Chiropractic Care Effective for Herniated Disc Pain

Unfortunately, a large number of our Arlington patients are familiar with the pain caused by a herniated disc all too well. On a positive note, Dr. Ernst has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of medical studies have confirmed that chiropractic can help patients recover from this kind of condition.

Research on Chiropractic and Disc Herniations

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

Data was 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 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, overall, the patients reported "significant improvement" for both types of pain every time the results were collected. In fact, over 90% of the patients claimed 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.

Case Study Results

In this study, 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 a sports 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 beneficial 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 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 (360) 659-8464 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.