Size of West Des Moines Disc Herniation in Canal Isnt That Important
Disc herniations abound! 76% of us have one. (1) Do 76% of us have back pain right now? Nope! Thank goodness! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging isn’t the important issue. The concern is whether that disc is causing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Executive Chiropractic of Iowa figures this out in the course of the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are extras that can assist - or distract - the chiropractic back pain treatment approach if the doctor and patient let it. So let’s not allow it!
PERCENT OF SPINAL CANAL A DISC TAKES UP DOESN’T MATTER
Some imaging studies or MRI images will show very large discs in back pain sufferers who have minimal or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in excruciating pain may show a minimal disc herniation. It can be upsetting. Fortunately, research continues to comfort all involved by explaining that size isn’t everything. A study documented that there was no correlation of pain and disability with the size of a disc herniation seen on MRI. (2) Another study of 368 patients diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation said that 91.3% of them did not have back surgery within a year. The surgery patients’ discs took up 31.5% of their spinal canal while the non-operative patients’ discs took up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That’s not much of a difference. Researchers wrote that this does not predict which patients will fail nonsurgical treatment and need surgery within 2 years after getting a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) In light of these findings, Executive Chiropractic of Iowa uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.
CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE
Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your West Des Moines chiropractor is the West Des Moines back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are welcome at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa as the spinal research indicates that, though painful, disc herniations big and little react nicely to conservative treatment. Actually, in following up with patients who had conservative treatment for their disc herniation, 35% to 100% of the cases showed a decrease in the size of the disc. (4) Two years after conservative care, herniated disc patients showed a 16.5% reduction in size. 57% of patients had a reduction, 40% showed no change in size, and 3% showed a bigger herniation. (5) Particularly, conservative treatment of the disc herniation with flexion distraction Cox® Technic delivered increases in the dimensions of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) West Des Moines back pain sufferers are happy with such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.
CONTACT Executive Chiropractic of Iowa
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. George Joachim on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. Dr. Joachim shares the case of a patient with a disc herniation resulting in spinal stenosis that generated significant pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was improved with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your West Des Moines chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Executive Chiropractic of Iowa.
