76% of us has
a disc herniation. (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 matter is
whether that disc is causing pain either mechanically (by pressing
on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. 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 allow it. So let’s not let it!
PERCENT OF SPINAL CANAL A DISC TAKES UP
DOESN’T MATTER
Some imaging studies or MRI images will illustrate
huge discs in back pain sufferers who have not a lot of
or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in excruciating
pain may show a small disc herniation. It can be frustrating.
Fortunately, research continues to comfort all involved by
explaining that size is not everything. A study 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 diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation said
that 91.3% of them did not undergo back surgery within a year. The
surgery patients’ discs occupied 31.5%
of their spinal canal while the non-surgical patients’ discs took
up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That is not much of a
variance. Researchers wrote that this does
not predict which patients will fail nonoperative
treatment and need surgery within 2 years after getting
a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) With knowledge of these
findings, Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. uses conservative treatment of these
disc herniations.
CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE
Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your
Auburn chiropractor is the Auburn back pain specialist.
Painful disc herniations are welcome
at Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C. as the spinal research shows that, though
painful, disc herniations big and little react
nicely to conservative treatment. As a matter of fact,
in following up with patients who underwent conservative
treatment for their disc herniation, 35% to 100% of the cases showed
a decrease in the size of the disc. (4) Two
years after conservative care, herniated disc patients showed a 16.5%
decrease in size. 57% of patients showed 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 delivered
increases in the dimensions of the spinal canal by as much
as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) Auburn back pain
sufferers are grateful for such improvement in their disc
herniations as pain relief results.
CONTACT Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C.
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 significant
pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was enhanced with his
use of the
Cox®
Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Auburn chiropractic appointment
today. Regardless of its size, your disc herniation is in good
company and in good hands at Dr. Le's Chiropractic & Wellness, L.L.C..