Size of Vancouver Disc Herniation in Canal Isnt That Important

76% of us has a disc herniation. (1) Do 76% of us have back pain right now? Nope! Thank goodness! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging isn’t the important issue. The concern is whether that disc is producing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Vancouver Spine Care Centre determines this during the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are extras that can assist - or distract - the chiropractic back pain treatment approach if the doctor and patient allow 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 huge discs in back pain sufferers who have minimal or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in unbearable pain may have a small disc herniation. It can be upsetting. Luckily, research continues to comfort all involved by explaining 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 diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation said 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 took up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That’s not much of a difference. Researchers wrote that this doesn’t predict which patients will fail nonsurgical treatment and require surgery within 2 years after undergoing a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) With knowledge of these findings, Vancouver Spine Care Centre chooses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Vancouver chiropractor is the Vancouver back pain specialist. Painful disc herniations are accepted at Vancouver Spine Care Centre as the spinal research shows that, though painful, disc herniations big and little react well to conservative treatment. As a matter of fact, in following up with patients who underwent conservative treatment for their disc herniation, 35% to 100% of the cases revealed a decrease in the size of the disc. (4) Two years after conservative care, herniated disc patients showed a 16.5% decrease in size. 57% of patients showed a reduction, 40% demonstrated no change in size, and 3% had a larger herniation. (5) Particularly, conservative treatment of the disc herniation with flexion distraction Cox® Technic produced increases in the dimensions of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) Vancouver back pain sufferers are happy with such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT Vancouver Spine Care Centre

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 enhanced with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Schedule your Vancouver chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Vancouver Spine Care Centre.