Size of Toronto 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? Nope! Thank goodness! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging is not the important issue. The concern is whether that disc is producing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre figures this out during the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are extras that can assist - or distract - the chiropractic back pain treatment approach if the doctor and patient let it. So let’s not let it!
PERCENT OF SPINAL CANAL A DISC OCCUPIES DOESN’T MATTER
Some imaging studies or MRI images will show very large discs in back pain sufferers who have little or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in awful pain may show a minimal disc herniation. It can be annoying. Fortunately, research continues to comfort all involved by explaining that size isn’t everything. A study documented that there was no correlation of pain and disability with the size of a disc herniation found on MRI. (2) Another study of 368 patients diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation reported 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-operative patients’ discs took up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That is not much of a difference. Researchers wrote that this doesn’t predict which patients will fail nonoperative treatment and require surgery within 2 years after undergoing a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) With knowledge of these findings, Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.
CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE
Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Toronto chiropractor is the Toronto back pain specialist. Painful disc herniations are accepted at Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre as the spinal research indicates that, though painful, disc herniations large 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 showed a reduction in the size of the disc. (4) Two years after conservative care, herniated disc patients showed a 16.5% decrease in size. 57% of patients showed a reduction, 40% showed no change in size, and 3% showed a larger herniation. (5) More specifically, conservative treatment of the disc herniation with flexion distraction Cox® Technic produced increases in the measurements of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) Toronto back pain sufferers are grateful for such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.
CONTACT Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. George Joachim on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. Dr. Joachim shares the case of a patient with a disc herniation resulting in spinal stenosis that generated considerable pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was enhanced with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.
Schedule your Toronto chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre.
