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OrthoIllinois Chiropractic Treats Disc Herniation Pain

Disc herniations can bring about back pain and leg pain for some. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic welcomes those disc herniation pain patients. Gentle, relieving treatment without surgery is what we provide. McHenry back pain patients are relieved when they find us!

DISC HERNIATION: Size, Weight, Sleep

What matters when a disc causes back pain? Its size? Its weight? Its effect on quality of life? Spinal researchers have generated data and described that what the pain-producing disc looks like on imaging does not really matter. The size and shape of an intervertebral spinal disc’s protruded nucleus pulposus has no tie to a what a patient’s symptoms may be or how a patient feels. (1) The weight of a disc fragment did not relate to the duration of symptoms or severity of pre- or post-operative leg pain nor post-operative leg pain or back pain improvement, the percentage of space the disc occupied in the spinal canal, herniation classification, or vertebral level. The size of the lumbar disc herniation didn’t have much effect on clinical outcomes. (2) Chronic lower back pain and sciatica due to lumbar disc herniation adversely affected sleep quality. Treatment benefitted patient perception of pain in visual analog scale (VAS) scores as well as in the PSQI Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index scores. (3) Relieving chiropractic treatment of a pain-producing disc necessitates decreasing the risk of recurrent back pain episodes as well as reducing the pain of the current episode.

MANAGING BACK PAIN AND RISK OF ITS RECURRENCE

Once you have experienced a disc herniation and its resulting back pain, you do not want to have it back! OrthoIllinois Chiropractic gets that and wants you to know that managing - as conservatively as possible - the disc herniation is more realistic than curing it. 6.05% of lumbar discectomy surgery patients had a re-current disc herniation. What prompted this? On their own, factors like age, BMI, current smoking status, heavy lifting, degenerative facet joint disease, operation time, and the ambulation time after surgery impacted the risk of recurrent disc herniation. Combined, older age, male sex, high body mass index (BMI), and early ambulation were significant factors in the recurrence or a lumbar disc herniation. Managing weight, not lifting heavy items, and exercising were proposed risk reducers. (4) One new study reported that the amount of sedentary time probably did not increase the chance of a new occurrence of low back pain as much as the amount and type of physical activity. (5) Pain relief comes more as a roller coaster than a straight hill to pain relief. A disc herniation is like a bruise on an apple making the apple (and by comparison, the spine) never quite the same again. That is where OrthoIllinois Chiropractic comes in with a treatment plan that makes sure you understand the disc herniation, how to feed it nutritionally, how to exercise to return it to strength and keep it strong, and how to do activities of daily living to avert (re)injury. A newer systematic review of approaches to managing back pain listed 10 approaches: manipulation/mobilization, psychological/behavioral, advice to stay active/bed rest, reassurance, antidepressants, NSAIDS, opioids, muscle relaxants, and paracetamol. (6) OrthoIllinois Chiropractic supports walking, moving, careful lifting, and especially being treated with gentle, safe, effective Cox® Technic spinal manipulation!

CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Robert Patterson on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the realistic expectations back pain patients can have with The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management.

Schedule your McHenry chiropractic appointment soon. Disc herniation sufferers are welcomed to our practice for relief and a plan for controlling its future impact on life. 

OrthoIllinois Chiropractic offers non-surgical treatment for relief of disc herniation related back pain.  
 
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"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."