Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI
MRIs are cool. They display some amazing images of the body. Chiropractors appreciate spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is where chiropractors like your Fort Wayne chiropractor live day in and day out. Aaron Chiropractic Clinic values the MRI image study for what it is: a a piece of the diagnostic puzzle. But MRIs are not always clinically necessary. 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 Fort Wayne patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms signal the demand for an MRI, Aaron Chiropractic Clinic orders one for such a Fort Wayne back pain patient. MRI may supplement your Fort Wayne chiropractor’s clinical knowledge of the condition oftentimes (but not always!). Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies are intriguing. Did the disc herniation shrink now that the pain is gone? Fort Wayne chiropractic patients will often ask that of Aaron Chiropractic Clinic. And researchers will examine MRIs for their research studies on just such a query.
The Curiosity of MRI
Researchers are not the only ones who curiously examine MRI images of low back pain sufferers to see if there is any correlation between pain and no pain and the MRI at the beginning and end of treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Aaron Chiropractic Clinic is well aware that our Fort Wayne back pain patients wonder!
In noticing that doctors and patients dealing with back pain like MRIs, some researchers set out to determine the value of MRI in predicting treatment outcomes in patients who had a herniated lumbar disc with sciatica. They questioned if MRI could help decide whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Aaron Chiropractic Clinic and the Fort Wayne chiropractic low back pain patients we care for would love such a simple indicator! Study participants were randomly sent to surgical care or a course of prolonged conservative care. Two findings – a disc extrusion and nerve root compression on MRI in patients with less severe leg pain – suggested a satisfactory outcome with either type of care. Another noteworthy 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) Aaron Chiropractic Clinic sees similar reports increasingly in the back pain research. Recall the Atlas studies of surgical and non-surgical interventions for back pain and sciatica? There was not much difference in those classic studies either: 50% versus 53% non-surgical versus surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical versus non-surgical for sciatica (3).
Aaron Chiropractic Clinic Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation
Aaron Chiropractic Clinic encourages you to make a Fort Wayne chiropractic appointment today. Trust Aaron Chiropractic Clinic 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 reduce your back pain.
Schedule your Fort Wayne chiropractic appointment today.
