MRIs are fascinating.
MRIs display pretty pictures of the body. Chiropractors appreciate spinal MRI images. Why? The spine is where chiropractors like
your Sandy Springs chiropractor live day in and day out. Cross Chiropractic Center values
the MRI image study for what it is: a a piece of the diagnostic puzzle.
But MRIs are not always a clinical necessity. Can MRI help decide whether to use non-surgical care or
surgical care for back pain relief? Read on for the most recent
findings.
The Usefulness
of MRI
When a
Sandy Springs patient’s back pain, neck pain, arm pain or leg pain
symptoms denote the need for an MRI,
Cross Chiropractic Center requests one for such a Sandy Springs
back pain patient. MRI may supplement your
Sandy Springs chiropractor’s clinical knowledge
of the condition oftentimes (but not always!). Pre-treatment and post-MRI studies
are intriguing. Did the disc herniation shrink
now that the pain disappeared? Sandy Springs
chiropractic patients will often ask that of Cross Chiropractic Center. And researchers
will consider MRIs for their research studies on just such
a query.
The Curiosity
of MRI
Researchers aren’t the only ones who curiously study
MRI images of low back pain sufferers to see if there is any correlation
between pain and no pain and the MRI at the beginning
and end of treatment for back pain. Patients wonder, too. Cross Chiropractic Center is
well aware that our Sandy Springs back pain patients wonder!
Knowing
that doctors and patients find MRI images a
curiosity when there is back pain and leg pain, a group of
researchers planned to determine the value of MRI in predicting treatment
outcomes in patients who had a herniated lumbar disc with sciatica. They questioned
if MRI could help decide whether to do back surgery now or
stay the course with conservative care. Cross Chiropractic Center and the
Sandy Springs chiropractic low back pain patients we care for would
love such a simple guide! Study participants were randomly
sent to surgical care or a course of prolonged conservative care. Two findings – a disc
extrusion and nerve root compression on MRI in patients with less severe leg
pain – indicated a satisfactory outcome with either type
of care. Another interesting finding: the size of the disc herniation at the
beginning of caredid not affect the outcome. The two groups revealed significant difference in outcomes between them
– surgical and conservative. (1) Cross Chiropractic Center reads similar
reports more and more in the back pain research. Recall the Atlas studies of
surgical and non-surgical interventions for back pain and sciatica? There wasn’t much difference in those landmark
studies either: 50% vs. 53% non-surgical vs. surgical for
back pain due to spinal stenosis (2) and 69% vs. 61% surgical vs. non-surgical for
sciatica (3).
Cross Chiropractic Center
Offers Chiropractic Non-Surgical Care of Disc Herniation
Cross Chiropractic Center
invites you to make a Sandy Springs chiropractic
appointment today. Trust Cross Chiropractic Center to provide evidence-based chiropractic
care that relieves your spine pain many times without an MRI. Together,
we can create a non-surgical (and even potentially non-MRI!)
treatment plan to reduce your back pain.
Schedule your
Sandy Springs chiropractic appointment today.
"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the
DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by
Dr. James M. Cox I."