Size of Toronto Disc Herniation in Canal Isnt 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 issue is whether that disc is causing pain either mechanically (by pressing on a nerve) or chemically (by irritating a nerve). Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre determines this in the course of the all-important physical exam. The MRI and other imaging studies are extras that can help - 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 TAKES UP DOESN’T MATTER

Some imaging studies or MRI images will illustrate huge discs in back pain sufferers who have not a lot of or no pain while back pain sufferers who are in awful pain may have a minimal disc herniation. It can be frustrating. Fortunately, 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 took up 31.2% of their spinal canals. That’s not much of a difference. Researchers wrote that this does not predict which patients will fail nonoperative treatment and need surgery within 2 years after undergoing a lumbar spine MRI scan. (3) With knowledge of these findings, Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre uses conservative treatment of these disc herniations.

CONSERVATIVE CARE EFFECT ON DISC SIZE

Chiropractors are back pain specialists. Your Toronto chiropractor is the Toronto back pain specialist. Painful disc herniations are accepted at Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre as the spinal research shows that, though painful, disc herniations big and small react nicely to conservative treatment. As a matter of fact, in following up with patients who had 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 had a reduction, 40% demonstrated no change in size, and 3% showed 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) Toronto back pain sufferers are happy with such improvement in their disc herniations as pain relief results.

CONTACT Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness 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 preoducing 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 Toronto chiropractic appointment today. Regardless of its size, your disc herniation is in good company and in good hands at Yorkville Chiropractic and Wellness Centre.