Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI
MRIs are cool. They show some amazing images of the body. Chiropractors like looking at spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is your Plainville chiropractor’s realm! Layden Chiropractic values the MRI image study for what it is: a tool. But MRIs are not always a clinical necessity. Can MRI help determine whether a surgical or non-surgical approach is appropriate for back pain relief? Read on for the latest news.
The Usefulness of MRI
When a Plainville patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms indicate the need for an MRI, Layden Chiropractic requests one for such a Plainville back pain patient. MRI may enhance your Plainville chiropractor’s clinical knowledge of the condition oftentimes (but not always!). Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies are intriguing. Did the disc herniation shrink now that the pain left? Plainville chiropractic patients will often ask that of Layden Chiropractic. And researchers will examine MRIs for their research studies on just such a question.
The Curiosity of MRI
Researchers aren’t 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. Layden Chiropractic knows our Plainville back pain patients wonder!
Knowing that doctors and patients dealing with back pain like MRIs, a group of researchers planned to determine the value of MRI in predicting treatment outcomes in patients with sciatic leg pain due to a herniated lumbar disc. They questioned if MRI could help determine whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Layden Chiropractic and the Plainville 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 – suggested a satisfactory outcome with either type of care. Another noteworthy finding: the size of the disc herniation at the beginning of care didn’t affect the outcome. There was no significant difference in outcomes between them – surgical and conservative. (1) Layden Chiropractic 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 variation in those landmark studies either: 50% vs. 53% non-surgical versus surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical vs. non-surgical for sciatica (3).
Layden Chiropractic Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation
Layden Chiropractic invites you to make a Plainville chiropractic appointment today. Trust Layden Chiropractic 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 alleviate your back pain.
Schedule your Plainville chiropractic appointment now.
