Size of Pflugerville Disc Herniation in Canal Is Not That Important

76% of us has a disc herniation. (1) Do 76% of us have back pain right now? Thankfully, no! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging is not the chief issue. The concern is whether that disc is causing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Pflugerville Wellness Center determines this in the course of 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 let it. So let’s not allow it! 

PERCENT OF SPINAL CANAL A DISC OCCUPIES DOESN’T MATTER

Some imaging studies or MRI images will illustrate very large discs in back pain sufferers who have not a lot of or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in excruciating pain may show a small disc herniation. It can be upsetting. Fortunately, research maintains that size isn’t everything. A research paper reported 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 said that 91.3% of them did not have back surgery within a year. The surgery patients’ discs took up 31.5% of their spinal canal while the non-surgical patients’ discs took up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That is not much of a difference. Researchers wrote that this doesn’t predict which patients will fail nonsurgical treatment and need surgery within 2 years after undergoing a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) With knowledge of these findings, Pflugerville Wellness Center uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Pflugerville chiropractor is the Pflugerville back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are welcome at Pflugerville Wellness Center as the spinal research indicates that, though painful, disc herniations large and little respond nicely 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 showed a reduction in the size of the disc. (4) Two years after conservative care, herniated disc patients showed a 16.5% reduction 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 delivered increases in the measurements of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) Pflugerville back pain sufferers are grateful for such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT Pflugerville Wellness Center

Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. George Joachim on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. Dr. Joachim presents the case of a patient with a disc herniation resulting in spinal stenosis that generated considerable pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was enhanced with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Schedule your Pflugerville chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Pflugerville Wellness Center.