Chiropractic Reduces Disc Herniation Related Pain Often Without MRI

MRIs are fascinating. They display some amazing images of the body. Chiropractors like looking at spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is where chiropractors like your Montreal chiropractor live day in and day out. Dr. Hoang's 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 a surgical or non-surgical approach is appropriate for back pain relief? Read on for the latest findings.

The Usefulness of MRI

When a Montreal patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain symptoms indicate the demand for an MRI, Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic arranges one for such a Montreal back pain patient. MRI may enhance your Montreal 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 is gone? Montreal chiropractic patients will often ask that of Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic. And researchers will consider 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 pre and post treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic is well aware that our Montreal back pain patients wonder!

In noticing that doctors and patients find MRI images a curiosity when there is back pain and leg pain, a group of researchers planned to determine if MRI is of value in determining how treatment outcomes will be for patients who had a herniated lumbar disc with sciatica. They speculated whether MRI could help decide whether to do back surgery now or stay the course with conservative care. Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic and the Montreal chiropractic low back pain patients we care for would love such a simple guide! Study participants were randomly sent to surgical care or a course of prolonged conservative care. Two findings – a disc extrusion and nerve root compression on MRI in patients with less severe leg pain – signified a satisfactory outcome with either type of care. Another interesting finding:  the size of the disc herniation at the beginning of caredid not affect the outcome. The two groups revealed significant difference in outcomes between them – surgical and conservative. (1) Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic sees similar reports increasingly in the back pain research.  Remember the Atlas studies of surgical and non-surgical interventions for back pain and sciatica? There wasn’t much difference in those classic studies either: 50% versus 53% non-surgical vs. surgical for back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% versus 61% surgical vs. non-surgical for sciatica (3).

Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation

Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic invites you to make a Montreal chiropractic appointment today. Trust Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic to provide evidence-based chiropractic care that alleviates your spine pain many times without an MRI. Together, we can create a non-surgical (and even potentially non-MRI!) treatment plan to alleviate your back pain.

Schedule your Montreal chiropractic appointment today.