Chiropractic Care Effective for Herniated Disc Pain

Regrettably, several of our Arlington patients are familiar with the pain associated with a herniated disc all too well. On a positive note, Jefferson Spine & Injury Center has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of research studies have verified that chiropractic can help people recover from this kind of condition.

Research on Chiropractic Care for Disc Herniations

In one study, a group of doctors from Switzerland selected 148 patients who were suffering with pain in their lower back and legs due to a herniated disc (which was confirmed through magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI). Each individual then received chiropractic adjustments that focused on the area of his or her disc problem.

Results were gathered after the first treatment session at set intervals--namely, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year to determine what type of short-term and long-term effects, if any, chiropractic care offers when it comes to treating this particular condition. Among the information obtained was the person's self-reported changes in both back and leg pain.

Investigators found that, as a whole, the patients reported "significant improvement" for both types of pain every time the results were collected. In fact, over 90% of the patients stated that their pain "improved" within the first three months, with 88% still citing improvement one year after their first treatment session.

Even those patients who were defined as "chronic" still claimed an improvement in pain at a rate of 89% one year beyond when treatment first began. This is the same positive effect that was found in the following case study.

Disc Herniation and Chiropractic: A Case Study

In this paper, a 26-year-old man had presented with disc herniation symptoms such as pain in the low back, left leg, and left groin area, along with left foot drop and muscle weakness. He had suffered with these problems for more than two years after sustaining an athletic injury, and his disc herniation was confirmed via MRI.

After receiving chiropractic care, "The patient responded favorably and his multi-symptom complex resolved within 90 days of treatment." Furthermore, the patient was still experiencing relief one year after the chiropractic intervention.

Studies like these show how useful chiropractic can be when it comes to alleviating herniated disc pain and treating the symptoms they produce. So, if you are suffering from back ache caused by a herniated disc and wish to find some relief, chiropractic might be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our Arlington office a call today at (703) 933-9000 for a consultation or appointment.

References

• Leemann S, Peterson CK, Schmid C, Anklin B, Humphreys BK. Outcomes of acute and chronic patients with magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed symptomatic lumbar disc herniations receiving high-velocity, low-amplitude, spinal manipulative therapy: a prospective observational cohort study with one-year follow-up. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2014;37(3):155-163.
• Polkinghorn BS, Colloca CJ. Treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation using activator methods chiropractic technique. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1998;21(3):187-196.