Chiropractic Treatment Methods Considered Effective and Cheaper Than Epidural during Treatment of Herniated Disc Patients

Herniated discs have bothered uncounted people that have visited our Texarkana, Atlanta practice. Fortunately, Dr. Swanson has assisted plenty of them bounce back quickly and more adequately. Herniated discs, or "slipped discs", can be treated with a handful of remedies.

If you are experiencing pain due to a herniated disc, then you may be querying which choice will work best for you. To support you in settling that question, let's inspect two of the most frequently selected treatments: chiropractic/manipulative therapy and lumbar nerve root injection/epidural.

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

A body of researchers from Switzerland recruited 102 individuals, all having had chronically herniated discs validated by medical imaging. Each cohort selected had previously undergone ninety days of care through alternatively applicable treatment options without achieving significant improvement.

The pack of patients was split into two groups. One half of the individuals were assigned to receive high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation treatment (chiropractic treatments). The second half of people in the study received nerve root injections (epidural).

The researchers collected scores about the pain levels of every patient before the remedy administered at the time of the research. Subsequently, 30 days following treatment, patients rated their disc herniation pain on the same range as before. The difference in the two scores was applied to calculate how successful the treatment was for relieving discomfort.

What did the researchers find in regards to chiropractic adjustments against nerve root injections?

Just over 76% of the cohorts who were provided chiropractic adjustments expressed a reduction in their pain. In the other half, fewer than 63 percent of the patients who were treated with epidurals recorded a minimization in pain. The scores indicate that chiropractic treatment could possibly be more successful for caring for to remediate herniated disc pain.

And, there’s more. In addition to providing a higher count of participants some much needed relief from pain, researchers also discovered that spinal manipulation was more cost-effective. Nerve root injection treatments cost about $730 for a single patient. The chiropractic treatment ran approximately $560 for an equal time frame. This amount of savings may certainly help with anyone’s budget. Spending less may make it feasible to pursue treatment of your disc herniation pain without extra worry.

If you want a higher probability of pain relief and fewer expenses when it comes to your herniated disc treatment, give Dr. Swanson a call today at (903) 792-2060 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