Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI
MRIs are cool. MRIs display impressive pictures of the body. Chiropractors like looking at spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is your Montreal chiropractor’s realm! Dr. Hoang's 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 decide 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 Montreal patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms signal the demand for an MRI, Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic requests one for such a Montreal back pain patient. MRI may enhance your Montreal chiropractor’s clinical knowledge of the condition oftentimes (but not always!). Pre-treatment and post-MRI images are interesting. Did the disc herniation reduce now that the pain left? Montreal chiropractic patients will often ask that of Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic. And researchers will consider MRIs for their research studies on just such a query.
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. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic knows our Montreal back pain patients wonder!
In noticing that doctors and patients dealing with back pain like MRIs, a group of researchers planned to determine if MRI is of value in determining how treatment outcomes will be for patients with sciatic leg pain due to a herniated lumbar disc. They questioned if MRI could help determine whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic and the Montreal 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 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 the two groups – surgical and conservative. (1) Dr. Hoang's 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 wasn’t much difference in those classic studies either: 50% versus 53% non-surgical vs. surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% vs. 61% surgical vs. non-surgical for sciatica (3).
Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation
Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic asks you to make a Montreal chiropractic appointment today. Trust Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic to provide evidence-based chiropractic care that relieves 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 Montreal chiropractic appointment today.
