Chiropractic Care Shown to Be Effective and More Economical Than Epidural during Treatment of Herniated Disc Pain

Herniated discs have tormented a number of patients that have been treated in our Harleysville practice. Fortunately, Dr. Szilagyi has assisted plenty of them recover speedily and more adequately. Herniated discs, or "slipped discs", can be treated with several different approaches.

If you are feeling pain due to a herniated disc, then you may be querying which choice may provide the best outcome for you. To help you in finding an answer to that search, let's look at two of the most commonly employed therapies: chiropractic/manipulative therapy and lumbar nerve root injection/epidural.

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

A group of researchers recruited 102 participants, all having had chronically herniated discs confirmed by medical imaging. Any person chosen had already received three months of care via other applicable remedies without achieving significant improvement.

The pack of cohorts was divided into two groups. One group of the participants were treated with high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation treatment (chiropractic treatments). The remaining half of people in the study were treated with nerve root injections (epidural).

The conductors of the study obtained data in regards to the pain levels of every cohort in advance of the care provided during the research. Later, 30 days following care, patients reported their disc herniation discomfort on the same scoring system as before. The difference between the two grades was used to determine how useful the remedy was for remediating pain.

What did the study determine in regards to spinal adjustments compared to epidural injections?

Greater than 76 percent of the participants who received chiropractic care reported an improvement in their pain. In the other group, fewer than 63 percent of the cohorts who were provided epidurals scored a minimization in pain. These figures offer that chiropractic care could possibly be more effective when caring for to resolve herniated disc discomfort.

And, that is not all. In addition to giving a higher amount of individuals highly desired relief from pain, researchers also identified that spinal manipulation was lower in cost. Epidural treatments cost about $730 per each participant. Chiropractic care ran approximately $560 for an equal period of time. This type of savings may surely help with one’s budget. Saving money may make it possible to pursue care of your disc herniation pain without additional worry.

If you would like a higher likelihood of effectiveness and lesser expenses associated with your herniated disc treatment, give Dr. Szilagyi a call today at (215) 256-4345 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