Size of Manahawkin Disc Herniation in Canal Is Not 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 chief issue. The concern is whether that disc is causing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Manahawkin Chiropractic Center figures this out during the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are extras that can help - 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 not a lot of or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in awful pain may show a minimal disc herniation. It can be frustrating. Luckily, research maintains that size is not everything. A study reported that there was no correlation of pain and disability with the size of a disc herniation found on MRI. (2) Another study of 368 patients diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation reported 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 occupied 31.2% of their spinal canals. That is not much of a difference. Researchers wrote that this doesn’t predict which patients will fail nonoperative treatment and need surgery within 2 years after getting a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) In light of these findings, Manahawkin Chiropractic Center chooses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.
CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE
Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Manahawkin chiropractor is the Manahawkin back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are accepted at Manahawkin Chiropractic Center as the spinal research shows that, though painful, disc herniations large and small react nicely to conservative treatment. Actually, in following up with patients who underwent conservative treatment for their disc herniation, 35% to 100% of the cases revealed a decrease in the size of the herniation. (4) Two years after conservative care, herniated disc patients had a 16.5% decrease in size. 57% of patients showed a reduction, 40% showed no change in size, and 3% showed a bigger herniation. (5) More specifically, 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) Manahawkin back pain sufferers are happy with such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
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 preoducing spinal stenosis that created considerable pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was enhanced with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Manahawkin chiropractic appointment today. Regardless of its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Manahawkin Chiropractic Center.
