Chiropractic Spinal Adjustments Reported as Effective and More Economical Than Epidural for Treating Herniated Disc Diagnosis

Herniated discs have tormented a number of people that have come to our Woburn office. Fortunately, Dr. Ellis has helped plenty of them heal quickly and more adequately. Herniated discs, sometime referred to as "slipped discs", can be treated with several different methods.

If you are experiencing irritation due to a herniated disc, then you may be wondering which option will work best for you. To support you in finding an answer to that question, let's look at two of the most commonly used treatments: chiropractic and epidural.

Study Analyzed Improvements from Spinal Manipulative Therapy (SMT) and Nerve Root Injections (NRI)

A group of researchers compared 102 patients, all having had chronically herniated discs verified by medical imaging. Any participant picked had already received three months of treatment via other available treatment options with no satisfaction.

The pack of people being studied was divided into two subdivision. One half of the participants were assigned to receive high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation treatment (chiropractic adjustments). The rest of participants were treated with nerve root injections (epidural).

The organizers of the study gathered scores regarding the pain levels of every person prior to the remedy administered in the course of the research. Then, 30 days after care, patients graded their disc herniation pain on the same scale as previously. The difference in the two scores was applied to gauge how effective the treatment was for improving discomfort.

What did the researchers uncover about chiropractic adjustments compared to epidurals?

Over 76% of the participants who were treated with chiropractic treatments expressed an improvement in their discomfort. In the other group, not quite 63% of the cohorts who received epidurals reported a minimization in discomfort. These data imply that chiropractic care could be more effective for treating to remediate herniated disc discomfort.

On top of that, there’s more. Beyond providing a higher quantity of cohorts some much needed reduction in pain, researchers also discovered that chiropractic care was more cost-effective. The nerve root injection treatments were roughly $730 per each participant. Chiropractic care cost less than $560 for the same duration. This type of savings can certainly help with anyone’s health care expenses. Saving money may make it more conceivable to look for treatment of your disc herniation pain without extra worry.

If you would like a greater probability of success and lesser costs associated with your herniated disc treatment, give Dr. Ellis a call today at (781) 460-0939 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