Regrettably, many of our Olympia patients are familiar with the pain associated with a herniated disc all too well. Fortunately, TJ Delorie has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of research studies have confirmed that chiropractic can help patients recover from this kind of condition.
Research on Herniated Discs and Chiropractic
In one study, a group of doctors from Switzerland selected 148 patients who were suffering with pain in their low back and legs due to a disc herniation (which was confirmed through magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI). Each person then received chiropractic adjustments that focused on the location of his or her disc herniation.
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 offers when it comes to treating this particular problem. Among the information obtained was the individual's self-reported changes in both lumbar and leg pain.
The authors 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 study participants claimed 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 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 study, 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 endured these issues for more than two years after sustaining an athletic injury, and his herniated disc 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 relieving the symptoms they produce. 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 Olympia office a call today at 724-123-1234 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.