Chiropractic Reduces Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI
MRIs are fascinating. They display some amazing images of the body. Chiropractors appreciate spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is where chiropractors like your San Jose chiropractor live day in and day out. Chiropractic Solutions values the MRI image study for what it is: a tool. But MRIs are not always a clinical necessity. Can MRI help determine whether to use non-surgical care or surgical care for back pain relief? Read on for the most recent findings.
The Usefulness of MRI
When a San Jose patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms denote the need for an MRI, Chiropractic Solutions requests one for such a San Jose back pain patient. MRI may enhance your San Jose chiropractor’s clinical knowledge of the condition oftentimes (but not always!). Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies are interesting. Did the disc herniation shrink now that the pain disappeared? San Jose chiropractic patients will often ask that of Chiropractic Solutions. And researchers will consider MRIs for their research studies on just such a query.
The Curiosity of MRI
Researchers are not the only ones who curiously survey MRI images of low back pain sufferers to check if there is any connection between pain and no pain and the MRI pre and post treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Chiropractic Solutions is well aware that our San Jose back pain patients wonder!
Knowing that doctors and patients dealing with back pain like MRIs, a group of researchers set out to determine if MRI is of value in determining how treatment outcomes will be for patients who had a herniated lumbar disc with sciatica. They speculated whether MRI could help determine whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Chiropractic Solutions and the San Jose chiropractic low back pain patients we treat would love such a simple guide! Study participants were randomly sent to surgical care or a course of prolonged conservative care. Two findings – a disc extrusion and nerve root compression on MRI in patients with less severe leg pain – signified a satisfactory outcome with either form of care. Another interesting finding: the size of the disc herniation at the beginning of care didn’t affect the outcome. The two groups revealed significant difference in outcomes between the two groups – surgical and conservative. (1) Chiropractic Solutions sees similar reports more and more in the back pain research. Remember the Atlas studies of surgical and non-surgical interventions for back pain and sciatica? There wasn’t much difference in those landmark studies either: 50% versus 53% non-surgical versus surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical vs. non-surgical for sciatica (3).
Chiropractic Solutions Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation
Chiropractic Solutions encourages you to make a San Jose chiropractic appointment today. Trust Chiropractic Solutions to provide evidence-based chiropractic care that relieves your spine pain many times without an MRI. Together, we can create a non-surgical (and even potentially non-MRI!) treatment plan to lessen your back pain.
Schedule your San Jose chiropractic appointment now.
