Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI
MRIs are cool. They show some amazing images of the body. Chiropractors appreciate spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is where chiropractors like your New York City chiropractor live day in and day out. Rosenberg Wellness Center values the MRI image study for what it is: a a piece of the diagnostic puzzle. 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 news.
The Usefulness of MRI
When a New York City patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms indicate the demand for an MRI, Rosenberg Wellness Center requests one for such a New York City back pain patient. MRI may supplement your New York City chiropractor’s clinical knowledge 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? New York City chiropractic patients will often ask that of Rosenberg Wellness Center. 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 look at MRI images of low back pain sufferers to see if there is any correlation between pain and no pain and the MRI pre and post treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Rosenberg Wellness Center is well aware that our New York City back pain patients wonder!
In noticing that doctors and patients find MRI images a curiosity when there is back pain and leg pain, a group of researchers planned 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 decide whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Rosenberg Wellness Center and the New York City chiropractic low back pain patients we care for 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 form of care. Another interesting finding: the size of the disc herniation at the beginning of caredid not affect the outcome. The two groups revealed significant difference in outcomes between them – surgical and conservative. (1) Rosenberg Wellness Center reads similar reports increasingly in the back pain research. Remember 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% 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).
Rosenberg Wellness Center Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation
Rosenberg Wellness Center encourages you to make a New York City chiropractic appointment today. Trust Rosenberg Wellness Center 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 lessen your back pain.
Schedule your New York City chiropractic appointment now.
