Chiropractic Reduces Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI
MRIs are fascinating. They show some great images of the body. Chiropractors like looking at spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is your West Des Moines chiropractor’s realm! Executive Chiropractic of Iowa appreciates the MRI image study for what it is: a a piece of the diagnostic puzzle. But MRIs are not always a clinical necessity. Can MRI help determine whether to use non-surgical care or surgical care for back pain relief? Read on for the most recent findings.
The Usefulness of MRI
When a West Des Moines patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms indicate the demand for an MRI, Executive Chiropractic of Iowa orders one for such a West Des Moines back pain patient. MRI may supplement your West Des Moines chiropractor’s clinical understanding of the condition oftentimes (but not always!). Pre-treatment and post-MRI images are interesting. Did the disc herniation reduce now that the pain is gone? West Des Moines chiropractic patients will often ask that of Executive Chiropractic of Iowa. And researchers will examine MRIs for their research studies on just such a query.
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 correlation between pain and no pain and the MRI at the beginning and end of treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa knows our West Des Moines 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 questioned if MRI could help determine whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa and the West Des Moines chiropractic low back pain patients we treat would love such a simple indicator! Study participants were randomized to surgery or prolonged conservative care. Two findings – a disc extrusion and nerve root compression on MRI in patients with less severe leg pain – indicated a satisfactory outcome with either form of care. Another interesting 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) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa sees similar reports increasingly in the back pain research. Recall the Atlas studies of surgical and non-surgical interventions for back pain and sciatica? There wasn’t 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).
Executive Chiropractic of Iowa Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation
Executive Chiropractic of Iowa invites you to make a West Des Moines chiropractic appointment today. Trust Executive Chiropractic of Iowa 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 reduce your back pain.
Schedule your West Des Moines chiropractic appointment today.
