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 Baton Rouge chiropractor live day in and day out. Capitol Spine & Rehabilitation values the MRI image study for what it is: a tool. But MRIs are not always a clinical necessity. Can MRI help determine whether a surgical or non-surgical approach is appropriate for back pain relief? Read on for the latest findings.

The Usefulness of MRI

When a Baton Rouge patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms denote the need for an MRI, Capitol Spine & Rehabilitation arranges one for such a Baton Rouge back pain patient. MRI may add to your Baton Rouge chiropractor’s clinical understanding of the condition oftentimes (but not always!).  Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies are interesting. Did the disc herniation shrink now that the pain is gone? Baton Rouge chiropractic patients will often ask that of Capitol Spine & Rehabilitation. And researchers will consider MRIs for their research studies on just such a question.

The Curiosity of MRI

Researchers are not the only ones who curiously study MRI images of low back pain sufferers to ascertain if there is any connection between pain and no pain and the MRI at the beginning and end of treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Capitol Spine & Rehabilitation is well aware that our Baton Rouge 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 speculated whether MRI could help determine whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Capitol Spine & Rehabilitation and the Baton Rouge 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 – indicated a satisfactory outcome with either form of care. Another noteworthy finding:  the size of the disc herniation at the beginning of caredid not affect the outcome. There was no significant difference in outcomes between them – surgical and conservative. (1) Capitol Spine & Rehabilitation 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 landmark studies either: 50% versus 53% non-surgical versus surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical vs. non-surgical for sciatica (3).

Capitol Spine & Rehabilitation Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation

Capitol Spine & Rehabilitation invites you to make a Baton Rouge chiropractic appointment today. Trust Capitol Spine & Rehabilitation to provide evidence-based chiropractic care that relieves your spine pain many times without an MRI. Together, we can set a non-surgical (and even potentially non-MRI!) treatment plan to reduce your back pain.

Schedule your Baton Rouge chiropractic appointment now.