Chiropractic Effective for Herniated Disc Pain

Regrettably, many of our Cary patients know the pain associated with a herniated disc all too well. Fortunately, Dr. Thomas Gugerli has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of medical studies have verified that chiropractic can help patients recover from this kind of condition.

Research on Herniated Discs and Chiropractic

In one report, a group of doctors from Switzerland selected 148 patients who were dealing with pain in their low 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 herniation.

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

Investigators found that, overall, the study participants 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 reported 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 study, a 26-year-old man 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 suffered with these problems for more than two years after sustaining a sports injury, and his herniated disc was confirmed via MRI.

After receiving chiropractic, "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 helpful chiropractic can be when it comes to alleviating herniated disc pain and treating the symptoms they produce. So, if you are suffering from back pain caused by a herniated disc and wish to find some relief, chiropractic may be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our Cary office a call today at (919) 589-0909 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.