Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI

MRIs are cool. They display some amazing images 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 decide whether a surgical or non-surgical approach is appropriate for back pain relief? Read on for the latest news.

The Usefulness of MRI

When a Vancouver patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms signal the need for an MRI, Vancouver Disc Centers orders one for such a Vancouver back pain patient. MRI may supplement your Vancouver 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 left? Vancouver chiropractic patients will often ask that of Vancouver Disc Centers. 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 examine 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 knows our Vancouver back pain patients wonder!

Knowing that doctors and patients find MRI images a curiosity when there is back pain and leg pain, some researchers planned to determine if MRI is of value in determining how treatment outcomes will be for patients who had a herniated lumbar disc with sciatica. 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 treat would love such a simple indicator! 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 – suggested a satisfactory outcome with either form of care. Another noteworthy 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) 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 wasn’t much variation in those classic studies either: 50% versus 53% non-surgical vs. surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical vs. non-surgical for sciatica (3).

Vancouver Disc Centers Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation

Vancouver Disc Centers encourages 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 create a non-surgical (and even potentially non-MRI!) treatment plan to lessen your back pain.

Schedule your Vancouver chiropractic appointment now.