Size of Montreal Disc Herniation in Canal Is Not 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 isn’t the chief issue. The matter is whether that disc is producing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic 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 allow 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 huge discs in back pain sufferers who have minimal or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in excruciating pain may have a minimal disc herniation. It can be annoying. Luckily, research continues to comfort all involved by explaining that size is not everything. A study documented that there was no correlation of pain and disability with the size of a disc herniation found on MRI. (2) Another study of 368 patients who had a lumbar disc herniation reported that 91.3% of them did not undergo back surgery within a year. The surgery patients’ discs occupied 31.5% of their spinal canal while the non-surgical patients’ discs occupied 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 getting a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) In light of these findings, Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Montreal chiropractor is the Montreal back pain specialist. Disc herniations causing pain are accepted at Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic as the spinal research indicates that, though painful, disc herniations large and little react 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 decrease 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% showed no change in size, and 3% had a bigger herniation. (5) More specifically, 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) Montreal back pain sufferers are grateful for such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic

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

Schedule your Montreal chiropractic appointment today. No matter its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Dr. Hoang's Chiropractic Clinic.