Chiropractic Adjustments Shown to Be Effective and Cheaper Than Epidural for Treating Herniated Disc Patients

Herniated discs have burdened a number of patients that have visited our Mt Sterling practice. Fortunately, Linton Spine & Joint Chiropractic Center has assisted most of them rebound swiftly and more effectively. Herniated discs, or "slipped discs", can be treated with several different strategies.

If you are feeling pain due to a herniated disc, then you are likely asking which selection will provide the best outcome for you. To help you in solving that query, let's inspect two of the most commonly prescribed therapies: chiropractic/manipulative therapy and lumbar nerve root injection/epidural.

Research Comparing Improvements from Spinal Manipulative Therapy (SMT) and Nerve Root Injections (NRI)

A body of researchers studied 102 individuals, all having had chronically herniated discs validated by medical imaging. Every participant selected had already undergone 90 days of care through alternatively applicable remedies without achieving success.

The body of participants was divided into two treatment paths. The first group of the patients were assigned to receive high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation treatment (chiropractic treatments). The remaining half of people in the study were given nerve root injections (epidural).

The organizers of the study collected scores regarding the pain levels of every cohort prior to the care provided during the research. Then, one month after care, people in the study reported their disc herniation pain on the same scoring system as at the beginning. The change in the two grades was applied to determine how effective the remedy may have been for improving pain.

What did the researchers uncover about spinal adjustments versus epidurals?

Over 76 percent of the cohorts who received chiropractic adjustments expressed an improvement in their discomfort. In the other group, less than 63% of the cohorts who received epidurals scored a reduction in pain. These data indicate that chiropractic treatment could possibly be more effective for looking to remediate herniated disc discomfort.

And, that is not everything. In addition to giving a higher count of patients some much needed relief from pain, researchers also recognized that spinal manipulation was less expensive. The nerve root injection treatments were roughly $730 for a single participant. The chiropractic care ran approximately $560 for an equal time frame. This amount of savings may surely assist with anyone’s health care expenses. A lower cost can make it possible to obtain treatment of your disc herniation pain without added anxiety.

If you are interested in a greater likelihood of pain relief and lower costs associated with your herniated disc treatment, give Linton Spine & Joint Chiropractic Center a call today at (859) 499-1009 to schedule an appointment.

Reference

Peterson, CK et al. (2013, May). Symptomatic magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed lumbar disk herniation patients: a comparative effectiveness prospective observational study of 2 age-and sex-matched cohorts treated with either high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulative therapy or image-guided lumbar nerve root injections. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 36(4), 218-225, doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2013.04.005