Size of Colorado Springs Disc Herniation in Canal Isnt That Important

Disc herniations abound! 76% of us have one. (1) Do all 76% 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 producing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR figures this out during the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are extras that can assist - or distract - the chiropractic back pain treatment approach if the doctor and patient let it. So let’s not let it! 

PERCENT OF SPINAL CANAL A DISC OCCUPIES DOESN’T MATTER

Some imaging studies or MRI images will illustrate huge discs in back pain sufferers who have minimal or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in awful pain may have a minimal disc herniation. It can be frustrating. Fortunately, 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 seen on MRI. (2) Another study of 368 patients diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation said 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 took up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That’s not much of a difference. Researchers wrote that this does not predict which patients will fail nonsurgical treatment and need surgery within 2 years after getting a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) In light of these findings, The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR chooses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Colorado Springs chiropractor is the Colorado Springs back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are accepted at The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR as the spinal research shows that, though painful, disc herniations large and little react well to conservative treatment. Actually, 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 showed a 16.5% decrease in size. 57% of patients had a reduction, 40% demonstrated no change in size, and 3% had a bigger 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) Colorado Springs back pain sufferers are grateful for such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR

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 Colorado Springs chiropractic appointment today. Regardless of its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at The Chiropractic TRUhealthDR.