be upsetting. Fortunately, research continues to comfort all involved by explaining that size is not everything. A research paper reported that there was no correlation of pain and disability with the size of a disc herniation found on MRI. (2) Another study of 368 patients who had a lumbar disc herniation said that 91.3% of them did not have back surgery within a year. The surgery patients’ discs took up 31.5% of their spinal canal while the non-surgical patients’ discs took up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That’s not much of a difference. Researchers report that this doesn’t predict which patients will fail nonoperative treatment and need surgery within 2 years after undergoing a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) With knowledge of these findings, Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.
CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE
Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Tonawanda chiropractor is the Tonawanda back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are welcome at Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation as the spinal research indicates that, though painful, disc herniations large and small respond nicely to conservative treatment. Actually, in following up with patients who had conservative treatment for their disc herniation, 35% to 100% of the cases showed a reduction in the size of the herniation. (4) Two years after conservative care, herniated disc patients showed a 16.5% decrease in size. 57% of patients had a reduction, 40% demonstrated no change in size, and 3% showed a larger herniation. (5) Particularly, conservative treatment of the disc herniation with flexion distraction Cox® Technic produced increases in the measurements of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) Tonawanda back pain sufferers are grateful for such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.
CONTACT Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. George Joachim on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. Dr. Joachim presents the case of a patient with a disc herniation preoducing spinal stenosis that generated considerable pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was improved with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Tonawanda chiropractic appointment today. Regardless of its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation.
