Size of Orchard Park, NY Disc Herniation in Canal Isnt That Important

Disc herniations abound! 76% of us have one. (1) Do 76% of us have back pain right now? Nope! Thank goodness! The presence of a disc herniation on imaging is not 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). Novelli Wellness Center determines this during the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are tools that can assist - or distract - the chiropractic back pain treatment approach if the doctor and patient let it. So let’s not let it! 

PERCENT OF SPINAL CANAL A DISC TAKES UP DOESN’T MATTER

Some imaging studies or MRI images will illustrate very large discs in back pain sufferers who have minimal or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in awful pain may have a small disc herniation. It can be frustrating. Fortunately, research maintains that size is not everything. A research paper 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 reported that 91.3% of them did not undergo back surgery within a year. The surgery patients’ discs took up 31.5% of their spinal canal while the non-operative patients’ discs occupied 31.2% of their spinal canals. That is not much of a variance. 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) In light of these findings, Novelli Wellness Center uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Orchard Park, NY chiropractor is the Orchard Park, NY back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are welcome at Novelli Wellness Center as the spinal research indicates that, though painful, disc herniations large and small respond nicely to conservative treatment. Actually, in following up with patients who chose 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% decrease in size. 57% of patients showed a reduction, 40% showed no change in size, and 3% showed a bigger herniation. (5) Particularly, conservative treatment of the disc herniation with flexion distraction Cox® Technic produced increases in the measurements of the spinal canal by as much as 28% in area, 17% in height and 7% in width. (6) Orchard Park, NY back pain sufferers are grateful for such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT Novelli Wellness Center

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 considerable pain and alteration to her lifestyle which was enhanced with his use of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

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