Chiropractic Reduces Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI

MRIs are fascinating. MRIs display impressive pictures of the body. Chiropractors appreciate spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is where chiropractors like your Millville chiropractor live day in and day out. Wilson Family Chiropractic values the MRI image study for what it is: a tool. But MRIs are not always a clinical necessity. Can MRI help determine whether a surgical or non-surgical approach is appropriate for back pain relief? Read on for the most recent findings.

The Usefulness of MRI

When a Millville patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms indicate the demand for an MRI, Wilson Family Chiropractic arranges one for such a Millville back pain patient. MRI may supplement your Millville chiropractor’s clinical understanding of the condition oftentimes (but not always!).  Pre-treatment and post-MRI images are interesting. Did the disc herniation reduce now that the pain is gone? Millville chiropractic patients will often ask that of Wilson Family Chiropractic. And researchers will consider MRIs for their research studies on just such a question.

The Curiosity of MRI

Researchers aren’t the only ones who curiously survey 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. Wilson Family Chiropractic knows our Millville back pain patients wonder!

Knowing that doctors and patients find MRI images a curiosity when there is back pain and leg pain, some researchers set out to determine the value of MRI in predicting treatment outcomes in patients with sciatic leg pain due to a herniated lumbar disc. They speculated whether MRI could help determine whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Wilson Family Chiropractic and the Millville chiropractic low back pain patients we treat would love such a simple guide! Study participants were randomized to surgery or prolonged conservative care. Two findings – a disc extrusion and nerve root compression on MRI in patients with less severe leg pain – signified 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) Wilson Family Chiropractic reads 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 was not much variation in those landmark studies either: 50% vs. 53% non-surgical vs. surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical versus non-surgical for sciatica (3).

Wilson Family Chiropractic Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation

Wilson Family Chiropractic asks you to make a Millville chiropractic appointment today. Trust Wilson Family Chiropractic 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 alleviate your back pain.

Schedule your Millville chiropractic appointment today.