Chiropractic Therapy Treats Herniated Disc Problems

Unfortunately, many of our Memphis patients know the pain associated with a herniated disc all too well. On a positive note, Dynamic Chiropractic has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of scientific studies have confirmed that chiropractic care can help patients recover from this kind of condition.

Research on Chiropractic Care for Disc Herniations

In one study, doctors from Switzerland selected 148 patients who were dealing with pain in their lower back and legs due to a disc herniation (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 concern.

Results were gathered after the initial 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 offers when it comes to resolving this particular condition. Among the information collected was the person's self-reported changes in both low back and leg pain.

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

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

Disc Herniation and Chiropractic: A Case Study

In this paper, a 26-year-old male had presented with disc herniation symptoms such as pain in the lower back, left leg, and left groin area, along with left foot drop and muscle weakness. He had endured these issues 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." In addition, the patient was still experiencing relief one year after the chiropractic intervention.

Studies like these show how helpful chiropractic can be when it comes to alleviating herniated disc pain and reducing the symptoms they bring about. So, if you are suffering from back pain caused by a herniated disc and want to find some relief, chiropractic can be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our Memphis office a call today at (901) 757-8311 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.