Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI

MRIs are cool. MRIs display impressive pictures of the body. Chiropractors appreciate spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is your Plainville chiropractor’s realm! Layden Chiropractic appreciates 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 denote the demand for an MRI, Layden Chiropractic orders one for such a Plainville back pain patient. MRI may enhance your Plainville chiropractor’s clinical perception 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? Plainville chiropractic patients will often ask that of Layden Chiropractic. And researchers will study MRIs for their research studies on just such a question.

The Curiosity of MRI

Researchers are not the only ones who curiously look at MRI images of low back pain sufferers to see if there is any connection between pain and no pain and the MRI at the beginning and end of 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 if MRI is of value in determining how treatment outcomes will be for patients who had a herniated lumbar disc with sciatica. They questioned if MRI could help decide 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 – signified 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 reads similar reports increasingly in the back pain research.  Remember the Atlas studies of surgical and non-surgical interventions for back pain and sciatica? There was not much variation 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).

Layden Chiropractic Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation

Layden Chiropractic asks you to make a Plainville chiropractic appointment today. Trust Layden Chiropractic to provide evidence-based chiropractic care that alleviates your spine pain many times without an MRI. Together, we can create a non-surgical (and even potentially non-MRI!) treatment plan to reduce your back pain.

Schedule your Plainville chiropractic appointment now.