Chiropractic Adjustments Shown as Effective and Cheaper Than Epidural during Treatment of Herniated Disc Diagnosis

Herniated discs have tormented uncounted people that have been treated in our Springfield office. Fortunately, Dr. Delson has helped a lot of them bounce back swiftly and more effectively. Herniated discs, sometime referred to as "slipped discs", can be treated with multiple strategies.

If you are feeling discomfort caused by a herniated disc, then you are likely querying which option will work best for you. To help you in finding an answer to that inquiry, let's look at two of the most frequently selected treatment options: chiropractic and epidural.

Study Compared Outcomes from Spinal Manipulative Therapy (SMT) and Nerve Root Injections (NRI)

A group of researchers compared 102 individuals, all having had chronically herniated discs confirmed by medical imaging. Any person chosen had already undergone 90 days of treatment via alternatively accessible remedies with no significant improvement.

The pack of patients was divided into two treatment paths. The first half of the patients were assigned to receive high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation treatment (chiropractic adjustments). The remaining half of participants were provided nerve root injections (epidural).

The researchers saved ratings about the pain levels of every participant before the treatment given amid the research. Subsequently, one month following the receiving of treatment, individuals scored their disc herniation discomfort on the same scoring system as at the beginning. The change between the two scores was used to measure how successful the care may have been for remediating pain.

What did the researchers determine in regards to spinal adjustments versus nerve root injections?

Just over 76% of the participants who were administered chiropractic care scored a reduction in their pain. On the other side, less than 63 percent of the people in the study who were provided epidurals recorded an improvement in discomfort. These results suggest that chiropractic care could be more successful when treating to remediate herniated disc pain.

And, there is more. Beyond giving a greater amount of people highly desired relief from pain, researchers also recognized that spinal manipulation was lower in cost. Epidural treatments approximately cost $730 for each participant. The chiropractic treatment ran just under $560 for the same period of time. This type of savings can certainly assist with your budget. A lower cost may make it possible to look for care of your disc herniation pain without extra burden.

If you want a higher likelihood of effectiveness and fewer expenses associated with your herniated disc care, give Dr. Delson a call today at (413) 788-4464 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