Chiropractic Reduces Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI
MRIs are fascinating. MRIs display pretty pictures of the body. Chiropractors appreciate spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is your Augusta chiropractor’s realm! Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic 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 findings.
The Usefulness of MRI
When a Augusta patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms denote the demand for an MRI, Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic orders one for such a Augusta back pain patient. MRI may supplement your Augusta chiropractor’s clinical perception of the condition oftentimes (but not always!). Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies are intriguing. Did the disc herniation shrink now that the pain is gone? Augusta chiropractic patients will often ask that of Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic. And researchers will consider MRIs for their research studies on just such a question.
The Curiosity of MRI
Researchers aren’t the only ones who curiously study 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. Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic knows our Augusta back pain patients wonder!
In noticing that doctors and patients find MRI images a curiosity when there is back pain and leg pain, some 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 speculated whether MRI could help determine whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic and the Augusta chiropractic low back pain patients we care for 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 form of care. Another noteworthy finding: the size of the disc herniation at the beginning of caredid not affect the outcome. There was no significant difference in outcomes between the two groups – surgical and conservative. (1) Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic sees 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 difference in those classic studies either: 50% versus 53% non-surgical versus surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical versus non-surgical for sciatica (3).
Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation
Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic encourages you to make a Augusta chiropractic appointment today. Trust Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic to provide evidence-based chiropractic care that alleviates your spine pain many times without an MRI. Together, we can set a non-surgical (and even potentially non-MRI!) treatment plan to lessen your back pain.
Schedule your Augusta chiropractic appointment now.
