Chiropractic Effective for Herniated Disc Problems

Regrettably, quite a few of our Depew patients are familiar with the pain associated with a herniated disc all too well. On a positive note, Dr. Palmer has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of scientific studies have confirmed that chiropractic can help patients recover from this kind of problem.

Research on Herniated Discs and Chiropractic

In one study, doctors from Switzerland recruited 148 patients who were coping 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 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 establish what kind of short-term and long-term effects, if any, chiropractic care offers when it comes to resolving this particular condition. Among the data 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 individuals reported 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% 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 report, 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 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 enjoying 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 cause. So, if you are suffering from back pain caused by a herniated disc and wish to find some relief, chiropractic may well be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our Depew office a call today at (716) 668-2225 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.