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Size of Burlington and Hamilton Disc Herniation in Canal Isnt That Important

Disc herniations abound! 76% of us have one. (1) Do all 76% have back pain right now? Thankfully, no! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging isn’t the chief issue. The issue is whether that disc is producing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Spinal Care Clinic determines this in the course of the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are tools 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 excruciating pain may show a minimal disc herniation. It can be annoying. Luckily, research maintains that size isn’t everything. A study documented that there was no correlation of pain and disability with the size of a disc herniation seen on MRI. (2) Another study of 368 patients who had a lumbar disc herniation stated that 91.3% of them did not have back surgery within a year. The surgery patients’ discs occupied 31.5% of their spinal canal while the non-operative patients’ discs occupied 31.2% of their spinal canals. That is not much of a difference. Researchers report that this does not predict which patients will fail nonsurgical treatment and need surgery within 2 years after undergoing a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) In light of these findings, Spinal Care Clinic chooses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Burlington and Hamilton chiropractor is the Burlington and Hamilton back pain specialist. Painful disc herniations are welcome at Spinal Care Clinic as the spinal research shows that, though painful, disc herniations big and little respond nicely to conservative treatment. Actually, 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 herniation. (4) Two years after conservative care, herniated disc patients showed a 16.5% decrease in size. 57% of patients had a reduction, 40% demonstrated no change in size, and 3% showed a larger herniation. (5) Particularly, 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) Burlington and Hamilton back pain sufferers are happy with such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT Spinal Care Clinic

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 significant pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was improved with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Schedule your Burlington and Hamilton chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Spinal Care Clinic.

 
Spinal Care Clinic presents new research that again states that the size of a disc herniation doesn’t matter that much. 
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"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by Dr. James M. Cox I."