Size of Baton Rouge Disc Herniation in Canal Is Not That Important
76% of us has a disc herniation. (1) Do 76% of us have back pain right now? Thankfully, no! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging isn’t the chief issue. The issue is whether that disc is causing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers determines this in the course of the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are extras that can assist - or distract - the chiropractic back pain treatment approach if the doctor and patient let it. So let’s not let it!
PERCENT OF SPINAL CANAL A DISC OCCUPIES DOESN’T MATTER
Some imaging studies or MRI images will illustrate huge discs in back pain sufferers who have minimal or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in unbearable pain may show a small disc herniation. It can be upsetting. Fortunately, research maintains that size isn’t everything. A study documented 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 diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation said that 91.3% of them did not undergo back surgery within a year. The surgery patients’ discs took up 31.5% of their spinal canal while the non-operative patients’ discs took up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That is not much of a variance. 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, Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.
CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE
Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Baton Rouge chiropractor is the Baton Rouge back pain specialist. Painful disc herniations are welcome at Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers as the spinal research shows that, though painful, disc herniations big and small react nicely to conservative treatment. As a matter of fact, in following up with patients who chose 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% reduction in size. 57% of patients showed a reduction, 40% showed no change in size, and 3% had a bigger herniation. (5) Particularly, conservative treatment of the disc herniation with flexion distraction Cox® Technic delivered increases in the dimensions of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) Baton Rouge back pain sufferers are grateful for such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.
CONTACT Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. George Joachim on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. Dr. Joachim shares the case of a patient with a disc herniation preoducing spinal stenosis that generated considerable pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was enhanced with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Baton Rouge chiropractic appointment today. Regardless of its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Medical Spine and Sports Injury and Rehab Centers.
