Chiropractic Reduces Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI

MRIs are fascinating. MRIs display pretty pictures of the body. Chiropractors appreciate spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is where chiropractors like your Eugene chiropractor live day in and day out. Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic appreciates the MRI image study for what it is: a tool. But MRIs are not always a clinical necessity. Can MRI help decide whether a surgical or non-surgical approach is appropriate for back pain relief? Read on for the latest news.

The Usefulness of MRI

When a Eugene patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms denote the demand for an MRI, Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic requests one for such a Eugene back pain patient. MRI may enhance your Eugene chiropractor’s clinical knowledge of the condition oftentimes (but not always!).  Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies are interesting. Did the disc herniation reduce now that the pain disappeared? Eugene chiropractic patients will often ask that of Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic. And researchers will examine MRIs for their research studies on just such a question.

The Curiosity of MRI

Researchers are not the only ones who curiously survey MRI images of low back pain sufferers to ascertain if there is any correlation between pain and no pain and the MRI pre and post treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic is well aware that our Eugene back pain patients wonder!

Knowing 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 with sciatic leg pain due to a herniated lumbar disc. They questioned if MRI could help decide whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic and the Eugene chiropractic low back pain patients we treat would love such a simple indicator! Study participants were randomized to surgery or prolonged conservative care. Two findings – a disc extrusion and nerve root compression on MRI in patients with less severe leg pain – indicated a satisfactory outcome with either type of care. Another interesting finding:  the size of the disc herniation at the beginning of care didn’t affect the outcome. The two groups revealed significant difference in outcomes between the two groups – surgical and conservative. (1) Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic sees similar reports more and more in the back pain research.  Remember the Atlas studies of surgical and non-surgical interventions for back pain and sciatica? There wasn’t much difference in those landmark studies either: 50% vs. 53% non-surgical versus surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical versus non-surgical for sciatica (3).

Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation

Rethwill Chiropractic Clinic invites you to make a Eugene chiropractic appointment today. Trust Rethwill 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 Eugene chiropractic appointment today.