Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI

MRIs are cool. They display some great images of the body. Chiropractors like looking at spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is where chiropractors like your Murfreesboro chiropractor live day in and day out. Most Chiropractic Clinic values the MRI image study for what it is: a a piece of the diagnostic puzzle. But MRIs are not always clinically necessary. Can MRI help determine whether to use non-surgical care or surgical care for back pain relief? Read on for the latest news.

The Usefulness of MRI

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

The Curiosity of MRI

Researchers are not the only ones who curiously study MRI images of low back pain sufferers to see 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. Most Chiropractic Clinic knows our Murfreesboro back pain patients wonder!

In noticing that doctors and patients find MRI images a curiosity when there is back pain and leg pain, some researchers planned to determine the value of MRI in predicting treatment outcomes in patients with sciatic leg pain due to a herniated lumbar disc. They speculated whether MRI could help decide whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Most Chiropractic Clinic and the Murfreesboro 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 form of care. Another interesting finding:  the size of the disc herniation at the beginning of care didn’t affect the outcome. There was no significant difference in outcomes between them – surgical and conservative. (1) Most Chiropractic Clinic 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 was not much variation in those classic 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).

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

Most Chiropractic Clinic encourages you to make a Murfreesboro chiropractic appointment today. Trust Most 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 lessen your back pain.

Schedule your Murfreesboro chiropractic appointment now.