Chiropractic Spinal Adjustments Shown to Be Effective and Less Expensive Than Epidural for Treating Herniated Disc Patients

Herniated discs have afflicted many clients that have been treated in our Gadsden office. Fortunately, Gadsden Family Chiropractic has assisted many of them bounce back swiftly and more adequately. Herniated discs, or "slipped discs", can be treated with several different approaches.

If you are experiencing irritation caused by a herniated disc, then you may be querying which option may provide the best outcome for you. To help you in settling that search, let's assess two of the most commonly prescribed therapies: chiropractic and epidural.

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

A group of researchers from Switzerland studied 102 individuals, every one of them had chronically herniated discs validated by medical imaging. Each person chosen had already received three months of treatment through alternatively applicable treatment options without achieving significant improvement.

The pack of individuals was divided into two groups. The first half of the participants were assigned to receive high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation treatment (chiropractic treatments). The rest of cohorts received nerve root injections (epidural).

The conductors of the study gathered scores in regards to the pain levels of each participant in advance of the remedy given during the research. Then, one month after the receiving of treatment, people in the study scored their disc herniation discomfort on the same scale as at the beginning. The change between the two ratings was used to measure how effective the remedy was for remediating discomfort.

What did the research find in regards to chiropractic adjustments against epidural injections?

Over 76 percent of the people in the study who were provided chiropractic treatments scored a decrease in their discomfort. In the other group, not quite 63% of the people in the study who engaged in epidurals reported an improvement in pain. These results suggest that chiropractic care could be more effective for looking to remediate herniated disc pain.

Plus, there’s more. In addition to granting a greater amount of individuals greatly appreciated relief from pain, researchers also gleaned that chiropractic treatment was more cost-effective. Nerve root injection treatments approximately cost $730 per a single patient. Chiropractic treatment ran just under $560 for an equal period of time. This cost savings may surely help with your budget. Spending less may make it more conceivable to look for treatment of your disc herniation pain without additional hardship.

If you would like a higher chance of success and lesser costs when it comes to your herniated disc treatment, give Gadsden Family Chiropractic a call today at (256) 543-3033 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