Chiropractic Relieves Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI

MRIs are cool. They show some great images of the body. Chiropractors like looking at spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is your Vancouver chiropractor’s realm! Vancouver Spine Care Centre appreciates 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 decide whether a surgical or non-surgical approach is appropriate for back pain relief? Read on for the most recent news.

The Usefulness of MRI

When a Vancouver patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms denote the need for an MRI, Vancouver Spine Care Centre orders one for such a Vancouver back pain patient. MRI may add to your Vancouver chiropractor’s clinical knowledge of the condition oftentimes (but not always!).  Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies are intriguing. Did the disc herniation shrink now that the pain left? Vancouver chiropractic patients will often ask that of Vancouver Spine Care Centre. And researchers will study MRIs for their research studies on just such a query.

The Curiosity of MRI

Researchers aren’t 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 pre and post treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Vancouver Spine Care Centre knows our Vancouver 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 determine whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Vancouver Spine Care Centre and the Vancouver 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 – suggested 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. The two groups revealed significant difference in outcomes between them – surgical and conservative. (1) Vancouver Spine Care Centre sees similar reports more and more 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 landmark studies either: 50% versus 53% non-surgical vs. surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical versus non-surgical for sciatica (3).

Vancouver Spine Care Centre Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation

Vancouver Spine Care Centre encourages you to make a Vancouver chiropractic appointment today. Trust Vancouver Spine Care Centre 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 Vancouver chiropractic appointment today.