Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI

MRIs are cool. MRIs display pretty pictures of the body. Chiropractors appreciate spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is your Severna Park chiropractor’s realm! Back And Neck Care Center 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 news.

The Usefulness of MRI

When a Severna Park patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms denote the demand for an MRI, Back And Neck Care Center orders one for such a Severna Park back pain patient. MRI may supplement your Severna Park chiropractor’s clinical perception of the condition oftentimes (but not always!).  Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies are interesting. Did the disc herniation reduce now that the pain left? Severna Park chiropractic patients will often ask that of Back And Neck Care Center. And researchers will study MRIs for their research studies on just such a query.

The Curiosity of MRI

Researchers aren’t the only ones who curiously examine MRI images of low back pain sufferers to check if there is any connection between pain and no pain and the MRI at the beginning and end of treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Back And Neck Care Center is well aware that our Severna Park back pain patients wonder!

In noticing that doctors and patients dealing with back pain like MRIs, 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. Back And Neck Care Center and the Severna Park 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 type of care. Another noteworthy finding:  the size of the disc herniation at the beginning of care didn’t affect the outcome. The two groups revealed significant difference in outcomes between the two groups – surgical and conservative. (1) Back And Neck Care Center reads similar reports more and more in the back pain research.  Remember the Atlas studies of surgical and non-surgical interventions for back pain and sciatica? There wasn’t much difference in those classic studies either: 50% versus 53% non-surgical vs. surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% vs. 61% surgical versus non-surgical for sciatica (3).

Back And Neck Care Center Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation

Back And Neck Care Center encourages you to make a Severna Park chiropractic appointment today. Trust Back And Neck Care Center 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 alleviate your back pain.

Schedule your Severna Park chiropractic appointment today.