Size of New York City Disc Herniation in Canal Is Not 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 chief issue. The issue is whether that disc is causing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Rosenberg Wellness 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 illustrate very large discs in back pain sufferers who have little or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in excruciating pain may show a small disc herniation. It can be frustrating. Luckily, research continues to comfort all involved by explaining that size is not everything. A study documented 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 who had a lumbar disc herniation stated that 91.3% of them did not undergo back surgery within a year. The surgery patients’ discs occupied 31.5% of their spinal canal while the non-surgical patients’ discs took up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That’s not much of a variance. Researchers wrote that this doesn’t predict which patients will fail nonoperative treatment and need surgery within 2 years after getting a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) With knowledge of these findings, Rosenberg Wellness Center chooses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.
CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE
Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your New York City chiropractor is the New York City back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are accepted at Rosenberg Wellness Center as the spinal research indicates that, though painful, disc herniations big and little react nicely to conservative treatment. As a matter of fact, in following up with patients who underwent conservative treatment for their disc herniation, 35% to 100% of the cases revealed a reduction 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 delivered increases in the measurements of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) New York City back pain sufferers are happy with such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.
CONTACT Rosenberg Wellness 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 considerable pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was improved with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your New York City chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Rosenberg Wellness Center.
