Size of Severna Park Disc Herniation in Canal Isnt That Important

76% of us has a disc herniation. (1) Do 76% of us have back pain right now? Thankfully, no! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging isn’t the important issue. The matter is whether that disc is producing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Back And Neck Care Center determines this in the course of the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are tools that can assist - or distract - the chiropractic back pain treatment approach if the doctor and patient allow 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 awful pain may have a small disc herniation. It can be annoying. Fortunately, research continues to comfort all involved by explaining that size is not everything. A research paper documented 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 variance. Researchers report that this doesn’t predict which patients will fail nonoperative treatment and require surgery within 2 years after undergoing a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) In light of these findings, Back And Neck Care Center uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Severna Park chiropractor is the Severna Park back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are accepted at Back And Neck Care Center as the spinal research shows that, though painful, disc herniations big and little respond nicely to conservative treatment. As a matter of fact, in following up with patients who chose 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 had a 16.5% reduction in size. 57% of patients showed a reduction, 40% showed no change in size, and 3% had a larger herniation. (5) Particularly, conservative treatment of the disc herniation with flexion distraction Cox® Technic produced increases in the dimensions of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) Severna Park back pain sufferers are happy with such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT Back And Neck Care Center

Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. George Joachim on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. Dr. Joachim presents the case of a patient with a disc herniation resulting in spinal stenosis that created significant pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was enhanced with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Schedule your Severna Park chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Back And Neck Care Center.

 
Back And Neck Care Center reports on new research that again states that the size of a disc herniation doesn’t matter that much. 
« View All Spine Articles
"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."