Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI
MRIs are cool. MRIs display pretty pictures of the body. Chiropractors like looking at spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is your Vancouver chiropractor’s realm! Vancouver Disc Centers appreciates the MRI image study for what it is: a a piece of the diagnostic puzzle. But MRIs are not always clinically necessary. Can MRI help determine whether a surgical or non-surgical approach is appropriate for back pain relief? Read on for the most recent findings.
The Usefulness of MRI
When a Vancouver patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms denote the demand for an MRI, Vancouver Disc Centers requests one for such a Vancouver back pain patient. MRI may supplement your Vancouver chiropractor’s clinical knowledge of the condition oftentimes (but not always!). Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies are intriguing. Did the disc herniation shrink now that the pain disappeared? Vancouver chiropractic patients will often ask that of Vancouver Disc Centers. And researchers will study MRIs for their research studies on just such a query.
The Curiosity of MRI
Researchers are not the only ones who curiously study MRI images of low back pain sufferers to ascertain if there is any connection between pain and no pain and the MRI pre and post treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Vancouver Disc Centers is well aware that our Vancouver back pain patients wonder!
Knowing that doctors and patients find MRI images a curiosity when there is back pain and leg pain, a group of researchers planned to determine if MRI is of value in determining how treatment outcomes will be for 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. Vancouver Disc Centers and the Vancouver 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 – indicated 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. The two groups revealed significant difference in outcomes between the two groups – surgical and conservative. (1) Vancouver Disc Centers sees similar reports more and more in the back pain research. Recall the Atlas studies of surgical and non-surgical interventions for back pain and sciatica? There was not much variation 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).
Vancouver Disc Centers Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation
Vancouver Disc Centers asks you to make a Vancouver chiropractic appointment today. Trust Vancouver Disc Centers 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 Vancouver chiropractic appointment now.
