Size of McHenry Disc Herniation in Canal Isnt That Important

Disc herniations abound! 76% of us have one. (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 issue is whether that disc is producing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). OrthoIllinois Chiropractic determines this in the course of 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 allow it. So let’s not let 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 awful pain may show a small disc herniation. It can be upsetting. Fortunately, research maintains that size is not everything. A study reported 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 have back surgery within a year. The surgery patients’ discs took up 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 report 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, OrthoIllinois Chiropractic uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your McHenry chiropractor is the McHenry back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are welcome at OrthoIllinois Chiropractic as the spinal research indicates that, though painful, disc herniations big and little respond well to conservative treatment. Actually, in following up with patients who chose 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 had a 16.5% reduction in size. 57% of patients had a reduction, 40% demonstrated no change in size, and 3% had a bigger herniation. (5) More specifically, conservative treatment of the disc herniation with flexion distraction Cox® Technic delivered increases in the dimensions of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) McHenry back pain sufferers are grateful for such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic

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 McHenry chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at OrthoIllinois Chiropractic.