Size of New Roads Disc Herniation in Canal Is Not That Important

Disc herniations abound! 76% of us have one. (1) Do 76% of us have back pain right now? Thankfully, no! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging isn’t the important issue. The matter is whether that disc is causing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). New Roads Chiropractic Center figures this out during 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 allow it! 

PERCENT OF SPINAL CANAL A DISC TAKES UP DOESN’T MATTER

Some imaging studies or MRI images will show very large discs in back pain sufferers who have minimal or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in unbearable pain may show a minimal disc herniation. It can be annoying. Fortunately, research continues to comfort all involved by explaining that size isn’t everything. A research paper documented that there was no correlation of pain and disability with the size of a disc herniation seen on MRI. (2) Another study of 368 patients diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation reported 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-surgical patients’ discs occupied 31.2% of their spinal canals. That’s not much of a difference. Researchers report that this doesn’t predict which patients will fail nonsurgical treatment and need surgery within 2 years after undergoing a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) With knowledge of these findings, New Roads Chiropractic Center uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your New Roads chiropractor is the New Roads back pain specialist. Painful disc herniations are accepted at New Roads Chiropractic Center as the spinal research shows that, though painful, disc herniations large and little respond nicely to conservative treatment. Actually, in following up with patients who chose conservative treatment for their disc herniation, 35% to 100% of the cases showed a decrease 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% demonstrated no change in size, and 3% had a larger herniation. (5) More specifically, conservative treatment of the disc herniation with flexion distraction Cox® Technic produced increases in the dimensions of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) New Roads back pain sufferers are happy with such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT New Roads Chiropractic Center

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 resulting in spinal stenosis that created considerable pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was improved with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Schedule your New Roads chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at New Roads Chiropractic Center.