Chiropractic Care Effective for Herniated Disc Pain

Unfortunately, quite a few of our Corvallis patients know the pain associated with a herniated disc all too well. On a positive note, Dr. Lach has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of scientific studies have verified that chiropractic can help people recover from this kind of problem.

Research on Chiropractic for Disc Herniations

In one report, a group of 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 individual then received chiropractic adjustments that focused on the location of his or her disc problem.

Results were collected after the first treatment session at set intervals--namely, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year--to determine what kind of short-term and long-term effects, if any, chiropractic care offers when it comes to treating this particular problem. Among the information gathered was the person's self-reported changes in both lumbar and leg pain.

Researchers 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 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 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 effect that was found in the following case study.

Case Study Shows that Chiropractic Benefits Chronic Disc Herniation Symptoms

In this study, 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 symptoms for more than two years after sustaining a sports injury, and his herniated disc 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 useful chiropractic can be when it comes to alleviating herniated disc pain and reducing the symptoms they bring about. So, if you are suffering from back ache caused by a herniated disc and wish to find some relief, chiropractic can be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our Corvallis office a call today at (541) 754-1947 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.