West Des Moines Chiropractic Care for Thoracic Disc Herniation
The thoracic spine, the middle section of your spine, gets ignored. “Mid back pain” doesn’t simply come out of your mouth in quite the same way as “neck pain” and “back pain” or “arm pain” and “leg pain”. But the thoracic spine can have pain of its own. A thoracic disc herniation may be associated with seemingly dissimilar conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, painful or frequent urination. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa does talk about the thoracic spine and its mid-back pain. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa gently cares for the thoracic spine’s mid-back pain to effectively relieve it.
THORACIC DISC HERNIATION
The frequency of thoracic disc herniation in asymptomatic people is 11-37%. It’s not as rare as we think. Two studies described abdominal wall bulges: A patient later diagnosed with a thoracic disc herniation at T11-12 on MRI imaging presented with a lateral abdominal wall bulge that shrank 8 months later as the disc herniation got better. (1) Another two similar cases with herniations at T12-L1 and T10-11 and T11-12 had paresis of the abdominis muscle. After conservative treatment, muscle strength returned to normal in 3 to 6 months. (2) Symptoms of thoracic disc herniation can range from abdominal pain, constipation, urinary incontinence, anesthesia or lack of anal reflex, bowel dysfunction, nausea, to irritable bowel among other issues. (3) A couple other studies report on the incidence of gastrointestinal and gastrourinary issues with thoracic disc herniations. In a study of 100 patients with thoracic disc herniation, 95% had one or more digestive-urologic symptoms, but only 3% had the diagnosis of thoracic disc protrusion. 70.76% of thoracic disc herniations occurred below the T7 level. Most were central herniations (65.25%). 85% of thoracic disc herniation patients with abdominal pain tested positive in the DN4 test for neuropathic pain in contrast with only 8% in the control group. 77% of the patients had abdominal pain (and 16.88% of them had had a surgery to get rid of the pain to find that they still have the same pain after surgery). 90% of thoracic disc pain patients have back pain, 43% have pubic pain, 35% have genital area pain, 66% have lower limb pain. (4) Thoracic disc herniation sufferers often have these issues – chronic abdominal pain, digestive issues, and urological symptoms. Another researcher described two patients with T10-11 herniations who showed moderate lower extremity weakness, increased patellar tendon reflex, and sensory disturbance of the whole lower extremities. (5) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa does a complete examination to determine how a thoracic disc herniation is affecting our West Des Moines chiropractic mid-back pain patients.
EXAMINATION
Gastrointestinal surgeons are very likely to see patients with thoracic disc herniation since their symptoms are gastrointestinal and/or gastrourinary in nature but without any organic reason for them. A reliable test to discover whether the abdominal pain is due to issues with the abdomen or a visceral issue is Carnett’s Sign. It’s highly documented for its sensitivity of 78 to 85% and specificity of 88 to 97%. (6) It leads the examining physician to the source of pain! For West Des Moines patients with mysterious abdominal pain or strange abdominal wall bulges, consult Executive Chiropractic of Iowa who understands the connection of these problems to the thoracic disc herniation. Gentle, chiropractic spinal manipulation with Cox® Technic to the thoracic spine may help relieve pain and symptomatology of the thoracic disc herniation.
CONTACT Executive Chiropractic of Iowa
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kurt Olding on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson who really knows and understands the unusual but significant thoracic disc herniation. Dr. Olding describes the thoracic disc herniation and its symptomatology as well as its relieving treatment with Cox® Technic.
Schedule a West Des Moines chiropractic appointment at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa for your thoracic spine and its mid-back issues. Executive Chiropractic of Iowa does not ignore the thoracic spine, and you shouldn’t either!
